Are you running out of ideas for all those winter veggies? Find storage tips and dozens of delicious Root Vegetable Recipes, for carrots, kohlrabi, beets, and more!
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In the mid-winter, you may find that you're running out of ideas for all those winter root vegetables that are still abundant at the grocery store, farmer's markets, and community agriculture shares—or that are languishing in your root cellar or crisper drawer.
Perhaps you've never even tried some of these hardy vegetables—that was precisely my situation when I set out on this quest to learn more about winter root veggies.
This round-up features several winter root vegetables, with a few tips for storing them (spoiler alert: keep all of them cool!)
And there's more! I reached out to several fellow food bloggers for their creative and tasty recipes for these long-lasting veggies.
The list includes beets, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, rutabagas, potatoes, celeriac, and radishes! These dishes are perfect if you've never tried these vegetables or are just tired of your tried-and-true methods. Bookmark them, pin them, and print them!
Give these undersung winter veggies the spotlight for a little while longer before they're overshadowed by those showboating, spring veggies. (Calm down asparagus, peas, and fiddleheads: it's not your turn yet!)
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Winter Veggie Blends
Make a rich and flavorful winter dish using a combination of root veggies in these recipes!
Roasted Root Vegetables with Spring Herbs
from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Oven Roasted Chuck Roast with Root Vegetables
from Longbourn Farm
Root Veggie Kettle Chips
from The View From Great Island
Mexican Buddha Bowl with Roasted Vegetables
from Lemon Blossoms
Walking On Sunshine Vegetable Lentil Soup
from Crumb
Beets
Remove skins from the beets before cooking them up. To store, remove the greens and store them in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to three weeks. And use them in one of these yummy recipes:
Yankee Red Flannel Hash
from Nancy Mock, Taste Of Home
Spiralized Beet Salad with Blood Oranges
from Salt & Lavender
Beet Chocolate Cupcakes with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
from Use Your Noodle
Carrots
Carrots can be enjoyed raw or cooked. Remove the green tops and store carrots in the fridge, tightly wrapped for two to three weeks. Below are three delicious ways to use those carrots!
Carrot Quiche with Cheddar
A Hungry Enough To Eat Six recipe!
Coconut Carrot Rice
from Fried Dandelions
Scarborough Fair Carrot Ribbons with Shrimp
from Pinch Me I'm Eating
Celeriac (Celery Root)
Celeriac has a mild celery taste and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in almost any way you can imagine. Keep celeriac in a plastic bag for one week. Here are some creative ways to use it:
Fennel Celery Root Salad
From Tasting Page
Salmon Dill and Celeriac Fish Cakes
From Emma Eats & Explores
Cream of Celeriac Soup
From Krumpli
Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is part of the turnip family and can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in soups and stews. Keep it wrapped in the fridge for a little over a week. Here are some cooked and raw ways to use it:
Kohlrabi Slaw
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Kohlrabi Schnitzel Burger
from Elephantastic Vegan
Kale, Kohlrabi, and Mint Stiry Fry with Bacon and Fried Eggs
from Pinch And Swirl
Parsnips
Parsnips can be baked, roasted, boiled, and mashed. Wrap them and they'll keep in the fridge for two weeks. Here are some fresh and cooked dishes featuring parsnips:
Parsnip Soup with Apple and Curry
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Roasted Parsnips with Thyme
from Food Above Gold
Potatoes
Potatoes are ridiculously versatile and cook up in every way you can imagine. Don't wrap these (if you buy them in a plastic bag, discard the bag before storing them.) Keep them in a cool, dark location, ideally around 40° F. Add these tasty potato dishes to your meals!
Slow Cooker Guinness Pot Roast with Colcannon
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Who Hash
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Irish Leek and Potato Soup
from Karen's Kitchen Stories
Smoked Gouda Muffin Tin Potato Stacks
from A Gouda Life
Radishes
While they can be roasted or cooked, radishes have the best flavor when enjoyed raw as part of appetizers or in a salad. Remove the greens and store them wrapped in the fridge for four to five days. Here are three lovely radish recipes for you:
Cucumber Radish Salad
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Watermelon Radish Orange Salad
from Rhubarbarians
Rutabagas
Rutabagas are part of the cabbage family with a mild flavor and can be cooked up in many ways. Keep them wrapped in the fridge for two weeks. And what to do with them? Well, look!
Rutabaga Home Fries
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Butternut Rutabaga Gratin
from Garlic & Zest
Mashed Rutabaga with Nutmeg
from Pinch Me I'm Eating
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes work with savory and sweet dishes and can be baked, roasted, mashed, sautéed, and fried. Store them like regular potatoes, in a cool, dry, and dark location. Find savory and sweet tastes below:
Sweet Potato Pie
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Sweet Potato and Chorizo Fritters
A recipe from Hungry Enough To Eat Six!
Cinnamon Sweet Potato Rolls
from Happy Kitchen Rocks
Sweet Potatoes with Coconut, Curry and Mint
from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Harissa Sweet Potato Hash with Baked Eggs
from My Kitchen Love
Sweet Potato Rounds with Goat Cheese
from Ciao Florentina
FAQs
Though root vegetables are very hardy, they do eventually begin to rot, especially if they've been hanging around for awhile. Look over the root vegetables when you find them at the store or market. They should be firm, heavy for their size, and have no splits or large cracks in the surface. Avoid vegetables that have soft spots or slimy residue. If the vegetables are sold with leaves attached, the leaves should be green and fresh with minimal yellowing.
Root vegetables can be prepared and eaten in all kinds of ways. One of the most popular is to roast root vegetables, which crisps the edges, brings out their sweetness, and softens them. This article from Taste Of Home has roasting times for different veggies. Other options for root vegetables are to boil them, bake them in casseroles, or pressure cook them. Many root veggies like radishes, kolrabi, parsnips, and celeriac are also delicious and crunchy when eaten raw—sliced or grated into green salads or used as the base for slaws and other cold salads.
In general, root vegetables should be stored in a cool place away from light. Store potatoes and sweet potatoes in a cool (not freezing) cellar, porch, or cupboard. Place them in an open bin so air can circulate. Other root vegetables like carrots, radishes, rutabagas, and parsnips should be placed in a plastic bag to hold in moisture, and stored in the refrigerator.
Ayngelina Brogan says
Thanks so much for including us, now I have so many new ideas for what to make this month!
Nancy Mock says
Of course! Everyone's recipes look amazing!
Natasha @ Salt & Lavender says
Thanks for including my beet salad! What a great roundup!
Nancy Mock says
You're welcome, it is so beautiful!