Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is one of the best vegan, keto, low-carb, Whole30, and Paleo side dish recipes that is sure to be a hit at your Christmas, Thanksgiving, or weeknight dinner table.  This cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe will give you super creamy pureed cauliflower that tastes just like mashed potatoes but are so much healthier for you and lower in carbs and calories!

Want a few other healthy cauliflower recipes?  You might also enjoy this Whole Roasted Cauliflower, Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, Roasted Cauliflower, and this Healthy Cauliflower Soup.

Mashed Cauliflower for Cozy Weather

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.

The weather (finally!) starts cooling off a bit here in Texas and all things pumpkin spice and comforting start to appear on the table.  And this mashed cauliflower is one of my go-to recipes to make.

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Alternative

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 cauliflower mash super creamy and delicious (I swear, it tastes just as good as these Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes!) but it’s secretly low-carb, vegan, dairy-free, and Paleo!!

Below you will learn what ingredients you will need for this mashed cauliflower recipe, how to make cauliflower mash, preparing the cauliflower, the best kitchen appliance to use to puree the cauliflower mash, storing and meal prep tips, as well as a few dishes that taste great served with mashed cauliflower.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Ingredients

This cauliflower mash recipe is made with a few simple to find ingredients that are all 100% gluten-free, vegan, Whole30, Paleo, keto, and low-carb.

• Cauliflower – Make sure you get a LARGE head of cauliflower to have enough cauliflower florets for the recipe.
• Roasted Garlic – 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.
• Oil – A good quality olive oil will add a large amount of the flavor to this side dish recipe.
• Milk – In order to get the right consistency, a touch of milk will be needed.  Almond and cashew milk will work great!

How to Make Mashed Cauliflower

Making homemade mashed cauliflower is actually a rather quick and easy process and consists of the following steps:

1. Roast Garlic in the Oven up to 3 days in advance.
2. Prepare the cauliflower (read more about this below!)
3. Add the cauliflower to a large food processor along with any seasoning ingredients.  (In this recipe we use fresh herbs and roasted garlic!)
   • Read more below about why a food processor is the best appliance to use!
4. Puree until JUST smooth.  Be careful not to over puree or the mashed cauliflower will get too liquidy.
5. Optional: reheat the cauliflower mashed potatoes in a pot over medium-low heat.  Serve and enjoy!

Preparing the Cauliflower

Before you can make the vegan and keto cauliflower mash you will need to prepare this cruciferous vegetable.

1. First, cut a large head of cauliflower into florets.  Make sure you cut them into similarly sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
2. Next, boil the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
   • Cook’s Tip: It’s OK if you err on the side of cooking longer, but just make sure not to undercook the cauliflower!  If you do, you will end up with overly bitter mashed cauliflower.
3. Lastly, drain all of the excess water from the pot and dry the cauliflower THOROUGHLY.  This is a very important step.  If you do not remove ALL of the water from the cauliflower you will end up with a soupy mess instead of creamy mashed cauliflower potatoes.

Best Kitchen Utensil to Puree Cauliflower

As mentioned previously, the best kitchen appliance to use when pureeing cauliflower for a cauliflower mash is a large, 10-12 cup food processor .

A food processor will give you the most control over the consistency of the cauliflower mash while giving you plenty of room to add all of the ingredients in one batch.

You can also use a Vitamix or High-Speed Blender, but you need to pay super close attention so you do not end up with overly-blended and runny cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes versus Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

For those of you with super acute taste buds, you may be able to tell the difference between regular mashed potatoes and this roasted garlic mashed cauliflower.

However, those of you with not-so-picky palates will hardly be able to taste the difference.  But I can promise you this… your waistline will be able to tell!

Coming in at a mere 111 calories and 3 net carbs per serving… this roasted garlic mashed cauliflower has become a new favorite, Paleo, low-carb, keto and Whole30 side dish in our family.

Serving, Storing, and Reheating

Serving: After you finish pureeing 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.

Serve mashed cauliflower with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and additional roasted garlic cloves.

Storing: You can prepare this recipe up to 3 days in advance.  Just note that the cauliflower will begin to separate from the liquid and will need to be stirred before serving.

Freezing: Mashed cauliflower can be stored in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 4-6 months.

VIDEO: How to Make Mashed Cauliflower

What to Serve with Mashed Cauliflower?

Pretzel Pecan Honey Chicken

Honey Balsamic Chicken

Filet Mignon Recipe

Honey Oven Roasted Broccoli with Garlic

4.91 from 11 votes

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Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower | Vegan, Paleo, Keto Side Dish

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is the best vegan, keto, low-carb, Whole30, and Paleo side dish recipe for cauliflower mash. 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cauliflower mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, mashed cauliflower recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 111 kcal

Author London

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

1. Roast a head of garlic in the oven. You can do this up to 3 days in advance and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cauliflower for 10-12 minutes.

3. Drain water and place cauliflower on a towel and dry cauliflower completely before proceeding.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. If mashed cauliflower has cooled too much, return it to the pot and heat it to your desired temperature.

7. 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.

Nutrition Facts

Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower | Vegan, Paleo, Keto Side Dish

Amount Per Serving

Calories 111 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 333mg14%

Potassium 59mg2%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 1g2%

Vitamin C 65.6mg80%

Calcium 37mg4%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.