This low-carb, creamy smooth mashed cauliflower has amazing flavors from roasted garlic, butter, sour cream, and fresh herbs. It’s a healthy alternative to mashed potato and a delicious side dish for a holiday meal. Serve alongside anything from steaks, pork, turkey, roast chicken, and grilled fish.
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I look forward to holidays mainly for the variety of it’s side dishes. The more the variety, the merrier the experience. Though I love classics on any given days, I feel excited to see new dishes, old dishes with a twist.
If you are like me who loves side dishes this mashed sweet potatoes will surprise you. Like more texture, smashed sweet potatoes is perfect fit.
Try this cauliflower mash
- It’s a healthy swap to mashed potatoes. Mashed cauliflower will remind you of mashed potatoes in terms of texture, flavors, and taste that are similar to that of starchy potatoes.
- A comforting side dish. Fall/winter calls for cozy, comforting food, and cauliflower mash fits the bill. Serve alongside holiday meals or any meal.
- Smooth and creamy. Everything you look for in a mash is there. The texture is super smooth and creamy. The food processor does the trick.
- Oomph of flavors. Roasted garlic enhances the taste of mashed cauliflower.
- Minimal work. Hands-on work is very less. Roasting garlic head and steaming/boiling cauliflower are istime consumitime-consuminga ng but it’s hands-free job.
- Ready in 15 minutes, if you already have roasted garlic prepped.
Ingredients needed
Here’s what you’ll need-
- 1 large head cauliflower (6 cups florets)
- 1 large head garlic (3-4 cloves of roasted garlic is used in recipe)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-3 tablespoons milk (substitute with cauliflower cooked water)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme
Cauliflower – use a large head of cauliflower so you get 5 to 6 cups of florets.
Roasted garlic – you can roast whole garlic head in the oven. Instructions on how to roast garlic are shared below in the recipe card. Off the whole head, use 3 to 4 cloves of roasted garlic. If you are a garlic lover, feel free to increase the garlic quantity than mentioned.
Butter – use unsalted butter.
Oil – extra virgin olive oil is best, it adds flavor to mashed cauliflower potatoes.
Sour cream – for tang flavor. Substitute sour cream with cream cheese.
Milk – to get the right consistency of cauliflower mash, you will need liquid. Milk, cauliflower-cooked water, or regular water can be used. You may use any milk – oats milk, soy milk, almond milk, or regular dairy milk.
Parmesan – freshly grated Parmesan cheese is best.
Herbs – I used fresh thyme. Feel free to add in fresh rosemary for more flavor. Dried herbs may also be used, make sure to use ½ the number of fresh herbs.
Season – salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
How to make mashed cauliflower recipe
Roast garlic in oven:
Slice off the back end of the garlic head. Place it on aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt over the top. Cover the foil tightly and roast the garlic head in a preheated oven at 400F for 40-50 minutes.
You can make this ahead. It stays good for 3 days.
Remove garlic head from oven. Be careful while unwrapping the aluminum foil (hot steams will come out of it), allow garlic to cool a bit so it’s safe to handle.
Squeeze out creamy garlic from the pods by pressing it or use a spoon to scoop off the flesh from its skin.
Prep cauliflower:
Trim off the green stem and core of the cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into florets. You’ll need 5-6 cups of cauliflower florets.
Cook cauliflower:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place a steaming basket into the pot. Add cauliflower to steaming pot, cover, and let it steam for 10-12 minutes or until cauliflower florets are tender. Make sure to cook the florets until it’s tender to get smooth creamy cauliflower mash. Undercooked florets will result in hard rice-like bits that aren’t pleasant to eat.
Alternatively, you can boil cauliflower florets. Once tender, drain completely and use to make cauliflower mash.
Mash until smooth & creamy:
Use a powerful food processor to get a smooth creamy mash. Add steamed cauliflower, roasted garlic, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Blend until smooth.
A high-speed blender will help get a smooth and creamy mash. Be careful not to over-blend it too much, mash will turn liquid-y instead of fluffy.
Note: you can’t achieve smooth and creamy mash using a potato hand masher.
If your preference is chunky mashed cauliflower, feel free to use a potato masher or pulse food processor a few times instead of running it so the mash is chunky.
Serve in a bowl topped with butter, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and thyme.
Useful tips to best mashed cauliflower
- Make sure cauliflower is cooked until tender before making the mash.
- If boiling cauliflower, make sure to dry it completely by draining it in a colander. Dry it thoroughly, too much moisture will make the mash consistency runny.
- Roast garlic well, until it’s golden and creamy.
- Don’t skip dressing the mash before serving. A slice of butter, a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled pepper, and herbs will add an extra layer of flavor and taste.
- I don’t recommend a potato masher if you want smooth mashed cauliflower. The food processor creates a smooth creamy mash. An immersion blender can be used as well.
FAQS
Yes, compared to regular mashed potatoes, this mashed cauliflower is low-carb and uses significantly less butter. To make it healthier replace butter with olive oil and sour cream with Greek yogurt.
Yes, you can make this ahead. Allow it to cool completely before storing it in airtight container in the refrigerator.
Yes. Flash freeze individual servings of the mash first, then transfer the frozen mash to zip lock bags or freezer containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to serve, microwave at 50% power or reheat on the stove top, stirring regularly. Add a splash of milk or water while reheating.
There are two reasons why cauliflower mash will be watery –
Excess moisture
Over running the food processor.
If boiling cauliflower, make sure to dry it completely by draining it in a colander. Dry it thoroughly, too much moisture will make the mash consistency runny.
Be careful not to over-blend it too much, mash will turn liquid-yOverrunning instead of fluffy.
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📋Recipe: Roasted Garlic Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower 6 cups florets
- 1 large head of garlic 3-4 cloves of roasted garlic is used in the recipe
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-3 tablespoons milk substitute with cauliflower cooked water
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
Instructions
- Slice off the back end of the garlic head. Place it on aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt over the top. Cover the foil tightly and roast the garlic head in preheated oven at 400F for 40-50 minutes.
- Remove the garlic head from the oven, and allow it to cool. Unwrap aluminum foil, squeeze out garlic flesh by pressing the head or scoop it off from its skin using a spoon.
- Trim off the green stem and core of the cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into florets.
- Add cauliflower to a steaming basket into a pot, cover, and let it steam for 10-12 minutes or until cauliflower florets are tender.
- Use a powerful food processor to get a smooth creamy mash. Add steamed cauliflower, roasted garlic, butter, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Blend until smooth.
- A high-speed blender will help get a smooth and creamy mash. Be careful not to over-blend it too much, mash will turn liquid-y instead of fluffy.
- Serve in a bowl topped with butter, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and thyme.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- Make sure cauliflower is cooked until tender before making the mash.
- If boiling cauliflower, make sure to dry it completely by draining it in a colander. Dry it thoroughly, too much moisture will make the mash consistency runny.
- Roast garlic well, until it’s golden and creamy.
- Don’t skip dressing the mash before serving. A slice of butter, a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkled pepper, and herbs will add an extra layer of flavor and taste.
- I don’t recommend a potato masher if you want smooth mashed cauliflower. The food processor creates a smooth creamy mash. An immersion blender can be used as well.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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Jyothi Rajesh is the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail. She lives in Bangalore, India and is the mom of two beautiful kids. Her passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. She’s been blogging since 2007 and many of her recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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