Beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, and more incredible root vegetables are on the menu in this cooking guide. Try your hand at recipes such as turnip casserole with porcini crumb topping, smoky vegetarian beet reubens, creamy parsnip soup, and more.
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Za'atar-Spiced Beet Dip with Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts
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Beets have a strong presence in the cuisine of almost every ethnic group in Jerusalem, chef Yotam Ottolenghi explains. They color pickling juices on the Arab table and form the basis for a soup of Jewish, Iraqi, and Kurdish origin. Here, Ottolenghi purees them for this luscious spread.
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02of 20
Roasted Hot Honey Sweet Potato Salad
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This sweet potato salad makes a colorful, satisfying side dish. Seasoning the potatoes with smoked paprika creates a sweet and savory balance while the hot honey dressing adds a touch of tangy heat. Homemade pickled red onions, crunchy toasted pecans, and fresh parsley round the dish out.
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03of 20
Roasted Carrots with Carrot Top Gremolata
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The chopped carrot greens turn into a tasty topping (along with cilantro, lemon zest, and jalapeño) for sweet roasted carrots and shallots.
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04of 20
Creamy Parsnip Soup with Pear and Walnuts
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"I love that root vegetables are so rustic," says chef Marcus Samuelsson about this earthy, Indian-spiced soup. "I add pear and walnuts for sophistication and crunch." He says that if you can't find sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes), simply use all parsnips instead. The recipe is adapted from his book Marcus Off Duty.
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05of 20
Sautéed Radishes with Orange Butter
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Star chef Emeril Lagasse sautés radishes and their greens with bacon, shallots, and orange juice until they’re perfectly crisp-tender.
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06of 20
Turnip Casserole with Porcini Crumb Topping
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We love the earthy porcini topping on this rich and creamy turnip gratin, but it would also be fantastic on mac and cheese or another root vegetable gratin.
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Caramelized Onion Dip
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Thick, salty potato chips with creamy caramelized onion dip is a time-tested snack marriage. For our version of this classic dip, sliced onions are first caramelized in pure butter, then stirred into a tangy mixture of sour cream, cream cheese, and seasonings.
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08of 20
Roasted Sunchokes with Buttery Bagna Cauda
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Sunchokes, aka Jerusalem artichokes, are nutty-tasting and can be eaten raw or cooked. When roasted, they make a great change of pace from the usual crudités served with bagna cauda, the Italian olive oil, garlic, and anchovy sauce.
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09of 20
Roasted Beets and Carrots with Goat Cheese Dressing
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This dish's simple, creamy dressing is made by whisking fresh goat cheese with vinegar and oil. It's tossed with a salad of warm roasted beets, carrots, and beet greens.
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10of 20
Rutabaga, Celery Root, and Potato Gratin
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This recipe for a three-root gratin is reinvigorated by a hearty combination of rutabaga and celery root, bringing an earthy depth and an engaging, subtle sweetness for a flavorful lift. Classic gratins typically lean on heaps of Gruyère; here, robust Parmigiano-Reggiano cuts in with more intense flavor, accentuating the root vegetables instead of smothering them.
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11of 20
Boiled Yuca with Garlicky Onions
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Yuca, or cassava, is a starchy tuber that can be boiled, fried, or baked like a potato. For this Cuban side dish, photographer Romulo Yanes likes to simmer the root until tender and flaky, then dress it in a hot onion- and garlic-infused oil.
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Roasted Carrots with Preserved Lemons and Dates
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This simple roasted carrot recipe comes together in minutes but delivers big flavors, thanks to the mixed herbs, bright citrus, and sweet dates. The fresh cilantro, parsley, and mint add so much green freshness to this dish and work wonderfully with the orange, lemon, za'atar, and honey vinaigrette.
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Smoky Vegetarian Beet Reubens
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With this sandwich, chef Todd Ginsberg proves that vegetarian versions of classic meat dishes can be just as delicious. Here, in place of the pastrami, Ginsberg sprinkles roasted beet slices with smoked salt, then serves them on buttered rye toast with all the traditional condiments: sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese, and homemade Russian dressing.
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Celery Root with Apples, Walnuts, and Blue Cheese
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This delicious winter salad combines all kinds of flavors and textures: crunchy, juicy, earthy, nutty, and toasty.
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Turnip Kimchi
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Most kimchi recipes use lots of red chile flakes and are bold and spicy. This is a white kimchi, which means it's made without the red chile. Some kimchi ferments for weeks, but chef Andrea Reusing lets these turnips pickle at room temperature for only two days. "It's really special to have something that's just starting to ferment," she says. "It's more about the flavor of the vegetable."
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Marinated Carrot Salad with Ginger and Sesame Oil
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Chef Laurent Tourondel grew up in France eating his mother's carrot salad. His take is a little different: The sesame oil, fresh ginger, and cilantro add vibrancy to sweet, crunchy carrots.
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Mashed Parsnips with Crispy Pancetta
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Completely tender parsnips are the key to a good mash here; trim away any fibrous cores from the parsnip roots. A wintry combination of sweet maple, brown butter, and salty pancetta makes these creamy parsnips ultra-comforting.
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Sunchoke-Kale Hash with Farro
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This soul-satisfying winter hash is vegetable-laden comfort food. The recipe from 2009 F&W Best New Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo combines crispy sunchokes, silky oyster mushrooms, tender kale, and chewy farro. It's wonderful served with grilled steak or on its own as a meatless main course.
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Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter
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Smoky and spicy, cured Spanish chorizo infuses melted butter with its rich color and flavor, balancing the natural sweetness of these tender roasted sweet potatoes. Scoring baked sweet potatoes and then broiling them gives them a hint of smoke and lets the chorizo butter soak into every bite.
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Whole Roasted Carrots with Garlic
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Simply roast seasoned carrots with water, garlic, oil, and butter for half an hour in foil, then another half an hour uncovered for an easy side dish.
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