These 4 ingredient Healthy Garlic Mashed Cauliflower Potatoes are a vegan, gluten free and low carb side dish! Even the kids will love them!
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Eating “faux” food is something that my real-whole-food loving soul would USUALLY consider a FAUX PAS.
But, these cauliflower mashed potatoes? NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES.
*ducks and covers while some of you throw things at my head for calling blendy-creamy-cauliflower “potatoes.”
I know. I KNOW. There are VRY VRY strong feelings about how to make mashed potatoes. Or, at least there are in my house.
Mr. FFF believes they should be mish-mashed with lots and lots of BUTTER. My family? We were always team “CREAM CHEESE.” Other people might even be more into mashed sweet potatoes.
However, one thing that doesn’t usually come to mind is CAULIFLOWER. But, I am going to put my lawyer shoes on (which are VRY VRY fancy, leather-patent high heels that are OH SO shiny, if you want to know) and make a case for these healthy garlic mashed cauliflower potatoes to be included alongside your easy gluten free stuffing, scalloped sweet potatoes AND healthy vegan green bean casserole this turkey-day:
Why you will LOVE This Recipe
When prepping for holiday meals this time of year, you will NOT want to leave mashed potatoes out of your recipe lineup. They are too rich, too creamy, and WAY too indulgent to pass up, am I right?! BUT if you are in need of a lower carb option, then red skin mashed potatoes won’t fit the bill. Don’t panic though, ladies and gentlemen, because I have the perfect recipe to step in and save the day- say hello to cauliflower garlic mashed potatoes. They are just as creamy and dreamy, but are made with cauliflower, leaving out the potatoes and ALL the carbs that come with them. This recipe is keto friendly, full of flavor, and absolutely delish!
Ingredients Needed
Making your own pot of easy mashed cauliflower with garlic is fool proof and only calls for a handful of ingredients, to boot! Here’s everything you’ll need to gather together before making this recipe:
- Garlic
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Cauliflower Florets
- Dairy Free Cream Cheese
- Salt
- Pepper
How to make Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Roast
Turn on your oven and let it preheat. Slice off the tip of the head of garlic and peel off some of the extra papery parts. Place the head of the garlic onto a piece of tinfoil and drizzle it with oil, rubbing it in. Close the tinfoil up into a packet and place it in the oven, roasting until the center of the garlic is very soft.
Boil
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add in the cauliflower florets. Cook until they are fork tender, then drain the water and place the florets on a clean kitchen towel to cool. Once cooled off a bit, fold the towel over the cauliflower and ring out any excess liquid from the cauliflower.
Blend
Place the cauliflower into a large food processor, and squeeze the garlic carefully out of the head, adding it to the processor as well. Add all remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Serve
Serve up your cauliflower and garlic mash as desired and DEVOUR!
Top Tips for making Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Shiny Side In: When making your garlic packet to roast in the oven, make sure the shiny side of the tinfoil is turned inwards, so that the garlic will cook quicker and more evenly!
- Ring it Out: When it’s time to ring out the excess liquid from the cauliflower, really put some muscle into it! This will result in thick and creamy mashed cauliflower rather than it being too runny.
- Chop Evenly: Make sure your cauliflower florets are all around the same size when cutting them up, so that they will cook evenly!
Serving Suggestions
Now that you have your cauliflower mash all ready to enjoy, it’s time to think of some dishes that would pair well with it to bring it together as a meal! I recommend serving it with some beef with garlic sauce to keep that garlic theme strong, along with a side of crisp and delicious instant pot green beans to add some color to your plate!
How to store Mashed Cauliflower
I recommend storing any leftover mashed cauliflower in an airtight container in the fridge. It will last up to 5 days this way, and makes for fabulous leftovers!
Healthy Garlic Mashed Cauliflower Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 Cups Cauliflower florets (1 lb)
- 1/4 Cup Dairy free cream cheese (or regular works too!)
- 1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Slice 1/4 inch of the top of the head of garlic, peeling off the excess papery skin, and trying to keep the head intact.
-
Place the garlic onto a piece of tinfoil and drizzle with the oil, rubbing into into the top and sides of the garlic. Close the tinfoil to make a packet around the garlic (remember to put the shiny-side in!) and roast until the center of the garlic is very soft, about 40 minutes.
-
While the garlic cooks, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then, add the cauliflower florets into the boiling water, cover and cook until fork tender, about 8-10 minutes.
-
Drain the cauliflower and spread onto a thin kitchen towel. Let cool for 5-10 minutes until cool enough to handle. You do not want to burn your hands!
-
Wrap the cauliflower in the kitchen towel and ring out as much excess moisture as you can. Really put some muscle into it, as this gives you thick and creamy cauliflower potatoes, not thin, soupy ones! I like to do this in 2 kitchen towels to really make sure the water is gone!
-
Once you’ve gotten ALL the moisture out, place the cauliflower into a large food processor, along with all the remaining ingredients. Squeeze the softened garlic cloves out of the head and then add them into the food processor (*read notes!)
-
Blend everything together until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the food processor as necessary. You’ll need to let it run a few minutes to get everything super smooth!
-
DEVOUR.
Notes
Nutrition
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
Calories from Fat 35
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 2 POINTS+: 2. OLD POINTS: 1
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