Roasted Turnips

Prep: 13 mins
Cook: 60 mins
Total: 73 mins
Servings: 12 servings
Yield: 6 cups

Turnips can be a little sharp in their taste, but something happens when you roast these peppery veggies from the mustard family. Roasting mellows the flavor of turnips and concentrates their texture into a tender, melting vegetable. Serve these easy roasted turnips with other roasted vegetables (the sweetness of carrots is a good complement) alongside roasted meats or with a simple roasted chicken.

This recipe is really a method. Feel free to change the amount to suit your needs. Try adding fresh herbs (rosemary is particularly delicious with the spicy bite of turnips) or spices, or combine the turnips with other root vegetables as you like. You'll find some variations at the end of the recipe. They're tasty all on their own but can certainly benefit from a bit of extra love.

Serve roasted turnips hot, warm, or at room temperature as a side dish, or as part of a roasted vegetable platter.

Roasted turnips on a plate

The Spruce Eats

"Plentiful, simple, and easy-to-follow, these roasted turnips are a great side dish. They have a little bit of a bitter note, but since they are roasted and sprinkled with salt and olive oil, the flavor combination works well. I made a batch of this for dinner one night and everyone really enjoyed them." —Victoria Heydt

Roasted turnips in a large bowl
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds turnips

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon fine or coarse sea salt, or more to taste

  • Ground black pepper, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for fresh turnips recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats

  2. Preheat the oven to 400 F. While the oven heats, trim and peel the turnips. Tender baby turnips can be simply scrubbed instead of peeled, but their peel will still be a bit more fibrous than the tender insides. Leave baby turnips whole; cut bigger ones into 1-inch pieces.

    Peeled and cut turnips on a cutting board, prepping for roasting

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Put the prepared turnips in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil. Use your hands or 2 large spoons to toss the turnips around a bit to coat them thoroughly with the oil. Sprinkle them with salt.

    Cut turnips coated with olive oil on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats

  4. Roast the turnips until they're tender and browned. Start checking them after about 30 minutes. Depending on their size and age, it may take up to an hour or more to become completely tender. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, if you'd like, and serve.

    Roasted turnips on a rimmed baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats

Tip

If you want to keep your cooking time on the lower end, then you should cut the turnips into 1-inch cubes. If they are larger, they will take closer to 60 minutes to roast. 

Recipe Variations

  • After 20 minutes, add a few grinds of coarsely ground black pepper over the turnips.
  • When you take the turnips out of the oven, toss them with a tablespoon or two of minced fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, sage, and/or rosemary.
  • Drizzle the roasted turnips with romesco sauce or homemade pesto when you serve them. If it's spring and you have baby turnips, they are a particularly good match for green garlic pesto.
  • When the turnips are almost done, add about 1 tablespoon of butter, toss to melt and coat the turnips, then sprinkle them with about 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, and toss again to coat them evenly. Roast for another 5 to 10 minutes.
  • If you're cooking a chicken or a pork roast, simply add the turnips to the pan to roast with them. The juices from the roast will flavor the turnips beautifully.
  • Mix things up by roasting other root vegetables—potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and rutabagas are all goods choices. Cut the vegetables into similarly sized pieces so they cook evenly. Beets are tasty, too, but know that they will stain the turnips pink when they touch.

How to Store Roasted Turnips

Turnips, like many roasted vegetables, will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days if they're in a sealed container. You can reheat them until warmed through in the microwave, in a low oven covered in aluminum foil, or in a cast-iron skillet with a little drizzle of olive oil.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
37 Calories
2g Fat
4g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 37
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 3%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 188mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 4g 1%
Dietary Fiber 2g 5%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 9mg 44%
Calcium 25mg 2%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 134mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)