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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Sarah says
This is a GREAT dish. We just had it as a side with a slow pot roast & it was terrific at soaking up the juices – something I miss doing on a low-carb diet. I think cauliflower will now be a staple in our house. Yum.
Have you ever tried making it a non-savory dish?
I think it might work really well as a substitute for hot cereal in the morning. I’m thinking: keep the cream/butter to cook it in, but instead of adding savory cheese, add breakfast cereal type ingredients. Say, a bit of vanilla, cinnamon, peanut butter for smooth consistency, almonds. I”m going to try it.
Barb says
I have been loving this recipe for awhile now. I usually just add cream cheese to the cauliflower. Last night I tried steaming instead of microwaving. Then wrapped in a clean dish towel for 5 min. to absorb all the moisture. Then processed in the Ninja with cream cheese. Worked great! Such a treat on a low-carb way of life!
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you’re enjoying it Barb, I bet the cream cheese adds a nice thick texture!
Shannon says
Can you use low fat plain yogurt instead of cream? Anyone?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t see why not – it would definitely alter the flavor though. Not necessarily in a bad way, but the yogurt has a discernible tang to it so not sure how that will play with the cauliflower. Let us know if you try it and how it comes out!
Tracy says
going to try them with Blue Cheese and a tablespoon of Laughing Cow Cheese
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sounds yummy, hope you like them! :)
maddy says
Ahhhhhhhh!! Delicious! We just got through eating these tonight and we actually like it better than mashed potatoes. We added a little more butter than called for, and cooked them a few minutes longer than called for but other than that we followed your recipe and they turned out perfect! We are going to be adding cauliflower to our vegetable garden just so we can have this dish often. Thank you for sharing this and your other recipes. We have also tried the cream cheese pancakes and had the same reaction. Your recipes have definitely helped us stay on our low carb track!
rachel says
My first try was pretty good. I used frozen cauliflower and it came out thinner than I wanted. Maybe I didn’t drain well enough, maybe I processed it too long. I had a hard time getting the cheese to process, I think I should shred it first next time. Or it could be that my food processor is older than me (from the time when all kitchen appliances were off-white with fake wood grain accents). I could still detect the cauliflower taste. Any spices or other things you recommend that might help cover that cauliflower taste?
Amie says
HI Melissa!
I’m new to cooking but really want to try your recipe! Can you tell me how many servings this makes? I’m making it for 7 people for Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
One batch with a large head of cauli will make about 3 cups which technically would serve 6 people at 1/2 half cup each. But it’s so good that most people will end up eating more like 1 cup each so I would definitely make a double batch, if not a triple, for seven people. That also depends on their appetites, and how many other side dishes you are making. If you have leftovers they keep well so I usually err on the side of too much rather than not enough. Hope it’s a hit! Enjoy!
Darcy says
I have a feeling I will be printing every page of your blog. If you can ever get a print option on your blog, please do so. I love me my hard copies. Oh, I guess I should say thank you for blogging and this recipe. I’m not a fan of cauliflower and detest the mock mashed potatoes. I hope to this recipe suits my taste buds. I can handle cauliflower fried, a bit like hash browns but so far, that’s the only way.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hope you liked this Darcy! The redesign is coming along and will have a print feature and also a way to save the recipes in a folder. Stay tuned!
Anonymous says
I have found a heathfull addition that really helps texture in many foods, including cauliflower mash — flax meal. I grind golden flax seeds and add small amounts to many things that tend to be too soft. I don’t have exact measurements, but it doesn’t take much!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Cool idea, thanks for sharing!
Anonymous says
Mellissa, I too can relate to your jumping off the wagon post. Thank you so much for being so honest. It helped me enormously to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t do my diet regimen perfectly. Your wonderful recipes (and others on the net) are helping me stay on track much longer now, since I feel like I’m eating “normal” food every now and then!
Oh, and I did finally test this recipe for freezing, and it did great! So, I’ve just finish making a double batch to take to a Thanksgiving gathering. I put it in a Food Saver vacuum bag, threw it in the freezer, along with the dressing I was assigned to make, and my Turkey Day stress is pretty much over! That morning I’ll just thaw everything out, nuke or heat in oven, and done! It’s going to be really nice to have so much done ahead of time.
Thanks so much again for all you do for us “weird foodies!”
Mary
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Mary! And thanks for letting us know that freezing it works, I’ve yet to have enough leftovers to freeze, but now that I know I can, maybe I’ll make a huge batch so I always have some on hand!!!