These Keto Scalloped "Potatoes" are super simple and totally decadent. We swear you’ll think they’re potatoes.
We've always been a huge fan of scalloped potatoes, they're such a holiday staple we knew we needed to recreate a low-carb version. These are so good you'll want them year-round. These Keto Scalloped "Potatoes" are creamy, cheesy, tender, and taste almost identical to potatoes with a fraction of the carbs.
This low-carb recipe is super simple to make. We start by sautéing onion and fresh thyme in butter (butter makes everything better) then microwaving the heavy cream and cream cheese together to form a cream sauce. The cream cheese helps thicken the cream so there’s no need for a flour type of thickener.


After that you just layer in the thinly sliced turnips, top with the onions and more pats of butter creating about 3 layers. Pour that cream sauce over the top and cover with foil to bake for about 30 minutes before removing the foil to let the top get nice and crispy around the edges.
These will be a hit with the potato-loving folks in your life, we doubt they’ll even realize they’re not eating potatoes!
Ingredients in Keto Scalloped "Potatoes"
- unsalted butter
- onion
- fresh thyme
- cream cheese
- heavy cream
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- turnips
Plant-based options: How to make this recipe dairy-free
You can easily make this recipe dairy-free by making the following swaps:
- unsalted butter -> sub in a dairy-free butter like Miyokos
- cream cheese -> use a dairy-free cream cheese, we like Tofutti in this recipe
- heavy cream -> simply swap in unsweetened plain almond milk
Super easy!
How to make this recipe
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat one tablespoon butter in a 10″ or larger cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add in the onion and thyme, cook stirring frequently about 5 minutes until softened and starting to brown. Remove and set aside.
- In a heatproof bowl melt the heavy cream, cream cheese, and salt and pepper together until smooth.
- Place one layer of turnips in the skillet overlapping slightly, sprinkle with a bit of the onion and place a few cubes of butter on top. Repeat with 2 more layers.
- Pour the cream sauce over the top and cover with foil. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes, uncover and bake another 45 until golden on top.
Check out these other resources to read more about the nutritional benefits of turnips:


Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided, dairy-free if plant-based
- ½ cup minced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 8 ounces cream cheese dairy-free if plant-based
- 1 cup heavy cream unsweetened plain almond milk for dairy-free
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 cups peeled and thinly sliced turnips about 6 small/medium turnips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Heat one tablespoon butter in a 10″ or larger cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add in the onion and thyme, cook stirring frequently about 5 minutes until softened and starting to brown. Remove and set aside.
- In a heatproof bowl melt the heavy cream, cream cheese, and salt and pepper together until smooth.
- Place one layer of turnips in the skillet overlapping slightly, sprinkle with a bit of the onion and place a few cubes of butter on top. Repeat with 2 more layers.
- Pour the cream sauce over the top and cover with foil. Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes, uncover and bake another 45 until golden on top.
Sonja says
Hello! Made this last night for Thanksgiving and they were AWESOME! Tasted so creamy & deliciously rich, just like Scalloped Potatoes. However, I did add (1) IMPORTANT ingredient that was missing from your recipe. Gruyere Cheese! Julia Child’s Scalloped Potatoes has this and so I thought I’d add it. Makes all the difference in the world. Give it a try! But otherwise they were the bomb. Won’t miss potatoes anymore when I can make these. Thank you so much 🙂
Alex Lester says
That's a great addition, gruyere is one of my favorite cheeses! Really glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Terri Iverson says
About how much Gruyere Cheese did you add?
Kathy says
I added shredded chedder cheese and butter pieces in between layers of cream and turnips....too bad I couldn't add a photo to the comments...YUMMY!
Anu says
Gorgeous! I eyeballed the ingredients (more cream cheese and onions, less cream, some garlic, a pinch of nutmeg, fresh parsley on top) but it still came out perfectly, tasted just like scalloped potatoes but better. Thank you so much 🙂
Alex Lester says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Tamera Alexander says
I just made these tonight to go with our Fillets and Ribeyes for our SuperBowl dinner. DELICIOUS! So creamy. Perfect texture. I just read the comment about adding Gruyere cheese and will definitely try that next time. Really appreciate your recipes and your site. My husband and I are both Keto and love this lifestyle. And cooking with cast iron! I'm planning to make your dinner rolls this week. Thanks again!
Jessica says
This looks delicious! Do you think I could prepare this the night before to be baked the next day
Alex Lester says
Yes, for sure!
Bigmista says
This is definitely going on the recipe list!
s. johnson says
These are amazing! I am so excited to have found a potato replacement! Thank you
Connie says
Can this be made a day ahead???
Don says
I changed out the time for Rosemary from my garden; added a bunch of minced Garlic and a mixture of cheeses like fontina, parmessean, etc.
Not missing potatoes anymore! Thanks.
Summer says
So good! I think we like this better than potatoes! Best side for low carb we have had in a while!
Terri Iverson says
About how much Gruyere Cheese would you add?
Stacy says
I almost did have the family fooled tonight with our Easter dinner. These were amazing and I don't normally care for turnips!
Teri says
This recipe is hands down the best scalloped turnip recipe. I have made this several times for my non-keto family and have to say we never have leftovers