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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 cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower kettle corn or a cauliflower 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-calorie swap for mashed potatoes.
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 them 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 (reserving ¼ cup for later) and carefully place the cauliflower in a large food processor with the sautéed garlic, additional ghee, parmesan cheese, chives, salt and pepper. Process until cauliflower is smooth, adding water as necessary to reach your desired consistency.
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.
Immersion blender – Add the cooked cauliflower, sautéed garlic, ghee, parmesan, chives, salt and pepper back to the large pot a large bowl and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth.
Handheld potato masher – get an arm workout with this method! Add the cooked cauliflower, sautéed garlic, ghee, parmesan, chives, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mash with a handheld potato masher until your desired consistency is achieved.
I know that I’ll be making a batch of this mashed cauliflower for Thanksgiving. Here’s what I’ll be serving it with:
But it doesn’t have to be part of a fancy meal! This mashed cauliflower also makes a great base for bowl meals. I made delicious bowls using this cauliflower mash as the base and topped it with ground turkey and roasted root vegetables. Highly recommend!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat the mashed cauliflower on the stovetop, in the oven or microwave.
Be sure to check out the full collection of cauliflower recipes as well as all of the Thanksgiving recipes here on EBF!
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Made the mash tonight and as always, it was a hit and so yummy. I kind of burnt the garlic and didn’t have chives, but it didn’t matter. it was good by itself ,but I used it to dunk my fish into it. The cauliflower I bought was kind of small and others were asking for more. Thank you so much for your amazing recipes!
Absolutely! I am excited to hear that this recipe is such a hit, Gabrielle. Thank you for your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Wow! I was initially intimidated because healthy food almost always equals “hassle”. This was super simple and straightforward and most of all, delicious! So impressed with how close the texture comes to real potatoes. I used a dash of heavy cream since I had it on hand, but even without it I’m sure it would’ve been just as yummy.
I know tastebuds vary but I would recommend doubling the garlic and salt (had to add a bunch salt it afterwards) if you’re used to rich potatoes like I am. I also subbed parsley with chives and it was still fabulous.
Definitely making this again!
Woo! I am so glad to hear this recipe was a hit, Tyler! I love the swap of parsley with chives, I bet that was delicious! Thanks for making this and coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it.
DELICIOUS!! And easy to make! I made these for thanksgiving and did a vegan version. I didn’t even add the butter-flavored coconut oil that was suggested and they still tasted great! Very flavorful! I just simply added the vegan parmesan (I used the Eating Birdfood recipe for this as well) and minced garlic to the food processor without sautéing anything. It’s nice to have a healthier alternative to mashed potatoes.
Woo!! So thrilled this recipe was a success, Tanya. Thanks so much for the review. It means the world to me!
I’m all about easy and quick so I’ll be buying my cauliflower frozen pre-mashed due to my arthritis. How big a bag would compensate for 10 cups of florets?
The recipe yields about 4 cups of mashed cauliflower, so if you’re using pre-mashed frozen cauli you’d want around 4 cups.
I’ve made this so many times using a different steaming method. Love yours more!