Preparing Parsnips

Quick and Healthy Parsnips Recipes 

Bake, roast, sauté, microwave, boil, or steam parsnips. Cut them into chunks or use whole. Parsnips are delicious when mashed or combined in mashed potatoes. Try roasting parsnips with other vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, onion, or carrots. To enhance the flavor of parsnips, use ginger, mace, nutmeg, or cinnamon.

Learn more about parsnips from the USDA.

Prepare Parsnip Muffins.

Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Parsnips

Nutrition Facts

Serving size, 1 cup

  • Calories 7
  • Protein .9 grams
  • Carbohydrates 1.1 grams
  • Dietary Fiber .7 grams
  • Vitamin D 0 mcg
  • Calcium 30 mg
  • Iron .8 mg
  • Potassium 167 mg

Preparation and Serving

Choose parsnips that are firm and dry without pits. Smaller ones may be more flavorful and tender.

  • Treat parsnips as you would a carrot.
  • If the parsnip is large, you must remove its woody core by digging it out with the end of a vegetable peeler or sharp spoon.
  • Choose root vegetables that are crisp and firm (not easily bendable).

Though parsnips look like white carrots, their flavor is slightly stronger, and they taste like turnips or rutabagas. The whiter the flesh, the sweeter the parsnip. Avoid parsnips that are yellowing or going brown around the core or are older and less sweet.

Gently remove soil and greens. Store parsnips unwashed in a perforated plastic bag. Refrigerate in the produce drawer for up to 2 to 3 weeks or on the countertop for 1 to 2 days. 

 

Home Preservation

Parsnips may be canned but freezing results in a better product.

Canning

Pressure canning is the ONLY safe method of canning parsnips. Parsnips MUST be pressure canned for a specific period of time to avoid the potential of the food-borne illness botulism. 

Freezing

  • Select small to medium, firm turnips or parsnips that are tender and have a mild flavor.
  • Wash, peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
  • Water blanch for 2 minutes.
  • Cool promptly in cold water and drain.
  • Pack into containers, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
  • Seal and freeze.

Read more on parsnips from Michigan State University.