Brown Butter Mashed Turnip (Rutabaga) With Roasted Garlic

Published: November 4, 2018 Updated: November 8, 2018 / By: Dawn | Girl Heart Food 76 Comments

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.

Close-up of mashed turnip in a dish garnished with thyme.

If you know me, you know how much I love turkey dinner, especially mom’s turkey dinner on Christmas.

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 really good mashed turnip. It’s quite simple, but I pile my plate with it. Today I’m sharing mom’s mashed turnip recipe with my twist.

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.

Besides how delicious this mashed turnip (or mashed rutabaga) 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 lower carb option to have with your weekday dinner.

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 in a turnip versus a rutabaga.

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 referred to as “yellow turnips” or simply “turnips”).

This is the case in many grocery stores in Newfoundland. Both turnip and rutabaga can often be used interchangeably in recipes, as in this one.

Ingredients

Garlic: A whole head of garlic is used in this recipe. Once roasted, the garlic flavour is milder and adds a wonderful flavour to this mashed turnip recipe.
Salt and black pepper: A seasoning must!
Olive oil: Used to roast the garlic.
Turnip: You can use turnip or rutabaga in this recipe. I used yellow turnip, which is also known as rutabaga.
Unsalted butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter over salted. You can substitute with salted butter if that’s what you have on hand. If you do, you may want to consider adding less salt to the recipe.
Thyme: I used fresh thyme, but you could substitute with dried thyme. Since dried herbs are typically more potent than their fresh counterparts, just use one-third the amount of dried thyme for the fresh thyme.

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 saucepan; as it cooks the colour changes from light yellow to brown.

Also, the milk solids start to solidify and brown. Once you make brown butter, you’ll want to make it again and again. It’s just so delicious and adds so much flavour to dishes.

Some people don’t use those solids, but I think they add so much flavour to any dish. Do not discard them; they are yummy! They go straight into the mashed turnip for a flavour 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. 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).

Spoonful of brown butter with browned milk solid bits.

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 with 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 garlicky hum. To roast garlic:

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

Full details are in the recipe card below.

Collage of a whole bulb of garlic before and after roasting.

How To Make Make Brown Butter Mashed Turnip With Roasted Garlic

You simply boil the peeled chunks of turnip in a large pot of salted water until tender, then drain. Season the turnip with salt, black pepper and thyme. Add the browned butter, then mash. Next add the roasted garlic and mash again. Transfer the delicious mashed turnip to a serving dish and garnish with more thyme if you like. Easy, right? Refer to the recipe card below for full details.

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 vegetable side and brings back lots of memories. What’s a favourite side dish of yours?

Mashed turnip in a dish garnished with thyme.

Tips

You can use either turnip or rutabaga in this recipe. I used what I know as turnip (that is, yellow turnip or rutabaga). More detail on this in the text above.
I used one large turnip that was about 3 pounds (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.
Cut the turnip into bite-sized chunks so they could somewhat quickly.
Don’t have fresh thyme? As mentioned, since dried herbs are typically more potent than their fresh counterparts, just use one-third the amount of dried thyme for the fresh thyme (so about ½ teaspoon of dried thyme).

Close-up of mashed turnip in a dish with a spoon dunked into it.

More Easy Side Dishes

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

If you make this mashed turnip recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!