Health Benefits of Turnips (2024)

Raw vs. Cooked Turnips

Can you eat raw turnips? Yes, turnips can be eaten raw. However, they generally taste better raw when they're younger and smaller. Cooked turnips of any age or size can be used in various dishes and prepared in many ways. Cooking turnips can also give them more flavor.

Nutritional Differences

From a nutritional standpoint, there are pros and cons to eating either raw or cooked turnips. For example, more vitamin C is preserved in raw turnips: 27.3 mg per cup raw versus 18.1 mg cooked.Although consuming uncooked vegetables may help gut health and bowel movement for some people, for others, eating raw vegetables can cause stomach pain or aggravate irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) because of their fiber content.

Taste Differences

Smaller turnips are sweeter; bigger turnips are more bitter. Larger, mature turnips have a more peppery, radish-like flavor than younger, tinier ones, which have a more neutral flavor.

Creative Ways to Eat More Turnips

Turnips can be enjoyed raw, pickled, boiled, roasted, mashed, stewed, puréed, added to soups, or prepared almost any way you'd make potatoes. Turnips are a healthy alternative to potatoes; they're lower in calories and have fewer carbs.

When preparing turnips, start by peeling the skin, cutting off the base root, and removing the celery-like stalks and broad leaves, if still attached. Not all grocers sell turnips with their greens intact. If your turnips come with green tops, don't throw them away. Turnip greens are very nutritious and can be sautéed or steamed like otherleafy green vegetablessuch as spinach.

Smaller, sweeter turnips can be sliced into wedges and eaten raw like an apple. Raw baby turnips can be sliced or diced and used in salads. Raw turnips can also be grated and used as a garnish.

Should Anyone Not Eat Turnips?

People taking blood thinners (anticoagulants) such as Warfarin should be careful about suddenly eating large quantities of turnips because they're relatively high in vitamin K, which can interfere with these medications.

Turnips also contain goitrogens, which can disrupt thyroid function. Cooking turnips reduces goitrogen levels, but people with thyroid issues should speak to a healthcare provider before introducing turnips or other goitrogenic foods into their diet.

Summary

Turnips are root vegetables that taste like a combination of radish and potato. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Smaller turnips taste sweeter and less bitter than bigger ones. Larger turnips taste better cooked. Boiling or roasting turnips in the oven are easy prep methods. This root vegetable is often blended into mashed potatoes or used in soups. Because turnips are a cruciferous vegetable and "powerhouse" food, they have many health benefits and can help prevent chronic disease.