I remember the first time I had some high school friends over post-Thanksgiving and we wanted to raid the leftovers. I brought out ye olde standby, carrot and turnip mash, and figured this was a staple on all tables. Apparently this was not the case. My British mother had incorporated this standard into our American meal and it was not at all familiar to my friends.
This recipe has been served at my family’s Thanksgiving table since before I was born. It’s absolutely my favorite element of Thanksgiving dinner and ultimately ends up on many a cold leftover sandwich. It’s healthy, low carb, low fat, and has only a few ingredients.
Here’s how I make this mash, which is pretty classic. There are tons of ways to dress it up, but I like it as-is.
Want more recipes in your life? Sign up to receive recipes via email and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Bloglovin, and RSS for all of the latest updates.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole carrots
- 2 cups turnips
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
- Optional: 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
- Rinse carrots and turnips thoroughly and trim the tops and bottoms of both turnips and all the carrots.
- Peel the turnips and the carrots (or you can get away with just scrubbing the carrots with a vegetable brush).
- Dice the carrots and turnips into small, relatively even chunks.
- Place the carrot and turnip chunks into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil, then down to a simmer. Cook them for 10-20 minutes, or until tender.
- Drain the veggies well.
- Mash (or in my case, blend) the veggies into a puree to you liking. Most people love these mashed like potatoes, but I prefer them a little smoother.
- Mix in your salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste and your optional butter. I don't use butter at all in this if I blend it up, but you'll probably need it if you are mashing. Alternately, serve it with a side of crème fraîche for swirling if you want to get fancy with it.
- I decided to freeze these in a muffin tin for 1 hour, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag for easy serving later. Just pull out as many "muffins" as you need, reheat, and serve!
Macros for 1/12th of the batch:
31 calories | 2.5g carbs | 1.7g fiber | 1.6g sugar | 0.3g protein | 0 fat
If you make this recipe, share a photo and hashtag it #BIJOUXANDBITS. I’d love to see what you’re cooking!
Catherine Clark is a Chicago native sharing noteworthy things she sees and attempts to make in the world. She's a geek, cat lady, designer and editor by day, and noob chef by night.
tried this tonight! it came out pretty good and was simple to throw together. love that this is a fun way to eat a couple of vegetables i wouldn’t normally eat! i do think there was too much nutmeg, i’d probably start with 1/4 tsp and add more to taste as desired. thanks!
Glad you liked it and were able to tailor it to your tastes. It’s the time of year I’ll start making it again. 🙂
I love this recipe too. I skip the nutmeg, and instead add a large peeled diced apple that I boil along with the carrots and turnips. Delicious!
WHAT this is such a good idea! I must try this. Thanks for the tip!