This keto bacon and smoked gouda cauliflower puree is the only low carb cauliflower mash recipe you’ll ever need. Like, all others need not apply. It’s just THAT GOOD.
This keto bacon and smoked gouda cauliflower puree is so amazing, that even though after tasting it I immediately wanted to hide in the closet with a giant spoon rather than waste time taking photos of it, my conscience wouldn’t allow me NOT to share it with you TONIGHT!
What is this ambrosia of which I speak? It’s so simple, yet so sublime, and like many of my favorites, born of a desperate desire for something tasty for dinner – cobbled together quickly and with whatever I have on hand.
I started with a batch of of the “Better than Potatoes” Cheesy Cauliflower Puree, and then I added a few of slices of cooked bacon, and a chunk of Smoked Gouda cheese. I pureed until smooth and heated it in the microwave for another minute – then topped it with a decadent pat of butter and some more kosher salt.
It’s silky, smoky, bacony perfection in every bite!
So much better than even your wildest imagination could…er…imagine.
In addition to solving my what’s for dinner dilemma (for the rest of my life) this bacon and smoked gouda cauliflower puree recipe has also caused me to have an epiphany. Dear friends, I have been looking at my family situation all wrong!
You see, it used to upset me that Mr. Hungry and Hungry Jr. were immune to the joys of cauliflower. Despite my repeated attempts to lure them over to the cauliflower fan club, they have thus far remained unconvinced of it’s virtues.
This recipe made me realize that MY LIFE IS PERFECT AS IT IS! I first tasted this and thought, “I bet they would actually LIKE this one,” which was immediately followed by “but then I would have to SHARE it, and that would JUST.NOT.DO.”
So I slunk into my office with my still steaming bowl – where I sit now, writing this post and taking intermittent bites, all while keeping an eye on the door to make sure nobody comes wandering in looking for a life-altering taste!
Oh don’t feel too bad for the guys – I’ll share a batch with them…. eventually….
Meanwhile, I’ll be stocking up on Smoked Gouda and cauliflower like a maniac (my freezer is already full of bacon of course!) Your local Costco is out of Smoked Gouda? Sorry, that was me.
So get thee some Smoked Gouda (while you still can), a head of cauliflower, and some bacon, then put this amazing keto cauliflower puree together ASAP!
If your family already likes cauliflower, my sage advice to you is:
a) HIDE, or b) Make A LOT!
Now I’m off to get back to this week’s Keto Menu Plan – which will, you guessed it, feature this steaming bowl of deliciousness! In fact, I might just put it down for breakfast, lunch, and dinner EVERY SINGLE DAY. (Wow, that would actually make my night go a lot faster….) Ok, I won’t really, but it would be AWESOME if I DID!
In fact I guarantee that after you taste this bacon and smoked gouda cauliflower puree recipe, you’ll wish I had! ;)
PrintBacon & Smoked Gouda Cauliflower Puree
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 servings 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
Silky, smoky, bacony perfection – your family will request this low carb cauliflower mash recipe over and over again!
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower florets
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 slices of cooked bacon
- 1/3 cup shredded Smoked Gouda cheese
- additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the cauliflower, heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a microwave safe dish.
- Microwave, uncovered, on high for 10 minutes. Check it with a fork and make sure it’s very soft – if not, keep microwaving at 2 minutes at a time until it is tender enough to blend smoothly. This could take up to 18 minutes if your microwave isn’t super powerful.
- Transfer the cauliflower and liquid to a magic bullet or food processor.
- Add the bacon and Smoked Gouda.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: keto side dishes
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 282
- Fat: 22g
- Carbohydrates: 6g net
- Protein: 12g
Can’t get enough low carb cauliflower recipes? Try my wildly popular Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole, Cheesy Chipotle Cauliflower Casserole, and Jalapeno Popper Cauliflower Casserole recipes!
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!
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Erin says
This recipe is the BEST! My extended family demand I bring these to every holiday get together! They’re so creamy and flavorful, even my son who’s the pickiest eater requests 2nds.. and 3rds…
Brenna says
Love this recipe and will be trying it for the holidays. Can’t wait! One request though – some of us out here don’t use microwaves. Just saying. Thanks for the great adds to am old favorite!
Chris says
Yes, we don’t even own a microwave. I’ve found organic riced cauliflower at Costco. I cook it on the stove in a pan until it’s done, making sure to stir it where the water can evaporate. That method works well for me.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing this method and letting us know that it works!
Happy Girl says
I just made this last night and it showed up in your newsletter today!! It is soo good. I only had frozen cauliflower so strained water as I saw mentioned in a previous comment and it came out perfect.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! Glad you were able to make it work with the frozen cauliflower!
Cindy says
14 1/2 minutes in my microwave worked with florets from half a LARGE head of cauliflower
Becky LC says
For sure cover the cauliflower so it will steam. Also, it might not take as long to cook as the recipe states, depending on your microwave. I have a brand new microwave (spoiled!) and the cauliflower was nicely softened at about 8 minutes!
Norma Tumberg says
I love you! And your writing. It makes the whole day lighter. Brighter.
Anyhoo, backto business…my husband bought 5 3# tubes of smoked gouda, I know…so this is going to be coming up on my menu list soon. Thank you.
Jess says
My toddler barely eats anything and he’s mowing this down. It’s unbelievable, the best mashed cauliflower I’ve ever had!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Depends on the microwave Patricia – to get that much cauliflower tender enough to blend into a smooth puree, it has to be well cooked. Some very powerful microwaves can do it in less time, so if you have a big microwave with a lot of power you can try it in increments of 5 minutes until it is fork tender.
Jessica says
All I can say is WOW…yum!!!!
Kim says
Yum! Delicious and very easy as most of the work was in the microwave. Sure the bacon 🥓 is a bit of work. I purchased pre cut cauliflower at the supermarket (because it was all that was available). So was hardly any work to make this.
I used low fat cooking cream and I can vouch it’s just as creamy.
ms jenn says
Wondering about the difference in cook times on this recipe vs the BTP recipe. That one calls for only 6 minutes, while this one calls for 18. What gives?
Sharon says
This is my go-to favorite recipe for mashed cauliflower. With or without the bacon. The bacon is great, but more time consuming, so if i don’t have time i make it without. It is just yum. One of my favorite recipes.
Katie says
This was so delicious! Everyone enjoyed it, even non keto people.
Danielle says
I’m almost three months on keto. This was one of the first recipes I made and it is still one of my favorites! Thank you!
cindy3539 says
Haven’t made this yet, just wanted to say how well written your post was. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now, on to see if you left me any Gouda. Lol
Donna Voets says
This was amazing….costco carries frozen organic riced cauliflower in the freezer section…4 bags inside….one bag just happened to be 4 cups……drained after cooking then just added everything else to the food processor….perfection….thank you so much for this delicious mashed cauliflower….the perfect side dish keto Mississippi Roast….great combo….
Thank-you
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes .
Tammy says
this is the really important question I also will not use the microwave to cook food I’ve seen what the microwave does to food and plants that have just been watered with microwaved water that’s been cool down and it’s disgusting so I can’t do it and therefore I will not make a mug cake or anything that requires microwave crap so I really would like to know how to do stuff in the oven I know it’s a pain for some people, but I don’t want to get cooked from the inside out
Sherrie says
You need to check that on out on Snopes.com. It is false.
A.D. says
Snopes is a fake-info trickster site, designed to manipulate and harm you. Be extremely cautious about what you believe about whatever they publish.
Will says
You’ve been lied to.
Tammy says
I would like to know as well because I’m afraid this might happen to me to.
Naghmeh says
Anything I should do different if I’m using frozen cauliflower?
Mellissa Sevigny says
You may have more liquid, so be sure to drain it well before you puree it!
Cheryl says
Is it possible to give these a 10 star rating? Oh my goodness, these are amazing and no one who guess they are not mashed potatoes. We paired them with your Grilled Ribeye with Gargonzola Butter – only we used Gouda in that as well. AWESOME! Thank you for the work you put into your recipes.
Julie says
THIS. IS. AMAZING. That is all.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Julie! Still a favorite of mine too!
Teri Krause says
So I’m seeing these red flakes in your photo, but nothing in the ingredients list is adding up. I first thought maybe paprika or red pepper flakes, but read the ingredients and found nothing. What’s up?
Mellissa Sevigny says
That’s the pureed bacon.
Teri Krause says
Makes so much more sense now. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks!
barb says
I just started low carb and I am still waiting on my food processor to arrive but I made this recipe and it was still GREAT. I used regular gouda and my blender (it was a pain in the butt and made more of a julianne style faux potato) I had made a slightly larger amoint (increased ingredients by like 1/4 to get the left over cauliflower in it) divided into 5 servings and was still sitting at <4 net carbs/ serving. Can't wait for the food processor!!
Carolyn says
I’m a bit behind the the Times on this but I assume this is fresh cauliflower not frozen?
Sherri says
Great recipe. We are having to go low carb due to diabetes. I keep looking for recipes that my husband will eat as he is hard to feed vegis and potatoes are just to much.
Made this for our dinner tonight and in place of the butter I used cream cheese and I also boiled the cauliflower in vegetable broth until tender and microwaved less time.
Sarah says
This was pretty good… it was a bit rich though. I will make it again but next time use a little less garlic powder
Leigh says
I’ve made this 3 times already – it’s becoming a favorite quick go-to for me! Love that I can whip up a single serving quickly and easily.
Buttoni says
OMG I absolutely HAVE to try this! You had me at Smoked Gouda.
Debra Shockley says
I made these tonight. Hubby loved them! I liked them but I guess i am not a fan of smoked flavor. At first I thought they tasted very salty, but determined it was the smoked tasted. Do you think these would be good with any other cheese?
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and the others!
Leah says
I’m not crazy over too much smoked gouda flavor either. I mix it up and sometimes I use half smoked gouda and half white cheddar, and at other times I use all white cheddar. I’ve even used smoked gouda, white cheddar, and a little whipped cream cheese; this keeps the richness but makes it a little less heavy. I have only used all smoked gouda once or twice and it was not my favorite, although the overall recipe ROCKS!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
The smoke flavor can be a bit much if you aren’t a fan Debra – no worries, you can sub in any cheese really! My favorites are Dubliner Irish Cheddar, but any sharp cheddar will do!
Diane says
Made this last week–awesome dish!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Diane, this is still one of my faves!!!
Kristina says
Hi! I’d love to make this for dinner tonight with our salmon! Any suggestions for cooking the cauliflower other than the microwave? Thanks!
Kim says
On day 42 of what started as Atkins induction and has morphed into Keto. Down 25 lbs so far and was starting to crack, but your amazing recipes have me so excited! Made fettuccine Alfredo last night and this bacon and smoked Gouda mash tonight. What diet? I am dead and gone to heaven!
Buying the bundle of book and magazines so I can take you with me wherever I go.
Seraphina says
I LOVE cauliflower. Can’t wait to try this :D
Lisa says
I made this for dinner last night and OMGoshhh! This was amazingly delish… thank you so much for sharing!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked it Lisa! I haven’t made it in awhile and I think it’s high time I did – forgot how delicious it was, thanks for reminding me! :)
AmeliaBedelia says
Just made this for dins – I AM SO IN LOVE! It didn’t puree at all, and I was kinda disappointed about that, but the texture wasn’t bad as it was. Added a dash of paprika and some fresh chives – heaven. I cannot believe this is keto-approved, I’d serve this at Thanksgiving dinner!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Amelia! It’s been awhile since I’ve made this one but your comment reminded me that I need to make it again soon! :)
Leah says
These were delicious! I made them for myself Wednesday night as a “tryout” while my husband was out and immediately knew I had to whip up a batch for him. On Thursday night I made another batch but used a mixture of smoked gouda, white cheddar, and whipped cream cheese. While the cauliflower was cooking in the microwave I cooked up a few more strips (diced) of bacon, some shrimp, onions, and made a sauce using a smidge of lemon juice and chicken broth. In the end, it was the closest thing to shrimp and grits that I’ve had for a looooonggg time, and it was just as delicious as it’s own recipe as it was as a stand-in for our beloved shrimp and grits.
Next stop: a version of this with low carb swedish meatballs.
Char says
Any recommendations for making this without dairy??? I am on a strict autoimmune paleo diet. Thanks!
scout says
Added a few cups of spinach, upped the cream a little, and added in homemade ranch seasoning. If you can get past the green color, they turn out AMAZING
Wendy says
Something spectacular indeed! Oh my god, this was heaven in our mouths. I’ve only recently stumbled onto your site as and last week we started your 3 day kickstart to Keto and made the regular BTP mash and they were pretty good, but wow this blew those out of the water! I was running a little low on Gouda so I shaved in a little bit of Dubliner to round out the 1/3 cup of cheese and I can’t even describe how amazing the end result was. The gf and I ate it all up and were scraping our bowls.
I think the next time I make the BTP I’ll cook the cauliflower for as long as this recipe calls for too. It was so much easier to blend this time around too!
Loving your site! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to share all your recipes and advice with us. It’s been a lifesaver as we’ve started our journey down the Keto road.
Much love <3
Mellissa Sevigny says
Welcome Wendy! Hope you have great success on Keto, and I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! Keep us posted on your progress!!!
Lisa says
Since you said you started with the Better Than Potatoes recipe then added bacon and gouda, wouldn’t this have Dubliner/sharp cheese in it, too?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry if that was confusing, I didn’t literally make the BTP mash first, but I was in the process when I decided to throw in the the bacon and smoked gouda instead of the dubliner. That’s why in the recipe I don’t use the BTP mash as an ingredient, but rather start with list of the individual ingredients used to come up with the end result. Hope that helps! If you put the dubliner in I’m sure it wouldn’t taste bad – it just might not let the smoked gouda flavor shine through the same way. Enjoy!
Alice says
Even though I am unable to find smoked Gouda in my country, I make this mash potato and it’s so delicious!! Thanks for a wonderful recipe Melissa!
Mellissa Sevigny says
You’re welcome Alice, so glad you’re enjoying it!!!
Kim Bultman says
Thanks heavens for search engines, Mellissa! Saw your recipe on G+ the other day, got momentarily distracted (shoulda bookmarked it then and there, or at the very least printed it), and just found it again. Whew! This one sounds too good to miss… dinner tonight. Thanks!
Joshua says
Thank you for this! I was looking for mashed potato alternatives and never even thought about using cauliflower. Can’t wait to try this out tonight.
Gail Gunn says
Hi there,
I made the bacon and smoked gouda cauliflower mash last night – absolutely delish!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Gail! It’s awesome RIGHT??? So glad you liked it too!!!!! :)
Pat says
hello..i want to try this but i dont have a bullet or processer…what else can i use? help please
Barefootcookingirl says
Help, I’ve fallen over and can’t get up! Dang! Yum! I just had smoked gouda at whole foods just the other day after years of swearing off it from a bad childhood food incident. Making this into cauli mash with Bacon? OMGOSH! Can’t wait to make it into some sort or cauli tot II with the leftovers (believe it or not there was a bit left :)
Yum and yum and yum! Thanks for this!
Brenda the barefootcookingirl
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked it too! I started to wonder if I overemphasized how awesome it was – like maybe I was just REALLY HUNGRY when I made it ya know? Then I had it again and was like NOPE, IT’S STILL AMAZING!!!!!! ha ha! Thanks for validating me! ;)
Kim Beaulieu says
You complete me. And stuff.
Bring me a bowl when we meet. M’kay.
Ashlee Breland says
I just made this for a quick dinner, and it is literally the best thing I’ve eaten since I started keto in January. I’m dying with happiness. I can’t even make a dent in the batch I made, though — how would you suggest saving this? Will it be okay to eat for lunch tomorrow if I store in my fridge? Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Nancy Munroe says
This looks so good. I am trying to pin to Pinterest and keep getting an error. Just thought you would want to know.
Rachel says
Holy crap, you were not kidding! My life is changed.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I know, RIGHT???
Aaliya says
Oh wow…..I just made this today and it is better than I ever expected! I had no trouble at all. I had to take my Ninja off a few times and give it a good shake but it was no problem. After reading other posts about dryness, I covered my bowl with a plate while microwaving and stirred after every 5 minute round. Perfect! Thank you!
movita beaucoup says
This sounds freaking amazing. Also, bacon. ‘Nuff said.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Can’t go wrong with bacon – works every time!
Kerry says
I made these these Friday night, and everyone enjoyed them. The 3 seventeen year old guys even went back for seconds! This morning I morphed the left overs into fauxtatoe pancakes. So yummy!! Thanks the recipes and inspiration!!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Loving your breakfast idea, totally stealing that for next time! I’ll have to make a triple batch though or there won’t BE any leftovers! ha ha!
Malainie says
You said you started with your cheesy cauliflower puree and added the smoked Gouda and bacon. Is that reflected in your recipe? I’m a bit confused.
Liette says
MMMMMM, I cannot WAIT to try this!!! My hubby and I are starting week 4, but I can’t wait another 6 weeks….