Knish Recipe with Root Vegetable Mash
This knish recipe is a delicious root vegetable mash, wrapped and baked in a golden flaky puff pastry (store-bought). Melt-in-your-mouth and really easy.
Knishes are a great make-ahead side dish or appetizer. See the many options below.
If you’ve seen our easy potato knishes, you will know that I use a BIG shortcut – a really good one. For the knish dough, I use store-bought puff pastry. Call me a cheater. I’m happy to wear that label for my easy, delicious and much quicker knish recipes.
This knish recipe has a small twist with a root vegetable mash filling instead of a white potato filling. So you get a bit of sweetness, color, extra nutrients (vitamins and fiber) and varied flavors.
Needless to say, there are lots of variations you can use for the root vegetables and seasonings.
What is a knish?
The word knish actually means ‘a small person’ in Ukranian. While the origins of knishes are not clear, we know that they were brought to New York City’s Lower East Side by Eastern European Jewish immigrants and sold in delis and street carts.
Traditionally, the classic potato knish – a Jewish staple – is made with fried onions and a potato mixture, wrapped in dough and shaped into various forms.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Root vegetables: Use two or more as the main ingredients – white potatoes (I like Yukon/yellow potatoes more than russet potatoes), sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga (swede), celery root (celeriac).
Puff pastry: I refuse to make puff pastry because the store-bought kinds are so good. It typically comes in a package of two sheets, pre-rolled. Super convenient. Unfold it and you’re good to go. You can find puff pastry dough in the freezer dessert section of most supermarkets. I try to get a brand that contains (and is labeled) ‘real butter’ for excellent flavor.
Root vegetable mash substitutes and variations:
- Lower calorie version: Reduce the butter and eliminate the cream or milk (or replace it with low fat Greek yogurt or broth)
- Dairy free version: Substitute the butter with olive oil and the cream with broth.
- Add ins: Try adding grated cheese, caramelized onions (good!), caramelized leeks and/or chopped fresh chives.
- Seasonings: Add a teaspoon of dried thyme or dill if you like. Or use a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh herbs.
Try a different filling: Instead of root vegetable mash or regular mashed potatoes with fried onions, try a filling of creamed spinach, mushroom and onion, or ground beef and potatoes.
Make your own dough: If you want to get more traditional, here’s a well-reviewed knish recipe with homemade dough from Food52.
Step-by step instructions
Step 1: Make root vegetable mash
Step 2: Make knishes
Tips for puff pastry dough
Best brands
The best brands are made with real butter. Dufour from Whole Foods and the Trader Joe‘s brand are good ones.
Pepperidge Farm uses shortening so it’s quite a bit cheaper. It’s also vegan. The brands made with shortening are still good, especially when combined with a filling. You will still get crispy and flaky dough.
I don’t get too picky. I try to buy a brand that says ‘real butter’ on the package unless I’m serving to a crowd that can’t eat butter.
Working with puff pastry dough
- Work with colder dough: From my experience, the most important tip I can give you is to keep the puff pastry dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it, including the second sheet of dough (while you’re working with the first sheet). Room temperature dough can be sticky and more difficult to work with.
- Work on parchment: Most puff pastry doughs come rolled up in parchment. I unroll the dough and work directly on the parchment. If not available or if your dough is sticking, work on a lightly floured work surface.
- Give it a nice finish: Brushing your puff pastry with egg wash will give it a nice golden glaze. It doesn’t affect the taste at all – it just looks prettier. If you forget or don’t have an egg, don’t worry about it.
What to serve with knishes
Knishes can be served as a side dish with almost anything. I particularly love them with our apricot chicken recipe, tender sous vide maple-soy brisket, spatchcock chicken with teriyaki glaze, cedar planked grilled whole chicken, sous vide short ribs and marinated flank steak.
They’re also great as an appetizer. Just cut them a bit smaller. Some people love them with sour cream.
Shortcuts
The main shortcut – a huge time saver – is using store-bought puff pastry.
The other shortcut is a process time saver. Knishes are most often made as individual pieces – pretty time intensive. Instead, I make 4 logs and cut them into pieces when baked. They may not look as polished, but I have never heard any complaints 🙂
Make Ahead
- Make the root vegetable mash 2-3 days ahead. Keep it in a large bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freeze the unbaked knish rolls up to 2 months ahead in logs, unbaked, wrapped well in parchment and ziploc bags or foil. Bake as per instructions whenever you need them (no need to defrost).
- Bake the knishes a couple of hours before you need them including cutting them into serving pieces. Keep them on the counter. Reheat them in the pan in a pre-heated 350F/177C oven for 6-8 minutes. (I do this all the time – extra crispy/flaky – and highly recommend it.)
- Leftovers: The best part of this recipe is that leftovers are great! For leftover knishes, store them in an airtight container in a single layer, in the fridge for up to a couple of days. Reheat them, tented with tin foil, at 350°F (177°C) for about 10-15 minutes or until they’re heated through and crispy.
More delicious puff pastry recipes
- super easy potato knishes
- vegetable strudel recipe
- skillet chicken vegetable pot pie (shortcut)
- cheese twists
- puff pastry tomato tart
- cinnamon puff pastry rolls
- puff pastry apple tart (30 minutes)
- peach tarte tatin
If you’re looking for Jewish New Year holiday recipes, check out our recipe ideas for a Rosh Hashanah menu.
If you like this recipe, please leave a 5 star rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟in the recipe card below. And if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments. Thanks very much!
Knish Recipe with Root Vegetable Mash
Ingredients
For Root vegetable mash
- 2 pounds root vegetables Note 1 (this will make a bit more than you need)
- 2 tablespoon butter (or neutral oil) use 3 tbsp butter for extra richness)
- 2 tablespoon -3 milk or cream (optional)
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- salt and black pepper
For knish assembly
- 1 package puff pastry dough (2 sheets), defrosted if frozen about 14-17 ounces pastry dough in total
- 3 1/2 cups root vegetable mash (made with ingredients above) cold leftovers is fine
- 1 egg plus one tablespoon water, mixed (for egg wash)
Instructions
- HEAT OVEN to 375F/190C.
- MAKE ROOT VEGETABLE FILLING: (can be done 2-3 days ahead)°Prep and boil: Cut veggies into roughly the same size – about 1 – 1 1/2 inches (3-4 cm). If using carrots, slice them thinner as they take longer to cook. Place in a large pot and add water to cover by 1 inch/2.5 cm. Add 2 tsp salt. Bring to boil. Lower to medium heat and gently boil for 15-18 minutes or until soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain vegetables in a colander and return to the pot. °Mash: On medium heat, shake cooked vegetables to dry them out for 1 minute. Add green onions, butter and milk/cream. Mash with a fork or potato masher to get the consistency you like. Do not use a food processor or immersion blender to mash veggies. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Set aside or store in fridge until ready to make knishes.
- ASSEMBLE KNISHES: On a lightly floured cutting board, unroll one sheet of dough. It should be about 1/8-1/4 inch (3-6 mm) thick. Stretch it out a bit to make a large rectangle. Spread a log of vegetable mash mixture along the longer side of the rectangle – about 2 inches thick. Roll dough over the vegetable mixture about 1 and 1/2 times, making a log/roll. Cut away rest of dough for the next roll. Pinch seams together well (dip your fingertips in a little water if needed). Repeat with other half of dough on that sheet. Then do the same with the second sheet of dough. You will have 4 logs/rolls in total.
- BAKE: Place filled knish rolls – 2 inches/5 cm apart – on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper, seam side down. Brush egg wash on rolls to create a glazed golden look. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and flaky. Cut rolls into 2 inch/5 cm pieces on the diagonal and serve. Or see Note 4 for make ahead options.
Recipe Notes
- Root Vegetables options: Use two or more – white potatoes (I like Yukon/yellow potatoes best), sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabaga (swede), celery root (celeriac). If you don’t have a scale, don’t worry. Leftovers are great. I use two white potatoes, 1 medium sweet potato, 2 medium carrots, 2 parsnips and 1 celeriac (or large turnip).
- Variations and substitutes for root vegetable mash:
- Lower calorie version: Reduce the butter and eliminate the cream or milk (or replace it with low fat Greek yogurt or broth)
- Dairy free version: Substitute the butter with olive oil and the cream with broth.
- Add ins: Try adding grated cheese, caramelized onions, caramelized leeks and/or chopped fresh chives.
- Seasonings: Add a teaspoon of dried thyme or dill if you like. Or use a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh herbs.
- Other variations:
- Try a different filling: Instead of root vegetable mash or mashed potatoes with fried onions, try creamed spinach, mushroom and onion, or ground beef and potatoes.
- Make your own dough: If you want to get more traditional, here’s a well-reviewed knish recipe with homemade dough from Food52.
- Make Ahead options:
- Make the root vegetable mash 2-3 days ahead. Keep it in a large bowl covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Freeze the unbaked knish rolls up to 2 months ahead in logs, unbaked, wrapped well in parchment and ziploc bags or foil. Bake as per instructions whenever you need them (no need to defrost).
- Bake the knishes a couple of hours before you need them including cutting them into serving pieces. Keep them on the counter. Reheat them in the pan in a pre-heated 350F/177C oven for 6-8 minutes. (I do this all the time – extra crispy/flaky – and highly recommend it.)
- Leftovers: The best part of this recipe is that leftovers are great! For leftover knishes, store them in an airtight container in a single layer, in the fridge for up to a couple of days. Reheat them, tented with tin foil, at 350°F (177°C) for about 10-15 minutes or until they’re heated through and crispy.
I’m a total novice, forgot to salt the mash, used a roll of croissant dough, [it’s what I had]
The recipe was easy to follow, ☻, but it still took me more than twice the time.
I did carrot and potato, same reason, everyone noshed them down! Thank you.
I’ll be back soon. ☺
So the croissant dough worked ok? Interesting. Glad everyone enjoyed them. Recipes always take longer the first time. Next time you’ll be a pro 😊