This Rutabaga Hash with Cabbage Bacon and Leeks is a delicious and easy to make low carb, keto friendly and gluten free side dish. If you're missing starchy vegetables on a low carb diet, you will fall in love with this side. It has the great mouthfeel and taste of a potato hash, with way fewer carbs, but an abundance of nutrients. This super savory side dish will become a household favorite. Make it in one skillet for no mess!

rutabaga with roasted cabbage bacon and a wooden spoon

Save This Recipe! 💌

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Here’s What You Need For This Rutabaga Hash with Cabbage Bacon and Leeks:

Rutabaga, peeled and diced
Green cabbage, chopped, hard parts removed
Leek, white parts only, green stems removed
Cooking oil or butter
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Italian seasoning (optional, and to taste)
Bacon, cut into pieces
Basil for garnish (optional)

roasted root vegetable hash on a wooden spoon

Recipe Notes:

This recipe was inspired by fond memories of rutabaga- one of the most underrated (and under utilized!!) low carb root vegetables. Growing up, my Finnish grandmother always made the best tasting pasties, an upper peninsula tradition in Michigan, which utilizes this glorious root veggie. Pasties are basically handpies that contain beef, rutabaga, potatoes, and onions. Miners adopted this tasty food because of its practicality. I'm working on a low carb version of one my favorite childhood foods, tho I'm sure nothing will ever taste as good as grandma makes!

Rutabagas are a cross between a turnip and a cabbage, but they taste sort of like a very slightly peppery carrot, mixed with a turnip. They have such a lovely flavor that makes them very versatile. We love to roast it in the oven, or eat it mashed. They are also great fried. So far, these amazing veggies are our all time favorite potato substitute, aside for turnips of course! Check out our super yummy mashed turnips recipe here.

Rutabagas are also very nutritious, which makes it another obvious choice for a dinner side. They are extremely very high in Vitamin C, with one medium rutabaga providing over 160% percent of your daily value needed. Rutabagas are also very high in potassium, magnesium, vitamin B-6, and calcium, so stock up on your next grocery trip!

Seasoning: Everything is sort of to taste in this recipe. We recommend using just a bit of salt and pepper at first, then tasting the hash after it's baked, then adjusting the seasoning from there. The salt level will depend on your bacon, so keep this in mind. We used Italian seasoning in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever you'd like. The fresh basil is also optional, obviously. We used it mainly for the purpose of taking nicer photos, since there was so much orange in this dish. We felt it needed a little contrast. We were very pleased with the results.

Bacon: We recommend using raw bacon for this recipe, because the bacon fat will coat the vegetables and make them absolutely irresistible. It's also just so easy to throw it all into a pan and let it roast in the oven together. The timing on this recipe ensures that everything is cooked to perfection.

Serve With: Eggs for breakfast, or really any protein. You can't go wrong with this savory side dish.

Show Us Yours!: We also love when you guys try our recipes and share them with us! If you make this recipe, be sure to tag us on Instagram @afullliving so we can see it and share it!

More Recipes To Try:

Let's Make This Rutabaga Hash with Cabbage Bacon and Leeks:

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Peel your rutabaga, and dice it up into bite sized pieces. Set aside into your cast iron skillet. Now, you will want to cut the green top off of your leek. Discard, or save to make a stock for later.

Now, slice the white part of the leek into very thin rings. After that, you will want to soak the leeks in a bowl of water, and let the dirt drop to the bottom of the bowl, then rinse a few more times. Leeks are often full of dirt, so this step is very important. Now, simply strain the water away after rinsing.

Cut up your cabbage and bacon into bite sized pieces, then add your leeks and cabbage to the skillet, then add your avocado oil.

Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, then add in your bacon and mix until well combined.

Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, then take the veggies out, and mix around before returning to oven for another 20-30 minutes, because you want all the vegetables to get a little crisp on them. Finally, garnish with basil if you want, then eat!

If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, and leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

rutabaga cabbage bacon leeks with basil in a cast iron skillet

If you love this recipe, please consider sharing it with a friend and also leaving a rating and comment so others can find this recipe. Thank you for your support!

Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere

📖 Recipe