Easy Keto Scalloped “Potatoes” (You’ll Never Guess Our Secret Ingredient)
Missing potatoes since you’ve gone keto?
If you’re looking for a rich and creamy keto-friendly side dish that is similar to cheesy carb-filled scalloped potatoes, then we have just the recipe for you! Our easy keto scalloped “potatoes” are so good, your entire family will love them and they’ll never believe they’re low carb.
So how did we do it? With rutabaga, of course!
For this recipe, we went with rutabaga instead of potatoes because of their similarities to potatoes – but with a much, much lower carb count. You could have a little over four servings of rutabaga and still come out with fewer carbs than one serving of potatoes!
Potato substitutes are one of our favorite swaps to explore at Hip2Keto, as we’ve made fries with jicama, sweet “potato” fries with rutabega, mashed “potatoes” with cauliflower, and loaded baked “potatoes” with radishes! While potatoes do have more protein and fewer grams of sugar, they are still so carb-heavy that they’re sure to knock you right out of ketosis.
Check out the nutrition comparing potatoes and rutabag:
Cooked Plain Potatoes
Serving Size 1/2 Cup | 67.1 Calories | .1g Fat | 15.6g Total Carbs | 1.6g Fiber | .7g Sugar | 1.3g Protein | 14g Net Carbs
Cooked Plain Rutabaga
Serving Size 1/2 Cup | 26 Calories | .2g Fat | 5.8g Total Carbs | 1.5g Fiber | 3.4g Sugar | .8g Protein | 4.3g Net Carbs
Tips for making the best keto scalloped “potatoes”:
- I can’t evenly slice vegetables for the life of me so I rely on my mandoline to get the job done. It makes thinly slicing veggies so much easier!
- The thinner the sliced rutabaga is, the softer texture you will get. If you’re cutting the rutabaga thicker, then I would recommend you baking for at least an hour.
- If you like a crispy breadcrumb topping as I do, add some crushed pork rinds to the top before you pop the dish into the oven.
- Want to bulk up this dish to make it a meal? Try adding in cubed ham or shredded chicken for extra protein and heartiness.
Keto Scalloped Potatoes
yield: 8 SERVINGS
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 45 MINUTES
total time: 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES
Layers of thinly sliced rutabaga cook in a creamy sauce and get topped with a generous helping of shredded cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of sliced rutabaga
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill (optional)
Directions
1
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9"x13" baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
2
Thinly slice rutabaga with a knife or mandoline. In a large bowl, add sliced rutabaga, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Toss rutabaga making sure all slices are coated.
3
In a saucepan, add butter, cream cheese, chicken broth, heavy cream, and shredded parmesan cheese over low-medium heat. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes.
4
Add coated rutabaga slices to the 9"x13" dish. Pour cream sauce over the rutabaga. Top rutabaga with shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
5
Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. Cover the dish with foil if the cheese topping starts to brown too quickly.
6
Serve with fresh dill. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield: 8, Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
197 Calories | 16.2g Fat | 6.9g Total Carbs | 1.4g Fiber | 6.8g Protein | 5.5g Net Carbs
These keto scalloped “potatoes” are amazing!
My husband and kiddos were actually fooled when I served this dish. Since they thought they were eating traditional scalloped potatoes, I’ve decided to call them faux-tatoes! I almost didn’t tell them that they were in fact eating rutabaga, but I caved and they were pleasantly surprised. I hope your family has the same reaction!
Our scalloped rutabaga copycat tastes just as good as potatoes while keeping your carbs in check!
My Hip sidekick Jenna tried out this recipe and here’s what she thought!
“This is such a unique recipe and I was so excited to make it. I had all of the kids try it, and not a single one could tell it wasn’t made with potatoes. Once I told them it wasn’t potatoes two of the three refused to eat anymore, but that’s okay because that left more for me and my daughter.
My daughter is a radish fanatic, and she often snacks on rutabaga, too. She couldn’t believe they took on such a mild flavor. The strong “bite” was gone and it was just like a potato dish!”
Try keto-friendly mashed cauliflower instead of carb-heavy mashed potatoes!
This looks delicious.
This looks like the perfect cold weather night side dish! I hope to try these over the weekend. Thanks H2K!
You bet! Make sure you let us know how it turned out!
I made it tonight and it was seriously amazing. I still had a little bit of that peppery turnip bite, but certainly as close as you can get to scalloped potatoes on keto.
Thanks a bunch for your review!! So glad you enjoyed this dish!
Just curious if the dish was watery when it was finished? When I make my loaded mashed turnips I have to really squeeze all the moisture out of them so the dish isn’t watery, thanks for any input!
Hi Krista! This recipe does not get watery. I do know what you mean though by all the moisture. I hope you enjoy this dish.
Absolutely delicious! Made it and had my boyfriend guessing over and over what the substitute was! I told him and says he never would have guessed!! We ate the whole thing!
How cool! Happy to hear it was such a hit! Thanks a bunch for commenting!
Just curious– your ingredients list says Monterey jack cheese, which is white, but the pictures show an orange/yellow cheese that I assume is cheddar. Did you use both and just list only the Monterey jack?
We used a Monterey blend in this recipe. You can use either one! I make this all the time with both. It comes out looking like a white alfredo sauce if you use the Monterey cheese.
These are so good! I made them for a family gathering and even non keto family loved them. Who would have thought I would ever like turnips
Yay! Super glad to hear that! Thanks for letting us know everyone enjoyed them!
Could you pre-assemble this dish, sauce and all, into a pan and freeze it for later to bake? Trying to batch cook and prep meals ahead that I can just throw into the oven out of the freezer as much as possible right now.
To freeze turnips you’d have to blanch them first. That means after they are cut, toss them in boiling water for 2 minutes and then quickly rinse in cold water and drain them. After that assemble the dish and freeze.
This is sooooo good! Made it tonight and the texture is a bit different from potatoes but the taste makes up for it! Thanks for a great keto friendly recipe substitute for potatoes 💜💜💜
You are very welcome! I love this recipe as well and you are right about it being a great sub! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! Just made these and what a treat! Definitely a great potato alternative. So excited to have found this site and app. My hubs and I are on the keto diet but he’s a super picky eater and I needed some inspiration. Tons of it here! Just came across the site last night when I made the provolone ravioli. I downloaded the app and I’ve already passed on the link to several friends and family who are also on keto. Thanks for breathing life back into our diets!!
Woohoo! You’re SO very welcome! Super glad you are loving the recipes! Thanks a ton for the sweet feedback!
Just made this…It was DELICIOUS!!! I’ll definitely be making it again!! If I didn’t know I would have thought it was potatoes! THANK YOU!
Thanks for letting us know how much you enjoyed this recipe, Hannah!
Just popped it in the oven and it already smells so good!!! I can’t wait to try it! I doubled it though so hopefully it still comes out great!
YUM! Hope you love it!
Do you have to peel the turnips? Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the recipe!
Nope! You don’t need to peel them.
The vegetables in the pix are not turnips, they are rutabaga.
They are turnips. Not rutabagas. Rutabagas are an orangeish-brown color and if store bought will have a wax coating on the outside and must be peeled. They cook up yellow-orange in color. Turnips are white with purple-ish colored tops ( as in the picture) and do not have to be peeled. they will cook up white and look like a potato.
So, I guess I’m confused. The entire recipe talks about rutabaga and the pictures are all of turnips? Which one should be used in the recipe?
Great question, Amy! You can use either one. I’ve done it both ways. I like turnips best!
not a fan of rutabaga but I make the same dish with Large white thin-sliced radishes, I also use radishes with roast and carrots, which taste just like little potatoes. They are a tuber veggie just like potatoes and rutabaga, leave the peel alone the red or black will fade.
Thanks for letting us know what you have liked best, Rita! We have loved radishes as “potatoes” too!
https://hip2keto.com/recipes/keto-mississippi-pot-roast/
https://hip2keto.com/recipes/keto-loaded-radishes-with-bacon-and-cheese/
At the top of the recipe it says that yields 6 servings. At the bottom of the recipe where the nutrition information is it says it yields 8 servings. What is the correct number of servings for the nutrition information given per serving?
Thanks for catching that, Cathy! This is for 8 servings so we’ll get it updated.
How long in advance can I make this dish and keep it in the fridge? My family loves this recipe, it is so very good!!
You could make it the night ahead and cook it the next day. I don’t think I would do much sooner than that since you have cream and cheeses in the recipe.
My husband said these were the “best scalloped potatoes” he’s ever had. I told him that it was not potatoes and it was keto friendly. All the better. Thank you!
Awesome! 🎉You’re SO welcome, Carolyn! 🤗 I’m so glad these were a hit! Thanks a ton for the feedback! 🥰
the recipe says rutabaga, the picture is turnips. What did you actually use?
Hey there! These are rutabagas. It can be confusing as they are so very similar. It seems that turnips are more round and more purple. Hoping this is helpful!
What about adding in some chopped bacon, so as to further changed the “after-taste”
Also, once sliced….boil the slices for 15-20 min/pat dry on papertowels…then continue recipe from there.(this will further take away that radish taste.
Just a thought…Be Well
Thanks for the yummy suggestion! 🙌😋That could work too. It will just change up the nutritional values a bit.💞
Made these for dinner this evening as we’re filling a Keto diet and rutabagas for the bill for low carbs.
I wasn’t really expecting much but, surprise, surprise, they tasted great. They were obviously NOT potatoes, but the texture was pretty close. The cheese sauce really did a nice job of making the whole dish cohesive and tasty. I made steaks and green beans to round out the meal- will definitely make these again.
YUM! Thanks for letting us know what you thought of these, Andy! Happy you enjoyed them with your steaks! 🙌❤️