This keto potato salad recipe is brought to you by Fiesta Brand Seasonings!
This Southern style Keto “Potato” Salad or Fauxtato Salad has all the comforting flavor of the old school potato salad you love and grew up enjoying with a fraction of the carbs! By substituting turnips for potatoes in this “potato” salad recipe creates a delicious keto friendly, low carb side that will fool even your toughest critic!
What’s a summer BBQ without potato salad? Am I right? A few weeks ago, we smoked baby back ribs for dinner and The Cowboy asked about sides and was just craving a good ole’ classic potato salad. As you may know, turnips are one of my favorite keto friendly, potato substitutes and making it the first time, it’s been the most requested recipe of the past few months!
Selecting Turnips for the Keto Potato Salad
The thing about turnips is they can get a little bitter as they get bigger, so you want to use turnips that are on the smaller side, at least baseball size or smaller. If you happen to get a larger one, you can definitely use it but taste it first to see just how it tastes. Not bitter, go ahead and use it!
To prepare the turnips, cut off both sides and peel them with a vegetable peeler. Some of the larger turnips have a thicker fibrous layer around the outside so you definitely want to peel past that layer as well.
Once the turnips are peeled, dice them into chunks and into the pot they go with some salted water.
To prepare the boiled turnips for the salad
Unlike potatoes, turnips do not have a ton of starch but do have quite a bit of water. So we have to take a few extra steps to keep this keto potato salad creamy and not watered down. So, after the turnips are tender, lay them out on a paper towel lined sheet pan to drain and cool. When they are cooled off I like to smash right on the paper towel to absorb more of the moisture. Then replace the wet paper towels with dry ones and then press the turnips to remove more of the water. You can also do this with a clean kitchen or cup towel.
If you prefer your keto fauxtato salad on the chunky side, leave more chunks. And likewise if you like it more mashed up, go for it!
Ingredients for the Keto Fauxtato Salad
So, once your turnips are pretty dry and the size you want, they go into a bowl and just like any other potato salad, all the go in! Celery for crunch, boiled eggs, mustard, mayo, green onions, pimento and a few of my go to Fiesta Brand spices go into the mix.
My secret ingredient for this keto potato salad recipe is sugar free or no sugar added sweet pickles. I’ve used both bread and butter and sweet gherkins that are sugar free. I found them easily at my local grocery store! Traditionally, we like our potato salad with a hint of sweet that you get from the addition of sweet pickles or old school salad dressing, so these sugar free pickles are perfect to add that hint of sweetness with no additional sugar. If you prefer, your low carb potato salad with mayo and dill relish, feel free to substitute chopped dill pickles or relish for the sweet.
Everything gets gently tossed together and there you have it! I think this keto potato salad recipe is better when it’s refrigerated overnight because all of the flavors get a chance to mix and mingle. If you don’t have time to refrigerate overnight, at least shoot for a few hours!
This Keto “Potato” Salad has become the most requested recipe from The Cowboy…I even served it up for Easter and no one could tell the difference! If your looking for the perfect side dish for your next cookout or BBQ, look no further!
Looking for more fun, keto summer sides? Check these out!
- Antipasto Salad with Cauliflower
- Oil & Vinegar Coleslaw – A FAVE!!!
- Keto Creamy Coleslaw
- Asparagus Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
- Marinated Artichoke Salad
Keto “Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds turnips peeled and diced
- 4 green onions sliced
- 3 hard boiled eggs chopped
- 1/2 cup diced celery about 2 ribs
- 1/3 cup chopped sugar free or no sugar added pickles ** see notes
- 3 Tbsp. diced pimento
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder
- 1//4 tsp. paprika
- 1/4 tsp. celery salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
- Place the diced turnips in a pot and cover with water. Lightly salt the water and bring the turnips to a boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the turnips and pour them out onto a sheet pan lined with a clean dish towel or paper towels. Let the turnips cool for at least 20 minutes. With a masher, smash the turnips on the sheet pan to your desired chunkiness. Replace the paper towel under the turnips if needed and continue to remove the excess water from the turnips by pressing them gently between paper towels or dish towel.
- Place the cooled turnips into a bowl and add the green onions, chopped boiled egg, celery, pickles, pimento, mayonnaise and the next 6 ingredients. Gently mix the ingredients together until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Store in a tightly covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are approximate and will vary depending on the ingredients used. Carbs from sugar alcohols have been excluded since they have shown to have no impact on blood sugar.
Your Keto Southern “Potato” Salad looks great, thanks for posting it. I asked a produce guy if there was a way to tell if a turnip was hot or not. I was told the milder ones were the ones with the most purple on them and the hotter ones had more white. He was right!
Good to know! I have noticed the smaller turnips have less color…Thanks for sharing!