A keto cauliflower puree that’s better than mashed potatoes?! A bold claim! But I stand behind it! And believe me, nobody is more surprised than I am!
It’s day five in my week of low carb recipe posts, and my third day of strict low carb eating myself. Yesterday I wasn’t craving carbs, but I felt really foggy and knew I needed something other than protein in order to bounce back. I didn’t want to cheat so I decided to go with the mashed cauliflower, which is on my long list of vegetables that are “legal.”
Now I’ve done low carb diets before, and heard many people tout cauliflower puree as an acceptable substitute for mashed potatoes. I’ve even eaten 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.”
So yesterday I had a brainstorm on how to dry the cauliflower out a bit so the puree wouldn’t be so waterlogged. I cooked the cauliflower in the microwave, uncovered, for five minutes, and then another four – so a total of nine minutes.
I poured a little heavy cream and a tablespoon of butter into the bowl with the cauliflower and tossed them to coat after the first five minutes so they wouldn’t dry out too much.
Well it worked! I put them in my magic bullet and pureed them with a little more butter and cream and some Dubliner Irish cheese and they were amazing! The perfect starchy thick consistency that I had been missing in a keto cauliflower puree recipe!
So good that I tasted them and almost kept eating without taking any photos, reasoning that “I’d just make another batch for pictures later!” I came to my senses and managed to snap a few shots before I finished them off! ha ha! It wasn’t easy to wait though I gotta tell you!
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 this cheese made all the difference! It embraced the funk and transformed it into a complex flavor that I couldn’t get enough of! It made regular mashed potatoes seem boring and one note! And I’m a person who loves mashed potatoes!
One last thing of interest – I ate the keto cauliflower puree around 3pm and it was probably about 2 cups worth (1 smallish head of cauliflower). I never ate another thing for the rest of the day, nor did I feel hungry at all. I even made chicken pesto pasta for my husband and son and sat with them chatting at the dinner table while they ate it and never once felt hungry or tempted by the pasta!
This is not normal for me and I credit the high satiety factor of the Keto cheesy cauliflower puree. Had I eaten mashed potatoes in the same way I would have been starving a few hours later for sure!
Maybe there really is something to this whole low carb, high fat thing – it’s an interesting experiment at the very least. An added bonus? The scale showed a 2.5lb drop from yesterday. But even if you aren’t trying to watch your carb intake, you want to make this dish–it will change your mind about Keto cauliflower puree forever!
I bought two heads of cauliflower yesterday and I’m so glad I did because I’ll be eating this for lunch again today! It’s only 9am and I already can’t wait! Yum!
Update – Here’s a 60 second recipe video that shows the process and how easy it really is!
“Better than Potatoes” Cheesy Cauliflower Puree (Low Carb)
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
This Keto Cheesy Cauliflower Puree is so thick, creamy, and delicious, you’ll never miss mashed potatoes again!
Ingredients
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 ounces dubliner or other sharp 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 2 Tbsp of cream and 1 Tbsp of butter.
- Microwave, uncovered, on high for six minutes.
- Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture. Microwave for another six minutes on high.
- Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the cheese. Puree until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the cream and butter to your preference.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
- Category: Keto Side dish
- Cuisine: Vegetable
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 148
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Protein: 6g
*Update: I made this for lunch and I’m eating it now – bliss! I realized that Dubliner Irish Cheese may not be available everywhere so I made this batch with extra sharp white cheddar and it’s just as yummy! So if you can’t find the Dubliner or just don’t want to pay the extra for it, go for the extra sharp cheddar – easier to find and tastes great!
**2nd Update: I’ve made this cauliflower puree sooo many times now and still love it! Some posters have complained about graininess and that may be from your cheese not melting if your cauliflower is cooling off during the processing time. I’ve been popping it back in the microwave for a minute AFTER I blend everything together and it makes a huge difference. Try it!
***3rd Update: My sincerest apologies to those of you who complained about graininess of the cauliflower mash and I dismissed it as operator error! I made a batch yesterday and it was super grainy no matter how much I cooked or blended it. I’m positive it was from the membrane on the center of the stalk. I bought two at the same time (same brand, likely same farm) and when I checked the second one it had a hard, fibrous outside. I peeled it off and cooked it the same way I always do and it was perfect. Not sure if it’s age or what but next time check your cauliflower branch for a hard outer skin and peel that off before you cook it just to make sure you get the right consistency!
****4th Update: I’ve made some minor changes to the cauliflower mash recipe that represent how I make it for myself now, and it’s a significant reduction in fat and calories from the original. I find I can use much less butter and cream than when I started and I still love the flavor. Also, I’m posting the nutrition data since so many people have been requesting it.
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Tamera Porter says
Hi Mellissa! I want to try this recipe tonight but I don’t have a microwave. What about steaming the cauliflower, or will that make it too wet? Should I roast instead?
Cant wait to try! Your recipes are always a hit with my family!!
Jennifer says
Can you use frozen cauliflower?
Natalie Strange says
Love this one! I follow the recipe exactly and I use Kerrygold Grass Fed Reserve Cheddar in them. They always taste great. In fact, I really don’t like regular mashed potatoes that much anymore. I would rather have these. I use my VitaMix to do up a double batch. I also make extra so I can store them in single serve mason jars in the freezer. I just grab one in the morning and take it to work with me. It thaws out by lunch. So then I can either eat it as a side dish or I will eat it as a snack. It’s perfect and satisfying.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
This is a fantastic idea Natalie – going to try freezing single servings now – thanks for sharing!
Beverly Ross-Ford says
I am still using the original recipe and it is absolutely delicious. I eat it with Keto chili – yumm! After the mess I had in my blender the first time, I now use my immersion blender. Always smooth as silk and easy clean up.
★★★★★
Stephanie says
I would give this 10 stars if I could! I had some arugula to use up, so I put a large handful on my plat along with my 1/2 cup of “potatoes” to reheat then some salt and fresh ground pepper on top and…YUM!!! I know it sounds odd, but I ate this for dinner every day this week! Have you tried freezing portions? Wondering if it gets grainy when thawed? Thank you for such an awesome recipe 👏🏻
★★★★★
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 the bomb. Solves the runny, watery cauliflower problem. It’s a keeper!
★★★★★
Linda Landers says
I use a stick blender…so easy and quick.