This keto cauliflower mash is better than mashed potatoes. Change my mind. Just kidding – you can’t. A bold claim, but I stand behind it. And believe me, nobody is more surprised than I am at how delicious this low carb cheesy cauliflower puree is!
If you’ve tried keto cauliflower mash or cauliflower puree before and found it lacking, I totally feel your pain!
I’be been on various low carb diets since the 90’s (1990’s – I’m not THAT old), and had heard many people tout mashed cauliflower as an acceptable substitute for mashed potatoes. I’d tried it a few times and always…..meh, not so great.
I think part of the problem for me is that keto cauliflower purees always seem too watery and don’t have that true starchy mouth feel of real potatoes. I had long ago put mashed cauliflower in the category of “better than nothing but nowhere near as good as mashed potatoes.”
Steaming or boiling the cauliflower always ends up in a watery, greyish, flavorless mess. If that’s been your experience, then I’m excited to introduce you to this keto cauliflower mash recipe – where I solved the problem by microwaving the cauliflower uncovered, which concentrates the flavors and also allows a lot of the liquid to evaporate while cooking, leaving you with a much thicker end result.
In addition to the consistency issue, my other problem with low carb cauliflower mash recipes has always been the funky, skunky flavor natural to cauliflower. The addition of a strong Irish cheddar cheese made all the difference! It embraced the funk and transformed it into a complex flavor that I couldn’t get enough of!
The naturally sweet flavor of the cooked cauliflower paired with the extra sharp cheddar in this cauliflower puree made regular mashed potatoes seem boring and one note by comparison. And I’m a person who loves mashed potatoes!
If you’re on the fence, and are worried about being disappointed yet again by another keto mashed cauliflower recipe claiming to replace mashed potatoes, then I implore you to scroll down and the read the comments of all the people who were skeptical at first, but had their minds blown when they gave this cauliflower puree recipe a try.
Then be sure to let us know what you think!
Tips for Making the Best Cauliflower Puree
Be sure to watch the recipe video in this post to see how we do it, and how easy it is – even when making smallish batches.
First, try to choose a head of cauliflower that feels heavy, and has tightly packed florets. If the head is loose and there is a lot of visible stem, you will likely end up with a grainy cauliflower mash from the thick membrane on the outer stem. If using stems and they seem thick, peel them with a paring knife to get that membrane off and you will be rewarded with the creamiest cauliflower puree of your life.
Second, be sure to trim your cauliflower into pieces that are no more than 2 inches in size. If you cook the cauliflower and there are some tiny pieces and some huge pieces, you will inevitably be left with some that are overcooked and shriveled, as well as some cauliflower pieces that are left raw in the middle – that will also result in a grainy puree.
If you can’t get Irish cheddar, a decent brand of extra sharp grocery store cheddar (like cabot or Cracker Barrel) will do – but don’t use the cheapest brand, or anything pre-shredded, or you won’t get nearly enough flavor to balance out your cauliflower mash.
Which Appliance Works the Best
If you read through the comments you’ll find that people did not have great results with blending this cauliflower mash in a food processor. If it’s what you’ve got, then it’s better than nothing, but you’ll find that it will not produce a creamy, smooth cauliflower mash – it’s just not built for that.
My favorite way to make this cheesy cauliflower mash is in my Nutribullet because I can easily shake up the cup to redistribute the cauliflower pieces while blending.
When making larger batches, I have made it in my trusty Blendtec blender (and back in the day my Vitamix) with good results, but it can be annoying to have to remove the lid multiple times to stir the mixture with a spatula to get it to blend. Since we are looking for a nice, thick consistency to our cauliflower mash, we don’t want to add more liquid to make it blend too easily or it will be a very loose puree.
So for that reason my favorite appliance for making this recipe is the NutriBullet, or some other kind of bullet style blender.
More Delicious Cauliflower Mash Recipes
- Bacon & Smoked Gouda Cauliflower Puree
- Cheddar Leek Cauliflower Mash
- Garlic and Chive Cauliflower Mash (Dairy free and SCKC friendly)
- Jalapeno Popper Cauliflower Mash Casserole
- Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Mash Casserole
Now you’ve got all of your keto side dishes covered, but if you’re in need of more keto dinner ideas to serve with this cauliflower mash, check out this post of keto dinner recipes next!
Cheesy Cauliflower Mash – Keto, low carb
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This Keto Cheesy Cauliflower Puree is so thick, creamy, and delicious, you’ll never miss mashed potatoes again!
Ingredients
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 ounces Dubliner Irish Cheddar or other sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces.
- Place in a microwave safe bowl with the cream and butter.
- Microwave, uncovered, on high for six minutes.
- Add the garlic powder and stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture. Microwave for another six minutes on high.
- Check that your biggest florets are fork tender, if still hard, microwave another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the microwave and spoon the cooked cauliflower and any liquid into a magic bullet or high speed blender.
- Add the cheese and puree until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Keto Side dish
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 148
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Protein: 6g
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You can also download all five of my ebooks, loaded with tasty original low carb recipes in a special bundle for just $19.99!!!
Peggy says
I have to say I just made this and it is amazing!! Starches are not my friend, and I really, really miss mashed potatoes when I’m trying to eat healthier. I used low fat cream and old/sharp cheddar cheese. Delicious! I’m so stoked!!! Thank you Mellissa!
Mellissa Sevigny (sevimel) says
Thanks for the feedback Erin! More cheese + bacon added?? I’m in! Glad you liked it!!
erin says
I just made this with a couple of modifications and couldn’t believe how fabulous it was. My modifications included adding one piece of crumbled up bacon and a tablespoon or so of a 3 cheese mix (parmesan, asiago) in addition to the sharp cheddar. I will never be missing potatoes again.
Anonymous says
Sounds delicious, but certainly not low in fat/calories…close to 900!
Anonymous says
That really isn’t a factor when you are on a low carb high fat diet. The goal is getting your calories from fat and moderate protein instead of carbs and sugar. This allows your body to use your fat stores for energy. If it was actual potatoes the starch and carbs would raise your blood sugar, in turn your insulin drives the sugar into your fat cells and tells them to store it instead of releasing the fat for your muscles and organs to burn which causes your body to respond by triggering your hunger levels to get you to eat more.
melissa vrell says
nicely put!
I’m thinking a vintage white cheddar and chives, omg
dana says
thank you for that nice “English” translation of the process! much appreciated
Anonymous says
Melissa, what a wonderful, short, to the point explanation why calories and fat don’t matter! Need to memorize it..:)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks but that wasn’t me! Some other knowledgeable person (probably from r/keto) added that tidbit which I appreciated very much!
rnjsmom says
not sure where you get 900 calories from. 2 tablespoons of heavy cream is 100 calories. 1 tablespoon of butter is a hundred calories. The cheese is 200 calories. And the coliflower is about 48 calories.that’s a total of 448 calories in 4 servings or 112 calories per serving. so pretty much bang on what her numbers were. Where did you get 900
Chris R says
If you look at the updates, and the original date of the recipe, you will see that the recipe has been tweaked to reduce calories since 2012.
Sandra says
No but if your eating keto you need high fat and most don’t count calories.
Ravi says
900 calories? This is the problem with people. Gross overestimating the weight of fat because it is demonized for ages now. The cream is 100 calories (a tbsp at 50 calories), the butter is 100 calories (1 tbsp of Kerrygold Grass Fed butter is 100 calories per tbsp). The cauliflower should be 50-75 calories. The 2 oz of cheese is ~25-30 calories. And the garnishing is maybe 5-10 calories. All in total, this is a 300-310 calorie dish.
By the way, thank you so much for this dish. I loved it. I didn’t puree it to mashed potato texture because I loved it without that step. I ate it as a vegetable entree with two Mama Lupe Low carb tortillas and it was a brilliant meal. I believe this gives me the idea to try this with various other ‘solid’ vegetables for entree purposes.
Mellissa Sevigny (sevimel) says
Maxivida I bet you’re right! Or gruyere! They have that foot funk thing going on too so would probably work great with the cauliflower flavor! Embrace the funk! It’s my new motto! ;) Let me know how they come out if you try the swiss!!
maxivida says
I bet this would taste even better with Appenzeller Swiss cheese (no Dubliner where I live and I’m not a big fan of cheddar). Cauliflower is now on the top of my grocery shopping list!
Thanks for the recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny (sevimel) says
Hey Heidi! The microwaving thing really works for a nice thick texture – of course the cheese doesn’t hurt! Cheese makes everything better! Well almost everything! :)
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Yummy! I love mashed cauliflower – not really as a replacement for mashed potatoes(because I love them too!) but I’ve always liked them just as their own dish. The texture of yours looks perfect though! I really have to try adding cheese to mine some time, that sounds awesome :D
Anonymous says
Instead of parmesan cheese try nutritional yeast, it tastes like parmesan cheese and is very healthy. Check it out on google. I am goiig to try this with butter mixed with coconut oil. I can’t wait to get my cauliflower:)
Mellissa Sevigny (sevimel) says
Bacon! Holy Toledo why didn’t I think of that!? Sounds yummy – if you post it send me a link to the recipe! I’m working on cauliflower tater tots next I think!
Kelly the Happy Texan says
Oh wow! I’ve had the same issues with mashed cauliflower. I can’t wait to try these. Im thinking of a twice baked potato casserole with bacon, chives and cheddar. And a little sour cream. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
Louise says
You have officially changed my life! These WERE better than mashed potatoes. I used yogurt instead of cream, coconut oil instead of butter. And I added a dash of Better Than Bullion, mushroom flavor. OMG!!!! No mushiness, no grittiness. Just PURE HEAVEN!! Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
You’re so welcome Louise!!!! Happy to introduce another person to the joys of cauli puree! :)
Lisa says
Was wondering if you have tried this left over, heated up the next day in the microwave?
Mellissa Sevigny says
All the time, it’s great!