Healthy Mashed Cauliflower

Swap potatoes for cauliflower with this healthy mashed cauliflower recipe! It’s the perfect side dish and comes together quickly with only 6 ingredients. It’s just as creamy and delicious as mashed potatoes, but has half the calories and one-third of the carbs.

Cauliflower is a healthy-eater’s best friend. Especially when you’re looking for a healthy way to indulge in “carby” things like bread, rice, pizza and potatoes. It’s amazingly versatile and even surprises me sometimes with how well it can transform from a simple veggie into something like a pizza crust, kettle corn or an alfredo sauce.

So when thinking of holiday recipes to share this year I knew I wanted to showcase cauliflower and immediately thought it would be fun to do a mashed cauliflower side dish. The texture is silky smooth, just like regular mashed potatoes. You can taste the cauliflower flavor, but with a little butter (we used ghee) and a bit of parmesan, garlic and fresh chives, this mashed cauliflower is totally delicious and makes a great low-carb, low-cal swap for mashed potatoes.

Ingredients in Mashed Cauliflower

• cauliflower – the star of the show! I recommend using a full head of cauliflower but you can use cauliflower florets as well if that’s all you can find.
• garlic – a little garlic adds a ton of flavor to this dish.
• ghee or butter – to make this dish vegan swap the ghee for vegan butter or butter flavored coconut oil
• parmesan cheese – for a vegan option use this hemp parmesan.
• salt and pepper – to season this dish.
• fresh chives – an optional but recommended topping to bring this entire dish together!

How to Make Mashed Cauliflower

Make the most delicious side dish in less than 30 minutes! Start by breaking or chopping the head of cauliflower into cauliflower florets and placing in a large pot. Cover the cauliflower with water and heat until the water is boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the cauliflower is tender – about 12 minutes.

While the cauliflower is cooking, heat a small pan over medium heat. Add the butter or ghee, minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Sauté until the garlic is tender and fragrant, make sure you stir frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn!

After the cauliflower is cooked, drain the water and carefully place in a large food processor with the sautéed garlic, additional ghee, parmesan cheese, chives, salt and pepper. Process until cauliflower is smooth.

What if I Don’t Have a Food Processor?

If you don’t have a food processor, there are a couple of options for you!

Stand mixer – place the cooked cauliflower, sautéed garlic, ghee, parmesan, chives, salt and pepper in a stand mixture and mix until smooth.

Handheld potato masher – get an arm workout with this method! Add the cooked cauliflower, sautéed garlic, ghee, parmesan, chives, salt and pepper to a large bowl and mash with a handheld potato masher until your desired consistency is achieved.

What to Serve with Mashed Cauliflower

I know that I’ll be making a batch of this mashed cauliflower for Thanksgiving. Here’s what I’ll be serving it with:

• Lentil Loaf
• Cinnamon Maple Roasted Kabocha Squash
• Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
• Butternut Squash Quinoa Stuffing
• Healthy Green Bean Casserole
• Healthy Sweet Potato Pie

But it doesn’t have to be part of a fancy meal! It also makes a great base for bowl meals. I made delicious bowls using this cauliflower mash as the base and topped with ground turkey and roasted root vegetables. Highly recommend!

More Cauliflower Recipes to Try:

• Turkey Cauliflower Baked Ziti
• Roasted Curried Cauliflower
• Vegetarian Cauliflower Fried “Rice”
• Chocolate Cauliflower Smoothie
• Low-Carb Cauliflower Potato Salad

More Healthy Side Dishes to Try:

• Kale Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
• Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
• Roasted Root Vegetables
• Wild Rice Stuffing with Butternut Squash and Sweet Cherries
• Quinoa Spinach Salad