5 from 14 votes

Knishes with root vegetable mash is a delicious twist on traditional potato knishes. Golden, flaky store-bought puff pastry encases mashed root vegetables for a melt-in-your-mouth side dish that’s easy to make.

Knishes are a great make-ahead dish with many possible variations.

root vegetable mash knishes piled on plate.

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.

The root vegetable mash filling (instead of the typical white potato filling) adds a bit of sweetness, color, extra nutrients (vitamins and fiber) and varied flavors.

Check out the 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

two puff pastry sheets, green onions, one egg and container of root vegetable mash.

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

parsnips, white potato, sweet potato, carrots, celeriac. — **For root vegetable filling**: Use any combination of root vegetables you like to equal about 2 lbs/0.9kg. Pictured are carrots, celeriac, parsnips, white potato and sweet potato.

diced root vegetables on cutting board. — Dice vegetables into equal pieces (dice carrots smaller)

cooked root vegetables in colander, draining. — Boil vegetables with a pinch of salt and drain.

mashed root vegetables in container. — _{Mash the vegetables with green onions, butter (or oil), seasonings and a splash of milk if you like.}

Step 2: Make knishes

two logs of root vegetable mash on puff pastry, ready to roll up. — Form two logs on one puff pastry sheet rectangle.

one knish roll and another roll in process of being rolled up. — Roll one knish, slice it off the remaining dough. Pinch dough together along roll to make a seam. Repeat with remaining roll. Then repeat to make 2 more rolls (4 in total).

two rolls unbaked knishes brushed with egg wash — _{With seam side down, brush the top of each knish roll with egg wash.}

two baked puff pastry and root veg mash rolls of knishes. — Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at 375F/190C for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and flaky

cut up root vegetable mash knishes. on cutting board. — Cut on diagonal into 2-inch/5 cm equal pieces.

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

If you’re looking for Jewish New Year holiday recipes, check out our recipe ideas for a Rosh Hashanah menu.

Please leave a 5 star rating ***** with a comment in the recipe card below if you like the recipe, Thanks so much!

Print Recipe Pin Save

Rate this recipe here

5 from 14 votes