Cheesy Garlic Mashed Root Vegetables, 2 Ways {Gluten-Free}

You can go silky smooth or textured with complex flavor for this gluten-free Cheesy Garlic Mashed Root Vegetable side dish!

I love finding foods in books and movies; they always make such great affiliations, like Turkish Delight that the White Witch magicked up in Narnia, Butterbeer from The Three Broomsticks in Harry Potter, spaghetti dinner in The Godfather, and even diabolical connotations, like the poison apple in Snow White.

Every time I mention roast chicken to my mom she replies with shock, “Roast chicken?!!” the way Elijah Wood as Frodo said it in The Lord of the Rings. Literally every single time, lol. And in the fall and winter months, roast chicken gets made (and mentioned) quite frequently.

Whenever I make roast chicken, mashed vegetables come to mind because there is no better vessel for ladling homemade gravy into than mashed veg, right? Potatoes are the obvious choice, and cauliflower mash is also an increasingly popular dish, especially when you want a lower-carb option, but other veggies, particularly of the root variety, also make a mighty fine mash.

Here I used a mix of a few different veggies that were in my fridge: turnip, parsnip, a bit of celeriac, and a tiny little lone potato all went into the mix along with a single garlic clove to amp things up. I like using a variety of vegetables for added flavor and enhanced nutrition. A little cream cheese adds smooth texture, but clarified butter is where the real magic happens in this recipe. We all know mashed vegetables and butter just go together like milk and cookies or peanut butter and jelly; the slightly nutty, buttery flavor of ghee is the perfect option here.

EatLuv is my clarified butter of choice and given the option, it is what I will always reach for. EatLuv’s clarified butter is 100% grass-fed, organic, and non-GMO from American family farms. It’s nutrient-dense and a great source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), rich in fat-soluble Vitamins A, K2, D, and E, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. You can read more about EatLuv's benefits in this post or over on their site.

This recipe is kind-of fun because you can take it either of two ways: silky smooth or textured! The smooth version is luscious and velvety, and the textured version is deeply complex-flavored. They’re both fairly easy to make, so in the end, the method you go with is just a matter of personal preference. I love them both, and either (or both!) would be the perfect addition to a holiday dinner.

Cheesy Garlic Mashed Root Vegetables, 2 Ways {Gluten-Free}

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Yield: 6 servings

You can go silky smooth or textured with complex flavor for this gluten-free Cheesy Garlic Mashed Root Vegetable side dish!

Ingredients

2½ cups peeled and cubed white root vegetables (such as turnip, rutabaga, parsnip, celeriac, potato, etc.)
1 medium-large clove garlic, peeled, but left whole
2 tablespoons grass-fed clarified butter (ghee), melted (I used EatLuv)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 oz (60 g) cream cheese

Optional Toppings:

1 teaspoon grass-fed clarified butter, melted
1 teaspoon thinly sliced scallion, green and white parts

Instructions

Cooking Method 1 (Smooth Stovetop Pureed Method):

Add the cubed vegetables and garlic to a medium saucepan and cover by 2 to 3 inches with cold water. Cover the saucepan and bring up to a boil; once boiling, turn the heat down and cock the lid. Continue cooking until the veggies are mashable, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and then puree the veggies in a blender or food processor along with the ghee, salt, and cream cheese. Serve.

Cooking Method 2 (Textured Roasted and Mashed Method):

Preheat the oven to 425F. Toss the cubed vegetables with the ghee and salt and roast until they’re tender and starting to brown, about 20 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through. When you toss the veggies at the halfway point, add the clove of garlic. While they’re hot, add the veggies to a large bowl and mash by hand (or add them to a food processor and pulse a few times until they’re a chunky mash). Mix in the salt and cream cheese. Serve.

Disclosure: I received a sample of EatLuv clarified butter for free and since then have bought several jars. It was basically love at first taste for me because once I tried it there was no going back; EatLuv became my go-to clarified butter! I did NOT receive compensation for this post, and as always, opinions stated are my own.