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A roast dinner is something that we don’t enjoy as much as I would like. I love to make the components from scratch – and don’t always have the time to spare on a Sunday. These air fryer carrots and parsnips are one of my favourite low effort air fryer side dishes to make. It takes just a couple of minutes to prepare them and they’re packed full of flavour too.
With my roast dinner I want to enjoy a minimum of 3-4 vegetables. I love to serve something a little different, like air fryer green beans, or air fryer tenderstem broccoli and then I’ll have a couple of more traditional vegetable sides too.
I love to make these with garlic and thyme, and on occasion I will drizzle the cooked carrots and parsnips with honey, and then pop them back in the air fryer for a couple of minutes at the end. This gives them a lovely honey glazed flavour and is a real winner with my whole family.
Any side dish that helps me get more vegetables into my little fussy eaters is a winner with me! These air fryer vegetables are perfect served with an air fryer whole chicken plus air fryer mashed potatoes for a tasty and simple meal. I also love rosemary and garlic roast potatoes too.
Ingredients for air fryer carrots and parsnips:
500g carrots
500g parsnips
15ml olive oil (1 tablespoon of olive oil)
3 crushed or chopped garlic cloves
Fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper to season
Optional: honey to drizzle over at the end.
Method for making air fryer roast carrots and parsnips:
Heat a pan of water on the hob, with a little salt.
Scrub your carrots and parsnips, and rinse well.
Peel the parsnips and carrots if you like, but you can skip this step if you’re not bothered.
Slice them lengthways into 4 or 6 pieces, depending on the size and length of the carrots and parsnips.
Place the carrots and parsnips in the boiling water and boil for 5-6 minutes. Drain well, leave in the colander to steam and then shake them to fluff them up a little.
Dress the carrots and parsnips with the oil, garlic cloves and thyme. I like to use a large bowl for this so I can shake them around lots to ensure they are covered evenly.
Cook at 160C (320F approx) for 10 minutes, shaking halfway.
Shake well.
Cook at 200C (390F approx) for 10 minutes, shaking halfway.
Season with salt and pepper – I typically use 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.
If you’re adding the honey then drizzle over 15ml of honey, shake well, and air fry at 200C (390F approx) for another 2 minutes.
Do you add water to the air fryer for vegetables?
No. Depending on what I’m cooking vegetable wise I will usually have some sort of dressing or marinade on the vegetables. Also, they naturally contain a lot of water so they won’t dry out either.
Should you boil parsnips before air frying?
I like to now, just because I feel it gives the best results. However, if you want to skip this then just increase the cooking time by 4-7 minutes, depending on the size of your parsnips, and check frequently near the end of the cooking time to ensure they don’t burn.
Is it best to peel parsnips before air frying?
For me it just depends on the outer appearance. If they are very smooth looking then I use a wire brush, scrub well, rinse thoroughly and then just slice and parboil before air frying.
If you have parsnips with a very thick skin you may want to peel, or it may just be your preference. It is definitely optional.
Want to try some different dressings?
Grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top when serving is tasty.
Maple syrup works great instead of honey.
Honey and mustard mixed together works well too.
Why not try out some of my favourite air fryer cookbooks and accessories while you’re here?
How to cook carrots and parsnips together in the air fryer:
Air fryer carrots and parsnips
How to cook delicious carrots and parsnips in the air fryer.
Ingredients
- 500 g carrots
- 500 g parsnips
- 15 ml olive oil 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 3 crushed or chopped garlic cloves
- Fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
-
Heat a pan of water on the hob, with a little salt.
-
Scrub your carrots and parsnips, and rinse well.
-
Peel the parsnips and carrots if you like, but you can skip this step if you’re not bothered.
-
Slice them lengthways into 4 or 6 pieces, depending on the size and length of the parsnips and carrots.
-
Place the carrots and parsnips in the boiling water and boil for 5-6 minutes. Drain well, leave in the colander to steam and then shake them to fluff them up a little.
-
Dress the carrots and parsnips with the oil, garlic cloves and thyme. I like to use a large bowl for this so I can shake them around lots to ensure they are covered evenly.
-
Cook at 160C (320F approx) for 10 minutes, shaking halfway.
-
Shake well.
-
Cook at 200C (390F approx) for 10 minutes, shaking halfway.
-
Season with salt and pepper – I typically use 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.
-
If you’re adding the honey then drizzle over 15ml of honey, shake well, and air fry at 200C (390F approx) for another 2 minutes.
Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.
Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!
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