Both have enough natural sugar to caramelise at the edges and enough body to hold their shape, so they cover parsnip's browning and bulk. Carrot can go in exactly as parsnip would, but cut sweet potato into larger chunks or add it 10–15 minutes later so it does not soften before the other vegetables are done.
You're making a blended soup and parsnip is there to give it a thick, velvety body.
Sweet potato has the starch to thicken and the sweetness to round out the soup, though it turns it orange. Celeriac keeps the soup pale and gives a similar earthy, nutty flavour, but it has less starch, so swap about a quarter of it for potato to get the same thickness.
You're boiling and mashing parsnip, on its own or mixed with potato, as a side.
Celeriac gives the closest savoury, nutty flavour and a silky mash, especially with a quarter of it replaced by potato for body. Sweet potato brings the sweetness and a creamy texture, while potato gives the right fluffy body but a plainer taste, so it suits a mixed mash where parsnip was only part of it.
You're making a stew, casserole or braise and parsnip chunks are there to add bulk and a little sweetness.
Both hold their shape through long cooking, which is the main job here. Carrot also supplies the sweetness, while swede adds a firmer, more peppery bite and needs the full cooking time to soften.
You're grating raw parsnip into a cake, loaf or muffins to keep the crumb moist.
Carrot does the same moisture and bulk job in a cake batter and has a similar sweetness, which is why parsnip cakes are usually adapted from carrot cakes. It is a little wetter than parsnip, so squeeze the grated carrot lightly before weighing it in.
You're making a dish where parsnip is the star, such as honey-roasted parsnips, parsnip crisps or a parsnip soup named for it.
Nothing really replaces it here.
Here the sweet, nutty, faintly spicy flavour of parsnip is the reason for the dish, and no other vegetable has it. Carrot or sweet potato will give you a good dish, but it will be a carrot or sweet potato dish, so treat it as a different recipe.
What Parsnip does in a recipe
flavour · primary — Parsnip has a sweet, nutty and faintly spicy taste, close to nutmeg or celery, that sweetens further when it is roasted or after frost.
structure · primary — Its dense, starchy flesh holds its shape in a roasting tray or stew and turns fluffy and creamy when boiled and mashed.
browning & colour · secondary — Its natural sugars caramelise in a hot oven, giving dark golden edges and a sticky, slightly chewy surface.
thickening · secondary — When simmered and blended, its starch and fibre give soups a thick, velvety body without needing cream or flour.
moisture · secondary — Grated raw into cakes and loaves, it releases water as it bakes and keeps the crumb moist, much as carrot does.
Sweet potato matches the starchy body, sweetness and browning of parsnip but cooks faster and breaks down sooner.
The catch: Cut it into larger chunks than the recipe says for parsnip, or add it 10–15 minutes later, so it does not collapse before the rest is cooked.
Swede holds its shape and adds bulk like parsnip, but it is less sweet and has a peppery, cabbage-like edge.
Covers
structure, thickening
Misses
flavour, browning & colour
Taste
More bitter and mustardy, with less sweetness.
Texture
Firmer and denser, and it needs longer cooking to soften.
Looks
Pale yellow-orange instead of creamy white.
Best for
stews and casseroles, mash, pasties
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
potato
Close enough· probably in your pantry
100 g for every 100 g parsnip
Potato supplies the starchy body and thickening, but it has almost none of parsnip's sweetness or spicy flavour.
Covers
structure, thickening
Misses
flavour, browning & colour, moisture
Taste
Mild and plain, so the dish loses its sweet, nutty character.
Texture
Fluffier and starchier, and it can turn gluey if blended hard in soup.
Looks
Similar pale colour, with lighter browning when roasted.
Best for
mash, blended soups, stews
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
turnip
Close enough
100 g for every 100 g parsnip
Turnip adds bulk in stews and soups, but it is watery, sharp and low in sugar, so it barely browns.
Covers
structure
Misses
flavour, browning & colour, thickening
Taste
Peppery and slightly bitter instead of sweet.
Texture
Softer and wetter, with a less creamy mash.
Looks
White flesh like parsnip, but it stays pale when roasted.
Best for
stews and casseroles, soups
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
Jerusalem artichoke
Close enough
100 g for every 100 g parsnip
Jerusalem artichoke has a nutty sweetness and roasts and purées well, but its flavour is distinctly artichoke-like.
Covers
flavour, browning & colour, thickening
Misses
structure
Taste
Nutty and sweet, with a smoky, artichoke-heart flavour.
Texture
Creamy when puréed, but it collapses more readily in a long braise.
Looks
Beige, knobbly pieces that brown well.
Best for
blended soups, roast vegetable trays
Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free
Tried this swap? How did it work?
Commonly tried, but skip these
People reach for these, and they let you down.
daikon
Skip it
People reach for daikon because it is a long white root that looks like parsnip, but it is mostly water, so it releases liquid, will not mash or thicken a soup, and does not caramelise in the oven.
Tried this swap? How did it work?
When to buy the real thing
The recipe is built around parsnip alone, such as honey-glazed roast parsnips or parsnip chips.
Instead: Buy parsnips from a supermarket or greengrocer, or cook a recipe written for carrot or sweet potato instead.
You're making a parsnip cake or loaf where the parsnip flavour is what sets it apart from a carrot cake.
Instead: Make a carrot cake recipe as written, since it is balanced for carrot's extra water, and save the parsnip cake for when you have parsnips.
You need a pale, creamy white soup or purée to go with fish or a dinner-party plate.
Instead: Use celeriac with a little potato, which stays white, rather than carrot or sweet potato, which turn it orange.
Rescue a swap gone wrong
The sweet potato has broken down into mush in the stew or roasting tray.
Why: Sweet potato cooks faster than parsnip and softens sooner, so it overcooked in the time set for parsnip.
Fix: In a stew, stir the softened pieces through to thicken the sauce, and next time cut the sweet potato larger or add it 10–15 minutes later.
The soup made with potato instead of parsnip has turned thick, sticky and gluey.
Why: Blending releases potato starch, and hard or long blending in a high-speed blender overworks it into a gluey paste.
Can't be fixed — next time: Thinning with hot stock loosens it a little, but the gluey texture will not fully go, so next time blend potato soups briefly with a stick blender or use sweet potato or celeriac.
The celeriac mash is thin and watery instead of thick and fluffy.
Why: Celeriac has less starch than parsnip and holds more water after boiling.
Fix: Return the mash to the pan over low heat and stir for a few minutes to drive off water, then beat in some mashed potato to give it body.
The roasted swede or turnip has come out pale, bitter and barely browned.
Why: Swede and turnip have far less sugar than parsnip, so they do not caramelise the same way, and crowding the tray steams them.
Fix: Spread the pieces out, turn the oven up and roast them longer, and toss them in a little honey or maple syrup for the last 10 minutes; if an overseas recipe says a tablespoon, note that an Australian tablespoon holds 20 ml, not 15 ml, so go slightly light on the honey.
Key numbers
Water
about 80%Parsnip is drier than carrot, which is why it roasts crisper and mashes thicker.
Total carbohydrate
about 18%Much of this is starch, which gives parsnip its fluffy mash and soup-thickening body.
Sugars
about 5%This sugar content drives the caramelised edges when roasted.
Fibre
about 5%The fibre is concentrated in the woody core of large parsnips, which can be cut out if tough.
Protein
about 1%Protein is low, so parsnip contributes little to structure in baking beyond bulk and moisture.
Differences between countries
Applies to Australia
Opposite seasons (Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Canada)
Parsnips are a cool-season crop, so they are at their cheapest and sweetest in late autumn and winter. In Australia and New Zealand that is roughly May to August, while in the UK, US and Canada it is roughly October to March.
Applies to Australia
Swede is called rutabaga (United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand)
The swede listed as a substitute is sold as rutabaga in the US and Canada. In Canada it is also often labelled or called turnip, so check that you are buying the large yellow-fleshed root and not the smaller white turnip.
Other substitutes go by different names (United States, Canada, United Kingdom)
Celeriac is usually sold as celery root and Jerusalem artichoke as sunchoke in the US and Canada. Daikon is often labelled mooli in the UK.
Recipes call for parsnips by the pound (United States, Canada)
US and Canadian recipes and price tags usually give parsnips by the pound, which is about 450 g. Australian, New Zealand and UK recipes use grams and kilograms.
Where to buy it
Applies to Australia
Australia · easy to find
supermarket fruit and veg section, greengrocers
They are sold loose or in bags year-round, but are cheaper and better in winter.
New Zealand · easy to find
supermarket produce section, greengrocers
Look for firm, medium-sized roots, which have smaller woody cores than very large ones.
United Kingdom · easy to find
supermarket vegetable aisle, greengrocers
They are stocked all year and are especially plentiful around Christmas, when roast parsnips are a standard side.
United States · moderate to find
supermarket produce section
They are often sold in bags near the carrots, though smaller stores may not carry them.
Canada · easy to find
supermarket produce section
They are usually sold in bags beside the carrots and other root vegetables.
Questions people ask
Is a parsnip the same as a white carrot?
No, a parsnip is a different vegetable, although both belong to the same plant family. Parsnip is starchier and drier than carrot, with a nutty, faintly spicy flavour, while white carrots taste like mild orange carrots and do not mash or thicken soup the same way.
Do I need to peel parsnips and remove the core?
Peeling is usually worth it, because the skin can be tough and slightly bitter, although young, thin parsnips only need a good scrub. In large parsnips the centre core is often woody and fibrous, so quarter them lengthways and cut it out before roasting or boiling.
Can you eat parsnip raw?
Yes, parsnip can be eaten raw, and it is most often grated into cakes, loaves or slaws. Raw parsnip is firmer and more fibrous than raw carrot, so grate it finely or slice it very thinly.
How much does one parsnip weigh?
A medium parsnip weighs roughly 100–150 g, and large ones can be 250 g or more. If a recipe says 'two parsnips', weigh them, because large parsnips can easily double the amount the recipe intended.
Can I leave parsnip out of a soup?
You can, but the soup will be thinner and less sweet, because parsnip's starch is doing the thickening. Replace it with the same weight of potato, sweet potato or celeriac, or simmer the soup longer and use a little less stock.
Is swede the same as turnip?
No, swede is larger, with yellow-orange flesh and a sweeter, denser texture than the smaller white turnip. They are easily confused because swede is sold as rutabaga in the US and Canada, and is also commonly called turnip in Canada.
Where Parsnip comes from
Parsnip is a root vegetable of the carrot family, native to Europe and western Asia. It was widely eaten in Europe as a sweet, starchy staple before potatoes and cane sugar became common.
Parsnip is usually dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free — check the label, and see the disclaimer.