Celeriac: Health benefits, nutritional values & how to enjoy

29th Feb 2024

It might not be the most appealing veggie in the shop, but don't judge a root by its cover! Here are a few reasons to add it to your repertoire, especially during the colder months.

Key points

• Health Benefits
• Tasty Tips
• 2 recipes
• Dive Deeper

Health Benefits

To your meals, celeriac brings:

✔️ Dietary fibres – which improve gut microbiota diversity and digestive health.

✔️ Potassium – which is involved in many essential functions, like the maintenance of normal blood pressure.

✔️ Vitamin K and C

✔️ Flavonoids such as apigenin and kaempferol.

Apigenin’s anticancer properties: It’s a type of plant flavone that has caught the eye of many researchers due to its numerous valuable properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. Research found that a higher intake of apigenin and other flavonoids was linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers. You can also find it in chamomile, parsley, and artichokes.

One of your quality carbs: As a root vegetable, celeriac provides carbohydrates alongside fibres, vitamins, minerals and beneficial plant compounds. While potatoes contain 1.8 grams of fibre, celeriac takes the lead with 3.7 grams per 100 grams – making it a great addition to your carb sources.

More to come… A few trials are looking at celery extract but we didn’t find studies using celeriac or celery root. More research is needed to explore its specific health benefits.

Tasty Tips

Around the world

• French Céleri rémoulade – grated celeriac in a tangy mustard dressing.
• Polish Celery root salad or Surówka z Selera – often served with other winter salads like carrot salad, sauerkraut slaw and beet salad.
• German Celery root puree or Selleriepüree

At the Doctor’s Kitchen, we love its versatility and subtle nutty flavour that tastes like a cross between celery and parsley. Plus, it’s a real team player, soaking up and enhancing other flavours in soups, stews, and casseroles. We’ll keep having fun with it in the months ahead!

5 ways to enjoy

1. Raw in salads: Slice or grate it for a creamy coleslaw or to add some oomph to your salad.
2. Breakfast Hash: Peel the celeriac, dice it into cubes, and sauté it with spices. Serve it up with leafy greens and eggs or beans.
3. Purée: Boil and mash it with other root vegetables to give a twist to your classic potato mash. Pair it with baked fish or a hearty mushroom stew.
4. Pickled: Cut it into thin batons and soak them in vinegar and spices. They’re perfect additions to sandwiches, rice bowls and salads.
5. Soups & Stews: Toss it into lentil or bean stews and soups alongside other root veggies for added depth and flavour

2 recipes

• Miso Maple Roasted Celeriac, Kale and Goji Berries
• Celeriac, Apple and Butterbean Soup

Dive Deeper

Bruznican et al. Front. Plant Sci. 2020

Kooti et al. J Evid Based Complementary Altern Med. 2017