Creamy, buttery Mashed Cauliflower with Garlic, Sour Cream and Parmesan is the low carb side dish of your dreams! Keto approved!
Mashed Cauliflower may be low in carbs BUT they taste just as good as regular Mashed Potatoes. The secret lies in flavouring them with just the right ingredients to take them from bland to mouthwatering. If you haven’t tried this before, you will fall in love with Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes!
MASHED CAULIFLOWER
Easier than mashed potatoes with less prep time and no peeling necessary, our mashed cauliflower recipe is light, buttery and smooth. Full-flavoured and creamy in every single mouthful, you won’t miss potatoes! Especially if you’ve removed them from your diet — this is the BEST alternative!
With all of the sides appearing on this blog in time for your Thanksgiving planning, many of our readers have been asking for low carb alternatives. Our Mashed Cauliflower Recipe is not only perfect for the holidays, but for any time of the year. A low carb side dish to please everyone.
Serve it with Beef Bourguignon, Coq Au Vin, Meatloaf, or any other meal you’d normally serve with mashed potatoes!
HOW DO YOU COOK CAULIFLOWER TO TASTE LIKE MASHED POTATOES?
After years of trying every diet under the sun, the one recipe I always fall back on in mashed cauliflower. Not for dieting purposes but more so because I LOVE the flavour of them, making them taste very similar to mashed potatoes.
I believe the secret lies in using the same ingredients you would normally use in your mashed potatoes.
Here, we use:
- Unsalted butter — a preference to give you more control over how salty you want them to taste.
- Garlic — sautéed in butter first to release flavour into your buttery mash.
- Sour cream (or substitute with cream cheese).
- Parmesan cheese — fresh and shredded. You can also add other cheese, like Cheddar, Provolone, or Romano.
HOW TO MAKE CAULIFLOWER MASH
Most stores sell riced cauliflower, or cauliflower pre-cut into florets. If you’re lucky enough to find it prepped for you in your store, use it! Prep and cook time will be mush faster for you, which is especially handy when cooking over the holidays.
Keep in mind that cauliflower cooks mush faster than potatoes. You can either steam them for 15 minutes or boil them for 10. Cauliflower is cooked when you can pierce it easily with a fork.
MAKE IT CREAMY
After boiling, and draining, you’re going to cover them with a lid or foil. I drain ours in a colander in my clean kitchen sink and let them sit there while sautéing the garlic in the same pot. Less pots = quicker clean up.
Allowing the cooked cauliflower stand before mashing straight away lets it retain heat and continue to steam, so any excess moisture will reabsorb back into it. Not doing this may result in a watery mash.
FOOD PROCESSOR, BLENDER OR POTATO MASHER?
For the creamiest mash, use a good food processor or blender. Depending on the size of your machines, you may need to do this in batches of two or three, throwing the cauliflower back into the pot after blending each batch. When you’re finished, give it a good mix through along with your other ingredients — taste test — and season your cauliflower mash with a little extra salt and pepper if needed.
If you prefer a textured mash, use a humble potato masher instead. Less equipment means less washing up also.
Optional Additional Ingredients
Our mashed cauliflower recipe uses simple ingredients. However, you can add your favourite ingredients to customise it to your tastes!
Sliced green onions
Oil — Olive, garlic or chili!
Herbs — Thyme, rosemary and parsley.
Chives
Curry powder
Diced bacon
Love Cauliflower? Try these recipes!
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower Hash Brown Egg Cups
Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into florets (about 3 pounds or 1 1/2 kg)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 6 cloves garlic divided
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place cauliflower in a steamer over a large pot of boiling water. Steam for 15 minutes until tender. Alternatively, boil cauliflower in salted water for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Remove and drain. Cover with a lid and set aside.
- In the same pot, heat the butter over medium high heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- Blend cauliflower and garlic in a food processor on high setting until smooth. You may need to do this in batches of two or three, depending on the size of your processor.
- Transfer blended cauliflower into the pot with the garlic. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, sour cream and season with salt and pepper.
Heidi Hofacker says
I’m doing low carb and made this for me instead of mashed potatoes. It was the first aide bowl emptied! Everyone loved it and raved about how delicious it was. Thank you for this awesome recipe! I see Shepherds pie in my future!
MK says
Great recipe. My hubby haaates cauliflower but he LOVED this recipe! 5 stars
Peg Johnson says
Has anyone tried using Cauliflower Rice which was suggested in the notes?
If so, how much did you use?
Vicky Daly says
This was the BEST caulimash I have tried to date and trust me, I have tried a lot. Be sure to drain the cauliflower and let it cool in a colander as Karina instructs. That way you won’t get that watery mush I’ve often associated with cauliflower mash. Can’t say it beats the real deal but it sure comes close and there is a lot less carbs involved. Thank you Karina!
Debbie says
Could you please share what the serving size is?
Lisa A Spencer says
Your instructions for the garlic are not clear
Brenda says
Can you use a stick blender instead of a food processor or regular blender?
Jennifer says
just wondering what the serving size is?
Jen says
This was so easy and delicious. I can’t believe it actually tastes like mashed potatoes. What a great replacement. It’s also adaptable since you can add in whatever you like. I did add a bunch of chili to get it nice and spicy. Really loved this recipe and will be making it over and over!
Ali says
This was delicious. The first time, I cooked it using the head of cauliflower. Tonight, I’m going to try using cauliflower rice. Has any reader tried it with cauli rice?? If so, how did it go?
Annah Yokley says
Amazing, I love Mashed Potatoes, I will never miss them now! I steamed a small head of cauliflower. I out everything in the food processor, so easy. Wow! Thank you!
Diane E Camfield says
What is the serving size? I love it by the way.
Olga Ya says
I was surprised that the mashed cauliflower looked exactly like mashed potatoes and tasted very similar to it. Definitely a good “no guilt” substitution! Will be buying more cauliflower !! Thanks for the recipe
Bria says
I tried putting this recipe into my fitness pal and its coming out with more carbs per serving? Something like 10.
Bria says
How much is a serving?
Craig says
Have made these twice now. Followed the recipie as written and they turned out perfect each time. Delicious and creamy!! Will be making into our regular rotation of dinner planning.
RObin M LAng says
Garlicky deliciousness! Used 2cloves garlic, butter, 1/8 cup cream, Salt and pepper.
Paulette Stacey says
I just tried the mashed cauliflower recipe and it is a winner for sure. It was easy and so delicious. Thank You for posting this recipe.
Kim says
Really great, simple recipe!! I appreciate the ideas for add-ins and ways to customize flavors. Thanks!
Judy says
Hi Karina – I just tried this recipe for dinner to rave reviews among a mixed crowd including a teenager and grandparent people.
I’ll be back.
Karina says
That’s great Judy!
Joe says
Welp, after seeing a lot of recipes for cauliflower mashed potatoes, I finally decided to try making them.
Of course I used your recipe because you’re my “go to” whenever I decide to cook. (I’m not much of a cook)
The result was good considering the disaster the process was. I burnt some of the cauliflower because the water in the pot completely evaporated, I forgot to check it. Then once it was done steaming, I tried mashing the cauliflower the the way you would regular old potatoes, with my hand mixer. LOL cauliflower EVERYWHERE!! I was making the cajun steak bites at the same time, not a good idea for an inexperienced cook! Too much going on at on time LOL. Those steak bites are outta this world good!!! Overall, the meal turned out pretty dang good for someone who doesn’t cook. Keep those recipes coming Karina!
Carnation Luhman. says
I tried the cauliflower mash and added thyme. I used an infision blender it worked our perfectly. I did add about 1\4 cup half and half. I will definitely make this again.Delicious.
Mary Ann Frank says
Dear Karina,
Thank you for Cafe Delites! It is my ‘go to’ site when I am in search of a new recipe or a ‘change up’. Looking forward to many more posts from you!
Mary Ann
Kat says
Karina, You have no idea how much I love seeing your recipes and ideas in my email box! My husband is type 1 diabetic and having you post nutrition facts makes it so much easier to calculate meals. Creamy Tuscan Chicken is one of our absolute favs! Mashed cauliflower is going to replace red potatoes this Thanksgiving and now he can have more to eat without the “bad carbs” side effects. Thank You!
Karina says
AW! Thank you so much! I really appreciate you following along with me! I am so glad that you have found some recipes that you love. Thank you for sharing with me! Happy Thanksgiving! XO
Christine says
Have you tried cooking a whole head of cauliflower in a pressure cooker? Just take the green parts off, place on the rack and steam for 4 minutes. This keeps the cauliflower out of the liquid which makes making the mash easier.
Karina says
I have not! That sounds so much easier though. Thank you for sharing! XO