Buttered rutabagas are an easy nutritious fall and winter side dish, perfect for your holiday tables. This mild and sweet root veggie is surprisingly delish!

buttered rutabagas are a simple classic
Buttered Rutabagas were a staple on our Thanksgiving table when I was growing up and I’m revisiting them today ~ these delicious pale orange turnips are misunderstood and probably the most overlooked veggie in the produce section.
did you know?
Rutabagas (or neeps, sweedes, baigies, snadgers, or narkies, depending on where you live) originated as a wild cross between a cabbage and a turnip, and it happened somewhere in Scandinavia or Russia in the Middle Ages. Over the years they’ve been associated with livestock feed and wartime shortages ~ and they’re definitely a ‘homey’ veg ~ but when cooked properly, they’re utterly delicious!
Rutabagas are mild, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, and not at all starchy. This rustic root veg has been around for centuries, but my first experience of them was on my grandparents’ Thanksgiving tables. There’s nothing fancy about these buttered rutabagas, but they have a deliciously satisfying flavor and texture that plays well with so many other foods. When you cook them until they’re just tender like I do, and top them with lots of butter and a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, they’re SO GOOD!
how to choose rutabaga
Look for rutabaga near the turnips and carrots in your produce section. Rutabagas come in all sizes, from petite to giant. I like to use the smaller ones when I can find them, they’re more tender, flavorful, and easier to peel.
how to peel and cut rutabaga
One of the things about raw rutabagas is that they are rock solid. Like winter squash, or beets, these root veggies are dense and tough to cut. The first thing you need to do is peel them. Rutabaga have a thick peel, and they are often waxed to preserve them longer.
- Use a good sharp chef’s knife to cut the ends off the rutabaga.
- Remove the peel with a vegetable peeler. Be sure to remove all the green layers, right down the the orange flesh. If your rutabaga is large, you can use a knife to slice off the peel.
- Once peeled, I like to slice the rutabaga and then dice the slices. The width of your slices can vary depending on what size dice you want.
- I like to cut my rutabaga into a fairly small dice so it will cook quickly and evenly. I think it looks pretty, too, but as I remember it, the rutabaga on my grandparents’ holiday tables was cut in large, uneven hunks. Go with whatever fits your style ๐
what do rutabaga taste like?
The flavor of rutabaga is mild, buttery and somewhat sweet. It has a less intense flavor than beets or turnips, and I think more appealing than overly sweet and starchy sweet potatoes. If you’ve never had them, there’s only one way to find out if you like or dislike them…give them a try!
did you know?
If you don’t like rutabaga or turnips, there might be a scientific reason, some people are genetically more sensitive to the bitter tastes in root veggies and find them unpleasant.
how to cook rutabaga
You can serve rutabaga roasted, mashed, braised, boiled, or even fried! In fact you can cook rutabaga is all the same ways you cook potatoes, turnips, or winter squash. I love it simply boiled, with lots of butter. Simply cover diced rutabaga in cold water and boil for just about 10 minutes, or until barely tender. Check this with the tip of a small sharp knife. Drain, and add butter, salt and pepper. It’s that simple. You can keep them warm, covered, at the back of the stove until needed.
can you eat rutabaga raw?
Yes, I love to shred it and add to a winter slaw!
prep rutabaga ahead of time
You can definitely prep the rutabaga beforehand, it keeps well. Peel and cut it a day or two before you need it and store in a zip lock baggie in the fridge.
how to freeze rutabaga
You can freeze rutabaga but must blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes, first. Then cool and pack in heavy duty freezer bags.
are rutabaga healthy?
Yes! Rutabagas are members of the cruciferous vegetable group, well known for their super healthy properties. They’re low in carbs and calories, but packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and fiber.
Buttered Rutabaga
Ingredients
- 3 lbs rutabaga
- 4 Tbsp butter, or more to taste
- 1 tsp salt, or more to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Peel the rutabaga. Trim the ends, and then cut into an even dice. I went with a 1/2 inch size, you can do larger if you like.
- Put the rutabaga in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 1 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat and cook until just tender, but not soft or mushy. Mine took only 10 minutes.
- Drain and return to the pan. Add butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Keep warm on the stove until needed.
Tried your recipe, it’s pretty good although I like to boil them longer and chop them finer than you. All but one of my seven siblings, my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandmother absolutely LOVE rutabagas and I cook them in a lot of different ways. Recently I used them (along with the cabbage and meat) to make AMAZING runzas, and we also like them mashed, boiled, in pasties, and I even tried them fried which was very good. Please post more recipes with rutabagas!
Thanks Emma, I will definitely do that. I was surprised at the amount of interest that this recipe got, I think there are a lot of rutabaga lovers out there who are dying for some rutabaga recipe inspiration ๐
Hello, Iโm so excited to try rutabagas again. Can I boil them before I peel them just to make it a little easier?
I’ve never tried that, Bridgette, but to boil a whole rutabaga would be hard, I’m not sure it would cook evenly.
Miss Sue, My Mother was raised in south Georgia and we as kids were all taught to cook rutabagas. she had an old fashioned approach, salt pepper and a touch of soda. works very well but nobody I know other than my family will eat. how can I make a more desirable dish with them?
Thanks Eric V
You might try giving them the brown sugar pecan streusel treatment that I use on my sweet potato casserole ๐ Works like a charm!
ps scroll down the comments, Eric, other readers have left some delicious ideas as well.
I grew up eating rutabaga and crave it when winter approaches. My mother was a farm girl from northern Ohio with some Pennsylvania Dutch in the family tree, so we ate many fresh vegetables with butter and often added vinegar at the table. Either apple cider vinegar or grape vine vinegar will do. With the sweetness of the rutabaga it gives a sweet-and-sour effect and maybe disguises any bitterness. She would cut the rutabaga into quarters and then slices before boiling.. I prefer to steam the slices to help retain flavor.
I never thought about vinegar cutting the bitterness of veggies, that must be why we use it in our red cabbage.
I pressure cook mine as did my mother. Keeps all the Flavor and nutrients and cooks in 5 minutes. A staple in my house and a specialty for holidays. You either love them or you hate them – no middle ground. In a pinch I can microwave a small one, peel it and chop it up. Add butter and salt & pepper. So easy and so good!
I’ll have to try this in my Instant Pot!
Love rutabaga.. I slice it into maybe 1/2 โ slices, cut those in half……then peel it, easy that way. No struggles..lol. But my question to you is…Iโve had, maybe 3 times in my life, cooked rutabaga and it never cooked for me…do you know why? It never softened up one bit! Did this ever happen to you? Like I said, it was always at Thanksgiving cooking, and I remember 3 different times where it stayed as hard as when I diced it…thanks, Happy Thanksgiving, Marylou
I love your tip Marylou, I’ve learned to do that with winter squash but didn’t think about rutabaga, brilliant! I have had the cooking issue occasionally with beets, where they never seem to soften, but not with rutabaga.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too ๐
I came across your post this holiday season as I was replicating an old family recipe and wanted to see other ways to cook rutabaga. Instead of butter my family uses bacon fat and tops the cooked bacon on top with some maple brown sugar. Gotta try it this way soon though.
omg your mom’s recipe sounds pretty amazing, mine isn’t nearly so luxurious!
Used rutabaga in a stew yesterday. Wanted to use the rest of it today. Fixed this recipe instead of potatoes to go with a meatloaf. Everybody liked it. Will use it as a sub again.
Love this with meatloaf, Jason, and I also like the sound of rutabaga in stew ~ yum!
The soda bread is easy and good too. ๐ https://homemadeandyummy.com/irish-stew-with-guinness-pressure-cooker/
I’ve learned a certain recipe for rutabaga we also call yellow turnips. The only thing I hate is cutting them they are so hard I need to buy a nice sharp knife. Anyway I cut up and boil but I boil longer then 10 minutes because I mash them like mashed potatoes and I add butter sugar and milk they are so delicious this way . I don’t make them as much as I’d like because they are so hard. Today I am making them my son can’t wait and to tell you the truth ….I can’t either lol.
I’ve made them like this and love them that way too Carol ~ the more butter the better! I’m intrigued by the sugar, I bet a little bit is really nice.
Yes sue my ex husband taught me to make them this way and it is addicting lol so delicious I really have to look in to getting that sharp knife though so I can make them more often .
rutabagas are so hard to cut up but you can just boil them whole then cut them up. That’s what I do! It’s much easier!
I never tried that, but wouldn’t they get overcooked on the outside before the inside gets tender?
I just simmered a big pot of diced up rutabaga with a little salt added to chicken broth. Drained and added butter. Soooooooooooo good. My granddaughter Allison who is 19 now acquired a taste for rutabaga when she was five. I had it at a restaurant as a side many years ago and loved it so duplicated at home what they did in the restaurant. I sprinkled a little parsley on my for added color.
How nice that your daughter has such good taste! The kids in our family didn’t cotton on to rutagabas until they were adults, and some not even then! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Marge.
I cut the ends off, place paper towel in my steamer basket and steam them skin on for about 10 minutes. They peel so easy and the wax remains in the paper towel. Then I cut them into desired size and steam them until tender. They ar sweet and so flavorful as I find the boiling loses a lot of flavor. When tender, salt, pepper, butter and they are good to go.
I’ve always loved rutabagas. I also live turnips, especially when cooked with turnip greens! Delicious!
They really are good, and you never ever see them in restaurants…so you basically have to cook them at home. I’ll have to try them with turnip greens, although come to think of it I don’t think I ever see those at my grocery store…I’ll check my farmers market.
Had a lot of rutabaga from a friend and found your recipe. I followed recipe but added garlic powder, a couple dashes of tumeric and sprinkled parsley. Delicious! Rutabaga will now be on our menu more often! Thanks!
The garlic and turmeric sounds so good!