The Most Insane Mashed Rutabaga Recipe with Fresh Chives to Serve Right Now! {2 WW Points, Keto, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free}

Step aside mashed potatoes, there is a new Mash in town and it is going to knock you off your block! This Mashed Rutabaga recipe outshines other mashed vegetables with its earthy, turnip/cabbage flavorings. Since there is so much natural flavor, it doesn’t need a lot of help with heavy gravy or mounds of extras. Yes, I added a tad of cream cheese in this recipe but the flavor stands on its own without it. 

We love to mix it up for Thanksgiving every year! My husband and I each pick one new recipe that is “ours” to try and serve and then we keep the rest of the meal traditional. Over the years, we have loved our seafood stuffing, bacon brussels sprouts and a cranberry sauce made with Tropico. It’s a fun tradition and we are excited to share one of this year’s picks. Mashed Rutabaga is making it to the Thanksgiving table. 

🥄 What is a Rutabaga? 

Have you ever been at the grocery store and the poor clerk at check-out asks you “what is this?” With a scowl? I’ve been there many times and I just have to laugh. That is what happens with rutabagas almost all the time because so few people have ventured into “that part” of the produce section. Come on, branch out! Wake up your taste buds!! 

Rutabagas are a cross between turnip and cabbage. You’ll see it in the stores coated with a thin paraffin wax to keep it from drying out. It is right next to the other root vegetables.

🥣 How to Peel? 

Rutabagas have a thin wax coating that needs to be peeled off.  This is not like a carrot where you can either peel or not-peel the veggie.  You’ll feel the wax coating and it is pretty obvious that it needs to be removed.  

I started off by cutting off the bottom where the roots were connected to give me an exposed and raw section. Once that is exposed you can easily start peeling with a vegetable peeler. The skin is really thin, so this isn’t a tough job.  Be patient and get it all, though.

Alternatively, you can also use a knife like our moms used to peel an apple – all in one sweep! Knives are sharp and I’m a klutz so I don’t offer up that option too much.

🍓 Ingredients

All you need is 4 ingredients and a little dash of salt to complete this amazing mashed rutabaga recipe. Let’s take a peek at the ingredients:

Rutabaga: Of course, the most important ingredient is the rutabaga itself. It yields a creamy and delicious mash that goes with all sorts of meals.

Cream Cheese: The cream cheese is optional, but it does make the dish even creamier and more flavorful too. If you don’t want to add cream cheese, you could also use Greek yogurt or sour cream as well. Or, completely skip it!

Butter: No different than mashed potatoes, some good old-fashioned butter is the way to go. It’s heavenly and makes them taste even more like potatoes.

🍽️ Instructions

Using the peeling instructions above, start off by peeling the rutabagas and cutting them into one inch cubes. Fill a 3-4 quart saucepan with water and add the cubed rutabagas with a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and let it cook until it is fork tender.  This is exactly the same process you would use to boil potatoes. 

Once the rutabaga is fork tender, drain the water. Combine the little bit of cream cheese and butter. Mash them with a potato masher. Alternatively, use a hand mixer to make them more whipped and creamy. I love the rustic texture so I stuck with it that way. 

Service with a dollop of butter and chives. Don’t skip the chives as they offer so much flavor. I tried them both ways and won’t go without. They are delish! 

🍲 Carbs in Rutabagas versus Potatoes

So, I was shocked at the calories and carbs of mashed rutabagas vs mashed potatoes.  One cup of rutabaga has 51 calories and 9 grams of net carbs. Compare that to one cup of potatoes with 136 calories and 28 grams of net carbs.

This is a great option for a low carb or keto diet, but even if you aren’t tracking your carbs, the nutty flavor beats potatoes hands-down!

🍴Can I Freeze

Yes! I did it last week and put the leftovers in my husband’s lunch and they reheated wonderful. No special instructions here. They defrosted and reheated in the microwave perfectly.

📌 Meal Prep  

Absolutely! 

• One option is to peel and cut the rutabaga and place in a pot full of water in the morning and cook later in the day, just like you would if you are trying to remove the excess starch from potatoes. 
• Another option is to fully make these and reheat when you are ready to serve. They reheat beautifully! If you are going for this option and serving guests, I would zap them in the microwave and then whip them with a bit of extra butter or milk with my hand mixer. 

‼️ Other Options 

I’m always on the lookout for options to put a spin on my recipes. Let’s put a spin on these as well.

• Top with herbs such as rosemary and thyme 
• You can never go wrong with roasted garlic 
• Include sour cream, chives and chopped bacon 
• Mix in sour cream and cheese. Mash together and spread in a casserole dish and cook in the oven to get a toasty golden topping. 

🥄 Related Recipes

Sheet Pan Delicata Squash – if you haven’t checked out delicata squash yet, stop in your tracks and go check this out. This is my new favorite vegetable and I am spreading it around like crazy! So delish!! 

Honey Herb Roasted Carrots – carrots aren’t boring if you just add a couple ingredients to make them magical. We eat them right off the sheet pan.

Roasted Beets and Carrots – golden beets shine next to the carrots in this recipe. If you aren’t sure if you like beets, give this one a whirl and I will be you will love them. 

Sheet Pan Roasted Brussel Sprout Stalks – this was another Thanksgiving “win” a few years ago for us. We loved how gorgeous the presentation was and how easy it was to cook. It was almost completely hands off and we could do so many other things while it roasted! 

Smashed Potatoes – this is a super quick side dish is not only gorgeous to present but it is an incredibly tasty side dish you’ll be proud to serve.