Mashed Rutabaga is a traditional holiday side dish recipe. Add some roasted garlic and crispy bacon to make the best mashed rutabaga you have ever tasted.
Mashed rutabaga is a traditional Thanksgiving side dish recipe. This delicious root vegetable can be cooked and eaten like potatoes. You can cube it, roast it, boil it, mash it or pressure cook it.
This simple side dish recipe only has a few ingredients. The combination of creamy mashed rutabaga, beaten with butter, roasted garlic, half and half or heavy cream with the added smoky flavor of crispy bacon bits is delicious.
Ingredients to make this recipe
- Rutabaga: 4 to 5 pound fresh rutabaga.
- Roasted Garlic: a large whole head of fresh garlic.
- Bacon: half a pound of sliced bacon.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper to taste.
- Dairy: Half and Half, whipping cream or whole milk.
Recipe Prep
- Before starting roast a large head of garlic and cook the bacon until crispy and drain well on a paper towel.
- Peel, cut and rinse the cubed rutabaga. If boiling the rutabaga in a pot of water on the stove start cooking the rutabaga while cooking the bacon.
- If making Instant Pot Rutabaga make the roasted garlic and cook the bacon before pressure cooking the fresh rutabaga. Keep the cooked rutabaga warm as it will be easier to beat if it is still hot.
Instructions
Put the hot rutabaga in a large mixing bowl.
Beat the cubed vegetable until all the pieces are mashed. Beating the root vegetable before adding the other ingredients will yield a creamier mashed rutabaga.
Add the butter to the bowl with the hot rutabaga. The heat will help melt the butter into the beaten root vegetable.
Beat the butter into the rutabaga with a hand mixer until the butter is melted and has been beaten into the mashed rutabaga completely.
Add the salt, pepper and roasted garlic cloves to the bowl. Beat until the garlic, salt and pepper is mixed in well.
Add the half and half, whipping cream or milk to the bowl. Beat again until it is mixed well into the mashed rutabaga.
Continue to beat for 2 to 3 minutes until the rutabaga is creamy and lump free.
With a large spoon fold half of the cooked and chopped bacon into the mashed rutabaga.
Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining chopped bacon over the top.
FAQS
Rutabaga is a root vegetable that can be cooked and eaten like a potato. Depending on what part of the world you live in you may know this white and purple topped root vegetable as a swede, a neep, a snagger or a turnip. A rutabaga is a cross between the cabbage and turnip that has a unique flavor all its own.
You can cook fresh rutabaga like you cook a potato. You can boil, roast, or pressure cook cubed rutabaga.
Peel the rutabaga with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Cut the whole raw rutabaga into cubes. Bring a pot a lightly salted water to a boil. Add the cubes to the pot and boil until the rutabaga is fork tender. 
Pressure Cooked Rutabaga
If you have a pressure cooker you can check out my How To Make Instant Pot Rutabaga to see how easy it is to pressure cook fresh rutabaga to the perfect consistency to make this or any other mashed rutabaga recipe.
Serve with small ramekins for individual servings on your holiday table.
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Mashed Rutabaga Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups cooked rutabaga (I used my Instant Pot Rutabaga)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ cup half and half, whipping cream or milk
- 1 large head of roasted garlic
- 8 oz bacon, cooked crispy, drained and chopped
Instructions
- Place the hot cooked rutabaga cubes into a large bowl. If you are using cold or refrigerated rutabaga cubes heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes or until hot.
- Add the unsalted butter to the bowl with the rutabaga and beat with a hand mixer for about 30 seconds or until the butter had been mixed into the rutabaga.
- Add the salt, ground pepper and roasted garlic to the bowl and beat until combined.
- Add the half and half, cream or milk if using, to the bowl and beat for 1 minute.
- Add half of the cooked bacon to the bowl and using a large spoon fold the bacon into the mashed rutabaga.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining bacon over the top of the mashed rutabaga.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- Before starting roast a large head of garlic and cook the bacon until crispy.
- Peel, cut and rinse the rutabaga and if boiling on the stove start cooking the rutabaga now.
- If making the Instant Pot Rutabaga make the roasted garlic and cook the bacon before pressure cooking the fresh rutabaga.
- Peel, cut and cube the fresh rutabaga. Rinse well under cold water in a colander.
- Pour the cubed rutabaga in a large pot and fill with water until all of the root vegetable is covered in water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water.
- Bring the uncovered pot to a hard boil. Reduce the temperature and continue to boil until the rutabaga is fork tender.
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