Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

White serving bowl filled with creamy mashed cauliflower drizzled with brown butter and garlic.

4.93 from 26 votes

This Creamy Mashed Cauliflower Recipe may be lower in carbs and calories but they are just as mouthwatering as regular mashed potatoes. Made with sour cream, parmesan cheese, garlic, and butter, these creamy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes are full of delicious buttery flavor and make the perfect, keto-approved side dish!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Servings: servings (as a side)

Calories: 191kcal

Chef: Jessica Randhawa

Tools

▢
Blender

Ingredients

▢ 2 large heads of cauliflower - chopped into florets
▢ ¾ cup sour cream - plus more to taste
▢ 6 tablespoon butter
▢ 8 cloves garlic - minced
▢ ⅓ cup parmesan cheese - grated
▢ salt and pepper - to taste

Instructions

Steam the cauliflower. Place the cauliflower florets in a large steamer basket set inside a large pot with approximately 1 inch of water. Cover with a lid and bring the water to a boil. Steam for 10-15 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork-tender. Remove cauliflower from heat, drain, and return to the pot. Cover with a lid and allow cauliflower to rest for 5 minutes.
Puree the cauliflower. Add the cooked cauliflower florets and sour cream to a large high-speed blender. Pulse several times then process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed (you may need to do this in two batches).
Brown the garlic and butter. Melt the butter in a small saucepot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring and swirling the pot until the garlic is golden brown (reduce heat if needed to prevent the butter or garlic from burning).
Puree again. Transfer half of the melted garlic butter, parmesan cheese, and one teaspoon salt and black pepper, to the blender filled with the mashed cauliflower. Blend. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serve. Transfer mashed cauliflower to a large serving bowl and drizzle with the remaining melted garlic butter. Serve.

Notes

I made this recipe using two large heads of cauliflower. If you plan to feed more than 4-6 people with decent appetites, I would add a third.
Sour cream is one of my must-have ingredients whenever I make mashed potatoes. Since we are not adding any milk or buttermilk to this recipe, the sour cream and butter are the two ingredients that help move the blender along and puree the steamed cauliflower. Feel free to substitute with Greek yogurt if necessary.
If you do not like garlic or only like it a little, I highly recommend cutting the total amount of garlic in half.
I always use salted butter when I cook. Feel free to use unsalted butter and add more salt as needed. You can easily make your cauliflower mash healthier by cutting the total amount of butter in half.
Use a tamper to help push the steamed cauliflower down as you blend it. For the thickest, creamiest results, try not to add additional milk or liquids other than the butter and sour cream.
For creamier mashed cauliflower, try adding some cream cheese.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Can you use frozen cauliflower or cauliflower rice? I have not tried using cauliflower rice or frozen cauliflower myself; however, I don't see why it wouldn't work. The taste may be slightly different, but with adequate seasoning and spices, it will probably be pretty hard to notice a difference.

Originally published October 21, 2019

Nutrition

Did you make this recipe?Tag @theforkedspoon and hashtag it #theforkedspoon and please leave your star rating in the comment section on this post.