Garlic Mashed Turnips

Name: Garlic Mashed Turnips
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 1/4 lbs. small turnips (peeled and cubed, (larger turnips produce a bitter taste)); 1 bulb garlic (roasted with garlic cloves removed and skins discarded); 4 slices bacon (cut in one-inch pieces and crisp cooked); 2 to 4 tbsp. salted butter ((see note below)); 1/4 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream); 4 oz. cream cheese (softened and cubed); 1/4 cup sour cream; 1/4 tsp. dried dill weed; 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary; 1/4 tbsp. fresh chives (or 1/4 tsp. dried chives); 1/4 tsp. sea salt (or more, if desired); 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper; 1 tsp. fresh parsley (minced for garnish, if desired); water (as needed)

May 8, 2024Teresa Ambra

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Gluten Free Living – 2024

Oh my goodness, I give 10 STARS to this Garlic Mashed Turnips recipe! No joke. This delicious side dish includes turnips (which I’ve only eaten once before in my entire life!!!), sour cream, cream cheese, half-and-half, butter (yes a lot of dairy), AND bacon(!) along with several delicious herbs to add a little more flavor. I included dill weed, rosemary, parsley and a whole bulb of roasted garlic (just like I use when I make Garlic Mashed Potatoes or Garlic Smashed Cauliflower.) The result??? Fantastico!

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Seriously, this was one of my favorite creations over the past few years. I’ve always been turned off by turnips, rutabagas and parsnips because everyone said they were so bitter. NOT SO! If you use small turnips they are not in the least bitter. Rutabagas taste like sweet potato and parsnips have their own flavor but they’re delightful made up into fries too.

I decided to try making the turnips using my favorite Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe with a few additions. Bacon was the biggest addition and boy was it wonderful. I fried the bacon in a Dutch oven. After removing the bacon to drain I left ALL of the grease in the Dutch oven. Then I added the turnips and filled the pot with water. So the turnips cooked in the bacon grease/water solution. Once the turnips were done and I drained all of the water, I added all the dairy, seasonings and bacon.

Truly, I can’t rave about this side dish enough. It was one of my best creations ever! I served it with several other recipes including Grilled Kielbasa, Steaks with Peppery Onions and Steaks with Savory Steak Rub. The side dishes included Rutabaga Fries, Grilled Herbed Broccoli and Garlic Parmesan Asparagus. We also grilled fresh peaches and pineapple that day. Everything was outrageously good.

I recommend Garlic Mashed Turnips for everything from Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter dinner to any kind of special occasion or family gathering. The recipe is THAT GOOD! Here in America we can purchase turnips almost year round. Just remember to get the smaller ones. And when you’re adding the dairy start with less, then add more if needed because turnips have a different consistency than potatoes.

Garlic Mashed Turnips is a great side dish for steaks, pork chops, and grilled chicken. And if you enjoy bacon, it’s one of the most delightful recipes ever!

Garlic Mashed Turnips are outrageously good. No kidding!

Bacon and a whole bulb of roasted garlic is included in this recipe. It’s so mouthwatering you’ll be talking about it for days!

Here I served it with Grilled Kielbasa, Grilled Peaches and Rutabaga Fries. It was amazing.

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Cut the top off a whole bulb of garlic. Place in an oven (or toaster oven) at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Remove individual cloves of garlic from the peels and set aside.

Cut bacon in one-inch pieces.

Place in a large Dutch oven and fry until crisp.

Transfer bacon pieces to a pepper towel-lined plate to drain; once cool, crumble bacon into smaller pieces, if desired.

Meanwhile, peel turnips with a vegetable peeler. Cut off the ends just like you would for an onion.

After turnips are peeled, cut them into chunks.

Add the turnips to the Dutch oven WITH the bacon grease still in the pan.

Fill the pan with water. Cover with lid and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover with lid and simmer turnips about 10 minutes until fork tender.

Remove from heat; drain turnips in colander. Return turnips to Dutch oven.

Add roasted garlic, cream cheese, cut up in cubes, butter, sour cream and half and half. Start with about half the amount of half-and-half, butter and sour cream. Then add more as the ingredients absorb into the turnips.

Use a potato masher to mash up the turnips.

Mash until turnip mixture is almost smooth.

Add bacon, salt, pepper, dill weed, rosemary and chives.

Stir well to combine.

Mince fresh parsley for garnish.

Serve immediately. Garlic Mashed Turnips is absolutely irresistible.

Here, I paired the Garlic Mashed Turnips with Steaks with Savory Steak Rub, Sweet Potato Fries, Garlic Parmesan Asparagus, Grilled Herbed Broccoli, and Grilled Peaches.

The turnips were also fantastic with Steaks with Peppery Onions. Every forkful was amazing.

Here’s the recipe.

GARLIC MASHED TURNIPS

(My own concoction)

Garlic Mashed Turnips

Teresa Ambra

Garlic Mashed Turnips are outrageously delicious! This irresistible side dish includes bacon, a whole bulb of roasted garlic, cream cheese and seasonings that make it incredibly mouthwatering. It's a perfect side dish for special occasions like Easter, Christmas or Thanksgiving, but easy enough to serve for regular family dinners. If you've never tried turnips before, this is a fantastic way to enjoy them.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 133 kcal

Equipment

1 large Dutch oven with lid
1 colander
1 vegetable peeler
1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
1 cutting board or bread board
measuring cups
measuring spoons
1 wooden spoon
1 potato masher

Ingredients

1 1/4 lbs. small turnips peeled and cubed, (larger turnips produce a bitter taste)
1 bulb garlic roasted with garlic cloves removed and skins discarded
4 slices bacon cut in one-inch pieces and crisp cooked
2 to 4 tbsp. salted butter (see note below)
1/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
4 oz. cream cheese softened and cubed
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tbsp. fresh chives or 1/4 tsp. dried chives
1/4 tsp. sea salt or more, if desired
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. fresh parsley minced for garnish, if desired
water as needed

Instructions

Cut the top off a bulb of garlic and roast in oven or toaster oven for 30 minutes at 350º.
Remove from oven and cool before removing garlic from peels.
Place bacon in a Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until crisp-cooked.
Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
When cooled, crumble bacon and set aside.
Add the peeled and cubed turnips to the bacon drippings in Dutch oven.
Fill with water until turnips are covered.
Cover with lid and bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer turnips about 10 minutes, or until turnips are fork tender.
Drain in colander.
Return turnips to Dutch oven.
Add butter, cream, cream cheese, sour cream and garlic.
Mash down with a potato masher until completely smooth.
If necessary, use a hand-held electric mixer and beat turnips until smooth and creamy.
Add bacon, dill weed, rosemary, chives, salt and pepper.
Stir until well combined.
Sprinkle fresh, minced parsley on top, if desired.

Notes

NOTE: I used 5 turnips.

NOTE: While I used 4 tablespoons of butter, I think two tablespoons would satisfy without having the extra calories.

NOTE: When you’re adding the dairy (particularly butter, sour cream and half-and-half), start with less and add more as needed. Turnips come in all shapes and sizes. It’s better to add more dairy if you need it, rather than to cause the side dish to become soupy with too much dairy added because your turnips are not as large as mine were when crafting the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 133kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 311mgPotassium: 230mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 262IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 0.5mg

Keyword bacon, cream cheese, garlic, side dish, turnips, vegetable

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