Low Carb Mashed Potato: Creamy Swede (Rutabaga) Mash
In short
Spuds are off the menu on low carb, but swede (rutabaga in some places) makes a surprisingly close stand-in. Peel and cube it, boil it in salted water until a fork passes straight through, then blend it with butter, a little thickened cream, salt and pepper. I then tested stirring in almond flour or coconut flour to give it more body. Almond flour won.
Key points
- Swede is the swap. Some places call it rutabaga. It’s not a particularly strong root veg, and it has less than half the carbs of a potato.
- You only need three things. Swede, butter and heavy (thickened) cream, plus salt and pepper. The flour is an optional extra.
- Cube it small. Peel and chop the swede into cubes so it cooks through quicker, then boil it in salted water until a fork passes through easily.
- Blend rather than mash. You can mash it by hand, but I use a bullet blender with a bit of butter, not too much cream, and salt and pepper. It comes out as a smooth purée that’s a little looser than spuds, and it tastes pretty good as it is.
- Almond flour for body. A couple of spoonfuls of almond flour stirred through the purée in a saucepan made it stand up more like mashed potato, with no hint of almond at all.
- Coconut flour is firmer but you can taste it. Two tablespoons of coconut flour gave a much tighter consistency, but with a definite coconut twang.
- My ranking: almond flour first, the plain purée second and coconut flour third. It’s personal preference, so try them and see which you like.
- Not an everyday thing. I wasn’t a huge mash fan to start with, but some dishes call for it, like sausages, mash and onion gravy. When I get the urge, this is by far the best option.
Mashed potato is one of the comfort foods people miss most when they go low carb, and I had a comment asking about it on one of my earlier videos. Potato is pretty much off the cards when you’re cutting carbs, but you can get a fairly close approximation using swede, which some places call rutabaga.
A swede has less than half the carbs of your humble spud. Blended with butter and cream it makes a rich, creamy mash, and in this video I also run a little experiment with almond flour and coconut flour to see which gets it closest to the real thing.
Method in brief
- Put a pan of water on to boil.
- Peel the swede and chop it into cubes so it cooks through quicker.
- Add some salt to the water, drop the swede in and boil it until a fork passes through easily.
- Drain it and put it in a blender (or mash it by hand) with a bit of butter, a little thickened cream, and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, working in batches if you need to.
- Taste it. It’s good as it is, just a little looser than potato mash.
- For more body, warm a couple of dollops of the purée in a saucepan and stir in a couple of spoonfuls of almond flour. Coconut flour (about two tablespoons) works too and sets it firmer, but you’ll taste the coconut.
Which version won
Almond flour, by a mile. It stood up just like mashed potato and there was no hint of almond in it. The plain purée came second, and the coconut flour version came third because of that coconut twang, even though the texture was the tightest of the lot.
It’s not something I’d eat every day, but for a plate of sausages, mash and onion gravy it does the job. Swapping potato for swede is exactly the kind of simple change that helped me drop 23 plus kilos in four months and reverse my type 2 diabetes.
Missing chips as well? Watch me make my low carb French fries, or read the fries recipe. Want to know why potatoes are off the menu in the first place? See LCHF vs Keto and why I avoid bread, rice and pasta.
New to all this? Grab the free Carb Guide, or watch my story and how I lost 23kg in four months.
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Not medical advice. I'm not a doctor, dietitian or nutritionist, just a bloke telling the story of what worked for me. Check with your doctor before changing your diet or medication.
