Healthy Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is the best low-carb side dish recipe! You won’t even miss those starchy mashed potatoes once you learn how easy it is to make cauliflower super creamy with a quick boil and purée. Serve this comforting low-carb, keto, and vegan dish on a busy weeknight, or along with your holiday favorites.
With Fall in full swing here, it’s time for all things cozy, comforting, creamy, and secretly healthy?!… Yup, this cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe fits the bill.
I tell my husband all of the time how much Q4 (October-December, with a few extra days in September!) is my absolute favorite time of the year.
This time starts with my husbands birthday on September 23rd and ends with my birthday and New Year’s Eve.
However, one downside with these three months of the year is how much unhealthy food seems to surround us.
For some reason, much of our culture tends to associate comfort food with unhealthy food… but it doesn’t have to be that way!
This roasted garlic mashed cauliflower is the perfect example of how eating healthy can also make you feel all warm and cozy inside.
Not only is this side super creamy and delicious (I swear, it tastes just as good as these Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes!) but it’s also secretly low-carb, vegan, dairy-free, and Paleo!!
Ingredients
The simple ingredients you need to make mashed cauliflower include:
- Cauliflower. Make sure you get a LARGE head to have enough cauliflower florets for the recipe. You want to end up with about 5 cups of cauliflower florets. (Learn How to Cut Cauliflower if you don’t already know!)
- Roasted Garlic. This gives the dish SO much flavor! Learn How to Roast Garlic and prepare it up to 3 days in advance before making this recipe.
- Herbs. Fresh rosemary and thyme are used in this recipe, but you can also try adding sage or tarragon. Dried herbs may also be used, just make sure to use ⅓–½ the amount.
- Oil. A good quality olive oil will greatly contribute to the taste of this side dish.
- Milk. In order to get the right consistency, a touch of milk is needed. Regular, oat, almond, soy and cashew milk work great!
How to Make
The basic steps for making this roasted garlic mashed cauliflower recipe are simple to follow:
- Roast the garlic in the oven and remove the bulbs from the skin.
Lightly oil a head of garlic that has the end sliced off, sprinkle on some salt, wrap it in foil and then bake at 400° for 40-50 minutes. You can do this up to 3 days in advance.
- Cut the cauliflower into florets and boil the until tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain the water and dry thoroughly.
Be sure to dry completely! Any extra water remaining and it will turn the mashed cauliflower soggy instead of fluffy.
- Add the cauliflower to a large food processor along with any seasoning ingredients.
A food processor is the best appliance to use, but a high-speed blender, such as a Vitamix, also works great!
- Puree until JUST smooth. Be careful not to over purée or it will get too liquidy.
After you finish puréeing the cauliflower you will want to check the temperature of it. If it is not warm enough, add it back to the pot over Medium-Low heat and heat up to your desired temperature.
Meal Prep and Storage
- To Prep-Ahead: Roast the garlic, and wash and cut the cauliflower up to 3 days in advance. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
- To Store: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
- To Freeze: Seal tightly in a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 4-6 months.
- To Reheat: Warm on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. Note that the cauliflower will begin to separate from the liquid and will need to be stirred before serving.
FAQs
Mashed cauliflower is healthier than mashed potatoes due to having fewer calories, less starch, and lower carbs. Plus, cauliflower packs in more nutrients.
Roasted cauliflower has a relatively mild taste and can be seasoned similarly to mashed potatoes. While the texture will be close, they will not taste exactly the same.
Make sure to drain all the excess liquid from the cauliflower before puréeing. You can also try roasting the cauliflower instead of boiling it for a firmer mash.
Mix in milk, cheese, butter, a vegan butter substitute, or sour cream to make it silky smooth.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Boil until tender. You definitely want the cauliflower to be soft so it blends well.
- Dry thoroughly. Extra moisture will make the consistency too runny.
- Roast it real good. The garlic should have a nice golden to dark brown hue for the most flavor. You can use fresh, but it will have a more pungent taste.
- Dress it up. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and additional roasted garlic cloves.
- Change the flavor. Try a mix of different herbs and spices each time you make it.
More Cauliflower Recipes
If you are a fan of cauliflower, make sure to check out these other healthy recipes:
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower Recipe
Healthy Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is the best low-carb side dish recipe! Serve this comforting keto and vegan dish on a busy weeknight, or along with your holiday favorites.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- ¼ cup milk almond or cashew milk
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp. rosemary fresh
- 1 ½ tsp. thyme fresh
- 3-4 cloves roasted garlic
- ¾-1 tsp. salt to taste
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
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Roast a head of garlic in the oven. Trim the ends, drizzle on 1 tablespoon of oil, sprinkle with salt, wrap in foil and then bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes. You can do this up to 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cauliflower for 10-12 minutes. Drain water and place cauliflower on a towel and dry cauliflower completely before proceeding.
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In the bowl of a food processor combine cauliflower, milk, olive oil, rosemary, thyme, roasted garlic cloves, salt, to taste, and a pinch of black pepper.
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Puree for 1-2 minutes or until mashed cauliflower is completely smooth. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every 20-30 seconds to ensure even pureeing.
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If mashed cauliflower has cooled too much, return it to the pot and heat it to your desired temperature.
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Serve mashed cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil and a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme and enjoy!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Do NOT use a Vitamix or high-speed blender. You will end up with overly-blended and runny cauliflower mashed potatoes.
- To Store: Place leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
- To Freeze: Seal tightly in a freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 4-6 months.
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Shannon says
So amazing, delicious, and “garlicy”, which is my favorite part. Today I wanted potatoes so bad and this recipe fully satisfied my craving. LOVE IT!
London says
Yay, Shannon!! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for your comment and rating!
Krista says
Are you supposed to roast it first then boil it? Or you can do one or the other? Not very clear to me. Thanks
London says
Great question, Krista! All you need to do is boil the cauliflower (only the garlic is roasted!) Hope this clears up any confusion!
Carol A Ferguson says
I made these cauliflower “mashed potatoes” and they are a game changer for me. They were just like mashed potatoes. I pureed them smooth and used dried herbs cuz that’s what I had, and they were just fantastic! I had heard about cauliflower mashed potatoes for years but thought they would be nothing like mashed potatoes… boy was I wrong. Thank you so much.
London says
WooHoo!! It’s pretty amazing how great you can make pureed cauliflower taste, right? So happy you enjoyed them. Thanks for your comment and rating.
Jessica says
I made this for a second time tonight and it turned out great! I only have one question, your recipe says to cool for 10 minutes before pureeing. When I did that, and after pureeing, my cauliflower was cold. I reheated in a dish, but was curious if yours still turns out warm?
London says
Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for your question. I am so glad you have enjoyed the recipe! The main reason you want to let the cauliflower cool is so you can handle it enough to dry it off thoroughly with a towel. Sometimes it will cool off a bit too much and you will need to return it to the pot to heat it back up. I have adjusted the recipe to reflect this for you and others! Thanks so much for your comment and review!
Kristen says
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I never thought I could find a good tasting mashed potato substitute! Life changer for sure!
London says
Yay!! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for your comment and rating!
Carrissa Girbert says
Hi. Thank you so much for this recipe. When I made this last night, it was delicious! But it was more liquidy like a Cauliflower Soup?? I followed the directions (including putting cooked cauliflower on a towel to dry before processing it. The only difference I can see is that I used a Vitamix (not a Cuisanart food processor) to chop cauliflower & add all ingredients too?? Could that be why it turned out more like soup? Oh–by the way–I didn’t like the idea of wrapping the garlic in aluminum foil. Instead, I prepared the garlic just like you said, but placed garlic on a steel cookie sheet with an oven safe glass bowl over it & put in oven for 45-60 minutes. DELICIOUS!
London says
Hi Carissa! Using a Vitamix could have definitely resulted in a more liquidy texture. The Vitamix might chop it too finely as well as puree the “potatoes” too much. I love your idea of placing a glass bowl over the garlic! I am always looking for new ways to avoid using aluminum foil too much!
Sheree says
Hello, this looks fabulous! However hubby is not a fan of almond milk – do you think it would work with either oat or soy milk? Or would these alternatives give the puree an odd taste?
Thank you
London says
Hi Sheree! I think it absolutely will. Make sure you buy an unsweetened kind and it should work great. If your husband likes cashew or coconut milk, those will substitute well, too! Thanks for the question!
Ris says
Hi great recipe! Can’t wait to try this out! I was wondering what the amount per serving is?
Thanks so much!
London says
Hi Ris! Thanks so much for the question, but unfortunately I do not know the exact measurement per serving. I normally just divide the total amount into six portions.
Amy says
Do you think this would work by using bone broth instead of almond milk?
London says
Absolutely, Amy! It will definitely give it more of a meat flavor, so you might want to try using half and half to begin with!
Jazzlynn says
Do you think using frozen “riced” cauliflower would work for this recipe or do you think it would turn out to liquidy?.
London says
Hi Jazzlyn! It might depending on the brand of frozen cauliflower. If you try it out, I would love to know how it worked for you!
Madison says
Made these for my husband this past weekend and he loved them! He didn’t even know they weren’t potatoes until I told him. Thanks so much for the recipe!