Did you get turnips with tops at the farmers market? Don’t let the greens go to waste! Use this simple, 6-ingredient, vegan recipe to make garlicky turnip greens without meat.
Every year when my CSA pick-up includes turnips with their vibrant green tops still attached, I’m over the moon.
It’s such a glorious two-for-one.
You get a versatile root vegetable that’s great for pickled turnips, plus leafy greens that are chock-full of vitamins A, C, K, folate, calcium, iron, potassium, fiber, and antioxidants.
Many people throw away the green tops, but it’s such a waste. Not only are turnip greens packed with nutrients, they’re really tasty in their own right.
(If you love kale or collard greens, you’re going to be a fan!)
Like other dark leafy greens, many people add some kind of smoked pork product as flavoring when they make turnip greens. However, turnip greens are delicious without meat.
(And if you’re missing smoky flavor, add a tiny bit of liquid smoke to the pot or cook them with pieces of seitan bacon.)
Tender cooked turnip greens melt in your mouth. And they make an easy side dish alongside your favorite comfort food.
In this post:
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.
Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil will work here. I use avocado oil.
Fresh garlic: Cloves vary in size. So choose the amount by your own affinity for garlic, and the size of the specific cloves.
Turnip greens: If you get turnips at the farmers market or CSA, use the green tops for this recipe. Look for leaves that are bright green & not wilting or shriveled.
Water: I like to use water & bouillon for their pantry-friendly ease. But if you’d rather, you can use vegetable broth instead.
Bouillon: Better Than Bouillon no chicken base works well here.
Salt: A pinch of salt amplifies the flavors. If your bouillon is super salty or you just don’t like salt much, you can use less or omit it altogether.
How to wash turnip greens
Turnip greens can be sandy. And getting the texture of grit in your side dish is no fun.
So if your turnip greens have dirt on them, be sure to thoroughly wash them by filling a mixing bowl with cool water. Submerge the greens, swish them around, and knock off any loose dirt.
Let them soak until the dirt settles at the bottom. Then pour off the water, and complete the whole process all over again until no dirt is left behind in the bowl.
Step by step instructions
This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.
1. Hold a turnip in one hand, and put your other hand around the base of the turnip greens. Then twist to remove the greens. (Alternatively, you can cut off the green tops, if you’d prefer.)
If the greens are sandy, wash them in a mixing bowl, as described in the section above. If they’re not sandy, you can simply rinse them under cool water under the faucet.
2. Dry off the greens with a clean kitchen towel, and remove the hard stems on the leaves by hand or with a knife. (The tender center stems on each leaf are fine.) Then roughly chop the leaves.
Tip: If you like extra texture in your greens, you can eat all of the stems.
3. In a medium-sized pot, saute garlic in oil until fragrant. Then add the chopped turnip greens and a pinch of salt. Combine.
4. Add water and bouillon. Bring to a simmer. Then cover and turn to low.
Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the liquid has mostly cooked off and the turnip greens are tender.
Adjust to taste: The greens are great as-is, or you can tweak them to suit your tastes by adding more salt, a dash of hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of apple cider vinegar, ⅛ teaspoon of liquid smoke, or a dash of smoked salt.
Make it your own
Make this vegetable side dish your own by varying the ingredients & seasonings.
Cook with seitan bacon
If you’d like some smokiness, protein, and a bit of chew to your greens, saute seitan bacon in oil before adding the garlic. (Upton’s Naturals and Herbivorous Butcher are my favorite brands.)
You can even add black-eyed peas later on like I did in my recipe for black-eyed peas with collard greens.
Don’t feel like adding seitan bacon to your greens? Serve the greens as a side dish with a vegan BLTA to play with the same flavor combination.
Add chopped onions
Chopped onions add delicious flavor and sweetness to the greens. Saute about ¼ cup of chopped yellow onions in oil before adding minced garlic.
Add kale or collard greens to the mix
Amp up the flavor & nutrients by adding an equal amount of kale or collard greens to the recipe. Then double the water, bouillon, and salt.
Collard greens are sturdier than light turnip greens. So if you’re using them, I recommend cooking all of the greens low, slow, and covered for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until they’ve reached your desired level of softness.
Add a splash of liquid smoke
Often, people will add animal-based bacon to their greens for smokiness. However, the only reason that product tastes smoky is because it has been cooked in a smoker. You can just as easily use liquid smoke instead.
Liquid smoke is simply smoke that has been condensed into a liquid. You can find it next to barbecue sauces in most grocery stores.
A little goes a long way. Start with ⅛ teaspoon and work up from there, if desired.
Use smoked salt
Instead of table salt, add a pinch of smoked salt for smoky flavor.
Add a dash of hot sauce
If you like a little kick of heat, add a few dashes of hot sauce. A vinegar-based hot sauce is especially nice here.
Add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
For a bit of tang, add a squeeze of freshly squeezed lemon juice or splash of apple cider vinegar.
Add some sweetness
If turnip greens are too bitter for you, add some sweetness!
Throw in a handful of dried cranberries at the same time as the greens, as I do in my recipe for smoky sweet vegan collard greens. Or even add a sprinkling of sugar.
Serving suggestions
Turnip greens are an excellent side dish for almost any main course.
They go especially well with smoky flavors, comfort foods, and foods associated with picnics.
Serve them with any of these main dishes:
- Vegan pulled pork with Soy Curls
- Vegan BBQ sandwich
- BBQ jackfruit
- Vegan fried chicken
- Vegan bacon, lettuce, green tomato sandwich
- Vegan spicy hot sausage sandwich
- Hot open faced sandwich
Cooked turnip greens pair well with any of these side dishes:
Storage & reheating
Store leftover garlicky turnip greens in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for about 4 days.
Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave until warm.
FAQ
As far as bitterness is concerned, turnip greens are in the same wheelhouse as kale and collard greens. So if you’re used to milder greens like romaine or spinach, they may seem bitter at first.
They have a much stronger, grassier flavor.
If you eat dark leafy greens regularly, you will become accustomed to the strong flavors, and will likely notice that your palate changes.
Until then, if they’re too bitter for you, try adding a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar, a small handful of dried cranberries, a sprinkling of sugar, or cook them longer than listed here. (If you’re cooking them longer, you may need to add more water + bouillon.)
No. You should remove the greens and store them separately from the turnips in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
If you leave the turnip greens attached to the root, the turnips will quickly go soft, because the greens will draw moisture away from the root.
Instead, remove the greens from the turnips before storing. Put the greens in an airtight container or plastic bag. Plan to use the greens within 2 or 3 days, because they wilt quickly.
Absolutely! Use this basic cooking method with any dark leafy greens you want like beet greens, kohlrabi greens, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, etc.
(If you use a lighter green like spinach, you won’t need to add any water or bouillon, because it will wilt quickly just from heat alone.)
If you try this recipe and love it, let me know! Leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the comment section below. It truly makes my day and is such a help!
📖 Recipe
Easy turnip greens recipe without meat
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or other neutral flavored oil
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves minced
- 9 ounces turnip greens (roughly the amount of leaves from 3 large turnips)
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base
Instructions
- Twist to remove the green tops from turnips. The greens can be sandy. So fully soak them in water in a bowl and swish them around for a minute. Then rinse and repeat until no grit is left in the bowl. (If your turnip greens aren't sandy, just rinsing under water with the faucet is fine.)
- Move the greens to a clean, dry kitchen towel, and pat dry. Then remove the hard stems by hand or with a knife. (The tender center stems on each leaf are fine.) Note: If you like texture in your greens, feel free to leave all of the stems.
- On a cutting board, roughly chop the leaves.
- In a medium-sized pot or skillet with lid, bring oil to a medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Add the chopped turnip greens and a pinch of salt, and combine it with the garlic.
- Add water and Better Than Bouillon no chicken base. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Once it is simmering, turn the heat to low and cover, stopping occasionally to remove the lid & stir. Continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes, until the liquid has mostly cooked off and the turnip greens have become soft to the tooth.
- Taste and and more salt, if desired. (You can also adjust the taste by adding a dash of hot sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of apple cider vinegar, or ⅛ teaspoon of liquid smoke.)
David
Mmmmm, turnip greens are an underrated green in my book! And any greens sautéed with garlic are going to be tasty.
Cadry Nelson
So true! Glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
Mary Anne Rozanski
Radish greens are also a very tasty green.