A simple but delicious side-dish, maple syrup roasted carrots and parsnips are always a hit! Great with fish, meat and plant-based meals alike.
As side dishes go, maple syrup roasted carrots and parsnips are definitely among my favourites. Dead quick and easy to prepare – you can even do them in advance and keep them in the fridge till an hour before you want to eat them, then just shove into a preheated oven.
They’re super-yummy too. The maple syrup flavour is subtle, but brings out the natural sweetness of the roasted vegetables. This is a warming, soothing and very moreish dish, perfect for a winter’s evening.
Root vegetables
When I make roasted vegetables, I usually do carrots and parsnips, but other veggies often make it in too. Things like swede, baby turnips, little whole onions, beetroot and even butternut squash. It’s possible to make a delightfully colourful, and wonderfully delicious side-dish with almost no effort. My kind of cooking!
Mix it up!
You can make the maple roasted carrots and other veggies using just oil and maple syrup, but you can also add all sorts of extra goodies to the mix to jazz things up. For example a few drops of tabasco, a spoon or two of cumin seeds, some grated fresh ginger, a sliced apple (with or without the peel), a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard… Go mad and experiment, what’s the worst that could happen?!
Sweet and savoury
My daughter Kipper is particularly partial to these maple roasted carrots and parsnips. I think it’s the combination of a slightly sticky but mostly crispy exterior, and a soft, sweet, tender, tasty interior that does it. No wonder they’re a favourite all round.
Serves 4
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📖 Recipe
Maple roasted carrots and parsnips
Ingredients
- 400 g carrots
- 400 g parsnips
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½-2 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
- 400 g (14 oz) carrots, 400 g (14 oz) parsnipsPeel the carrots and parsnips.
- Cut the carrots into chunks, then depending on their thickness, halve or quarter them lengthways.
- Cut the parsnips in half. Leave the skinny bottom ends as they are, and cut the fat top ends in half or quarters lengthways. If they are very fat, you might also want to cut out the inner core, as it can be a bit tough and woody in bigger parsnips.
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil, 1½-2 tbsp maple syrupMix the oil and maple syrup together. Toss the prepared vegetables in the maple-oil mixture till they are well coated.
- Spread the carrots and parsnips out on a baking tray, in as close to a single layer as possible. Roast at 180°C (350°F) for around 1 hour, until your maple roasted carrots and parsnips are browning at the edges, sticky and crispy without, and soft and tender within.
Nutrition
More delicious roasted vegetables
If you enjoy roasted vegetables, why not try
- Roasted root vegetables with apples
- Barley salad with roasted vegetables and tahini dressing
- Roasted hasselback butternut squash
- Roasted vegetable rice pilaf
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