These garlic mashed turnips are a creamy and comforting side dish that easily comes together in one pot on the stovetop; no special equipment needed. They’re also a fantastic low carb and keto replacement for regular mashed potatoes.
Thick and Creamy Texture, With Garlic Flavors
If you’ve never had turnips before, you may be wondering what these mashed turnips taste like. By themselves, mashed turnips are soft and watery, but they quickly develop the consistency of mashed potatoes when combined with melty cream cheese and butter.
Fresh minced garlic cloves as well as basic seasonings like salt and pepper add nice and simple flavors to the otherwise mild turnip taste. Even if turnips aren’t exactly your thing or if you’ve never tried them before, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this one.
Cooking and Mashing Turnips
These turnips are chopped into approximately 2-inch chunks so they’re more manageable, and then boiled in a pot of water until very soft and almost falling apart. They’re drained in a colander, and I recommend letting them steam out for about 5 minutes to help reduce the amount of moisture in the final dish.
Mashing the turnips is a simple task, since they’re quite mushy after boiling. I use a potato masher, but you can also use a fork or a whisk. How coarsely or finely mashed they are is up to you and your taste preferences. I prefer mine to be smoother, and Mr. Savory Tooth likes it on the chunkier side. For a super silky consistency, you can use an immersion blender after stirring in all other ingredients like the cream cheese and butter.
Serving
These mashed turnips are an excellent side dish to serve with meaty mains like:
- Oven Baked Chicken Breasts (with a cheesy spinach topping)
- Baked Keto Meatballs (drizzled with a tomato cream sauce)
- Braised Lamb Shanks (amazing flavors)
- Greek Chicken (marinated and baked with vegetables)
Mashed turnips are also great to bring to potlucks or to serve at holidays like Thanksgiving. Since they’re not the usual mashed potatoes, I like that I’m bringing something that’s a bit different to the table. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re lower in carbs.
It’s also easy to add toppings to dress up these mashed turnips. Ideas include crispy crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced scallions, chopped basil, and salsa.
Garlic Mashed Turnips
These garlic mashed turnips are a creamy and comforting side dish that’s simple to make with one pot on the stovetop; no special equipment needed. They’re also a fantastic low carb and keto replacement for regular mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- 2 medium purple-top turnips
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
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Peel the turnips and cut them into roughly 2-inch chunks, about 16 chunks per turnip.
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Add the chopped turnips to a 3 quart or larger pot, and fill with water. Cover with a lid, and bring the water to a boil on the stovetop. Boil the turnips until they’re very soft, about 30 minutes.
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Drain the turnips in a colander, emptying the pot of water. Let the turnips sit for about 5 minutes to steam out, and then transfer them back to the same pot.
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Mash the turnips (a potato masher is useful). Add all other ingredients and stir over medium-low heat until incorporated, a few minutes. If the mixture looks too thin, proceed to the next step to thicken it; otherwise, skip the next step.
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Increase to medium heat so that the mixture starts to bubble. Stir nearly constantly (to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot) for a few minutes until the mixture thickens to a consistency resembling mashed potatoes.
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Let it cool a bit, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Nutrition Info
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving: |
| Calories 140 | |
| Total Fat 13g | 20% |
| Saturated Fat 8g | 40% |
| Cholesterol 38mg | 13% |
| Sodium 460mg | 19% |
| Net Carb 4g | |
| Total Carb 5g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 5% |
| Sugars 2.5g | |
| Protein 2g |
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