Baked Garlic & Herb Shoestring Rutabagas – Change it up a bit and give the rutabaga the place it deserves at your dinner table with this sweet, savory, and nutritious side dish that’s a breeze to make.
Sadly, this week marked the end of my winter CSA (community supported agriculture) share for the season. With it I received an abundance of microgreens (yay me!), carrots, and one of my winter veggie favorites – rutabagas! I know… Who actually buys those things??
I’d argue that rutabagas (aka “swedes”) are deserving of a higher place at the average dinner table. Rutabagas may be of humble appearance and origin, but they cook up into something mighty good.
The earliest known accounts of rutabagas are from Sweden in the 1600s. They were then known in England in the late 1600s and in Scotland in the 1700s, but weren’t introduced to America until the 1800s. So maybe it’s just that they haven’t been absorbed into our collective consciousness for long enough yet.
Perhaps some of the rutabaga’s bum rap is because at one point in history rutabagas were used to feed livestock. Additionally, they were considered a food of last resort during food shortages in Germany and France during World War I and II. This, however, likely has less to do with taste and more to do with the fact that they store well and have a long shelf life through the winter months.
Rutabagas are a cross between a turnip and a cabbage, and as such are a part of the brassica family of vegetables along with things like cabbage and broccoli.
They have a unique, recognizable odor when you cut into them, and when eaten raw they are crunchy and a little bitter.
Traditionally, the rutabaga is boiled, baked or broiled. It is sometimes also julienned and added to salads, but the rutabaga goes through a real transformation when cooked. It becomes soft, sweet, and savory!
My recipe for Baked Garlic & Herb Shoestring Rutabagas is one that my husband and I can’t get enough of, and it’s easy to make. The sweet, spiralized, and then baked rutabagas join forces with garlic, olive oil, and parsley for a fresh and savory side dish.
Serve in larger portions in place of a pasta entree. Or, if you’re a meat lover, it’s delicious with a skirt steak that has been simply seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!
- 2 lbs rutabagas
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp fresh finely grated parmesan or nutritional yeast to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 5-6 garlic cloves minced
- ½ C fresh chopped parsley
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Peel and cut the ends off of 2-3 rutabagas (about 2 lbs). Run the rutabagas through a spiralizer on the finest setting.
- Place the spiralized rutabagas on a parchment-lined baking sheet, drizzle with 2 Tbsp of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Evenly coat the rutabagas with the olive oil and seasoning by gently mixing with your hands.
- Evenly spread the spiralized rutabagas out on the baking sheet and cook at 400ºF for 30-35 minutes. You will know that the rutabagas are done cooking once they become soft, darker in color, and slightly translucent.
- Make the garlic herb oil while the rutabagas are cooking. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and add 5-6 cloves of minced garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes and remove from the heat. Stir in the fresh chopped parsley right before serving.
- Once the rutabagas are done cooking, serve immediately, drizzled with the garlic herb oil and then sprinkle with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast for a vegan alternative.
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Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says
I LOVE rutabagas! This looks so fantastic – I haven’t spiralized these yet and now I MUST!
Rachel says
Spiralized rutabagas are the best! My husband and I also love them in my recipe for Blushing Rutabaga Noodles.
Mary @ LOVE the secret ingredient says
I still haven’t made noodles like this, I need to get on the wagon! Your recipe looks amazing 🙂
Rachel says
Thanks Mary! I hesitated for I long time before a bought a spiralizer because I wasn’t sure how much I’d actually use it, and I’ve found that I’ve totally gotten my money’s worth out of it. It surprisingly easy to set up and clean and it work with so much stuff… summer squash, potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, winter squash, carrots, apples… it’s loads of fun!
Sondra says
This sounds great! I have never roasted my spiralized veggies, great Idea!! I’m going to try with a rutabaga and turnip.
Rachel says
Thanks Sondra! I LOVE spiralized rutabagas and turnips too for that matter!
Elizabeth Glidden says
Thank you for this recipe! I love most vegetables, but have had a tough time finding a good rutabaga method, and we often get them in our CSA. Even my husband liked them, which is saying a lot.
Rachel says
I’m happy to hear this recipe worked for you! We get rutabagas in our CSA quite a bit in the winter as well. At the moment this is my favorite way of eating them!
Galina says
Hi. Does the rutabaga need to be in a single layer or is it ok if it’s all on top of another? If backed spiralized potatoes before and those are recommended to be in a single layer. Looks delicious and will be making tomorrow! TIA!
Rachel says
Hi Galina! I didn’t bake them in a single layer per say. I spread them out as thinly as possible in the spaced allowed on my baking sheet and they turned out just fine! I hope that helps and enjoy!
Libbie K says
Why is the carb content so high ? I’m doing the Ideal Protien protocol and rutabagas are allowed…..but these don’t seem very low carb ?? Thnx
Rachel says
Hi Libbie! Great question. Rutabagas are much lower in carbohydrates than potatoes. In fact they contain about 1/3 the amount of carbs. All to say, carbs are still in there though and they contain natural sugars. The serving size I have listed here is pretty generous. You might consider decreasing it to get the amount of carbohydrates in a serving that works for you.
Vanessa says
How big is the serving save you have listed? I had the same concer as Libbie. Would just like a staring point on the portion that works best for me. Thanks!
Rachel says
Hey Venessa- A serving is one-fourth of the recipe. That ends up being approximately 1 cup.