A modern take on the traditional Jewish dish tzimmes. This roasted carrot and parsnips dish makes the perfect fall side dish. It is traditionally served for Rosh Hashanah, and is delicious any time of the year.
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
This updated tzimmes recipe has a modern twist you will love!
Tzimmes is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish side dish frequently served for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year), Passover, and other holidays. The dish is a sweet stew made with root veggies like carrots and sweet potatoes with honey, brown sugar, and dried fruit like dried figs or apricots.
This traditional side dish sometimes turns out soft and soggy, so I've updated the recipe by roasting the vegetables instead which caramelizes the veggies and gives them better texture and flavor. The updated parsnip and carrot tzimmes has a nice sweetness, but isn’t overly sweet like the traditional dish can sometimes be.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Updated classic. The essence of traditional tzimmes with a modern twist. This dish has an improved flavor and texture over the classic recipe.
- Perfect amount of sweetness. Eating sweet foods is traditional for Rosh Hashanah to symbolize the sweet new year. This recipe has natural sweetness from carrots, dates, and date syrup, but it isn’t overly sweet.
- The perfect side dish. This easy side dish is great for the Jewish holidays, and works well for shabbat dinner too. The colorful vegetables make for a pretty presentation on the plate.
- Vegan/vegetarian - This savory and sweet dish is vegan as written as long as you use date syrup instead of honey.
Dana’s note: To give this dish an update, I roasted multicolored carrots and parsnips in the oven to give the root vegetables a wonderful caramelized flavor and fresh roasted texture. Then I topped them with Middle Eastern flavors like baharat seasoning, date syrup, tahini, and dates. If you don’t have all these ingredients on hand, I have suggested substitutes in the ingredients sections of this post. This dish is bursting with flavor and goes well with chicken, beef, and lamb dishes.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the recipe card below for a complete ingredient list and measurements.
Jump to Recipe- Rainbow carrots - If you don’t have access to multi-colored carrots, all orange carrots work well too. The rainbow carrots make such a pretty presentation.
- Parsnips - Adds a nice variation to the dish, and are delicious roasted. If you don’t have any, substitute with more carrots or add sweet potatoes, which are commonly found in a traditional tzimmes dish.
- Orange juice - This dish is great with fresh squeezed orange juice. Juice from 1 orange equals about ¼ cup of juice.
- Date syrup - This syrup is lightly sweet. You can substitute with an equal amount of honey.
- Dates - You can substitute with another dried fruit like dried apricots or prunes, or try a combination.
- Mint - This is optional, but adds a nice flavor. Can substitute with cilantro or fresh parsley.
- Tahini - The tahini sauce provides a nice contrast of flavor and texture, but if you don’t have it, the dish is good without it too.
- Baharat seasoning - A popular Middle Eastern spice blend with ground cumin, cloves, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom, paprika, and black pepper. I like the Sadaf baharat seasoning mix. Each brand varies slightly in exact ingredients and ratios. You can substitute with similar blends such as ras el hanout or Middle Eastern 7 Spices. You can also make your own spice blend with baharat seasoning recipe by Beth Lee at OMG!Yummy.
Step by Step Photos
See the recipe card below for complete directions.
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ROAST
Toss vegetables, orange juice, oil, and date syrup together with baharat seasoning. Roast veggies until tender.
ADD
While the vegetables are roasting, add ingredients for tahini drizzle in a mixing bowl.
MIX
Mix lemon tahini sauce until well combined.
SERVE
Drizzle tzimmes with the tahini sauce, and top with pomegranate seeds, sliced dates, and fresh mint.
Make ahead
To make this dish ahead of time, prep the vegetables the day before. You can also make the tahini sauce a day in advance and store in the refrigerator. Toss together and roast right before serving for optimal results.
Storage and Reheating
How to store: You can store leftovers in the fridge covered for 3-4 days.
How to freeze: While you can typically freeze traditional tzimmes, I do not recommend freezing this roasted version as the vegetables will lose their texture.
Reheating directions: To reheat, cover and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 10 minutes. Once warm, uncover and heat at 400°F (205°C) for about 5-10 minutes to re-crisp a bit. Then before serving drizzle with tahini and garnishes.
What to serve with tzimmes
This updated version of tzimmes goes well with a chicken or beef main course such as Braised Brisket and Za'atar Chicken. Serve it alongside Broccoli Kugel, Sweet Noodle Kugel, or Mini Potato Kugel.
- Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken and Vegetables
- Broccoli Kugel
- Easy Carrot Soufflé (Dairy-Free, Parve and Passover versions)
- Braised Brisket with Onion Gravy
- Shaved Brussels Sprouts and Parmesan Salad
- Italian Herb Chicken With Wine and Garlic
- Sweet Noodle Kugel (parve / pareve)
- Almost Flourless French Chocolate Cake
Other Jewish holiday recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Tzimmes is a Yiddish word that means “fuss”, as in to make a big tzimmes over something or to make a big fuss.
Sweet carrots and other sweet foods are eaten on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a sweet year ahead.
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Recipe
Roasted Tzimmes Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
Tzimmes
- 2 pounds rainbow carrots peeled and cut into 3” spears
- 1 pound parsnip about 4 large, peeled and cut into 3” spears
- 1 red onion peeled and cut into medium semi circles
- ¼ cup orange juice juice of about 1 fresh orange
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons date syrup or honey divided
- 1 tablespoon Baharat seasoning
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 8 pitted dates sliced in quarters
- pomegranate seeds optional garnish
- fresh mint torn into pieces, optional garnish
Tahini Drizzle
- ¼ cup tahini stirred
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice juice of about ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the chopped carrots, parsnips, and onion on the baking sheet. Pour orange juice, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons date syrup (or honey) over the vegetables. Then sprinkle with Baharat seasoning and salt over the vegetable mixture. Toss to evenly distribute the ingredients. Then spread the vegetables out into an single, flat layer.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and roast in the oven for 30 minutes; then uncover and roast for about another 25 minutes. Vegetables are ready when they are flecked with golden brown and are soft when pierced with a fork. If vegetables get browned before they are fully soft, cover again until tender.
- While the vegetables are roasting, make the tahini drizzle. Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and water in a medium bowl until smooth. Add more water if needed to thin out the mixture.
- When the tzimmes comes out of the oven, taste for sweetness, and if desired, drizzle an additional 1 tablespoon date syrup (or honey), and toss to coat.
- When ready to serve, drizzle the tzimmes with the tahini drizzle, and decorate with sliced dates, pomegranate seeds (optional), and fresh mint (optional).
Notes
- Sweet Potato variation: Reduce the carrots and parsnips to 1 lb each, and add 1 lb of sweet potato cut into thick spears; about 1 large sweet potato.
- Garnish: The pomegranate and mint garnishes are optional, but I recommend them because they add great color and flavor.
- Make ahead: To make this dish ahead of time, prep the vegetables the day before. You can also make the tahini sauce a day in advance, and store in the refrigerator. Toss together and roast right before serving for optimal results.
- How to store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for 3-4 days.
- How to freeze: While you can typically freeze traditional tzimmes, I do not recommend freezing this roasted version as the vegetables will lose their texture.
- How to reheat: To reheat, cover and warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 10 minutes. Once warm, uncover and heat at 400°F (205°C) for about 5-10 minutes to re-crisp a bit. Then before serving drizzle with tahini and garnishes.
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