Stuffed kohlrabi with two kinds of filling (bacon and cheese), baked in the oven. Learn how to make our favorite kohlrabi recipe.
An easy stuffed kohlrabi recipe with bacon or cheese, I could not tell which one of these two combinations I like most, so I make both most of the time.
Raw kohlrabi sticks or a fresh salad are the most common ways of enjoying kohlrabi in our house. Still, I often cook this stuffed kohlrabi recipe, the Kohlrabi Fries, and German Kohlrabi Soup.
I heard on the radio once that there is no other country growing and eating as much kohlrabi as Germany. This could be why the German name is also used in English. I believe this to be true; I lived in four countries until now, and nowhere have I seen as much kohlrabi as here.
Table of contents
Recipe ingredients
I use two different fillings for making stuffed kohlrabi, one with potatoes and bacon and one vegetarian filling with tomatoes and cream cheese (the filling is only vegetarian if you use vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan). We love both fillings so much that I must admit, I’ve never cooked this recipe using just one of the fillings.
These recipes pair kohlrabi with more robust flavors. The first option gets its taste from the salty, savory bacon, the second from the onions, crème Fraiche, and goat's cream cheese.
- Kohlrabi: Four medium ones; a medium kohlrabi is about as large as my fist, maybe just a tiny bit larger.
- Vegetable broth for boiling the vegetables before stuffing them. Please don’t waste the broth; use it to make any soup you like.
Ingredients for the bacon filling
- Potatoes: You can cook fresh potatoes for the recipe or use leftover mashed potatoes or leftover boiled potatoes.
- Bacon: 2 or 3 slices, depending on their size.
- Chives: Fresh or frozen (not dried). You can replace them with other fresh or frozen herbs, for instance, parsley or dill.
- Egg yolk
Ingredients for the cheese filling:
- Cherry tomatoes: ripe and sweet.
- Cream cheese: I often use goat’s cream cheese, but regular cream cheese is excellent.
- Crème Fraiche: Sub with sour cream or smetana, if available.
Ingredients for both fillings:
- Parmesan: Freshly grated Parmesan from a wedge. Substitute with vegetarian hard cheese if you want to keep the second filling vegetarian.
- Green onions
- Fine sea salt or Kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Step-by-step instructions
How to cut and peel kohlrabi?
- Cut off the stems and the leaves. You can use the stems and the leaves for making soup.
- Top and tail the vegetables and discard these parts; they are quite woody, especially if the kohlrabi is large.
- Peel the vegetables with a vegetable or potato peeler like you would peel an apple or potato (1). Alternatively, you can use a small knife.
Pre-cook the kohlrabi
- You will have to cook the kohlrabies in vegetable broth before stuffing and baking them.
- Cut the peeled kohlrabies in half (2).
- Bring the broth to a boil, add the veggies and cook them for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through but still firm to the bite (they should not fall apart). The cooking time will vary according to the size of the vegetable.
- Remove them from the broth with a slotted spoon and set them aside until cool enough to handle.
How to make the fillings?
- Chop the green onions and grate the Parmesan. Set them aside separately.
Filling one:
- Peel, cut, and boil the potatoes if you don’t have any leftover boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes. Drain and cool slightly while you prepare the rest.
- Fry the bacon until crispy, let drain on kitchen paper and chop into small pieces (3,4).
- Mash the potatoes with a fork in a medium bowl.
- Add the chopped bacon, 2 tablespoons of the finely chopped green onions, 1 tablespoon of the grated Parmesan, the chopped chives, and the egg yolk.
- Mix well and adjust the taste with salt and pepper (5).
Filling two:
- Deseed the tomatoes and dry their insides with kitchen paper. Chop them very finely and place them in a second bowl (6).
- Add the rest of the chopped spring onions, 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan, cream cheese, and crème Fraiche. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper (7).
How to stuff kohlrabi?
- Scoop out some of the flesh to make space for the stuffing; they should resemble nests (See Tips).
- Place the halves in a lightly greased baking dish.
- Stuff four kohlrabi halves with the first stuffing and the other four with the second stuffing.
Bake
- Bake the stuffed kohlrabi for about 30 minutes until golden brown and heated through.
Expert Tips
- You can choose only one of the stuffings if you wish. In this case, double the quantities for the selected stuffing.
- Use the scooped-out kohlrabi flesh, the vegetable broth, the stems, and the leaves to make soup. You can add some more kohlrabi or/ and other vegetables to the broth. You can leave the soup chunky or blend it to make it creamy. Add some heavy cream, cream cheese, or even milk in this case.
Recipe FAQ
When eaten raw (my favorite way of eating it), it is sweet, crunchy, and fresh, a bit like a radish but milder and much sweeter, a mixture between radish and cabbage.
When cooked, the taste becomes more delicate, a wonderful tenderness replaces the freshness of kohlrabi, and the sweetness remains but more subtle and gentler.
Cooked kohlrabi needs to be paired with stronger flavors. Otherwise, the finished dish might be too delicate or quite bland.
If you live in Germany, you know that you will find kohlrabi at any time of the year and in any supermarket or grocery store.
Otherwise, you might find it in larger supermarkets and farmer’s markets.
Remove the leaves and the stems if you plan to keep the bulb for more than 1-2 days; the leaves will wilt rapidly.
Wash and dry the bulbs if they have much dirt on them.
Refrigerate them in the crisper of the fridge for about one week; they will probably be good even a bit longer, but if you keep them for too long, they will start building mold on the outside and will become somehow hard and porous on the inside.
Definitely, if you have lots of them, you can cook them like you would cook spinach, Swiss chard, or other greens.
You can slice them and add them to soups towards the end of the cooking time.
How to serve and store?
- Serve the stuffed kohlrabi immediately with a fresh green salad with yogurt dressing, for instance.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Reheat in the oven before serving. I often eat the leftovers directly from the fridge or at room temperature; I love them!
- The stuffed kohlrabi is not suitable for freezing.
More stuffed vegetables
Stuffed Kohlrabi, Two Ways
Ingredients
- 4 medium kohlrabies
- 8 ½ cups vegetable broth 2 liter
- 5 tablespoons finely chopped spring onions divided
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan divided
Filling 1:
- 9 oz potatoes 250 g, Note 1
- 2-3 slices bacon depending on size, Note 2
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 1 egg yolk
Filling 2:
- 5.5 oz cherry tomatoes 150 g
- 2 tablespoons full-fat cream cheese Note 3
- 2 tablespoons crème fraiche Note 4
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Pre-cook the kohlrabi:
- Bring the vegetable broth to a boil.
- In the meantime, peel and halve the kohlrabies.
- Cook the kohlrabi halves in the vegetable broth for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through but still firm to the bite (they should not fall apart).
- Remove them from the broth with a slotted spoon and set them aside until cool enough to handle.
- If cooking potatoes, cook them in a separate pot while the kohlrabies are pre-cooking.
In the meantime:
- Grate the Parmesan and finely chop the green onions. Set them aside separately.
- Prepare the fillings.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
Filling 1:
- Peel, cut, and cook the potatoes until tender. If you have leftover mashed potatoes or leftover boiled potatoes, you can use those.
- Fry the bacon until crispy, let drain on kitchen paper and chop into small pieces.
- Mash the potatoes (with a fork) in a medium bowl. Add the chopped bacon, 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese, 2 tablespoons of the green onions, the egg yolk, and the chives.
- Mix well and adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
Filling 2:
- Tomatoes: Halve the cherry tomatoes, discard the seeds and dry the inside of the tomatoes with kitchen paper. Chop the tomatoes very finely and place them in a second bowl.
- Add the remaining chopped green onions (3 tablespoons), grated Parmesan (2 tablespoons), cream cheese, and crème Fraiche. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.
Fill the kohlrabies:
- Scoop some of the flesh from the kohlrabi halves until they resemble nests (Note 5).
- Fill kohlrabi: Place the scooped halves in a lightly greased baking dish. Fill four halves with the first stuffing and the other four with the second stuffing.
Bake:
- Bake for about 30 minutes until the stuffing is golden brown.
- Serve immediately with a green salad.
Notes
- You can make the recipe with leftover mashed potatoes or leftover cooked potatoes.
- For a vegetarian version, replace it with finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes from a jar.
- I prefer to use goat’s cream cheese; it has a stronger flavor that pairs perfectly with kohlrabi. However, regular full-fat cream cheese is fine as well.
- Sub with full-fat sour cream or smetana (Schmand).
- Use the scooped-out kohlrabi flesh, the vegetable broth, the stems, and the leaves to make soup. You can add some more kohlrabi or/ and other vegetables to the broth. Leave the soup chunky or blend it to make it creamy. Add some heavy cream, cream cheese, or even milk in this case.
Danielle + Rooting The Sun says
Happy Sunday Adina! I just found your blog, but I think that it's wonderful and your recipes are fresh and celebratory of the seasonal produce! This is an awesome recipe and one I cannot wait to try - it looks and sounds so delicious! Kohlrabi is such a cool and versatile vegetable!
Adina says
Thank you, Danielle, I am happy to hear this. Kohlrabi is indeed cool and there is so much one can cook with it. 🙂