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!!!
Dawn Miller says
Ha Ha! I am such a dork! I have been lovin your recipes this past 2 weeks….but didn’t have anything in this recipe except cauliflower and butter. So whats a girl to do? Improvise! No HWC/half and half or milk in the house…triple the butter! No sharp cheeses? Cream cheese and sour cream! Throw in some green onions…food process it to smithereens…voila! Perfecto in every way! I am bowing to your greatness….
helene says
i have found sour cream. heavy cream, butter and coconut oil seem to be interchangeable. Im sure its not in all recipes, but i havent found it yet.
Cara M. says
We are total potato people, my husband and I. I started Keto about three weeks ago and made this for the first time last night (we had pork rind and Parmesan breaded pork chops too!) and, WOW. I put a drizzle of garlic olive oil as I was blending this and it added a subtle garlicky flavor. I really want to try this with truffle oil. Hubby loved these too! Thank you for yet another tasty low carb recipe! :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
I love garlic oil in regular potatoes and I can image that it tasted awesome in this as well! So glad to have made you guys cauliflower mash believers! :)
Prue Morton says
Thank you They were everything you promised
Now if I could just find a substitute for pasta………………..
helene says
I honestly like spaghetti squash better than spaghetti now. I never was a big noodle or pasta twists eater but I miss mac & cheese, homemade w/wholewheat elbows MMMM or macaroni salad homemade w/WW elbows and also tuna & egg slices MMM—>but not enough to mess with my system by eating wheat or up my carbs by eating rice elbows (which I dont know if they even MAKE brown rice pasta OR if they’d be any good…).
Keep at it, you’ll lose ur interest in wheat products as you increase ur veggies and keep at a consistent high (fibrous) veggie intake. Just like you lose your interest in sugary crap and chips, pop etc. It Does Happen!
Ashlee says
I just made these and I will serve them tomorrow with dinner. I am not going to tell my kids they aren’t real potatoes and see if they notice. I hope they re-heat well, as I like to cook a couple meals at a time and then eat them through the week. I think they will be fine.
Dawn says
I had my doubts about this recipe since I had tried other mashed cauliflower recipes but I was truly blown away, they are fantastic and everyone who I have had try them agree, Thanks so much for this recipe
Tony says
This recipe, while good and tasty, pales in comparison to the traditional potato mash. I made these and as expected my family balked, they are spoiled by having several chef’s in the family. An A for effort though! Yes, I did have the tried and true back-up which they applauded.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for the feedback Tony, sorry this wasn’t a hit with your family. How fortuitous that you had a backup plan!
Alicia Thibaudet says
Just a trick I have found…I started buying bags of frozen cauliflower and it has saved me so much time when making mashed cauliflower. The pieces are already chopped and you just pour the contents of the bag into a pot to cook, drain and then puree. I now keep 5-6 bags in my freezer at all times.
Mark Teleha says
You mentioned the “mashed potato/cauliflower” thing, being watery and whatnot. The way I cook it is to steam it with garlic. If you don’t have a steamer, I put a cooling rack in the bottom of a deep pan (I usually cook corn on the cob in it) and fill the pan to just under the rack, put a couple tablespoons of chopped garlic and some diced onion, and then cut up the head of cauliflower and drop that in, put on the lid and turn up the heat. When a knife slides into the cauliflower easily, I put it into a food processor with olive oil and a little butter and puree it. Mashed potato consistency, and add some salt and it rocks.
Jan says
I had this recipe recommended to me by someone on the UK Diabetic web site forum and tried it because I am a newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetic and I was looking for low carb meals. I followed the recipe exactly and the resul was really nice, however later that night I was crippled with severe indigestion and felt sick for several hours. I had to sleep sitting up. I think it must have been the quantity if cheese that did it. I can usually eat cheese with no problem, but perhaps not cooked in this way. I haven’t tried it again , as I thought cutting out a lot of the cheese would no longer make it like mashed potato.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Jan, and welcome to IBIH! It’s possible that the high sulfur content of the cauliflower was the culprit and not the cheese if you can usually eat cheese with no problem. Sorry to hear you didn’t feel well after eating it! Hopefully you’ll have better results with the other recipes! :)
Rosine says
Hi Melissa!
I followed your recipe almost to the T (I made a half batch using half of all the ingredients except butter which I kept at 1 Tbsp) PLUS I added 1 vache qui rit cheese triangle, added garlic powder (1/4 tsp) and a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese – and it came out DIVINE! Texture – ON POINT. Taste – AMAZING. SO RICH & CHEESY! Goodbye cauliflower rice.
I know I can easily recreate this dish and have it on the side w/ chicken/shrimp or beef. BUT I feel the taste of the mash specifically the strong but subtle cheesy flavor from the Dubliner (which was pricey but SOO WORTH IT!!!), may be too overwhelming with certain protein dishes.
Any recommendations on what other, even MILDER cheese I could add to preserve the richness & texture but tone down on the cheesy flavor? Cream cheese? Mozzarella? Provolone?
Thanks! :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
I have definitely used other cheeses when I don’t want it as strong – I use the mozzarella for the pepperoni pizza casserole, and the colby jack for the jalapeno popper casserole! Pretty much any cheese works – you can alter the flavor in so many ways and even add some chopped herbs to further enhance it! Have fun and be sure to share any of your awesome experiments with the rest of us! :)
Rachel says
Cream cheese works really well for mild flavor.
Rosine says
THanks Melissa and Rachel! Next time I make it I will DEF try with mild cream cheese if I’m pairing it w/ a strong flavoured protein. I love the cheese by itself too SOO GOOD. I will never make it with Extra Sharp cheddar, but I will def try with Havarti & Mozarella in the very near future!! :)