6 Alternatives to Mash Besides Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are the ultimate wintertime comfort food. They’re perfect beside just about any entree, topped with practically all types of gravy. However, as the temperature rises and you start unloading those tank tops and shorts from the back of your closet, you may be looking for lighter options. Luckily, starchy potatoes aren’t the only vegetable you can mash into a creamy side dish. Here are a few potato alternatives for your next online culinary school dish:

Cauliflower
This mashed cauliflower recipe from Pop Sugar is flavored with bacon, ghee, scallion, and salt and pepper. It’s paleo-friendly and low in carbs.

Rather than mashing with your standard potato masher, simply remove the florets of steamed cauliflower and blend them in a food processor. You can mix the ghee and seasonings right inside. Garnish the dish with bacon and scallions and nobody will notice the difference!

Beet
While you can make this beet mash from Food Network without a potato, consider adding just one for better texture. All this mash really needs is a little bit of butter and salt, but the website calls for a topping of horseradish sauce as well. While the red color may be off-putting to mashed potato purists, they’ll enjoy this beet mash once they give it a chance!

Celeriac
Celeriac, also known as knob celery or celery root, is an underutilized root vegetable. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver developed a recipe for mashed celeriac to remind all of us of this veggie. This simple recipe consists of just oneceleriac, olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, and water or stock. Dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian, this recipe is delicious for anyone, despite any dietary restrictions.

Pumpkin
While there are many ways to prepare mashed pumpkin, this kaddu ki sabzi recipe from Veg Recipes of India utilizes some of India’s most beloved spices, like masala and turmeric, along with sweeter ones like jaggery and mango powder to create this savory dish. While a pressure cooker makes it easier to soften the pumpkin up enough to mash it, you can also cut the pumpkin into small pieces and boil them, just like you would with potatoes.

Carrots
Pumpkins aren’t the only orange vegetable that you can mash. These creamy mashed carrots from Five prove that point. These carrots are pureed in a blender after being stewed in salt water. Flavor them with butter, roasted garlic, pepper, ginger and curry powder. Once they’re pureed and seasoned, it just takes a few tablespoons of milk or cream to get that perfect consistency.

Turnips
Depending on your personal preference, you can make this creamed turnip recipe from Simply Recipes with either large or small turnips. Smaller ones are sweeter and may be more watery than larger turnips, which tend to be a little more bitter. Either bitter or sweet turnips complement the cloves, white pepper and nutmeg used to season the side dish. However, if you use turnips with higher water content, just be sure to use less cream so your recipe doesn’t turn out waterlogged.