Use this Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes recipe in place of your regular mashed potatoes for an easy, healthy, and very flavorful low-carb alternative! This recipe is clean, keto, paleo, low-carb, gluten-free, and easily altered for vegan and vegetarian diets.

Cauliflower is such a versatile ingredient. I love them as mashed potatoes but they can also be used to make tortillas, pizza, rice, and even hashbrowns.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes | Make this recipe for cauliflower mashed potatoes instead of regular mashed potatoes for a low-carb alternative. Easy to alter for paleo and vegan diets. | A Sweet Pea Chef

I mean -- we're talking about MASHED POTATOES here. Smooth, heavy, delightfully creamy mashed potatoes.

And with mashed cauliflower, instead? No way.

In This Post You'll Find:

Reasons You'll Love It
Watch Me Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Ingredient Notes
How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Creamier
How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Thicker
How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Thinner
Substitutions
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Goes Well With:
More Low-Carb Recipes Using Cauliflower
Low-Carb Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Are These Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Keto?
Reviews

Reasons You'll Love It

Low carb option to a recipe you love
Takes less than 20 min to make 🙂
Creamy and delicious
It's healthy, gluten-free and easily altered to be vegan

Watch Me Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Ingredient Notes

Cauliflower: Cauliflower is such an awesome and versatile ingredient. It's high in vitamins, and low carb. Though you can totally make regular mashed potatoes and even slow cooker mashed potatoes, you really can't go wrong with these.

Almond Milk: A lot of time, mashed potatoes are made with regular milk, but I have swapped it for unsweetened almond milk which is my favorite. That being said, feel free to use your milk of choice.

View of all the ingredients needed to make cauliflower mashed potatoes, including cauliflower, garlic, sea salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and almond milk.

When I first tried these, I was shocked at the resemblance. Mashed cauliflower really does nicely replace mashed potatoes.

Are they exactly the same?

No, they’re not identical. But they are definitely good enough as a stand-in. And they are so tasty.

If, like me, you have been weary about trying mashed cauliflower potatoes, I hope I can help convince you to finally go for it.

Steamer basket filled with cauliflower and garlic cloves that will be steamed until tender and then pureed for the cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Overhead view of a food processor that is filled with steamed cauliflower florets, steamed garlic, sea salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and almond milk that will be pureed into cauliflower mashed potatoes.

How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Step 1: Heat a large stock pot over high heat until boiling.

Step 2: Add the cauliflower and garlic cloves to a steaming basket and place over boiling water. Cover and steam until cauliflower is soft when poked with a fork, about 6-8 minutes.

(Tip: If you let the cauliflower cool down a bit after it’s done steaming, it’ll dry out a bit, which makes it much easier to get a good texture on the mash. It also lets you add other flavorful liquids to balance out the moisture content.)

Step 3: Add the steamed cauliflower and garlic to a food processor. Add the parmesan, salt, and pepper.

Step 4: Pulse the food processor until all contents are mostly smooth. You want some texture here, but not a lot. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender or to move around the cauliflower to make sure it all gets mashed. Use the almond milk, tbsp. by tbsp., as needed to bring the mixture together. Try not to use too much as this will cause the mixture to get soupy. You want to keep it as thick as possible (like mashed potatoes).

Step 5: Serve hot. Garnish with fresh chives or whatever you like on your mashed potatoes.

Overhead view of a food processor once the cauliflower, garlic, and seasonings have been processed to turn into cauliflower mashed potatoes.

Close-up view of the pureed cauliflower mashed potatoes in the food processor with a spoon digging into the mixture to show the smooth texture.

How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Creamier

Okay, okay...we all know and love creamy mashed potatoes, but can you make mashed cauliflower creamy, too? Yes, you most certainly can! Here are some tips for how to make mashed cauliflower creamy, just like you love your mashed potatoes.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of plain full fat greek yogurt. This will help to make them creamier and also a little heavier, if that's how you prefer your texture.
Let the cauliflower cool down a bit after it’s done steaming. By doing so, the cauliflower will dry out a little as it cools, which makes it much easier to get a good texture on the mash.
Add just a little organic half and half (I only use this brand) for a slightly creamier texture.

To make creamy cauliflower mashed potatoes thinner, you can just add a little more unsweetened almond milk and then process again to mix it through.

How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Thicker

Fortunately, if you really like your cauliflower mashed potatoes to be thick and hearty, there are some easy methods to make it happen, including:

Add in plain greek full-fat yogurt, which will add texture, flavor, and thickness.
Use a hand potato masher, not a food processor for more texture (a food processor will make it more smooth)
Add in a couple actual potatoes to help thicken, but keep the majority of the cauliflower mash.
Add a little more grated parmesan cheese for more binding.
Reduce the amount of almond milk being used.
Allow the cauliflower to cool before blending to get more texture and thickness.

How To Make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Thinner

To make these creamy cauliflower mashed potatoes thinner, you can just add a little more unsweetened almond milk and then process again to mix it through.

Substitutions

Vegan: The only non-vegan ingredient in this cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe is parmesan cheese. To make these cauliflower mashed potatoes vegan, all you would need to do is replace the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast or just omit entirely.

You’ll likely need to add a touch more sea salt if you choose to remove it altogether since the parmesan adds some saltiness.

Dairy: I use unsweetened almond milk, but if you need to swap for any other dairy option, that would work.

Horizontal image of the cauliflower mashed potatoes that are garnished with sliced chives.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Goes Well With:

Roasted Pork Tenderloin: This recipe for a roasted pork tenderloin goes great with a side of cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Steak: Almost everyone loves steak with mashed potatoes and a good way to make the whole dish healthier is to use cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Roast Beef: Roast beef is a big favorite over here especially on a fall weekend.
Braised Short Ribs: One of Dustin's favorites, braised short ribs are definitely a good choice to pair with this.
Chicken: I always love roasted chicken and, again, some mashed cauliflower goes really nicely with that.

More Low-Carb Recipes Using Cauliflower

plated scene of cauliflower mashed potatoes

Low-Carb Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Lacey Baier

Just use this Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes recipe in place of your regular mashed potatoes for an easy, healthy, and very flavorful low-carb alternative! This recipe is clean, keto, paleo, low-carb, gluten-free, and easily altered for vegan and vegetarian diets.

4.79 from 14 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Course Side

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 103 kcal

Equipment

Food Processor

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

▢ 1 medium head of cauliflower, broken into florets
▢ 3 cloves garlic, peeled
▢ 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
▢ ⅓ cup parmesan cheese, grated (omit if vegan or use nutritional yeast)
▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat a large stock pot (with steamer attachment) over high heat until boiling.
Add the cauliflower and garlic cloves to a steaming basket and place over boiling water. Cover and steam until cauliflower is soft when poked with a fork, about 6-8 minutes. (Tip: If you let the cauliflower cool down a bit after it’s done steaming, it’ll dry out a bit, which makes it much easier to get a good texture on the mash. It also lets you add other flavorful liquids to balance out the moisture content.)
Add the steamed cauliflower and garlic to a food processor (or, if you'd prefer, mix in a large bowl with an immersion blender or a potato masher). Add the parmesan, salt, and pepper.
Pulse the food processor until all contents are mostly smooth. You want some texture here, but not a lot. You may need to scrape the sides of the blender or to move around the cauliflower to make sure it all gets mashed. Use the almond milk, tbsp. by tbsp., as needed to bring the mixture together. Try not to use too much as this will cause the mixture to get soupy. You want to keep it as thick as possible (like mashed potatoes).
Serve hot. Garnish with fresh chives or whatever you like on your mashed potatoes.

Video

Notes

To make creamy cauliflower mashed potatoes thinner, you can just add a little more unsweetened almond milk and then process again to mix it through.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 cupCalories: 103 kcalCarbohydrates: 13.9 gProtein: 7.5 gFat: 3 gSaturated Fat: 1.8 gCholesterol: 6.6 mgSodium: 419.2 mgFiber: 3.4 gSugar: 3.2 gVitamin A: 100 IUVitamin C: 104.8 mgCalcium: 180 mgIron: 1.1 mg

Keyword cauliflower mashed potatoes, cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe, cauliflower potatoes

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Are These Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes Keto?

Fortunately, cauliflower is a very keto-friendly vegetable because it is so low in carbs, especially when compared to potatoes. That means this recipe for cauliflower mashed potatoes is keto and would even benefit from a slab of organic unsalted, grass-fed butter on top. Feel free to add a little more parmesan cheese in as well.