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Ready for something a just wee bit more flavor-forward than boring ol' mashed potatoes? This roasted garlic parsnip purée recipe basically makes itself while your kitchen smells like roasted garlic horseradish heaven.
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Caramelized garlic roasted until it's practically candy, blended with sweet, starchy parsnips and just enough plant milk and olive oil to make it crazy-smooth, dollopable, or spooned-straight-from-the-blender-able.
I'm pretty sure nothing in the history of clouds has made a more heavenly bed onto which you can ladle mushroom gravy, vegan brown gravy, or a fat pile of roasted Brussels sprouts and carrots all over.
Think of this as vegan mashed potatoes' more cultured cousin-the one who listens to white labeled Japanese jazz vinyl, and probably hosts a supper club out of their loft.
Subtly sweet and garlicky with almost no effort.
Honestly, I always WANT to "jump to the recipe", but reading the step-by-step on this blog makes cooking these recipes foolproof. Definitely worth the time to read. And they make me laugh.
Jump to:
🥰Why you'll adore this parsnip purée recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all of my vegan Thanksgiving recipes, this bad boy contains zero butter, heavy cream, or chicken stock. It's totally cholesterol-free, and is a gluten-free vegan recipe your whole team will flip out about (uh, in a good way).
🍽 Multipurpose Magic: Serve it under tofu schnitzel, fold it into pasta, or just eat it like mashed potatoes that went to finishing school.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like all of my vegan recipes, this one's been perfected with feedback from hundreds of recipe testers, and it seriously slaps because of it.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🧄 Parsnip purée Ingredients
Parsnips
Parsnips are naturally sweet and starchy, which means they purée like a dream as long as you've peeled them before cooking. Try to pick medium-sized parsnips, as the very large ones can sometimes be fibrous and will not puree as smoothly because of it.
Garlic
Roasted garlic is the flavor backbone of this purée, bringing sweet, mellow depth without any raw-garlic bite. You want firm, plump cloves with no sprouts. If the cloves are on the smaller side, you may want to shorten the roasting time so they don't get hard or dark on you.
Horseradish
Prepared horseradish lifts this purée right out of basic AF sweet-and-savory monotony. Use a variety that's just horseradish, vinegar, and salt-no beets, mayo, or other creamy add-ins. If it's looking super wet in the jar, give it a pass through a fine mesh strainer before blending so your purée stays thick and plush, and not thinned out like a sad soup starter.
Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk
This is your cream substitute that keeps things vegan and still rich and creamy. Soy milk is my personal top choice, but oat milk and almond milk are also fine. Do not mess with any milk that is sweetened or (shudder) vanilla-flavored unless you want a mash that smells like all of the girls who attended my bar mitzvah.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
A tablespoon or two of extra-virgin olive oil goes a long way. If you're chasing a more neutral taste, avocado oil or refined coconut oil are great subs.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Truffle Parsnip Purée
Fold in 2 tablespoons of truffle oil at the end. Fancy pants mode: activated.
Preserved Lemon Parsnip Purée
Cut back slightly on the salt and stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped preserved lemon. Swirl in a spoonful of zhoug or tarator into the finished puree. This makes a killer side to serve harissa cauliflower or Moroccan lentils over.
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📖 How to make parsnip puree
If you're already hangry, go ahead and scroll to the recipe card. But if you want the play-by-play with flavor-boosting tips, keep reading.
Step One
Garls In Charge:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Arrange the garlic cloves on a parchment-lined baking pan, drizzle with olive oil, and roast for 17-19 minutes until tender and lightly golden.
Step Two
Sim Simmer, Who's Got The Keys To My Bimmer:
While the garlic roasts, place chopped parsnips in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until fork-tender.
Step Three
Drainspotting:
Drain the parsnips in a colander. Discard the water.
Step Four
Garlie and The Parsnip Factory:
Transfer parsnips and roasted garlic to a food processor or food mill. Add the prepared horseradish, plant-based milk, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt.
Step Five
Smooth Operator:
Process for 2 minutes in your food processor until totally smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
Step Six
Thyme Bandits:
Transfer the puree to an attractive serving dish and top with thyme sprigs, a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, and a coarse grind of black pepper before serving.
💡Serving Ideas
This roasted garlic parsnip purée plays nicely with all the vegan Christmas recipes, Sunday roasts, or family faves on your Thanksgiving table.
Pile it up under slices of vegan turkey stuffed with vegan cornbread stuffing or vegan chestnut stuffing. It ain't too shabby as a side to serve vegan ham or vegan corned beef on either.
But, listen here: If you attempt not to put maple bourbon cranberry sauce and Southern candied yams on your table, I am 100% going to swing through your windows on a rope in tactical gear and proceed to cry to myself quietly by your fireplace, nursing a mug of vegan eggnog. Don't test me.
All the holiday vibes you can handle: serve your parsnip puree with onion gravy, roasted cauliflower steaks, and a hearty bowl of mushroom bourguignon.
👉Top tips
- Boil Until Actually Tender: To get a smooth and creamy puree, you want those parsnips to fall apart under fork pressure. Undercooked parsnips will give you lumpy purée. That being said, you don't want them waterlogged either.
- Process Until Ultra-Smooth: This isn't the time for chunky farmhouse vibes. Blend until it's whipped, scraping down the bowl a few times to make sure nothing's hiding. A food mill will incorporate even more air into the puree, which is why it's my weapon of choice for making dairy-free mashed potatoes too.
- Adjust Salt at the End: Taste your purée once it's fully blended. Depending on the parsnips' natural sweetness, you might want more or less salt, but remember, if you are topping this with gravy that that will add more salt too, so don't go nuts.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Roasting adds deeper flavor and a touch of caramelization. Just keep in mind the purée will be thicker and slightly less juicy. Steaming is a great option too, and may result in more flavorful puree, though it takes nearly twice as long for the parsnips to cook internally.
It sure is. Chilled purée makes an excellent base for harissa roasted carrots or Turkish white bean salad.
It slays alongside pan-fried shreds of seitan, tofu schnitzel, or that stuffed tofu turkey roast with crispy skin. Basically, anything with umami or gravy gets better with this on the plate.
For the love of texture, please please please DO NOT freeze this purée. It's pretty darned effortless to make fresh, right? So don't set yourself up for a parsnip ice pop that will make you sad.
❄️ Refrigerate:
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
Warm gently in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.
⚡️Microwave Reheating:
Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between rounds until warmed through.
🍁 You'll adore these vegan holiday recipes too:
Parsnip Puree Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 ½ teaspoon olive oil
- 3 lbs. parsnips peeled and cut into 1-inch sections
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish (optional)
- ½ cup unsweetened plant-based milk
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Place the garlic cloves on a parchment paper-lined baking pan, drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 17-19 minutes until tender and lightly golden.
- While the garlic roasts, place the parsnips in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 20 minutes, until very tender when pierced with a fork.
- Drain the cooked parsnips in a colander, discarding the water.
- Transfer the parsnips to a food mixer or a food processor along with the roasted garlic. Add the plant-based milk, olive oil, and salt. Process until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Optionally garnish with thyme sprigs, a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of coarse-ground black pepper before serving.
Notes
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Paige Davis says
I love horseradish, but yet I’ve never paired it with parsnips. Decided to make this dish and we enjoyed it very much. This recipe is full of flavor and kind of different and fun since parsnips are underrated. I’d like to make this every fall since it could go with so many different meals.
Tim says
Subtly sweet and garlicky with almost no effort.
Honestly, I always WANT to "jump to the recipe", but reading the step-by-step on this blog makes cooking these recipes foolproof. Definitely worth the time to read. And they make me laugh.
Samantha says
Yum!! Thank you