Creamed Turnip Recipe
Before random root season is over, I have a new veggie side dish to share with you: creamed turnips and turnip greens with cashew cream sauce. It’s naturally gluten-free and low carb. To make it vegan just skip adding in the Pecorino at the end. It’s a creamy yet healthy vegetable recipe to share on Easter or with a simple weeknight meal.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Creamed Turnips
The last time I talked about random root season when I shared this Coconut Curry Sweet Potatoes recipe and even when I shared this helpful collection of winter CSA recipes I forgot to mention what I have been doing with all of the turnips that I have been getting in my CSA.
I came up with this Creamed Turnip Recipe as an alternative to Roasted Turnips which is how I normally make them. Prepping these low-carb and nutritious veggies this way with creamy garlic sauce makes them so special. As in worthy of a holiday meal with the Thanksgiving Turkey, or the Roasted Pork Loin for Christmas or with Roasted Chicken Thighs for a family-friendly Sunday Supper.
If you love turnips like I do make sure to check out our Turnip Casserole too! It is another great way to use up your turnips! And if you loved creamed vegetables my Creamed Spinach is on point!
How to make Creamed Turnips & Turnip Greens
1. I sizzled a smashed peeled clove of garlic in oil. This takes away the raw bite of garlic, and flavors the oil, but allows you to control how much browning the garlic gets. Plus- bonus: no chopping garlic.
2. Then make cashew cream sauce. This is a technique I learned in culinary school. It is made from raw cashews blended with water until they are completely smooth. It is a great stand-in for heavy cream. The trick is to scrape down the sides of the blender a few times to ensure the smoothest results.
Don’t be surprised if it takes a couple minutes to make the texture like that of heavy cream. I have a Vitamix, so it takes about a minute. But with a regular blender it can take two or more minutes. For this recipe, I added the above mentioned garlic clove, plus Dijon, nutmeg, white pepper and salt to really boost up the flavor. Feel free to use heavy cream instead of the cashew cream. It will not thicken as much but will still taste fantastic!
3. The turnips need to be peeled and cut into pieces. I cut them into 1-inch bite sized chunks. Add them to the garlic oil, and let them brown a bit. Then add in water and cover to let them soften and steam. Test them to see if they’re done by poking them with a fork.
4. Last, the cream sauce and greens go in at the end of the cooking time. You’ll be surprised by how thick the cashew sauce gets! It’s quite lovely. If you can’t find turnips with the greens attached, don’t worry. At this time of year it is hard to find turnip greens- since they don’t store well. So you can sub in baby kale or mustard greens (which are spicy.)
5. I added freshly grated Pecorino cheese on top of this. I’m realizing that this makes this recipe not vegan. But I am also realziing that it makes this recipe freaking delicious. Sooo, that’s why I used it. If you’re vegan- totally skip it!– You can also add a couple big pinches of nutritional yeast to the blender to make it cheesier tasting.
Serve these turnips and turnip greens with cashew cream sauce with simply prepared pork or fish casserole or honey mustard chicken.
More Recipes With Turnips and Root Vegetables
- This recipe for Vegetable Mash is made with either rutabaga or turnip, parsnips, white sweet potato and celery root! It is a great alternative to mashed potatoes.
- These stuffed sweet potatoes is a fast and easy weeknight dinner because the sweet potatoes are roasted in the microwave!
- If you haven’t tried roasted parsnips, then these are a must! They are so sweet!
- Roasted sweet potatoes with citrus and cilantro is a match made in heaven.
- These roasted carrots and onions are so easy and great for meal prep. And this recipe for Glazed Carrots with maple syrup is classic and not overly sweet.
- Don’t miss this Ultimate Guide to Turnips!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Creamed Turnips (with Greens)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Turnips and turnip greens with cashew cream sauce is a naturally gluten-free and low-carb dish. It’s perfect for serving with a simple weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup water, divided
- 1/2 cup raw cashew pieces* See sub note
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- 2 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 cups chopped turnip greens (substitute mustard greens or baby kale if unavailable)
- 2/3 cup freshly shredded Pecorino, omit for vegan option
Instructions
- Place 1 cup water, cashew pieces, mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a blender.
- Swirl oil in a large skillet over medium heat add garlic, and cook, turning garlic in the hot oil occasionally, until golden brown and fragrant. Transfer the garlic from the skillet to the blender with tongs. Puree the cashew mixture until completely sooth, scraping sides once or twice, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the turnips to the garlic oil, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring once or twice until the turnips are browned in spots, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ½ cup water, cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the turnips are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Remove lid from the skillet and pour the cashew cream into the turnips. Stir to coat. Bring to a simmer, add greens, and cook, stirring until they are wilted and the sauce is thick, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/3 cup Pecorino, if using. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup cheese if using.
Notes
Cashew Cream: feel free to use 1 cup heavy cream instead of the cashew cream and 1 cup water. Blend with the garlic and seasonings as you would the cashews.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3/4 cup
- Calories: 185
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 8
More Healthy Side Dishes:
Balsamic Green Beans with Walnuts
Simple Steamed Cauliflower with Herbs
Simple Kohlrabi with Pistachios and Sage
Za’atar Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Yogurt Tahini Sauce
This sounds terrific! Could you sub with spinach?
If need be that would be fine- Add it at the last minute so it doesn’t get slimy. Better alternatives would be either mustard greens or baby kale.
Delicious! I grew up only eating turnips in mashed form with salt, pepper and sugar. This is a refreshing way to consume a food that retains so mulch nostalgia for me.
I didn’t even have cashews, just made a peanut sauce instead and it turned out great!
Just got some gorgeous turnips including their greens in our CSA. Whipped this up and LOVED it! Thanks for the recipe! Can’t say I’ve cooked with turnips too much. It’s fun to find new/fun/creative ideas!
I am so happy that you found this recipe Sarah. I appreciate that you came back to let me know you liked it and rated! That’s so helpful. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Very nice recipe. Excellent without the cheese. If using cheese, would cut in half. I also added 1/2 tsp. turmeric for health and color, and grated an extra touch of nutmeg over each serving. Definitely will make again!
Love the idea of turmeric! Sounds lovely! Thank you Pam!
This sounds amazinggg! I love anything that has cashew in it!
The cashew cream is so dreamy!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was a huge hit! It tastes even better than it sounds. Win!
I am so glad for your review Julie. I know it’s a hard sell, but one taste and it’s magic!
I just love how creamy this dish looks – I just want to dive right in! PS That wood backdrop in your photographs looks amazing by the way!
Thank you. Glad this recipe appeals to you. And thanks about the prop. Stephanie (my amazing assistant and stylist and contributor here on HSR) found it one day at an antique shop. She called me and asked if I wanted it. I bought it sight unseen. I am so glad because it is my most favorite background.
Turnips are a favorite in our family! I’ve never tried it this way but I’m sure we will love it!
Oh wow, glad to hear that your family already loves turnips. That’s great!
Hi, this weekend is nice in favor of me, for the reason that this time i am reading this informative article here at my residence.
Cashew cream sauce sounds amazing! I never really use turnips in my cooking and need too- looks so good!
I’ve really gotten to know them a lot better this winter. Now I am adding them to a lot of different recipes. So there will be more on here in the future.
That looks superb, I can’t get my hands on turnips sadly and all attempts to grow them has failed miserably 🙁
Oh that’s too bad. Well if it’s any consolation, this sauce would work well with a variety of veggies.
Haha I’m always worried I’m repeating my stories and have to search my blog all the time to make sure! Also, this looks delicious! I was just thinking the other day that I need to cook with turnips more!
Oh my goodness lol. So glad I’m not the only one!
This is absolutely my husbands dream recipe. I’m making it for him this week for sure. Just delicious!
That’s so great to hear Ginny!
Yum! Turnips just went on the grocery list!
That is music to my ears! We have been eating them like wild this winter. I have been spiralizing them too, and even the kids love them! Who knew!
I am always trying to eat more veggies, and this looks delicious. I do not have a blender. Would a food processor work for the cashew cream?
Hi Jeanne. I have not tried to make cashew cream in a food processor. Because this is a smaller amount, my guess is that it will work. I would start with half the water in the mixture, then gradually drizzle the rest in as it liquifies. Otherwise I don’t think it will become smooth enough. You can also run it through a fine mesh sieve before continuing to make sure you get out any larger chunks of cashew that the blade misses.