Satisfy your carb cravings with this fantastic mashed cauliflower recipe. It's creamy, buttery, and pairs nicely with a tender bottom round roast, turkey, or whenever you'd typically crave 🥔 potatoes.
If you love cauliflower recipes, my cilantro lime cauliflower rice is fantastic recipe. Super easy to make, versatile and tastes amazing. Another easy dinner idea is my cauliflower casserole recipe with chicken, cream cheese, and bacon.
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⭐ Creamy mashed cauliflower
I genuinely believe in the low-carb and Keto-friendly mindset and remove or reduce carbs any chance I get to create healthy, delicious, and practical recipes.
Cauliflower is the ultimate secret ingredient, and for this creamy mashed cauliflower, we only need a couple of ingredients to make the perfect side dish for any occasion. And it's smooth and creamy even without sour cream or Greek yogurt, or cream cheese.
If you enjoy mashed potatoes, this recipe will certainly resonate with you. The combination of butter, garlic, and black pepper replicates mashed potatoes perfectly.
Give this easy, stress-free keto-friendly cauliflower mash recipe a try. Whether you're new to Keto or a seasoned vet, this side dish will satisfy your low-carb keto needs.
🍽 What you need
As with any easy recipe, you only need a few key ingredients and a household food processor to make this recipe.
Equipment
Kitchen equipment that you'll need for this mashed cauliflower recipe include:
- Food processor or blender or immersion blender
- Wooden spatula
- Strainer
Ingredients
- 32 ounces riced frozen cauliflower
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Feel free to scale up the amounts if you're cooking for a large group or down if your crowd is small. This low-carb dish stores well in the fridge and freezer, so don't be afraid to double or triple the recipe. You can also substitute one ingredient for another or add aromatics to add depth to your dish. We'll talk more about the best substitutes, herbs, and spices to use in this keto cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe.
🔪 How to make
Learn how to make the easiest mashed cauliflower recipe with step-by-step instructions, top tips, and easy variations. You'll be in and out of the kitchen in no time.
Step 1
Before you start the cooking process, first prepare the cauliflower. Clean and cut the head of cauliflower into florets, then pulse in a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, don't stress. A 'regular' blender or grater can work just as great. You can skip this entire process if you feel it's a hassle and get riced cauliflower florets from the grocery store.
Step 2
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the riced cauliflower and sauté. This helps to deepen its flavor. Continue to stir occasionally until the cauliflower florets have lightened in color. This should roughly take 3-5 minutes.
Step 3
Add water (it's okay to use boiling water), salt, and bring to boil. Cover and cook cauliflower for about 10 minutes or until fork-tender and soft. Drain the cauliflower using a strainer but reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid. This liquid is a bit creamier and much better than water.
Step 4
Add minced garlic, the reserved liquid, salt, and pepper to the drained cauliflower. Mash using a food processor or immersion blender until the cauliflower puree reaches your desired consistency and creaminess. I once used a potato masher, but the results weren't as smooth as I wanted. There were still a few cauliflower chunks.
Serve and enjoy your cauliflower mashed potatoes keto style.
Making cauliflower mashed ultra-creamy
If you want a creamier Keto mashed cauliflower, you need to switch things up a bit cause the cooking liquid and butter won't just cut it. You need something more creamy, like cream cheese, sour cream, or yogurt. A good amount of cream cheese, sour cream, or yogurt would do the trick.
If you want to keep it non-dairy and paleo-friendly, go for almond cream cheese, coconut cream, or vegan cream cheese.
📖 Variations
Like other keto recipes, you can make your mashed cauliflower healthy without sacrificing flavor or taste. This cauliflower mash recipe is so accommodating, so you can add or swap out some ingredients to suit your needs and taste or what you have available.
- If you're trying to avoid dairy products or avoiding butter for some reason, you can swap out butter for olive oil or ghee. Coconut oil can also be a great substitute, but it'll slightly alter the flavor. And if you opt for olive oil, I'd recommend the extra virgin over the regular one. It retains a more olive taste, giving your mashed potato cauliflower a distinct flavor.
- You can add a few ingredients to punch up the taste. Some parmesan cheese can give your creamy mashed cauliflower a huge flavor boost. If you cant access parmesan cheese, you can use romano, provolone, or Dry Jack. If you have neither of these, cheddar cheese will do just fine. The flavor will be different, though.
- If you don't have garlic cloves on hand, use garlic powder. But remember garlic powder is quite overpowering, so use ⅛ teaspoon of garlic powder for every clove of garlic.
- I used the blanching method to cook cauliflower but feel free to go the roasting or steaming way. If you opt for the roasting route, roast the cauliflower with butter/oil, garlic, and a dash of salt and pepper for maximum flavor. Place in the oven and roast at 425°F for 25- 30 minutes or until fork-tender. For steaming, check out my recipe on how to steam vegetables.
💭 Top tips
- You don't have to worry about overcooking the cauliflower. Unlike mashed potatoes, the longer it cooks, the creamier it gets.
- Don't be afraid to adjust quantities to suit your needs. If you're feeling garlicky or buttery, you can add extra garlic cloves or more butter.
- To avoid a watery, bland mess, drain the cauliflower well.
- Sprinkle pepper to taste, parsley, rosemary, or herbs of your choice on top for a fancy finish.
🥗 What to serve with
Keto mashed cauliflower is one of those side dishes that goes well with just about anything. Here are a few great keto-friendly ideas to get you started:
Bottom round roast - what's more divine than a perfectly seasoned round roast alongside some mashed cauliflower? To be honest, nothing.
Mexican pork chops - I love combining Keto mashed cauliflower with saucy recipes. I always have leftover adobo seasoning, sauce, and cheese to clean up with my mashed cauliflower.
Creamy ranch pork chops - another sauce variation, this time with ranch seasoning. You better believe this mashed cauliflower is fantastic paired with Keto pork chops.
🥫 Storage
If you made more than you should or doubled the recipe, don't fret. Just like mashed potatoes, cauliflower mash stores well in the fridge and freezer.
Fridge
You can store your mashed cauliflower leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. But to last that long, store in an airtight container. To reheat, place in a cooking pot and heat over low heat. You can as well reheat it in the microwave. Serve immediately.
Freezer
Mashed cauliflower can be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer bag. However, sour cream or cream cheese doesn't freeze well. So if possible, leave them out and add them later when reheating.
👪 Serving size
This recipe serves 8 and is super easy to scale. Cauliflower, the primary ingredient, can be bought in bulk frozen premade in advance from fresh cauliflower. Both options are easy!
Besides being a great low-carb swap for mashed potatoes, this Keto mashed cauliflower is equally as delicious, and you can get it done in no time. Once you take a bite of this buttery, garlicky mash, I think you'll be surprised.
📋 Recipe
Potato Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 32 ounces Riced cauliflower - frozen
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter
- 2 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 2 cloves Garlic - minced
Instructions
- Sauté the cauliflower: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the cauliflower and sauté, stirring regularly, until the cauliflower has lightened in color, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Boil cauliflower: Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Drain the cauliflower but reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid.
- Mash or purée: Place the drained cauliflower, minced garlic, pepper and reserved cooking liquid back in the pot. Mash using an immersion blender, a high speed blender or food processor to desired consistency.
- Serve.
Notes
- You don't have to worry about overcooking the cauliflower. Unlike mashed potatoes, the longer it cooks, the creamier it gets.
- Don't be afraid to adjust quantities to suit your needs. If you're feeling garlicky or buttery, you can add extra garlic cloves or more butter.
- To avoid a watery, bland mess, drain the cauliflower well.
- Sprinkle pepper to taste, parsley, rosemary, or herbs of your choice on top for a fancy finish.
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