Last updated on January 22nd, 2021

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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!

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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 Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda:

Small young turnips,- These turnips are (obviously) the star of the show. We will just peel them, then cut into chunks. peeled and cut into chunks

Water – Okay this is really just to boil the turnips until they soften. You don’t need it for the actual recipe itself.

Unsalted butter– We almost always opt for unsalted butter these days, except for in special occasions (like on a steak!) because we can control the salt level so much easier. Make sure your butter isn’t straight out of the fridge. You will want it to be softened or about room temperature.

Yellow onion– Onion is truly one of our favorite ingredients. You will find it in nearly any of our savory recipes! It’s just such a great base. Make sure you dice it up well, then cook it down with some butter and a pinch of salt. These are so perfect in these creamy mashed turnips. You could substitute for onion powder if you prefer.

Garlic– The base of so many great dishes! Especially these creamy garlic and herb mashed turnips. We’re going to mince it up and cook it with butter along side the onions. Dreamy. Seriously. You could substitute for garlic powder if you prefer, but fresh garlic is hard to beat.

Savory herbs of choice– We are going to use fresh herbs for these delicious creamy mashed turnips. Use whatever you like, but we like to mince up fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano. Yum!

Kosher salt– Diamond Kosher Salt is our new favorite salt source. It’s much easier to control (in terms of saltiness) when it comes to various types of salt, compared to different types of salt! Not all salts are created equal, and different types of salt are waaaay saltier than others. We love the diamond crystal shape. The texture is amazing it dissolves really well, and it’s perfect for seasoning food gradually.

Ground black pepper – Not much to say about this one, but add to taste!

Heavy whipping cream- Heavy whipping cream is always going to be your lowest carb option, but it’s definitely not the lowest in calories. If you want, you could use whole milk or half and half to lower the calorie count. Just make sure to adjust the macros accordingly, whichever one you choose.

Cream cheese– You will want your cream cheese to be about room temperature so that it blends up. nicely. This will make your mashed turnips so creamy and delightful! You could also sub sour cream, but it’s a little more runny so keep this in mind.

Smoked gouda cheese– Shred up some of your favorite smoked gouda! Our favorite is Roth Cheese! This is going to add such nice flavor to these, we promise. If you want to omit the smoked gouda, that should be totally fine. You could use whatever your favorite cheese is. We’d recommend something like Havarti or mozzarella even.

Butter and herbs for garnish – Okay, more butter, we know, we know, it’s a lot, but who doesn’t add more butter for garnish actually?! This part is definitely 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.

We have also heard a rumor that boiling a potato that’s been cut in half alongside turnips will absorb some of the bitterness. At this point, we aren’t able to confirm this ourselves, but we will give this a try next time we make these and report back! If anyone else can confirm or deny this, let us know in the comments!

Can I Make Creamy Mashed Turnips By Hand?

You can definitely make creamy mashed turnips by hand. It will be a little bit more laborious than using a blender, but you can definitely do this. We do imagine that the mashed turnips will come out a little chunkier since you will just be using a masher, but feel free to do this.

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.

Are Turnips Low Carb Friendly and Nutritious?

Yes, turnips are very low carb and keto friendly, as well as very nutritious. Turnips are loaded with fiber and vitamins K, A, C, E, B1 thru B6, as well as minerals like manganese, potassium, magnesium, iron, calcium and copper. They are also a good source of phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids and protein according to this article. One medium turnip also has only roughly 5.8g net carbs, making them much more suitable for a low carb or keto diet. It’s also very low in carbs, and high in fiber, making it an excellent choice for the keto diet.

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! We’re thinking of making a keto friendly shepherd’s pie with this base soon (maybe eliminating all of the extras, and stripping it down to something a little more “simple” among other things. Are there any recipes you’re hoping to see on our website soon?

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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

Need supplies for this recipe? We’ve linked our favorites above and right here in our Amazon Store! You don’t pay anything extra if you shop using our link, but we get a small percentage of the sale. A Full Living is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associate program, an affiliate advertising program designed to promote a means for sites to earn advertising fees by linking products to amazon.com. We only share products we use and love. It doesn’t cost you anything extra to shop using our links, but we earn a small commission that helps us keep this site going! 

Let’s Make These Creamy Keto Herb Garlic and Onion Mashed Turnips with Smoked Gouda:

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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.

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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.

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Serve with more butter and garnish with herbs of choice.

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Serve with whatever you like. We eat them with these delicious keto Swedish meatballs or a steak!

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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

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