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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Linda Landers says
Third time trying a cauliflower mash and I ONLY did to keep o n the plan.
BEST I ever tasted!!!
I used Sharp Cheddar Cheese
I did add a little Garlic Powder and Onion Salt, maybe 1/2 tsp each and then pepper.
YUMMY!!!
Thank you!!!
Maria Fulton says
I normally don’t comment on these things, but this was absolutely delicious & perfect consistency!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Maria!
Dea says
Can this be made with frozen cauliflower by any chance?
BrianC says
Tasted yummy but really grainy. I only used the florets and ran through the food processor for a long time and even added extra butter and cream. Back to the drawing board for me.
Mellissa Sevigny says
A food processor will never get the creamy consistency of a blender or magic bullet no matter how long you cook the cauliflower because of the way it’s designed.
Moira Taylor says
I have been in Jeri for three weeks. I was getting bored of big having some of my favorite food. I have just made this Cauliflower mashed potatoes. OMG. It’s amazing. I have something I really like.
Thank you
Anne says
Just curious as to the actual cooking time. In your story above you said 5 min, add cream and butter then 4 more min. But in the printable part of the recipe it says 6 min stir and another 6 mins with the cream and butter in there right from the start.
BrianC says
I was wondering the same. She mentioned in one of the updates that she changed the recipe for how she makes it now. I think she updated the print version but forgot to do the same up top. Either way, it looks really yummy.
Linda Landers says
I did 6 minutes stir and 6 more, turned out perfect.
LG says
Finally! Really tasty cauliflower mash recipe. Not runny. Just made it to top my keto shepherd’s pie. Only trouble I had was that I couldn’t really get the cauliflower to move in the blender (and I have a very strong blender). Tried extra cream, extra butter, more cream, blending in smaller batches. Still could not get more than the bottom 1.5 inches of the blender to blend. Had to scrape the sides, poke, stir, and blend many many times. Nonetheless, this recipe is amazing. Solves the runny, watery cauliflower problem. It’s a keeper!
Linda Landers says
I use a stick blender…so easy and quick.
Marisa says
I made this exactly as written and served it under stroganoff and there was no way to tell it was cauliflower- it’s amazing! I have tried cauliflower mash several times and it was always detectable. This is absolutely genius, I actually like it better because it didn’t give me a tummy ache, like potatoes do.
Kelly Hodgins says
It really is better than potatoes! I used Old Croc Extra Sharp instead of Dubliner.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Love Old Croc!
Rebecca Halliday-Wells says
After many months of trying and eating runny mash, I thought one last try!
I deviated from the recipe slighty as I was in the throws of steaming my cauliflower and getting ready to press the hell out of it! During which time I came across this recipe and instantly yanked my white fluff ball from the pan and threw it into the microve, following the time and cream steps, added the cheese and put in the ninja bullet.. Whalla!! Amazing mash that I am so impressed with that, I am so excited for hubby to get home and try! My 3 year old tried and said yummy mash mummy so this is defo the winner for me. Thank you very much xxx
Tracy says
Does anyone have recommendations for how to prepare this is you don’t have a microwave?
Marisa says
Maybe try baking it at 350 for 20 minutes? I roast raw cauliflower and it’s never watery. Just don’t boil it.