Last updated on December 10th, 2020
These Creamy Keto Herb Garlic and Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda are a wonderfully simple low carb substitute for mashed potatoes. We’re telling cauliflower to move over, and encouraging you not to overlook the turnip, a subtly flavored and versatile low carb potato substitute. We added in a few extras like caramelized onions and garlic, then of course an assortment of our favorite herbs, heavy whipping cream, butter, and smoked gouda for a truly flavorful, creamy delight!
So you’re missing potatoes on a low carb or keto diet huh? We’ve seriously got you covered. As much as we do truly enjoy cauliflower in its various forms, it’s just not the same as a bowl of creamy mashed potatoes. It works well riced, but as a mash? It’s good, don’t get us wrong, but this is SO MUCH BETTER. You’re gonna wonder where these creamy keto garlic herb and onion mashed turnips with smoked gouda have been your whole life. Seriously. You can fool even the pickiest of eaters with this creamy deliciousness, and we mean that.
While we’re not gonna sit here and say that this is low calorie food, we’re pretty proud of the low carb count. But low calories? I mean, no. This is a comfort food item and it’s packed with butter, cream, cheese and cream cheese, so what do we expect here?!? Enjoy this delicious side as a part of any feast. It’s great for Thanksgiving and really any dinner. Keep on reading and we’ll show you how we updated this recipe to be one of our best yet!
Here’s What You Need For These Creamy Keto Herb Garlic and OnionMashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda:
- Small young turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- Water
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Yellow onion, diced
- Garlic, minced
- Savory herbs of choice, minced (we used rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano)
- Kosher salt
- Ground black pepper
- Heavy whipping cream
- Cream cheese, room temperature and full fat
- Smoked gouda cheese, shredded (our favorite is Roth Cheese)
- Butter and herbs for garnish (optional)
If you’re an experienced making creamy mashed turnips, feel free to skip to the recipe card. If you’re not, we do recommend reading through all of the notes and steps carefully for all of the tips and tricks.
How To Ensure Turnips Aren’t Bitter:
Sometimes, turnips can have a little bit of a bitter taste. To avoid this, use the smallest turnips you can find. The smaller the turnip, the younger it is. As turnips grow older, they become more bitter. The younger and smaller the turnips, the more mild the flavor. We do find that small, young turnips taste almost identical to potatoes, especially when loaded with delicious ingredients like garlic and onion cooked in butter, plus more butter for serving. Cream cheese, herbs, heavy whipping cream, and flavorful smoked gouda cheese create an incredibly creamy, flavorful base. We’re convinced that if you didn’t tell others that these were mashed turnips instead of potatoes, they truly wouldn’t know the difference.
How To Prepare The Turnips For Mashing:
You In order to get the turnips nice and and soft and ready to mash, you will want to peel them, then cut them into chunks. You can cook them on the stovetop in boiling salted water to get them soft fairly quickly. It will take about 30 minutes to get your turnips nice and soft. We usually opt for a pressure cooker or instant pot to get the turnips softened in just half the time, or even less than half the time. Basically you just want to cook them until they are fork tender, then drain away the water.
From there, you will want to mash, or place them in a food processor or blender to puree it. We opt for using our Vitamix to get the creamiest and smoothest mix ever. Any blender will do, just make sure to put the liquid in at the bottom.
How to Season These Creamy Garlic Herb and Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda:
Everything is sort of to taste in this recipe, as are most of our recipes. We recommend adding salt to taste, since everyone’s taste buds are a little different. Another tip would be to make sure to add in the salt after you’ve added in your smoked Gouda, (if you’re adding in that element) since it’s a tad bit salty on its own.
The true seasonings come from the smoked gouda, the caramelized onion, garlic and herbs in this recipe. Plus the salt and pepper of course. The herbs add a lovely, subtle flavor. We opted for fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano and sage. It had such a lovely earthy and savory flavor that it added. It’s hard to say which flavors are the most prominent in this dish, since they all compliment each other so nicely. Feel free to mix in any seasonings you want!
What Should I Serve These Creamy Garlic Mashed Turnips With?
You should serve them anything you would eat mashed potatoes with! We love to enjoy this side dish alongside these Keto Swedish Meatballs or a juicy ribeye steak!
Tools:
- Sharp Chef’s Knife & Cutting Board
- Rubber Spatula
- Measuring Spoons
- Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
- Wooden Spoons
- Instant Pot, Stock Pot or Pressure Cooker
- Metal Sieve
- Blender to puree the mash
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Let’s Make These Creamy Keto Herb Garlic and Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda:
Start by peeling your turnips, and cutting them into bite sized chunks. Add them to a pot of salted water on the stove or cook in your Instant pot until softened. They will need to boil around 20-30 minutes on the stove until fork tender. In the Instant pot or pressure cooker, it will only need to cook for about half the time.
While your turnips are cooking, in a cast iron skillet, melt some of the butter, and add your diced onions to it with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add your herbs and cook for about 1 minute. Next, add in your garlic, stirring the whole time to prevent burning. Cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then remove from the heat and set aside.
In the blender, add your cooked turnips, and heavy whipping cream. Blend until smooth. Add in your butter, cream cheese, blend again. Now, you can add in your cooked onions, garlic and herbs with your shredded smoked gouda. Blend until smooth, taste the puree, then add salt and pepper to taste. Blend again.
Serve with more butter and garnish with herbs of choice.
Serve with whatever you like. We eat them with these delicious keto Swedish meatballs or a steak!
If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later. We love sharing your versions of our creations over on Instagram @afullliving!
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Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
These Creamy Keto Herb Garlic and Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda are a wonderfully simple low carb substitute for mashed potatoes. We're telling cauliflower to move over, and encouraging you not to overlook the turnip, a subtly flavored and versatile low carb potato substitute. We added in a few extras like caramelized onions and garlic, then of course an assortment of our favorite herbs, heavy whipping cream, butter, and smoked gouda for a truly flavorful, creamy delight!
- 2 lbs small turnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 cups water
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and divided
- 100 grams yellow onion, diced
- 2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs, minced (we used rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 oz heavy whipping cream
- 3 oz cream cheese, full fat, room temperature
- 6 oz smoked gouda cheese, shredded
- 1 tsp kosher salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)
- butter and herbs to garnish
Boil turnips in a stock pot or cook them in a pressure cooker with salted water until softened. Drain excess water, set aside.
In a cast iron skillet, melt some of the butter, and add your diced onions to it with a pinch of salt. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add your herbs, cook for 1 minute. Add in garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then remove from the heat, set aside.
In a blender, add heavy whipping cream and cooked turnips. Blend until smooth. Add in butter, cream cheese. Blend again. Add in your onions, garlic and herbs, along with your shredded smoked gouda, then blend until smooth. Taste, add salt and pepper, blend again.
Serve with whatever you like. We eat them with these delicious keto Swedish meatballs!
Macros: We estimate our macros via MyFitnessPal, and cannot guarantee accuracy. They are provided as a courtesy.
Makes 10 servings, 229 calories per serving, 20.3g fat, 5.2g protein, 3.9g sugar, 7.5g total carbs, 1.2g fiber, making 6.3g net carbs.
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