Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
These Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes are a revelation! They have far fewer carbs than your usual mashed potatoes, but are just as smooth and creamy. It’s a creamy vegetable side that’s easy to prepare, and I share a secret for ensuring that they aren’t watery and bland. This recipe only takes 20 minutes to make!
I’m always a little suspicious of “lighter recipes” that are substitutions of classics, but mashed cauliflower is legitimately delicious. It’s certainly worthy of holiday meals like Thanksgiving alongside some Maple Glazed Carrots, Butternut Squash Soup, and Drop Biscuits.
The first time I made mashed cauliflower at home, I was trying to recreate the cauliflower puree I so often had at fancy restaurants. They always tasted similar to mashed potatoes, but with a silkier and lighter texture, plus more flavor. I have finally figured out how to make them flavorful, creamy, and rich, yet lighter than usual.
Why This Recipe Is The Best
Not watery – I will show you in the step-by-step below how to squeeze the cauliflower to remove excess water after steaming. This makes a HUGE difference and makes the end result similar to the consistency of real mashed potatoes.
Flavorful, not bland – Another benefit of squeezing the water out is that it lets us replace the excess liquid with a small amount of butter and cream. It’s not overly heavy, but still creamy and flavorful.
Make-ahead friendly – You can make the entire dish ahead of time, then reheat before serving, just like you would with regular potatoes.
Fully customizable – The beauty of this recipe is that you can try tons of different flavor variations. You can add garlic, butter, different kinds of cheese, chives, scallions, and more.
How much cauliflower do you need?
Because we will be squeezing a lot of the water out of the vegetable, you will need more cauliflower than you think. I usually do two heads for four people.
Step by Step Overview:
Cut the heads of cauliflower down into florets:
Steam or boil the florets until fork tender. I do this in my instant pot, but you can steam in a pan, in the microwave, etc.
Let the florets cool, then squeeze the excess water out using a kitchen towel:
Sometimes when I’m impatient, I’ll just twist the bottom using tongs. It’s very hot, so don’t touch with bare hands!
Also, don’t skip this step! I’ve tried other methods for getting rid of excess water, even pressing the cauliflower through a strainer, and it’s not enough. You really need the towel.
Combine the cauliflower with cheese, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper:
But really, you can do any sort of flavorings you want to.
To finish, you have two options:
- Mix it all by hand, and enjoy a chunkier texture.
- Transfer the ingredients to a food processor, and mix until smooth.
I personally like it with a smoother texture:
How to Serve It
This is a fantastic side for hearty, meaty dishes like Beef Wellington, Roasted Pork Tenderloin, or Prime Rib. It also makes for a beautiful “base” to the plate where you can place the meat on top and capture any sauce in the cauliflower mashed potatoes.
If you have any leftovers, I also enjoy spreading this over Sourdough Discard Flatbread.
Recipe FAQ and Tips:
Yes, so long as you’re okay with a chunkier texture, you can mash everything by hand.
Eh, kind of. I find the texture to be so much worse that I don’t bother, but it’s definitely edible.
Yes, just simply rewarm in the oven or microwave to serve again. The only downside is that I think that cauliflower is always a bit smellier once it has been refrigerated as leftovers.
This means you need to squeeze it a little better with the towel next time. I’ve tested it without the towel, just pressing as much water out as possible through a strainer, and it wasn’t good enough. The towel is important!
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Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 heads of cauliflower*
- 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (about 2.5 ounces by weight)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped chives optional
Instructions
- Cut the cauliflower heads down into florets, then steam or boil for about 8-10 minutes, until completely fork tender and soft.
- You can also cook the florets in an , by adding 1/2 cup of water to the bottom, and placing the cauliflower florets on the steamer insert. Using high pressure, steam for 2 minutes.
- Let the cauliflower drain and cool, then squeeze in a kitchen towel to remove the majority of the water in the cauliflower. If you’re in a hurry, I’ve had success with using tongs or rubber gloves to squeeze the cauliflower while it’s still hot, just don’t use your bare hands!
- For a chunkier cauliflower mash, mix the cauliflower with the remaining ingredients by hand.
- For a smoother texture, puree the squeezed cauliflower in a food processor with everything but the chives, for about one minutes, until smooth.
- Mix in the chives if desired, or simply sprinkle on top to garnish. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated with new photos, writing, and tips in September 2018. Originally published April 2013. This post contains affiliate links.
128 Comments on “Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes”
Would Greek yogurt be an acceptable substitute for the sour cream if I included cheese, garlic, salt and pepper for seasoning?
Yes. I just did it. It was good
HI! If I cut the recipe in half, would that cut the nutritional information in half as well?
no..it would just make less. the information is based on serving size. hope that helps.
I’m a novice cook. After you cool the cauliflower and add stuff like milk, butter, and chives, what’s the best way to heat it? Microwave?
That’s probably the easiest and quickest way. You can warm to desired heat on the stovetop as well.
Wow, these are the best mashed cauliflower potatoes that I’ve tried!! They are SO fluffy and taste like the real thing. I have already sent this recipe to all my friends! Thanks so much!
Great recipe, please keep sharing you ‘re the best
Can you use riced cauliflower?
Hm, “maybe” is my answer. It would probably work fine, though the texture may be an issue. Sometimes cauliflower rice is made with more stalk than floret.
Wonderful recipe. Made a half measure to mix it with regular mashed potatoes. If any of you are trying this make sure not to add too much sour cream or milk even if you use the kitchen towel as you risk making it too moist. However, if you’re mixing it with real potatoes, you can compensate the dryness of potatoes with your cauliflower mash. Enjoy and thank you for sharing this recipe.
Sounds good
Didn’t have cheddar cheese but had some garlic and herb vegan cheese which I used instead. I have always loved garlic mashed potatoes, so I gave it a try. I wanted to make a faux steak and mashed dinner so sliced large portabello mushrooms (inch to inch and a half) and brushed them with a marinade made with soy, pureed garlic, a little balsamic, wine, and olive oil and browned them well. Used a wild mushroom mix to make a gravy in the “drippings” and voila! Actually made me forget steak and potatoes. Yum. Hubby and I both loved it.
I made this thinking it would be a waste! I did change the cheddar cheese to 1/4 cup cream cheese and I used a blender to get the cauliflower to correct consistency. I was raised not to have lumps in my mashed potatoes so they were creamy and smooth. I did add a splash of heavy whipping cream. My husband and I definitely loved them! They were awesome! I think if you stick to the towel drying method you will have a good outcome and be careful when adding anything liquid. I made quite a bit because my large head of cauliflower was threatening to blacken. Refrigerating and reheating in the microwave was a success. I did not notice any cauliflower smell but enjoyed the dish as much as the day before. Thanks for impressing the need for drying with a towel it works!
Thank you for sharing! This recipe is awesome!
Delicious! We usually add one potato to ours to give it just a hint of real mashed potatoes!
So easy and healthy. Love cauliflower!
Such a great idea!
I love cauliflower! This is so good.
I love this, just started keto a few weeks back so I’ve been making mashed cauliflower quite a bit lately and I love it.