Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes With Cream Cheese

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Last Updated on June 13, 2023 by Toya

Learn how to make this delicious cauliflower mash with cream cheese in just minutes. This EASY cauliflower mashed potatoes with cream cheese is keto-approved, and made with just 5 ingredients! Once you learn how to use a potato substitute like cauliflower to make low carb mash, you’ll never want to go back to the other stuff!

Cauliflower Mash With Cream Cheese

Mashed cauliflower is so easy to make and is the perfect quick side dish with lots of flavors. This cauliflower mash recipe is the best as it’s light, smooth, creamy, and rich, but also very versatile and cheap!

With this yummy recipe, you won’t ever miss regular mashed potatoes again. This keto mash is the perfect mashed potato substitute that you can make for Thanksgiving and holidays or any time of the year.

Serve these with steamed vegetables with fried chicken thighs, keto pork ribs, or keto buffalo chicken thighs or a full, very satisfying meal!

How to cook cauliflower like mashed potatoes?

The best way to prepare cauliflower for this mashed cauliflower recipe is by steaming it. This will ensure that your cauliflower has not soaked up too much liquid, as too much liquid can affect this recipe.

To steam cook your cauliflower, place the cauliflower florets in a steaming basket over a simmering pot of water, and steam until tender. 

Once you’ve steam cooked your cauliflower florets, your next steps are to use sufficient seasonings and the right ingredients to add great flavor to your keto cauliflower mash with cream cheese.

This way, you’ll end up with a naturally creamy and flavorful cauliflower mash potato recipe with garlic and fresh herbs that is absolutely divine!

Cauliflower, like potatoes, is naturally very bland, and so, the secret to cooking mashed cauliflower which is as good, or even better than mashed potatoes is to properly season your cauliflower mash for an amazing end product that’s tasty, cheap, and super-easy.

Ingredients to make cauliflower mashed potatoes with cream cheese 

To make cauliflower mashed potatoes with cream cheese you will need:

• 1 head of cauliflower or 4 cups of cauliflower florets
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt to taste
• Fresh herbs for garnishing

How to make cauliflower mashed potatoes with cream cheese

Fill a sauce pot with 2-inches of water and bring it to a simmer. 

Arrange the cauliflower florets in a steaming basket. Place the basket over simmering water and close it with a lid.

Steam the cauliflower until really soft, then place the cauliflower in a blender with the rest of the ingredients for the mash.

If you’re using a blender, blend until smooth. Otherwise, mash or process until smooth.

Then serve this keto friendly mashed cauliflower topped with chives or other freshly chopped herbs and next to some delicious low carb country style pork ribs for a full meal.

 

 

After eating this creamy, rich, buttery cream cheese cauliflower mash, you’ll definitely look at cauliflower like the new keto potato! 

Food processor, blender, or potato masher?

Any of these tools would work just fine. However, they each serve slightly different purposes.

For the creamiest cauliflower mashed potatoes with cream cheese, you should use your blender or a food processor. Once you’re done blending or processing, add some extra seasonings if needed and enjoy.

If you do not own a blender or a food process, you can mash your cauliflower florets with a potato masher. Your end product will be a little lumpy, but, it will still taste amazing! 

How to thicken cauliflower mash?

In order to thicken this recipe, there are a few options. You can either:

• Add freshly grated cheese to the mixture. This will help thicken the cauliflower mashed potatoes and also make it more cheesy. 
• You can also add some more cream cheese to the recipe to help thicken it up. 
• Finally, if you have cornstarch on hand, you can stir in some cornstarch to thicken the cauliflower mash with cream cheese. Do so by adding the cornstarch a tablespoon at a time and stirring until the mash reaches the consistency you like. 
   

Cauliflower Mash Flavor Variations

This creamy mash tastes amazing just the way it is. However, if you want to experiment with other flavors, there are many variations worth making. Here are some ideas you can try out:

• Sour cream and shredded cheese mashed cauliflower: Remove the butter and cream cheese and replace with 1/2 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup of shredded cheese added to the remaining ingredients. 
• Buttery almond milk cauliflower mash: Remove the cream cheese and replace it with 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk and 2 tablespoons of olive oil added to the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. 
• 3-ingredient mashed cauliflower potatoes: For this version, remove the garlic powder, cream cheese, and butter and simply add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 minced garlic cloves to your 1 head of cauliflower for this simple recipe. 
• Roasted cauliflower mash: To make this version, you’ll need 4 cups of cauliflower florets and 3 cloves of garlic placed on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper, cover lightly with some foil, and bake in an oven at 350°F for 10 minutes. Once done, let it cool for a few minutes, then add the roasted cauliflower florets, together with  3/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and process until smooth. 

Storing, freezing, and reheating mashed cauliflower

Once your cauliflower mash is made, make sure it is cooled down before storing. Here is how to store it:

• To Store: Place the cooled cauliflower mash in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 2 days. 
• To Freeze: Place the cooled mashed cauliflower in a zip-lock bag. Pop in the freezer and store for up to three months.
• To serve: This mash reheats beautifully in the microwave. Simply thaw and reheat for 2 minutes.

Best tips for making this cream cheese cauliflower mash recipe

• Steam your cauliflower, do not boil it. This will help you avoid watery keto cauliflower mashed potatoes. 
• However, if you do end up boiling your cauliflower, make sure to drain it well. Also, if there is any excess liquid, you can place the mash in a sauce pot and cook more until the water vaporizes.

Cauliflower Mash FAQs

How to make your mashed cauliflower buttery and creamy?

To make your low carb mashed cauliflower more buttery and creamy, simply add extra butter and cream cheese to the recipe. I recommend adding an extra 2-3 tablespoons of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of cream cheese to the recipe. 

Can you freeze cauliflower ‘mashed potatoes’?

Cauliflower mashed potatoes can be frozen for up to three months. Therefore, this can make a great make-ahead recipe to have on hand. 

How many calories are in cauliflower mash?

This is a low calorie keto recipe and there are only 116 calories in every serving of this cauliflower mash recipe. 

How many carbs are in cauliflower mash?

All the ingredients in this recipe are low in carbs. Therefore, there are 5.6 net carbs in every serving of this recipe. 

This recipe is perfect as a side dish for dinner, but, it is also great for lunch too!

Did you enjoy this cream cheese cauliflower mash? If you did, then feel free to try out some more of these keto lunches here.

More cauliflower recipes

If you’re looking for more easy keto cauliflower recipes, check out these yummy ideas below:

• Keto cauliflower dirty rice
• Keto cauliflower bread
• Keto cauliflower jambalaya
• Keto cauliflower mac and cheese
• Keto cauliflower wings