Turnip Soup

The humble turnip doesn’t get that much attention these days, but this turnip soup recipe might just help revive it, putting this nutritious root vegetable back on the home-dinner menu in a regular rotation. The turnip, a relative of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, to name a few, is rich in fiber, packs in the antioxidant lutein and is a food high in calcium too.

Also, you’ll love how big on flavor but low in calories this soup can be. (Granted, you can go heavy on the butter and cream in the name of richness.) It’s a great starter dish and a fine side, or it can be served as a light lunch or an afternoon snack too.

Ingredients for Turnip Soup

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• Butter: Where there is butter, there is flavor. Be generous with the butter.
• Onion: This recipe calls for one medium onion, well chopped.
• Garlic cloves: Make sure the garlic cloves are well minced so they spread their taste around.
• White wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth: Either liquid will do just fine at this stage of the recipe, with the wine adding a bit more flavor to the soup.
• Turnips: The heart of this recipe is the Brassica rapa, aka the turnip. Make sure they are peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes.
• Reduced-sodium chicken broth: You’ll need 32 ounces of broth for this recipe.
• Potato: A medium potato, peeled and cubed, will add taste and texture to this turnip soup.
• Half-and-half cream: Half-and-half works well in this recipe, but if you want a truly rich soup, the key is cream. Not half-and-half, not milk, but cream.
• Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg is a potent spice, so don’t overdo it!
• Baby spinach: A healthy and tasty topper, the spinach gets cooked and added right at the end.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the onion, garlic and wine

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In a Dutch oven or a large pot, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Then add the onion, cooking and stirring until it’s tender and fragrant, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute longer, then stir in the wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, then cook it until the liquid has reduced by half.

Step 2: Cook the turnips and potatoes

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Add the turnips, broth and potato to the Dutch oven or pot, and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Let the soup cool slightly.

Step 3: Blend, then add the cream and spices

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Using a blender or food processor, process the soup, working in batches, until it’s even and  smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot.) Return the pureed soup to the pot, then stir in the cream, salt and nutmeg; heat the soup through.

Step 4: Top each serving with spinach

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As the soup heats, get a large nonstick skillet and heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the spinach, and cook, stirring regularly, until the spinach has just wilted. Portion it out atop servings of the soup.

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Turnip Soup Variations

• Make it vegetarian: It couldn’t be easier to make this soup vegetarian-friendly: Just use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth. Now, as for a vegan option, that’s pretty much out the window with this one.
• Skip the spinach: The spinach does add flavor, and it looks great atop a creamy white soup too, but it’s fine to skip it based on taste preference or if you simply don’t have any spinach on hand.
• Add in bacon: Adding cooked chopped bacon to this soup after the blending will take its flavor profile up to the proverbial 11. The smoky, savory taste of bacon is perfectly balanced against the creamy and hearty turnip base.

How to Store Turnip Soup

This soup will keep well in the fridge for up to three days. Store it in an airtight container and reheat it gently on the stove, using a low to medium heat. You may want to add a splash of milk (or cream) as you warm it if it’s too thick.

Can you freeze creamy turnip soup?

This soup does not take well to freezing, and it’s not the fault of the turnips—it’s the potatoes. They tend to soak in too much liquid, throwing off the balance of the soup when it’s later defrosted.

Turnip Soup Tips

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Is this a healthy soup?

This is a relatively healthy soup, with 6 grams of fat and 526 milligrams of sodium per serving, but what really counts here is the fact that there are fewer than 140 calories per serving as it’s laid out here. Swap out some of the cream for whole milk, and things get even better in that regard.

Can I make this soup in a slow cooker?

Yes, you can. At Step 2, simply set the slow cooker to low and instead of cooking for 25 minutes, let things cook for five to six hours, then pick up the recipe and keep on cooking.

Can I skip the potato?

You can leave out the potato, yes. Just replace it with a commensurate amount of additional cubed turnips, and note that in fact with the potato omitted, this soup will take to freezing much better, so there is even a solid argument to be made to leave the potato out, though it will be missed a bit.