Sautéed Parsnips plus White Wine and Thyme

A classy, stand-out side dish, sautéed parsnips are flavored with wine, butter, and thyme. They’re the reliable addition to any meal – especially Thanksgiving!

At a glance

What stands out: With only five ingredients, this recipe is so straightforward to mix.

How long it takes: 25 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large skillet with lid
Servings: 6

We're thinking these sautéed parsnips will make an appearance on our Thanksgiving table this year. It’s a toss-up between this recipe and parsnip purée which we love, too.

Or maybe we'll make brown sugar glazed carrots or cheesy Brussels sprouts au gratin. Maybe all of them! Every year we make a menu for our family Thanksgiving and we just know our mom will say, Honey, let’s keep things a little simpler and eliminate a few of those dishes. Nooooo! We're the type that believes that you can never have too many vegetables.

Truthfully, we could stick to stuffing and vegetables and skip the turkey all together. Am we allowed to say that? Maybe we're a closet vegetarian. Just don’t leave the bacon out of the green bean casserole.

PS: Our slow cooker stuffing has become an absolutely necessity for Thanksgiving. We love that it frees up space in the oven and never gets too dry.

About This Recipe

What are parsnips? We bet some of you have ignored these “white carrots” at the grocery store, not knowing what they taste like, or thinking that they would taste like pale carrots.

Parsnips are root vegetables like carrots, but they have a flavor all their own. Some people describe parsnips as sweeter tasting than carrots, with a nutty, earthy flavor. We personally think they have an almost spicy, kind of herby thing going on.

Nutritionally speaking, parsnips bring vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate to the table, along with fiber. They’re rich in antioxidants and low in calories.

Perhaps not the prettiest food in the world, parsnips are one of our favorite things. They’re the reliable unexpected ingredient in soups and pasta, and they also shine on their own. Our mom once made parsnip cupcakes and they were AMAZING.

What You’ll Need

For this recipe, you’ll need four good-sized parsnips, a dry white wine such as chardonnay or sauvignon blanc, olive oil, butter, and thyme. We usually use dried thyme but if you have fresh, that’s even better.

Before you start

Make It Your Own

• Rather have carrots? You can easily substitute carrots for the parsnips, or cook a combination of the two.
• Looking for a dairy-free recipe? Omit the butter and add an extra drizzle of olive oil.

Keeping leftovers

Store leftover parsnips in a covered container. They can be refrigerated for up to four days. Cooked parsnips can be frozen for up to 3 months.

To reheat, warm them in a skillet over low heat until hot. Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave.

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large parsnips, peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter plus 1 teaspoon, divided
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ⅓ cup dry white wine (chardonnay, dry riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio)
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Method

1. Melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add parsnips, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover. Cook for 5 minutes, covered.
2. Stir, cover again and cook for an additional 5 minutes
3. Uncover, increase temperature to medium-high and cook until parsnips are tender and browned.
4. Add wine and continue to cook until wine is almost completely reduced. Add 1 teaspoon butter and melt, sprinkle with dried thyme.
5. Serve immediately.

Notes

Carrots can be substituted for the parsnips, if desired. A combination of carrots and parsnips is nice, too.

Dairy-free alternative: Omit the butter and add an extra drizzle of olive oil.