Turnip Casserole is great when you want something sweet to pair with roasted ham or savory herb roast turkey. In this easy recipe, mashed turnips are melded with applesauce and a hint of brown sugar to bring out the sweetness in one of autumn’s best vegetables.
With a blueberry buckle style streusel topping, this turnip casserole might just be the secret to getting your kids to eat their vegetables. Heck, they might even surprise you and ask for seconds!
How to Peel a Turnip
Raw turnips have a fairly tough flesh but a thin skin, and are not terribly hard to peel. But they do tend to be a bit wobbly on the cutting board. To avoid injury, use a chef’s knife to cut off the top and bottom. Now that you have a flat base to work from, you can easily pare away the peel in strips with the same knife, or a smaller one.
How to Bake A Turnip Casserole
You’ll love how little prepping involved in easy turnip casserole. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Boil and mash the turnips.
- Combine with the applesauce and other ingredients.
- Top with streusel and bake until fragrant and bubbling.
Turnips have a full-bodied flavor that can stand on its own and thus require minimal seasoning or other ingredients. Nevertheless, you can still use some creative wizardry to give more complexity to this dish with complementary fall vegetables.
- Veggies: Try mixing in some pre cooked brussel sprouts, mashed cauliflower, or rutabagas. Parsnips are also a good add in for additional sweetness to offset pungent, peppery turnips.
- Topping: A pinch of cinnamon in the topping wouldn’t be out of place either. Also, any breadcrumbs you have on hand will serve the purpose of binding the ingredients together.
How Long Does Turnip Casserole Last?
Turnip casserole can easily be made ahead, making it perfect for Thanksgiving! To make-ahead, combine ingredients in a casserole dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap. It will keep for up to four days in the fridge. Top with streusel just before baking.
Leftovers can be stored the same way, for the same amount of time in the refrigerator. Just make sure to store in an airtight contained or zippered bag.
Can You Freeze Turnip Casserole?
Leftover or make-ahead turnip casserole will retain quality in the freezer for up to four months. Thawing before reheating leftovers in the oven is not necessary.
For making ahead:
- Hold back the topping and freeze in the same casserole dish you plan to later bake it in.
- When hardened, remove and store in a freezer bag for up to four months.
- When ready to bake, place the hardened block back in the dish and thaw in the microwave or refrigerator before putting the streusel on top and baking.
Who knows? This yummy casserole recipe just might make turnips your family’s favorite vegetable!
Our Favorite Casserole Side Dishes
- Corn Casserole – delicious sweet cornbread base
- Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole – fresh twist on a classic!
- Cheesy Broccoli Casserole – made from scratch
- Green Bean Casserole – holiday staple!
- Easy Squash Casserole – with a crunchy breadcrumb topping!
Turnip Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large turnips peeled and diced
- 1 cup applesauce
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine topping ingredients in a bowl and mix until crumbly. Set aside.
- Boil turnips until fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Place turnips in a large bowl and mash until smooth. Add applesauce, butter, brown sugar, bread crumbs, cinnamon, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Spread into a 2QT baking dish.
- Sprinkle topping over casserole and bake 35-40 minutes or until hot and crumbs are golden.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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recipe callsfor 3 sml turnips. Do you mean actual turnips which are sml and white or Swede (rhutabago)
For this recipe we use turnips but it also works great with rutabaga.
This is a great recipe although it would be nice to know the exact number of cups of turnip. 3 large turnips doesn’t help you know the correct proportions. I love the simplicity of the ingredients so quick to prepare & still quite delicious!
Hi Lorna, 3 large turnips would be approximately 6-8 cups. I hope that helps!
Delicious, easy to make, we loved it.
Thanks for leaving a comment! So happy to hear you liked this dish
Hi! I love your recipes and I have used many! I just have one problem with this recipe. It does not give a weight or cup amount for the turnips. I feel like turnips come in many sizes. It is just helpful to have a measurement. Thanks! And keep doing what you are doing -Wendy
Hi Wendy, I would say to use approx 3-4 pounds of turnips for this recipe.
This was better than I imagined! My husband HATES turnip, but he loved this! Had no clue it was turnip and he went for thirds! Great recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
I am so glad to hear this recipe was a hit Karen!
I planted turnips for the first time this season. Your turnip casserole is delicious!
Just wondering if you could give me a cup measurement for 3 large turnips for this recipe.
My turnips really varies in size so it would help to know how many cups of diced turnips were used for this recipe.
3 large turnips is approximately 3 cups diced. I am so glad you are loving this recipe Linda!
Oh my gosh, my 2 large-ish & 1 medium turnip gave me about 8 cups diced! Well, whatever, because it was absolutely delicious! Great recipe. So good. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Delicious.i love turnip and this was the first time I tried it in a casserole. How smart to use applesauce.
Thanks Holly
So happy you enjoyed it, Sami!