How to Cook Kohlrabi

In this simple guide I will show you how to prepare and cook kohlrabi. Often overlooked and very much under appreciated, this lovely veggie has lots of potential, you might just need to know where to start.

Why kohlrabi I hear you ask?

I thought it would be good to explore this humble veg in a bit more detail. Perhaps to encourage you to invite it into your kitchen a bit more and (even more importantly) to do it with a feeling of confidence and knowledge on how to "tackle it".

And some "tackling" is definitely required and more about it below. I will also treat you to delicious and super simple kohlrabi slaw recipe but let's start from the beginning.

Jump to:

• What is kohlrabi?
• 🔪 How to prepare it
• 🧑‍🍳 How to cook it
• 🥡 Storing
• ❄️ Freezing
• 💭 Top Tips
• What goes well with kohlrabi
• ❓ FAQ
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is kohlrabi?

This relative of cabbage with somewhat extraterrestrial looks (perhaps because of its antenna-like leaves), kohlrabi belongs to the family of cruciferous vegetables.

Even though I have always only known it as kohlrabi, it's also been called German turnip or cabbage turnip.

Most commonly it is green/white in colour although you can also get your hands on lovely purple variety (my favourite).

When it comes to its seasonality, kohlrabi is available in the UK from late spring and into late autumn if sourced locally and that's when it tastes its best! Having said that, you can now find it in the shops pretty much all year long.

As for the flavour it reminds me a lot of radish, turnip or even broccoli stalk. Crunchy and slightly peppery when raw yet soft and mild once cooked.

Both leaves and main bulb are edible although it's not easy to find kohlrabi with leaves still intact unless you buy it from the farm shop or organic veg box sellers.

🔪 How to prepare it

Kohlrabi is an incredibly versatile veg (once you get to know it better) and can be prepared in many different ways.

It's delicious raw, steamed, braised, roasted, pan fried, stir fried you name it.

However, before you proceed with any of the above this is how you prepare the kohlrabi:

1. Lay kohlrabi down on a sturdy chopping board.

2. Using a sharp knife cut of the antenna like leaves (if present). You can also snap them with your hand but with the knife you can get closer to the skin which will make for easier peeling.

3-4. Trim both top and bottom end of the kohlrabi so that you have two flat sides.

5-6. Using vegetable peeler, peel the skin of kohlrabi making your way around the bulb until the toughest layer has been removed.

***Quick Tip*** Sometimes it can be quite tricky to remove the outer skin with the peeler especially when it's later in the season and it gets tougher so you might need to resort to using paring knife instead.

7-8. Slice peeled kohlrabi into thick discs and go around the edges with paring knife to ensure there's no tough skin left. This might not be necessary if using young kohlrabi early in the season as they tend to have thinner skin.

***Quick Tip*** I like to cut my kohlrabi into discs no matter what recipe I'm using it in. Thick discs are easy enough to hold for grating, cutting into matchsticks, cubes, fries etc. They're great starting point.

Now your kohlrabi is ready to use any way you like!

🧑‍🍳 How to cook it

Eat it raw

Kohlrabi is absolutely delicious raw and it makes great alternative to cabbage in slaw recipes.

Gently peppery in flavour it partners well with carrots, parsnips, and apples in my wintery Kohlrabi and Apple Slaw with Chickpeas recipe you will find in recipe card below ⬇️.

Boil

Kohlrabi can be cut into cubes/chunks and boiled just like potato in salted water until tender. You can then either serve it as is, garnished with some fresh green herbs like dill or parsley or you can mash it and serve instead of mashed potatoes.

Parboil

My favourite way of serving kohlrabi is turning it into schnitzel (recipe coming soon). As it needs to be pan fried I like to parboil it first in order to shorten the frying time substantially.

9-10. Bring the pan with salted water or veggie stock (for more flavour) to boil and add prepared kohlrabi slices. Boil for approximately 5-7 minutes or until soft when pierced with the knife.

Parboiled kohlrabi can be then cut into cubes, tossed with seasoning and spices and sautéed in a pan with a touch of olive oil just like sautéed potatoes.

Roast

Roasted kohlrabi is super delicious especially when seasoned generously with your favourite spices. I love smoked paprika and a touch of ground cumin with plenty of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and cut prepared kohlrabi into 3cm cubes/chunks. You can also cut them into fries instead.

Drizzle over some olive oil, season with your choice of spices + salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes until coloured giving it a stir half way through.

Air fry

Air fried kohlrabi is very similar to roasted version and again you can cut it into chunks or fries depending on your preference.

It will take anything between 15-20 minutes at 200C/400F to cook it in the air fryer with a little bit of oil and some seasoning of your choice.

Make sure to give it a shake every 5 minutes and check on its doneness at the same time so that it's both tender and crispy just as you like it.

Stir fry

I love using kohlrabi in stir fries, similar to broccoli stalk.

Once prepared, simply cut it into thin matchsticks and add to the wok/frying pan at the same time as carrots (they both take similar time).

Use it in my Veggie Fried Rice recipe instead of or together with broccoli stalk.

Braise

Braised kohlrabi makes for fantastic side dish and is especially great if you don't want to preheat or perhaps don't have room in the oven.

The secret to braising is to start off with a really hot pan (heavy duty ones are best for this) with a bit of oil or butter of choice and fry kohlrabi chunks until they start to colour a bit stirring from time to time.

After about 5 minutes, add a splash of water and be prepared for a lot of steam and sizzling noises.

Put the lid on, lower the heat right down and cook for about 10 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender. Make sure to keep checking on it to make sure it's not getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add splash more water if necessary.

Season and dress to taste. I love it with a touch of good quality, thick balsamic vinegar.

🥡 Storing

Kohlrabi keeps really well in the fridge and can last even few weeks providing its leaves have been trimmed as they tend to draw the moisture from the bulb itself and therefore shorten its shelf-life.

❄️ Freezing

Kohlrabi can be frozen and used in stews or pies straight from frozen.

Prepare it as per my instructions above and cut into chunks.

I would recommend blanching it first in boiling water for 1-2 minutes before cooling it quickly in ice cold water which will stop the cooking process.

Once cooled completely and dried, it can be frozen in a freezer friendly bag or a container.

If you don't want to end up with a huge icy lump of kohlrabi, I would suggest flash freezing it spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Once solid, transfer it into the freezer bag.

What goes well with kohlrabi

Kohlrabi pairs well with anything acidic, think vinegar, lemon juice, mustard etc. so it's perfect raw with zesty salad dressing or cooked with a nice sharp sauce.

Yogurt, mayo or cream based sauces go well with it too as do cheeses (including plant based ones). Try it thinly sliced and used with potatoes in a gratin baked with stock and cream (plant based for me).

Pair it with root vegetables, apples, pears and fresh herbs like parsley, chervil dill and more.

Oh and don't forget maple syrup or honey.

❓ FAQ

Have you found my How to cook kohlrabi guide useful? 
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below.

📋 Recipe