If you miss potato salad on a low carb diet you have to try this keto turnip potato salad. It’s a great low carb alternative to classic potato salad as it has all the flavor but it uses turnips as a substitute for potatoes. This creamy and delicious low carb side dish has only 5.8 grams net carbs. Even if you don’t care about carbs, it’s a delicious way to eat turnips!
You might also like this paleo Greek sweet potato recipe!

I know turnips are not glamorous vegetables but having just tasted them a couple years ago, I find them to be quite tasty. I had heard in the low carb sphere that they were a good substitute for potatoes and were much lower in carbs. So of course I tried them and I really liked them!
I tried all kinds of recipes and made chips, pasta and hash browns with them and they were great. But this time I was hankering for potato salad, so I came up with this keto turnip potato salad recipe. Many people use cauliflower or radishes instead of potatoes but I much prefer the turnips.
Turnips have a similar texture when cooked as potatoes. So I used my the ingredients my mom used to use to make regular potato salad and I was pleasantly surprised! Plus this faux-tato salad recipe only has 5.8 grams of net carbs.
Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.
The simple ingredients I used for this recipe were turnips, mayonnaise, vinegar, sweetener, celery, red onions, hard boiled egg, salt and black pepper. I also used some paprika on top for color.
Turnips
This is a great recipe to make if you have fresh turnips from the garden. If you buy them at the grocery store go for the smaller, younger turnips as they will be milder and sweeter. Older bigger turnips sometimes have a bitter taste.
And since this is a substitute for potatoes, if you don’t like turnips and don’t care about carbs you can use potatoes! Cauliflower, radishes, celery root, rutabagas are also good keto potato substitutes.
Mayonnaise and Vinegar
I like to use apple cider vinegar for this recipe but you can also use red wine vinegar or even white vinegar. And I always use Hellman’s or Dukes mayonnaise but not Miracle Whip. It’s too sweet for this recipe.
Sweetener
If you don’t care about carbs you can use white sugar. I like Swerve sugar substitute but you can use whatever your favorite brand is.
Celery and Red Onions
I like the color and taste of red onions but you can substitute with a sweeter onion like vidalia onions, green onions or white onion. Celery is must in my opinion, especially if you are not use the celery seed.
Hard Boiled Eggs
I use these in the turnip salad and as a garnish. I think they are pretty essential to use.
Other things to try in this low carb potato salad are dill pickles (not sweet pickles), olives or pickled jalapeno peppers. Add them to the food processor first and mix in with the salad.
Some people like to add dry mustard or even a bit of yellow mustard. I used to use that but kept it simple this time. Also you can garnish with fresh herbs like chives, green onions, parsley, dill, etc.
How to make keto turnip potato salad.
Step 1: Peel and chop the turnips into bite sized pieces. Add to a microwave safe bowl with a bit of water (1-2 tablespoons). Cover with plastic wrap or try this vegetable steamer. Cook for 5-6 minutes until fork tender. Drain and let cool before adding the dressing.
You could also boil turnips in a pot of water and cook until fork tender but make sure to drain well to get rid of excess water.
Step 2: While that is cooking and cooling get out a small bowl and add the mayonnaise, vinegar, sweetener, salt and black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
Step 3: Next dice the celery and onions and add to a large mixing bowl. You can also dice the hard boiled egg and place that in the bowl as well.
Step 4: When the turnips have completely cooled, add them to the bowl with the chopped vegetables along with the dressing and toss gently to combine.
Step 5: Refrigerate for a few hours for the flavors to meld. When ready to eat, sprinkle some paprika on top for color if you wish and add a few wedges or slices of hard boiled egg. That is optional though.
And that is all there is to it! Today I add some fresh chives as a garnish because I had a lot in my garden but that was mostly for color. As I mentioned above you can use other herbs to garnish like fresh dill, parsley, etc.
Store leftover keto potato salad in an airtight container. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.
More keto recipes that use turnips.
If you are new to using turnips on a low carb diet, here are some of my favorite turnip recipes to try.
- keto scalloped potatoes
- low carb roasted radishes and turnip home fries with crispy bacon
- keto bolognese sauce with noodles or spaghetti casserole
- keto pesto pasta or garlic and lemon noodles
As you can see above that turnips are a great substitute for pasta too! They have a better texture than zucchini noodles in my opinion and go great with a meaty sauce or a very flavorful sauce like pesto. Give that a try too!
So there you go my keto turnip potato salad recipe. If you are a fan of turnips or follow a keto lifestyle you should give it a try. You won’t believe how much it tastes like real potato salad. Enjoy!
The nutritional information for 1 serving is 206 calories / 17.5g fat / 7.9g carbs / 2.1g fiber / 4.2g protein = 5.8g net carbs
Keto Turnip Potato Salad Recipe
This turnip keto potato salad recipe is a great low carb alternative to potato salad. Even if you don't care about carbs, it's a delicious way to eat turnips!
Ingredients
- 3 cups turnips, diced
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon sweetener, I used Swerve
- 1 hard boiled egg, chopped
- ⅓ cup celery, diced
- ⅓ cup red onion, diced
- paprika and hard boiled eggs to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Dice the turnips into bite size pieces.
- Get out a microwave safe bowl and add chopped turnips along with a tablespoon or two of water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook for 5-6 minutes until fork tender. Take out and drain. Let cool completely before making the salad.
You could also boil the turnip pieces if you want until fork tender. Just make sure to drain all the water so it doesn't make the salad watery. - n the meantime, add the mayonnaise, salt, ground pepper, sugar substitute and vinegar and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Dice celery, red onion and 1 egg and add to a large mixing bowl.
- When the turnips have cooled, add to the chopped vegetables along with the dressing. Mix to combine. Refrigerate for an hour or two or until ready to eat.
- Optional - Sprinkle paprika on top and garnish with a few sliced eggs. You can also use fresh herbs like dill, chives, parsley, etc.
Notes
The nutritional information for 1 serving is 206 calories / 17.5g fat / 7.9g carbs / 2.1g fiber / 4.2g protein = 5.8g net carbs
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 206Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Sue
Do you cover the turnips when microwaving? Thank you!
Denise
Hi Sue, I always use this microwave steamer (like this https://amzn.to/3tUKTdw) for my vegetables. So yes, I would rinse them then add them to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or whatever you usually use. The bit of water from rinsing will help steam them. Hope that helps.
Ashley N
So you peel and dice the turnips before microwaving them? I’ve never eaten turnips before but want to give this a try!
Denise
H Ashley, yes I peel and microwave them first. I am also working on a similar recipe using celeriac or celery root. That is another good potato substitute. I think rutabaga would be good too but I haven’t tried it yet. Good luck!
marguerite lindemann
Do you think this would work with celeriac instead of turnips.
Denise
Hi Marguerite,
It’s like you read my mind. I was going to try this today with both a rutabaga and a batch with celeriac. I’ve been playing around lately with both of those vegetables.
And yes I think it would be really good.
Take care,