Roasted Turnips Recipe (2024)

These delicious roasted turnips are a simple, flavorful side dish that's easy to make.

Turnips are a fantastic root vegetable that can be served as a side or added to salads, grain bowls, or soups. Turnips, like most root vegetables, are available year-round but are at their peak from October to February.

This turnip recipe is a great way to enjoy this slightly more unusual vegetable - if you like roast potatoes, you will like this, too!

Roasted turnips are a perfect side dish for a weeknight meal or a special occasion like a holiday dinner. You can use them like any other root vegetable in a grain bowl or salad.

This will be your new favorite way to enjoy turnips - roasting them really brings out the delicate flavor and natural sweetness of the turnips. Roasting also removes any bitter flavor from turnips that you might experience when they're raw.

You might find turnips at the grocery store that come with greens; you can use them to make this spicy skillet turnip greens recipe that's delicious!

Turnips are rich in vitamin C and A and low in calories and fat (source).

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this roasted turnips recipe into an easy side dish.

• Fresh turnips - I used purple top turnips, but any kind will work for this recipe, although I do recommend using smaller turnips (about 2 inches across) as they will have better flavor than large turnips, which tend to be older and less sweet.
• Olive Oil (you don't need to use extra virgin olive oil; the regular stuff will work!)
• Sea Salt
• Paprika
• Ground Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Optional - chopped herbs like parsley or oregano for topping

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

You don't need to remove the outer peel of the turnips (turnip skin is edible), but if you'd prefer to remove it, peel the turnips with a vegetable peeler.

Using a sharp knife, slice the tops and bases off the turnips and chop them into ½-inch pieces.

Place the diced turnips on a parchment or aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan.

Pour the olive oil over the turnips and sprinkle with the salt, paprika, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to coat the turnips.

Spread the turnips out in a single layer, leaving a little space between each piece.

Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and place in a serving bowl or large serving platter. Top with optional chopped herbs.

More Great Side Dishes

If you love roasted vegetables and root veggies, try some of these fantastic recipes.

• Smashed Brussels Sprouts
• Roasted Radishes
• Oven Roasted Root Vegetable Recipe
• Roasted Golden Beets

Substitutions & Variations

Want to make a few swaps or changes to the ingredients? Here are some options.

• Oil - you can substitute the olive oil for avocado oil or vegetable oil.
• Seasonings - feel free to add fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, or rosemary to the seasoning blend or if you like a little spice, add ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• Optional Toppings - if you want to add a bit of sweetness give the roasted turnips a drizzle of honey or if you'd like some acid give them a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar.

Storage

You can save roasted turnips for up to 4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

For best results when reheating, I suggest heating them in an oven or toaster oven and not the microwave. This will keep them crispy.

Tips for Making this Recipe

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Cooking Tips - Make sure to cut your turnips to similar sizes. This helps them roast evenly. Don't crowd the turnips on a baking sheet - they need a little space in between them to get a crispy exterior. Use two baking sheets if they don't fit onto one.

Ingredient Notes - 1 ½ pounds of turnips was 4 medium turnips for me. I used purple top turnips. If you use larger turnips like regular white turnips, you may only need 3. And if you use smaller hakurei turnips or baby turnips, you'll probably need 5 or 6.

Recommended Tools - I like using parchment paper that's the same size as my sheet pans - this is the ready-to-use parchment paper I use, and here are the sheet pans I recommend.

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