Keto Colcannon

This keto colcannon is made with turnips and loaded with bacon, butter, and cabbage! This is a terrific side dish your whole family will enjoy!

I love taking traditional recipes and making them low carb; and this keto colcannon is one such dish! We replace the usual potatoes with turnips and use heavy cream instead of milk; and the result is a side dish that is incredibly delicious and keto! We love this dish and hope you and your family will too!

Are turnips and cabbage keto?

Turnips and cabbage are both great keto options. Turnips aren’t the lowest carb vegetable option; but, in moderation, you can definitely add them to your food list! A medium turnip contains approximately 6 grams of net carbs. Turnips are a low-calorie food and contain important nutrients. They are a good source of Vitamin C and fiber. As an fyi, turnips can have a mild bitter taste; but smaller turnips tend to be less bitter. Turnips have a thicker skin and are harder than potatoes, so be careful when cutting them. I usually use a meat cleaver to cut mine.

Cabbage is an excellent keto food choice. It is a low calorie and low carb food that is rich in nutrients. One cup of raw chopped cabbage contains only 3 net grams of carbs. With cabbage you get a source of calcium, folate, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins C and K. You’ll also get a good source of fiber with cabbage. There are quite a variety of cabbage types. Some of the most common include green, red, savoy, and napa cabbage, and bok choy. I used green cabbage for this colcannon dish.

What other ingredients go into this keto colcannon?

Of course, we add bacon to our colcannon! I used 6 slices, but feel free to add more if you’d like.😉Traditional colcannon uses a good amount of butter so I thought ours should too! If you’d like even more butter, you can add some to the top of your dish. A little onion, salt, and pepper give this dish awesome flavor and the parsley gives added color and flavor. To keep the carb count down and to add richness to our colcannon, we use heavy whipping cream to mash our turnips.

Do you have any tips for making this keto colcannon?

This is a fun and easy recipe, but there are a few things I’d like to share with you about making it. First, you start with boiling your turnips. I live at an elevation of about 7350 feet, so my vegetables often take longer to make. My turnips took about 35 minutes. Just check yours to make sure they’re fork tender before mashing. You can get the rest of your dish done while your turnips are cooking. When making your bacon, you can fry and then crumble it. I like to use kitchen scissors to first cut mine and then cook them. Everyone has their preference for the doneness of bacon. I like a little softness to my cooked bacon. You can cook yours to your desired crispness.

Make sure you reserve all your bacon grease as you’ll be using it with butter to cook your cabbage and onion in. I was able to fry my bacon and then cook my cabbage in the time it took for my turnips to get done. Once you drain your turnips, add the butter, heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper. You can mash your turnips to be smooth or to be a little lumpy. I prefer mine to have some lumps; but I lovingly refer to them as “rustic,” as that sounds so much better than calling them lumpy! Then add your bacon and cabbage mixture to the mashed turnips. If needed, you can heat your mixture for a few minutes on the stove.

Here are some main dishes that would pair nicely with this colcannon!

Dad’s Keto Swiss Steak

Keto Amish Baked Chicken

Keto Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken

Pork Loin with Keto Chipotle Raspberry Sauce

Helpful Hints:

*If you want to use dried parsley, you’ll want to use about one and a third tablespoons in place of the ¼ cup of fresh parsley.

*You can top your colcannon with additional butter if you’d like.

Main Kitchen Equipment and Utensils:

• Large saucepan
• Large skillet
• Measuring cups

Splash of Encouragement:

***Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4***