Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower

This Roasted Garlic & Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower is the ultimate in creamy, savory side dishes. If you’re eating low carb or keto, or simply want to switch it up, you won’t miss the potatoes in this luxurious version of the classic comfort food. Pairing beautifully with pork or beef, this is the low carb side dish recipe to include in your next holiday meal.

Best Mashed Cauliflower - Low Carb, Keto, LCHF, Grain-free, Gluten-free, Sugar-free

Five simple ingredients can sometimes make extraordinary food. It seems like cooking sacrilege to try to convince you that cauliflower will ever make you forget mashed potatoes ever existed, but if there ever were a recipe to do that, this would be it. 

The first time I tried to make mashed cauliflower was a bit of a watery, flavorless disaster. I, and don’t you tell anyone this, boiled my cauliflower, added too much milk and butter, and had been convinced that my traditional mashed potato methods would work on a totally different main ingredient. But the Internet told me cauliflower worked in lieu of potatoes! Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Even me. Especially me. I kid…

Anyways, I’ve done a lot of reading (from trustworthy sources) and a lot of experimenting. This mashed cauliflower is creamy, rich, and has a little bit of tang from the goat cheese. It stands up to potatoes anyday. At our house, we love pairing this recipe with pan seared filet mignon, a herbed pork tenderloin, or even salmon with a little lemon cream sauce (those recipes are coming, by the way...I swear it). But I’m especially excited about adding it to my holiday menu this year. It just seems wrong to do Thanksgiving or Christmas without mashed potatoes, but as of today, I suffer no longer.

How to make Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients

• Cauliflower
• Roasted garlic
• Herb garlic goat cheese, or plain
• Butter
• Heavy cream
• Black pepper
• Sea salt

Some tips, tricks, and take-aways about the Keto Creamy Mashed Cauliflower recipe and process:

How do I roast garlic? I know, it sounds tedious, but once you put it in the oven, you are hands off to do other things. Plus, the flavor of roast garlic is just so incredible and goes perfectly with the goat cheese in this recipe. I’ve tried it without roasting my garlic, and the end product just doesn’t compare. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Tear off a 12 inch sheet of tin foil. Place cloves in the middle and drizzle with olive oil. Fold up the sides to create a little packet. Pop in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. Remove and let cool before opening your packet. The skins will easily peel off, and voila, you’ve got roasted garlic.

Why steam your cauliflower? Vegetables have a high water content; cauliflower is no exception, and unlike the potato, cannot stand up to boiling for this kind of recipe. Steaming cooks the vegetables just enough to preserve texture, nutrients, and flavor. If you try to mash boiled cauliflower, you’ll have a runny puree instead of a stiffer mash. 

How to steam cauliflower without a steamer basket. It is possible to steam your cauliflower in the microwave. Place florets in a large microwave safe bowl, add 3 tbsp of water, and cover with cling-wrap to create a seal. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Don’t worry about overdoing it since we will be mashing this after all. Be careful not to scald yourself when removing the cling-wrap. Drain the water, let the cauliflower cool down for a few minutes and then pick up the rest of the recipe.

Allyson, I want my cauli mash to look like yours in that pretty picture! What did you do? I popped my mashed cauliflower under the broiler for a few minutes just before serving. The goat cheese will brown up which adds some color to an otherwise boring looking food. Drizzle  a little melted butter, sprinkle a fresh thyme leaves, and you’ll have an Instagram-worthy photo before you dig in.

Other Low Carb Cauliflower Recipes

• Cauliflower Colcannon
• Mushroom & Brie Cauliflower Risotto
• Loaded Cauliflower Casserole
• Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower
• Southwest Cauliflower Salad

Yield: 6

Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This Roasted Garlic & Goat Cheese Mashed Cauliflower is the ultimate in creamy, savory side dishes. If you’re eating low carb or keto, or simply want to switch it up, you won’t miss the potatoes in this luxurious version of the classic comfort food.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 5 cloves garlic, roasted (see note)
• 4 ounces goat cheese, garlic herb or plain
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
• 1/2 - 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Fill a large sauce pan with one inch of water. Place steamer insert inside and heat to a boil.
2. Cut up cauliflower florets. Once water is heated, place inside the steamer insert. Cover and steam for about 10-12 minutes.
3. Drain water completely in a colander. Let cool a few minutes until the steam subsides.
4. Dump contents into a large blender or food processor. Add roasted garlic, 3 1/2 ounces of goat cheese, butter, and heavy cream. Salt and pepper. Process until smooth.
5. Spoon cauliflower mash into a large heat proof casserole dish, sprinkle with remaining goat cheese and pop under the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top and cheese. Remove from the oven and top with additional melted butter if desired.

Notes

Roasting your own garlic is easy! See my Tips and Tricks section for directions on how to do it yourself.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 164Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 101mgCarbohydrates: 7gNet Carbohydrates: 4gFiber: 3gProtein: 6g

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and calculated to the best of my ability using online databases. It is suggested that you perform your own check to ensure that a recipe fits within the scope of your dietary needs.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and make sure to join the @noshinandnumnums community on instagram or facebook and tag me in your cooking pictures! 

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