Cassava vs Parsnip – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing cassava to parsnips, we picked the parsnips.

Why?

This one wasn’t close!

For any unfamiliar with cassava, it’s also called manioc or yuca/yucca, and it’s a tuber that can be used a lot like sweet potato. It’s popular in S. America, often in recipes that aren’t the healthiest (deep-fried chunky “cassava chips” are popular in Brazil, for example, and farofa, a flour made from cassava, is less healthy even than refined white flour from wheat), but today we’re going to judge it on its own merit—since after all, almost anything can be deep-fried and many things can be turned into flour, but it doesn’t mean we have to do that.

In terms of macros, cassava has more than 2x the carbs while parsnips have nearly 3x the fiber, making for a very clear win for parsnips.

In the category of vitamins, cassava has more of vitamins B3 and C, while parsnips have more of vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, B9, E, and K, with very large margins of difference in the latter two cases. Another overwhelming win for parsnips.

Looking at minerals, cassava is not higher in any minerals, while parsnips have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc; a very one-sided win for parsnips!

So, by all means enjoy either or both (diversity is good), but there’s a clear winner here today, and it’s parsnips.

Want to learn more?

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Enjoy!