Try this creamy celery root and potato puree for a delicious twist on traditional mashed potatoes. With a smooth, velvety texture and subtle flavor, it’s the perfect side dish for any meal.
If you’re looking for a fresh, flavorful twist on classic mashed potatoes, you’ve got to try this celery root and potato puree. The creamy texture and subtle, earthy flavor of this dish make it the perfect side for a variety of entrees. Celery root, also known as celeriac, is a slightly mysterious root vegetable that might not look like much at first glance—it’s a gnarly, tan bulb with a knobby exterior. But don’t let its rugged appearance fool you. When prepared correctly, it offers a mild, almost nutty flavor that’s surprisingly delicate, with a hint of celery and something reminiscent of radish.
This puree combines the smooth, comforting texture of mashed potatoes with the unique, slightly herbal flavor of celery root. The result is a silky, velvety side dish that’s both familiar and new. The potatoes bring that classic creaminess, while the celery root adds an intriguing depth of flavor and a subtle bite that sets it apart from regular mashed potatoes. It’s the perfect balance of comfort and sophistication, making it a great choice for everything from roasted meats to seafood.
What’s great about this dish is how versatile it is. You can serve it with anything from roasted chicken to seared scallops, and it’s guaranteed to elevate the meal. Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or simply looking to add a little variety to your weeknight meals, this celery root and potato puree will definitely impress. It’s a simple yet unique side that’s easy to prepare but feels like a gourmet treat.
Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs celery root
1 ½ lbs potatoes
3 garlic cloves
2 dry leaves
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups water
salt, pepper
2-4 Tablespoons butter, optional
Fresh herbs, to garnish, optional
How To Make Celery Root and Potato Puree
Peel the celery root by cutting off the outer skin with a knife. Cut the celery root into small pieces.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces as well. The potatoes should be slightly larger pieces than the celery root.
By the way, you can prepare this recipe with just celery root and omit the potatoes altogether, just use double the amount of celery root. It will taste absolutely delicious too.
Place the celery root and potatoes into a medium pot. Add the bay leaf and the garlic clove. 
Pour in the milk and water. Season with salt and pepper. 
Cover the pot with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
Drain off the liquid, but set aside some of the liquid.
Discard the bay leaf and the garlic cloves.
Place the cooked celery root and potatoes into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Normally, I would NEVER pulse potatoes in the food processor. That is a big NO-NO, since the potatoes have a lot of starch and become gluey and gross in the food processor. However, for this recipe, we are using half celery root and half potatoes, so the potatoes do not get a chance to get gluey. The celery root really does need to go through the food processor to become a puree and if you use the potato masher, you will have lots of lumps of celery root, since it doesn't break down and become as soft as the potatoes do.
Pour in some of the reserved cooking liquid, adding as much as you like to have the consistency of puree that you're looking for. Add more or less, according to your preference. 
Season with salt and pepper, if it needs it. You can also add a pat of butter, it's up to you. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Celery Root and Potato Puree
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs celery root
- 1 ½ lbs potatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 dry leaves
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 ½ cups water
- salt pepper
- 2-4 Tablespoons butter optional
- Fresh herbs to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Peel the celery root by cutting off the outer skin with a knife. Cut the celery root into small pieces.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces as well. The potatoes should be slightly larger pieces than the celery root.
- Place the celery root and potatoes into a medium pot. Add the bay leaf and the garlic clove. Pour in the milk and water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with a lid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and can be pierced with a fork.
- Drain off the liquid, but set aside some of the liquid.
- Discard the bay leaf and the garlic cloves.
- Place the cooked celery root and potatoes into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
- Pour in some of the reserved cooking liquid, adding as much as you like to have the consistency of puree that you're looking for. Add more or less, according to your preference.
- Season with salt and pepper, if it needs it. You can also add a pat of butter, it's up to you. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Notes
I love mixing different root vegetables into mashed potatoes! And thanks for the tip about using the food processor -- I've been hand-mashing my celeriac and couldn't figure out why I wasn't strong enough to make it work.
The food processor definitely works best for celery root:). We've been having this quite often lately. We love it:).
We love mashed potatoes. Will definitely try with a variation. You invent interesting recipes.
Olga, do you steel hone ur knives? Do u use knife sharpner on regular basis at home or u take them to professionals to do sharpening job? As far as I know u don't use mandoline and being a food blogger you use ur knives a lot. Will b very thankful if u reply to my comment.
Hi Shirley,
Enjoy the mashed potatoes:). The celery root gives it a nice flavor.
My husband actually sharpens my knives for me every other month or so and I also have a honing steel that I use the rest of the time. I do love my knives!
Thanks for the reply dear
That looks delicious! My hubby loves mashed potatoes mixed with carrots but I think next time it'll be celery root instead 🙂
You're welcome, Olga.
I'd love to hear what you think when you give it a try, Olga.
Celery root? what is that? lol im sure almost every russian person will ask you that:) lol and yes i've never cooked with celery root myself, maybe time to experiment something new:) thank you
I think I explained pretty well what celery root is in the post:). I actually know a lot of Russians who use celery root. I think it gives a great flavor addition to dishes:).
I have never cooked with celery root, but your recipe looks absolutely delicious. Just what I need to get me to try something new.
I hope you like it, Dana.
This is something completely new to me! We love mashed potatoes, plain or with different herbs added in. This is a dish that I will now have to try. Is there a reason you also cook it in part milk? In regular mashed potatoes, we usually add hot milk after we drain the water off, before we mash the potatoes. Does that make a difference? Thanks
Cooking the celery root in milk gives it a more mellow taste. If you cook it only in water, it will have more of a bite, although I like it both ways.
That looks interesting, definitely unique. Would love to try it 🙂
Just looked it up, a lot of health benefits too.
Where do you buy it?
We have it in all our regular grocery stores, Julie.
Oh really? I haven't really payed any attention..
Good to know they're everywhere : )
Well, it's in all the grocery stores in my area. I can't speak for the rest of the country.