Creamy Mashed Cauliflower - Healthy Recipes Blog (2025)

You'll only need six ingredients to make this mashed cauliflower recipe. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:

• Cauliflower: You can buy a cauliflower head and cut it into florets or use a bag of pre-washed cauliflower florets.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter. I love using creamy European butter, but any butter will be good.
• Minced garlic: It's OK to use jarred minced garlic, but freshly minced is best.
• Grated parmesan: Make sure you use finely grated parmesan, not coarsely shredded.
• Kosher salt and black pepper: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

The recipe card below lists the detailed instructions for making this recipe. Here are the basic steps:

Steam the cauliflower in the microwave and drain it well. You can steam it in a steamer basket on the stovetop or roast the cauliflower. But the microwave is the easiest and quickest method. In fact, I often serve microwave cauliflower as a side dish!

Place butter, garlic, parmesan, salt, and pepper in your food processor bowl.

Add the hot cauliflower.

Process these ingredients into a wonderfully creamy mash. This should take 1-2 minutes. Stop once or twice and use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.

It's perfectly acceptable to use frozen cauliflower in this recipe. I typically make this recipe with fresh cauliflower, but I recently experimented with using frozen cauliflower florets that I got at the local supermarket.

This is the bag I used:

This is what the florets look like when frozen:

And here they are after a 10-minute session in the microwave:

I made it the same way as fresh cauliflower, and the mash turned out excellent. It is just as good as a mash made from fresh cauliflower. So this is certainly an option.

Expert Tips

To ensure the mash is thick and creamy:

• Don't undercook the cauliflower. I typically steam cauliflower florets for about 5 minutes, but we want them extra tender for a mash, so we steam them for 10 minutes.
• Drain the cauliflower well after steaming it. The less water it contains, the thicker the mash will be.
• Add grated parmesan. Its texture thickens the mash.
• There's no need to add cornstarch, although it can help thicken the mash. But in my experience, draining the cauliflower well and adding grated parmesan is enough to ensure a thick and creamy mash.

Does mashed cauliflower taste like mashed potatoes?

No, but it's surprisingly close. The garlic and parmesan greatly enhance this mash and mask the flavor of the cauliflower. The parmesan also thickens it.

Why is my mashed cauliflower grainy?

You probably undercooked the cauliflower. While we're usually careful not to overcook vegetables, leaving them tender-crisp, in this case, we want the cauliflower to be very soft. This ensures a smooth mash.

Why is my cauliflower mash watery?

This can be caused by one of two things:
1. You didn't drain the cauliflower florets thoroughly.
2. You added liquids, such as milk or heavy cream, to the mash.

Can you taste the cauliflower?

You can. However, the butter, garlic, and parmesan mask the cauliflower's natural flavor. So, even if you're not a fan of this vegetable, you might still find this mash palatable.

Is this a make-ahead dish?

Yes. It's ready fast, so I don't usually feel the need to make it ahead of time. But you could make it a few hours (or a day) beforehand, refrigerate it, and reheat it in the microwave when ready to serve.

You can serve mashed cauliflower with almost anything. It's excellent when you make a saucy dish and want to serve it on something that would absorb the juices. So, I often serve it with one of the following saucy dishes:

• Pot roast
• Pork stew
• Keto Sloppy Joes
• Barbecue beef
• Pork stir-fry
• Baked scallops
• Beef shanks

I also use it to top my low-carb shepherd's pie. It's lovely when topped with roasted garlic!

You can also serve it with any dish traditionally served with mashed potatoes, such as ribeye roast, pork roast, or beef tenderloin roast.

Here's a photo of a recent family dinner - I served mashed cauliflower as a side dish to flat iron steak:

And here's another family dinner when I served it with salmon steak (this mash was made with frozen cauliflower, by the way):

You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days.

Unlike mashed potatoes, which don't keep well, this mash tastes good even after a few days in the fridge.

Gently reheat the leftovers in the microwave, covered, at 50% power.

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

This creamy mashed cauliflower is seasoned with butter, garlic, and parmesan. It's ready in just 20 minutes!

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 103kcal

Add Your Own Notes

Nutrition per Serving

Serving: 0.25recipe | Calories: 103kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Sodium: 407mg | Fiber: 3g