Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips (Prep Ahead Recipe)

The sweet, sticky honey and orange glaze on these Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips make them extra tasty! You can prepare them in advance, either store in the fridge or freezer, then bake when needed. The perfect side dish for either Christmas Day, a Sunday roast or any weeknight family meal!

I made these for Christmas a few years ago and they are a firm favourite now! No longer solely reserved for a Christmas side dish; they regularly make an appearance for our Sunday roast dinner too.

You can prepare them ahead of time and carry out the final stage just before serving dinner. Saving you time and effort - that’s what we all want isn’t it?! 

How To Prep Ahead For Christmas

Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips can be made ahead and stored until needed. It can be broken down into 4 easy steps:

1. Simply peel and chop your vegetables - the smaller the ‘chunk’, the shorter the cook time. So factor this into your planning - you don't want to end up with mushy vegetables!
2. Roast as per instructions for the initial 30 minutes. Then add your par-cooked vegetables to a freezer bag or airtight container either with or without the glaze. I like to make the glaze ahead of time
3. Because the glaze contains butter, I would recommend microwaving for 30-60 seconds before roasting for the final 20-30 minutes. This ensures that all the glaze is transferred, with the carrots and parsnips, for the final stage. Trust me, you don't want to lose any of that sweet, fragrant and sticky glaze!
4. Add the vegetables to a lined baking tray, distribute evenly in one layer, and roast for the final 20-30 minutes. As mentioned above, if you've cut your carrots and parsnips small then reduce the cook time.

Storage for Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips

• Fridge: up to 4 days
• Freezer: up to 4 weeks

Note: If freezing, take out the day before you plan to cook them and allow them to defrost in the fridge overnight.

Using this method you're reducing your cook time on Christmas Day by half.

Why You’ll Love These Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips

Roasted vegetables in general are the absolute best way to celebrate beautiful, seasonal produce. Winter root vegetables like carrots and parsnips are perfect for Christmas celebrations or paired with a gorgeous Sunday roast like Beef, Chicken or Lamb.

Vegetables are infinitely tastier and more delicious when coated in something, and this sticky orange honey glaze is going to be your Christmas crowd-pleasing best friend!

Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips are such a versatile side dish!

Tips For Making Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips

Cut vegetables into equal sizes (as much as possible) to ensure the carrots and parsnips roast evenly and at the same rate. 

Use a baking tray that is big enough - you want all of the vegetables to be able to lie flat in one layer. Otherwise you’ll get uneven colouring and charring, which can affect aesthetics and flavour.

Ensure your baking paper tucks up the edges of your tray or tin slightly, to contain the glaze when you pour it over the veggies. But let’s get onto ingredients and method for cooking now.

Ingredients 

Carrots

Parsnips

You could arguably use the glaze on any vegetable, such as other root vegetables like celeriac, sweet potatoes, turnip, beetroot and onions. 

Salted Butter: I use Edinburgh Butter Co salted butter in the glaze to help season the vegetables during the cook (much like you would season the water with salt if you were boiling them).

Use unsalted butter if you want to season to taste at the end instead. 

Honey: I love using fresh, local honey in my recipes. Both to support local businesses but also because they have such different flavours dependant on where you source it. You can substitute honey for maple syrup if needed. 

Thyme: I use fresh thyme as I always have it in my fridge during the festive season, I love it! I feel like it offers the perfect herbal note to this dish. You can substitute for 2 teaspoons dried thyme instead, or even rosemary instead.

If you have fresh thyme and are looking for other recipes to use it in, then check out my Hidden Veg Marinara Sauce and Spaghetti Bolognese recipes. 

Orange: orange adds a festive hint to this recipe that makes it perfect for Christmas Day - the juice adds sweetness and the zest offers both fragrance and a hint of bitterness. You could opt for a different citrus fruit like lemon or even lime if you wanted. But you could equally opt to leave it out. 

Keep an eye on the vegetables if you decide to leave it out though, as the higher concentration of honey in the recipe means they may burn easier. 

Salt: I use a textured sea salt like Blackthorn Sea Salt in this recipe, as it adds a salty crunch to each bite that is addictive

Method for Honey Roast Carrots and Parsnips

Peel and chop carrots and parsnips into your desired shape - I like long thick and chunky batons.

NOTE: because I keep my chunks quite ‘big’, the cooking time reflects that. So if you want to speed up the cook time, then cut your vegetables into smaller chunks. They will roast and char quicker when roasted in the oven. 

Add vegetables to greaseproof paper on baking tray - ensure the baking paper has edges/sides (to ensure the glaze stays contained). Spray with oil and sprinkle with sea salt and put them in oven whilst you make the glaze on the hob / stovetop. 

If you want to save oven space (you may be making these on Christmas Day and need an alternate method of cooking) - then either boil or steam the vegetables until ‘al dente’ i.e. soft but still have a bite to them. Then move to next stage.