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
New to the low carb lifestyle and need some help? Try my free 3 day kickstart plan to get into ketosis fast! Then follow it up with any of my 12 free weekly menu plans – complete with shopping and prep lists!
You can also download all five of my ebooks, loaded with tasty original low carb recipes in a special bundle for just $19.99!!!
Liza says
One more thing: you can boil the cauliflower till soft and that works great as well. Just make sure to squeeze out as much water as you can prior to blending. Mine comes out nice and creamy in my blendtec blender. :)
Liza says
Also try adding some garlic (roasted in the oven first) and blend it with the cauliflower. It really gives it the authentic garlic mashed taste. I also like to add cream cheese, parmesan cheese, a little creamer and butter…so yummy and creamy. I was in shock that it tasted just like garlic mashed potatoes!!!
Next time I will try it loaded with cheddar, bacon, and sour cream:)
Angela says
Does a food processor work as well as the magic bullet or should I invest in a magic bullet?
Mellissa Sevigny says
A magic bullet is always a good idea Angela! I don’t know what I would do without mine! Why not enter the giveaway and maybe you’ll win one! ;) A food processor just won’t get it as smooth as a blender or bullet, but it will work in a pinch, as long as the cauliflower is cooked until really soft and you blend it on high for a couple of minutes! I don’t mind a few lumps in mine anyway, it still tastes great! :)
Jaime says
I am interested in what food processor you use. I have a cheap one and I have achieved an excellent taste with these, but the texture is lumpy and full of chunks.
Mellissa Sevigny says
For these I use my magic bullet and it works great every time. The key is to make sure your cauli is really really soft. Sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes in the microwave depending on how big the head of cauli I start with is. If the cauli is really soft even a cheap food processor or blender will get it smooth. Hope that helps!
Miranda says
I have made this and it was really good, consistency and all. Although, I could not find a Dubliner, so I crossed my fingers and went with smoked Gouda… and it was good but whew it was very potent! I will definitely find a less extreme cheese to go with next time!
Diana says
I’ve made mashed cauliflower in the past and it’s always been a huge failure – way too grainy and doesn’t come together like mashed potatoes at all. I realized, for me, it was because I needed to cut as much of the stem off as possible before cooking and using a blender helped a LOT.
I just made your recipe above for the first time and it was by far the best version I’ve tried. I had already started to boil the cauliflower on the stove when I was reading your recipe so I immediately stopped, pulled it out of the water and put in the microwave for 5 minutes (did not add cream or butter).. then I just kept microwaving it for 4 minutes at a time until it was really soft. The last 2 minutes I add a little butter and cream and tossed. Then I dumped in small batches into the blender and added small amount of cream to help it blend. Dumped in a bowl and microwaved for 1 minute because I think I added too much cream then I added salt & pepper, sharp cheddar cheese and a little butter. Mixed and that was it. SO good and the same consistency as regular mashed potatoes. Next time – loaded with bacon, sour cream (instead of the heavy cream which gave it a slight sweetness) and chives.
Thank you!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for the feedback Diana! I do think microwaving or cooking with dry heat is the key to removing that liquid and getting a potato-like texture! Glad this worked out for you – you’ll have to try my pepperoni pizza version too – I eat it at least once a week now! :)
Emily says
I made this tonight as a side for dinner and it was amazing! It came out so light and fluffy. My whole family agreed that these are better than mashed potatoes!
Thanks for the great recipe:)
Kimberly says
Can you boil the cauliflower instead of putting it in the microwave?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes but you have to drain it really really well or it will be soupy and not really thick and starchy like real potatoes.
Courtney says
Hi Mellisa and everyone-
Yes, I have been on a IBIH spree! I just found the web site after 10 days on the 100. I have been literally starving, as in tired, weak and irritable.
Finding these recipes, and having gorgeous replacements for the foods I crave is changing all of this around.
These Cheesy Cauliflower ‘potatoes’ are unbelievably good!
I confess that it was more work than I thought to get the water out. I’l have to come up with a better system.
I think I am going to make a huge batch of the cauliflower and dry it and store it in something airtight in my fridge. That way I have the cauli ready to go through the week.
I made these without the cream, only because they were creamy enough for me. I used lovely Irish butter and Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp White Cheddar. Some white pepper and sea salt. YUM.
All of you are right that is about the drying. As I said, I have to find a better system. PS, I don’t have a microwave and I had no trouble getting the cauli steamed in a basket high above boiling water (15 minutes so that it was all uber soft)
This weekend, I had the General Tso’s sauce on ginger pork meatballs, the chocolate mousse and two separate hot servings of these Cheesy “potatoes’.
Delicious. Each bite was delicious. (the avocado-chocolate idea was new to me and I am astonished at how good it is!)
Tonight is Roasted chicken with Greek olives, rosemary, lemon, olive oil and feta over the cauli ‘potatoes’ with feta instead of cheddar.
Thank you Mellisa!
Courtney
Daniella says
Hello from the Netherlands,
I always hated this vegetable, but now I think it’s delicious.
I used milk instead of cream.
Thank you for posting this recipe!