This Simple Air Fryer Carrots & Parsnips recipe will give you perfectly soft on the inside and crispy on the outside vegetables. A perfect way to speed up cooking veg by doubling up and providing extra variety. Use my easy method and you’ll never have an unevenly cooked or stringy parsnip or carrot again!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please refer to my Disclosures Page for more details.
So I wanted to create a recipe where both carrots and parsnips can be cooked simultaneously. They’re both root vegetables with similar densities and sweet but slightly earthy flavour profiles. So they’re natural bedfellow. But that difference in colour and unmistakeable difference in actual flavour makes then a really lovely combination.
I’ve taken the part-boiled route in this recipe. Whilst I don’t mind a straight up roasted carrot, I don’t think parsnips are great without being boiled first. And as it turns out, I think part boiling a carrot before roasting is the best way forward to.
I’ve kept this recipe simple with just a simple seasoning of salt. It is easy to add a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup in the last few minutes of cooking or use other seasonings if you wish. But this is the base recipe that you can keep simple or gussy up as you please.
How to Serve
Roasted root vegetables are really very versatile. Here in the UK, they are naturally eaten as part of a roast meal. Or any kind of meat, two veg and gravy type meals.
Buy you shouldn’t overlook using them in other cuisines. Classic or not, I like to serve parsnips and carrots with rich stews like beef bourguignon or with creamy pies like my Puff Pastry Pie with Chicken, Ham & Mushroom.
Air Fryer Christmas Dinner Recipes: Turkey, Trimmings & More
For more air fried recipes to make the perfect Christmas dinner (or any roast dinner for that matter), check out this handy post where I’ve collected all my recipe in one easy place.
Everything is included from three different cuts of turkey – breast, crown and whole leg, three types of stuffing – regular packet stuffing, packet stuffing balls and balls with added sausage meat and vegetables like carrots, parsnips, carrots and parsnips(!) and of course sprouts to two types of pigs in blankets – chipolata sized and with cocktail sausages, roast potatoes and a few alternative ideas like bacon wrapped sprouts and roast pork loin.
Ingredients
Carrots
Carrots come in all manner of variations. From fancy coloured bunches with their tops intact to wonky carrots straight from the field and scrubbed carrots from the supermarket. They can be thick or thin, big or small depending on when they’re picked, the time of year and the growing conditions.
You can air fry any carrot but I tend to look for the thicker options if I can. These give lovely big batons and are easy to peel. If you find yourself with thinner carrots, they will still work, they just need cutting less.
The only really important thing is to ensure that all of your carrots are cut to a similar size so they cook evenly.
Parsnips
I like to look for big thick parsnips if at all possible. This is the best way to make them easy to cut and remove the core whilst leaving a good amount of parsnip to roast. However you cut them, the biggest trick again is to make sure all the pieces are as evenly sized as possible. Even if that means cutting each parsnip a little differently.
Removing the core is essential as this is the part of the parsnip that doesn’t cook down very soft and can be stringy to eat. I’m more than aware that many people don’t bother with this stage when roasting parsnips. But I do firmly believe that if they tried it, they’d realise that it really does make a difference. There is a reason that I get amazing feedback whenever I cook them.
Peeling the Vegetables
You don’t technically need to peel carrots or parsnips. The skins are edible providing they’re scrubbed clean first. Older specimens will usually have a thicker skin and younger, fresher root veg will have much thinner skins.
My personal preference is to always peel both carrots and parsnips. I do not enjoy the texture of the skin at all, especially on older veg and even more so when they’re roasted. But this is really a personal preference, if you want to cook them with the skin on, go right ahead.
Oil
Air frying obviously gives great results using much less oil then deep frying. It doesn’t mean that you’ll get great results without using any oil. You wouldn’t roast vegetables in the oven without some oil, so you should also use oil when air frying.
Like with most of my basics and foundation recipes, I’ve used a neutral flavoured vegetable oil for this recipe. If you are serving with a more Mediterranean meal or simply prefer another oil like olive oil, feel free to use that.
By tossing the boiled carrot and parsnips in the oil before adding to the air fryer, we ensure that every single piece is coated. This helps promote more even cooking and browning. Plus it makes sure that the food is being oiled and not the air fryer.
Salt
You’ll likely notice that I’ve used two different types of salt in this recipe. I always keep cheap fine/table salt on hand for salting cooking water. And I always use sea salt flakes like Maldon Salt for actually seasoning the food.
The reason I don’t use Maldon for salting the boiling water is simply a matter of cost. I’m not going to waste the good stuff where the benefits of it’s more delicate and subtle flavour won’t be apparent.
If you want to season your cooking water with sea salt, please feel free. If you only have fine/table salt to season the veg while it’s air frying then you can of course use that. But you should make sure to halve the amount in the recipe. Fine salt is much stronger than sea salt flakes by volume.
Allergen Information
This recipe is free from egg, dairy, gluten and nuts.
Please note that this recipe may contain other allergens not referred to above and any variations suggested have not been tested unless otherwise stated. For more information regarding any dietary information provided on this website, please refer to my Nutritional Disclaimer.
How Long to Air Fry Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Before you air fry, the prepared carrots and parsnips are going to be boiled until tender. This takes around 15-20 minutes using boiling water from the kettle to get things started quickly.
There are many thing that can affect the boiling time. This can include the age, variety and size you’ve cut the vegetables. Use the tip of a sharp knife to check how tender they are. Trust your gut more than fixed timings.
The actual air frying stage takes around 20 minutes. As my air fryer basket is quite full when making this recipe, I do like to turn the vegetables after 15 minutes. Just to make sure every possible outside face is perfectly crispy.
How to Air Fry Carrots & Parsnips From Frozen
You can of course buy both carrots and parsnips from the freezer section but I’m not a fan of using them in this recipe. For starters, the parsnips you buy tend to have a coating on them. Many of these are actually very good but it rather defeats the point of this recipe.
A good way to freeze this recipe is to go through the boiling, oiling and seasoning stages and then air fry for half the cooking time. This will allow a sort of skin to form which will stop both the carrots and parsnips from breaking up or discolouring. Free freeze the vegetables spaced out on a tray then more to an airtight bag for longer term freezing.
If frozen in this way, you can then finish the cooking process directly from frozen without adding any more oil. Cook for 15 minutes from frozen.
Leftovers – Storage & Reheating
If I’m making more carrots and parsnips than I’m intending to serve for that imminent meal, I will take out any I’m going to be keeping half way through cooking. That way when I reheat them for another use, I’ll actually be finishing the cooking process rather than just reheating.
The reason for this is that reheating can dry out the vegetables a little. But not so much that you shouldn’t do it. Fully cooked and then cooled carrots and parsnips will take about 5 minutes in a preheated air fryer to be ready to serve.
You can also freeze any fully cooked leftovers but again if you can freeze them half cooked, that is better.
Common Air Fryer Questions – A Brief Guide to Air Frying
- What exactly is an air fryer?
- What are the benefits of using an air fryer?
- Are all air fryers the same?
- Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
- Do air fryers need to be pre-heated?
- What is the best temperature to air fry at?
- What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
- Can food be cooked from frozen in an air fryer?
- Can I reheat food in an air fryer?
- Are air fryer liners a good idea?
The Air Fried Feast Community
Come on over to Facebook and join my community discussing all things air fryer. Get involved in sharing your experiences and trials, help out others and find out what wonderful things everyone is cooking in their air fryers!
What Exactly is an Air Fryer?
Very simply, an air fryer is a small convection (fan) oven. The benefit is that the hot air is circulated all around the food being cooked which speeds up the cooking time and cooks the food more evenly.
What are the Benefits of Using an Air Fryer?
Size, time and energy usage. Air fryers are ideal for cooking smaller quantities. Heating up a space that the food just fits into requires less energy and means that the heat source is much closer to the food. Combining these two things can speed up the cooking time.
Are all air fryers the same?
Nope! The term air fryer is now used very broadly. I consider there to be 4 main types:
Basket Air Fryers
These are what I would consider to be the most common, especially in the UK. A boxy type unit has a pull out drawer/basket. Food isn’t usually visible whilst cooking.
Some larger models have two drawers so different items can be cooked at different temperatures or for different times.
This is the type that you’ll see in the images in this recipe. I mostly use a Cosori Lite 3.8L (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal. It isn’t an overly expensive or fancy model.
I’ve also recommended to several friends and family the model with a slightly larger basket. This is the Cosori 4.7L (CAF-L501) with a 4.7 litre basket. The unit is no larger than the 3.8 litre model on the outside but does have a larger internal basket capacity. I’ve since bought this version to use for some recipes where my smaller model was just too small. I’ll always note this in the recipe.
Rotary Air Fryers
Round air fryers with a paddle in the centre that rotates to move the food. This is the type I used for years – the most common is a Tefal Actifry.
Rotary types are not usually good for recipes where the food is breaded, glazed, likely to break up or in a tray/container. They do however make the best chips and roasted veg.
My 2 in 1 version like the one I’ve linked also has a rotating tray for things that could be broken up by a paddle, but the height clearance with the lid isn’t deep enough to use it to cook some items like sausage rolls. I’ve now actually retired by Actifry in favour of having my two basket type fryers.
Mini Oven Air Fryers
These usually have a glass door, shelves and overall are really quite large. You can cook quite a decent quantity of food in them so are best if regularly cooking for multiple people. They often come with extra features like a rotisserie spit or kebab skewers.
Multicookers with Air Fryer Functions
Some like Ninja 11 in 1 and some of the earlier versions with a few less functions, have an air fryer option. They mostly operate the same as a basket fryer but the basket drops in the top rather than sliding in like a drawer.
Some electric pressure cookers like Instant Pots can also air fry when used with a specific lid.
Is an air fryer always better to use than an oven?
As much as I do love air frying, the honest answer to this is no. And the more detailed answer is that it will always depend on what you’re cooking, how much of it you’re cooking and what type and size of air fryer you have.
Once you need to cook in more than 2 batches, it often makes more sense to use an oven. If you already have the oven on to cook other items, it may make more sense to throw one more item in rather than using an additional appliance.
I don’t think either method is often necessarily better than the other. The important point to note is that there is absolutely no difference in the finished product.
Do Air Fryers Need to Be Pre-Heated?
The answer to this is rather annoying – it depends. It depends entirely on your model and type of air fryer. The best advice I can offer is to check your manual and follow their guidance. My Cosori models have a preheat function. I press a button and it heats at 205c/400f for 4 minutes.
It’s also worth noting that regardless of whether you are supposed to pre-heat or not, if you are cooking in batches, it is quite likely that anything after the first batch will cook a little quicker because of the retained heat. It is best to check on them before the cooking time is completed.
What is the best temperature to Air Fry at?
It will always depend on what you are cooking and from what state. All of my air fryer recipes don’t use temperatures above 200c/390f because many of the most common fryers in the UK don’t go above this. Mine goes to 230c/450f and I use this temperature a lot but it is no help for me to share recipes which many people can’t use.
What setting is best to use? Air fry, bake, dehydrate, etc…
Not all air fryers have different settings like this. When they do it usually relates to the fan speed. The default setting to use will always be “air fry” so unless something else is specifically stated in the recipe, always use the air fry option.
There are other air fryers that have an additional heating element which cooks from underneath rather than just the top. Just as with the other settings, unless you are using a recipe which states to use a second heating element, stick with just using the top down air fry option.
Of course if and when you become more confident with air frying, using recipes and the settings of your air fryer, you can start adapting them to suit.
Can Food Be Cooked From Frozen In An Air Fryer?
Absolutely! To cook from frozen you usually will need to reduce the cooking temperature and increase the time to make sure your food is cooked right through to the middle.
It is best to check my individual recipes for cooking from frozen advice as some items are a little different. And there are occasionally exceptions to the rule.
Can I Reheat Food In An Air Fryer?
Yes. As a general rule I reheat food for roughly 1/3 of the original cooking time at the same temperature. Or at 10 degrees lower for half the time for larger items.
Are Air Fryer Liners a Good Idea?
Unless otherwise stated, I do not use liners when air frying. Basket and rotary type air fryers are designed to be used without liners. Mini oven types will generally require some kind of tray like with a regular large oven although most come with crisper racks to use.
There are many air fryer liners available including quite thick silicone ones. These will affect the cooking times and possibly temperatures of your cooking/baking. I also don’t like how cooking juices are prevented from dripping through the basket rack. This can stop food from crisping all the way around.
When I do want to collect the juices, I mostly use some foil, or occasionally a foil tray which can be washed and reused.
If you do prefer to use them, once you have got a feel for how they affect your cooking and baking, you may need to make adjustments to the recipe accordingly.
More Air Fryer Recipes
All my recipes with instructions for how to cook or bake them in the air fryer can be found in my Air Fryer Recipe Index.
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you try making this recipe – I want to know what you think and if you made any substitutions, how did it turn out?
Still Have Questions?
Simple! Just contact me and I will do my best to help as quickly as I am able. Head over to my Contact Me page, any of my social media channels or post a comment at the bottom of this page and I’ll see what I can do.
Pin Simple Air Fryer Carrots & Parsnips For Later
Hit one of the share buttons to save this page to your Pinterest boards so you can come back and find it at anytime!
Keep Up to Date
Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to my newsletter and avoid missing out on any of my newest and bonus content. Don’t worry, I promise not to spam you or bombard you too often. Plus you’ll receive a copy of my FREE 7 Day International Meal Plan!
Also please don’t forget to follow me over on my social media channels over at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. I love to interact with my followers and I’d love you to share my content with your friends too.
The Recipe
Simple Air Fryer Carrots & Parsnips Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 350 g Carrots
- 350 g Parsnips
- 2 tsp Fine Salt
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tsp Sea Salt Flakes
Instructions
- Put a full kettle onto boil and grab a medium saucepan. Or put a saucepan of water onto a high heat.
- Top, tail and peel 350g Carrots and 350g Parsnips. Put them into the pan covered with cold water to preserve them while you continue to work,
- Cut each carrot in half horizontally to make two shorter pieces of carrot. Split each in half lengthways and then cut into batons. I usually find the thicker pieces get cut into 3 an the smaller pieces into two but this will depend on the size of your carrots. Aim for 1cm thickness with the most important thing being that they are evenly sized.
- Quarter each parsnip lengthwise. If the thin end is especially thin, cut this off and set it aside first.
- Hold each quarter upright and use a sharp knife to cut the core out. You will be able to see the colour difference between the stringy core and the tender parsnip. Be sparing and try not to cut any flesh away with the core.
- Depending on the size of the parsnips, you can cut them down further if needed. You are looking for pieces around the size of, and a little longer than an adult thumb.
- Drain the cold water from the pan cover with boiling water. Add 2 tsp Fine Salt and bring the water to a boil over a high heat. Allow them to boil for around 20 minutes until the parsnips and carrots are just fork tender.
- When the vegetables are just cooked through, thoroughly strain them. Leave them to sit in the colander/sieve for a minute to steam dry a little.
- If your air fryer has a preheat setting, start this now.
- Tip the parsnips and carrot back into the pan and drizzle over roughly 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil and sprinkle on 1 tsp Sea Salt Flakes.
- Carefully move the veg into the air fryer basket. I like to use tongs for this to prevent them from breaking up. Try to aim for one layer.
- Cook at 200c for a total of 20 minutes.
- Turn after roughly 15 minutes, especially if the carrots and parsnips are quite tightly packed in the air fryer.
- The vegetables should be golden and crispy – if you want them to be crispier, cook for a little longer until you are happy.
Notes
- Portion Size – The portion size given assumes that the carrots/parsnips are being served as a main side. If wanting to serve as part of a larger meal like a roast dinner with multiple side options, Halve the recipe (or consider the portion number doubled).
- This recipe is tested in a Cosori Lite (CAF-LI401S) with a 3.8 litre capacity. The square(ish) shaped basket is 21cm x 21cm and 24cm on the diagonal.
- Not all models advise preheating is required. Please follow the recommended instructions for your model. Mine has a specific preheat setting which is 4 minutes at 205c.
- For this recipe, I managed to fit in 750g of prepared root veg with just enough room for air flow but this is really the maximum in an air fryer this size.
- As all air fryer models are a little different, you may find that you can fit more or less in at a time. Some models include stacking shelves which will increase capacity.
- Required cooking times and temperatures can also vary between models and brands. If you know that your air fryer runs a little hotter than most recipes suggest, use a lower temperature. And vice versa. Equally if you find that food cooks more quickly in your machine than instructions usually state, reduce the cooking time (or check it earlier) and vice versa.
James says
So simple & turned out perfectly!
Lesley says
I love roasted veg and this was such an easy way to cook them. So much quicker than the oven.
Dave says
Thanks for this handy recipe. Made this for Sunday lunch, perfect.