Brown Butter Mashed Turnip {Rutabaga} with Roasted Garlic

Name: Brown Butter Mashed Turnip {Rutabaga} with Roasted Garlic
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 side servings
Ingredients: 3 lb turnip or rutabaga (-peeled, cut into cubes); 1 head garlic; 1 tsp olive oil; 1 tsp black pepper (-plus a pinch for garlic); 1/2 tsp salt (-plus a pinch for garlic and some for salting water to boil turnip); 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme (-chopped (or 3/4 tsp dried). Plus more for garnish (optional)); 1/2 cup unsalted butter

November 4, 2018 Updated: November 8, 2018 By Dawn Coombs 44 Comments

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Minimal ingredients, a whole lotta flavour – that’s what you’re gonna get with this Brown Butter Mashed Turnip with Roasted Garlic. It’s a simple side dish that would be a yummy addition to any special occasion.

If you know me, you know how much I love ‘turkey day dinner’ (also known as ‘mom’s Christmas day turkey dinner). It’s my favourite meal, hands down. What makes it my favourite? Turkey, of course. But those sides? Yeah, that’s where it’s at. Mom makes some deadly good mashed turnip (quite possibly the uncoolest thing I’ve ever said, lol). It’s quite simple, but I pile my plate with it. Today I’m sharing mom’s mashed turnip recipe, Dawnified 😉

What makes this mashed turnip recipe so special?

BUTTER.

Yes, butter.

Though, butter makes pretty much everything better, doesn’t it??

Though, this ain’t just any butter, it’s brown butter. Seriously, you guys, this stuff is straight up DELICIOUS.

What’s the Difference Between Turnip and Rutabaga?

All my life, I’ve know rutabaga to be ‘turnip’. Though very similar, there are some slight differences. Both turnip and rutabaga are delicious root vegetables. However, rutabagas are typically larger than turnips, a little sweeter, and have a yellowish interior (which is often why they are marketed as ‘yellow turnips’ or simply ‘turnips’. This is the case in many grocery stores in Newfoundland. Both can often be used interchangeably in recipes, as in this one. This is a great explanation here.

Brown Butter Mashed Turnip Recipe (aka Mashed Rutabaga)

Besides how delicious this recipe is, it has just seven ingredients (including salt and pepper). It’s one flavour packed, super budget friendly side dish that’s perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any special occasion. Honestly, this would even be delicious as a low carb option to have with your weekday dinner.

What is Brown Butter?

Brown butter is basically butter that has been cooked until it turns brown. It’s made by melting butter in a pot; as it cooks the colour changes from light yellow to brown. Also, the milk solids start to solidify and brown (as in the pic below). This is a great guide for making your own. Some people don’t use those solids, but I think they add so much flavour to any dish. Do not discard ’em; they are yum!!! They go straight into the mashed turnip for a flava party.

Browning just takes butter to another level. It tastes buttery (of course), nutty and kinda caramelly. In a pinch you could use regular butter here, but the final product will taste different. It only takes minutes to make and so worth the effort. And the smell? Heavenly. FYI—> as you would have guessed, brown butter also works great in mashed potatoes, with pasta (particularly ravioli) or even on bread (when it’s solidified, of course).

How to Roast Garlic

So, thinking how fabulous this mashed turnip would be for a holiday side, I figured I’d kick it up a notch even further—>enter roasted garlic. A whole bulb of garlic is roasted until soft and the cloves are mixed in with the mashed turnip. Don’t be frightened that it’s a whole bulb of garlic. When roasted, the pungent flavour of garlic is muted and you are left with a lovely garlic-ey hum. To roast garlic –

Cut top off bulb so cloves are exposed
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little olive oil
Wrap in foil and bake for about 40 minutes, until tender
Once cool enough to handle, cloves easily remove from the skin and can be used in recipes

Lots of good flavour for a humble turnip, isn’t it? It’s all about using simple ingredients and just treating them with care, definitely nothing complicated. Mashed turnip has always been a favourite side and brings back lots of memories. What’s a favourite side dish of yours?

Tips for Making Mashed Turnips (aka Mashed Yellow Turnips or Rutabagas)

You can use either turnip or rutabaga in this recipe. I used what I know as ‘turnip’, ‘yellow turnip’ (aka rutabaga). More detail on this in the text above.
Cut the turnip into bite-sized chunks so they could somewhat quickly.
Don’t have fresh thyme? Use 1/3 less dried (so about 3/4 tsp).
I used one large turnip that was about 3 lbs (after peeling it’s a little less), but all together you want about 8 cups of turnip chunks. If you have access to a scale in your grocery store, use that to weigh the quantity you need.

Other Easy Side Dishes you May Enjoy

Whether you call it ‘rutabaga’ or ‘turnip’, I hope you love this easy side dish recipe as much as I do (and I’m pretty sure you will)!

Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon 🙂

Dawn

An overhead shot of a casserole dish of mashed turnip garnished with fresh thyme.

4.94 from 15 votes