Roasted Parsnip Fries
I have a love/hate relationship with parsnip. Give me it in a lightly curried soup or a bag of vegetable crisps, and I love it. Mash it and spoon it over my veg-heavy shepherd’s pie and I’m in heaven. But occasionally, the presence of parsnips in a dish just tastes wrong to me.
Not this time. These parsnip fries are dainty skinny little things that are crisp and sweet and a perfect accompaniment to a meat or veggie burger. Roasting them this way dulls the flavour so it’s there, but not overpowering as roast parsnips sometimes can be, making them an excellent way to get some extra root veg into fussier kids as they are strikingly similar to skinny potato fries in flavour.
Oven-roasting rather than frying adds to the healthiness of these beauties, and they are just as delicious on their own as they are paired with a sugar free dip like peach BBQ sauce or sugar free ketchup.
They are a great lunchbox addition, yummy snack, or perfect side. Chop them up into skinny matchsticks and get the kids tossing them in the oil, spreading on a tray and seasoning, so they are involved in the process and get excited about eating them.
I love my sweet potato and swede fries, but these have managed to overtake both as my all-time favourite way of prepping root vegetable fries. I hope they quickly become your family’s favourite, too!
These skinny parsnip fries make an excellent alternative to white potato ones, and add an extra helping of veggies to boot. They are super kid-friendly - most will LOVE them! Sugar free, gluten free, vegan, low carb, paleo.
- 3 large parsnips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- generous couple of pinches of sea salt
- plenty of fresh ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, optional
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Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. With a sharp knife, cut the parsnips into skinny matchstick fry shapes. Toss in the olive oil until all the fries are coated, then spread out on a lined baking tray. Season generously with salt & pepper, and sprinkle over the paprika, if using. Roast for 25-35 minutes, taking them out and mixing every 10 minutes to make sure they cook evenly. Once they are starting to catch on the edges and are cooked through and crispy, take them out and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.
