Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

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Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower is not a replacement for mashed potatoes by any means, it’s an awesome side dish that can rival potatoes any day! This recipe is adapted from the wonderful Tupelo Honey Cookbook that a friend gave me a while back. And… by the way, the Tupelo Honey Cookbook is an absolute goldmine of great recipes and full of unique ingredient combinations.

But… back to the topic at hand: Cheesy – Mashed – Cauliflower. This stuff is insanely delicious – I mean, it’s so good that the two of us ate all 4 servings in one go! The crazy part is, neither one of us is super enthusiastic about cauliflower. This side dish has got me thinking that cauliflower could be one of those totally underrated vegetables – like squash. I’m pretty excited to work on some more cauliflower based dishes. My next project is a creamy coconut cauliflower ‘rice’ to go with our favorite Indian Curry.

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

To make the roasted garlic for this recipe, place a few cloves of garlic in the bottom of a small custard cup, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 400° F in the oven for 30-45 minutes until they look like…

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

…this! When they’re golden brown, soft and totally wonderful, they’re done. I like to make a big batch of roasted garlic to use in other things. I keep mine for 2 weeks at a time in the fridge, and it tastes good in pretty much everything!

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

After I trim the leaves and stem from the cauliflower, I cut my florets into 3 inch pieces. This takes a little longer to steam, but it’s less chopping, so that’s good. While the cauliflower is steaming, I prep the rest of the ingredients. When the cauliflower is tender, you’re ready to throw everything in the food processor, and a minute later, you’re done!

If you don’t have a food processor, you can try an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. I tried hand-mashing this with a potato masher, and the result was quite lumpy. Still delicious, but with a lot more texture going on.

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower | Get Inspired Everyday!

I originally tried this out for a Thanksgiving recipe, but I’ve found a new favorite that’s easy enough for year-round dinners as well as holidays!

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Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower


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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 head of cauliflower, (2 lbs, 4 oz)
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, (3 oz)
  • 1 Tablespoon roasted garlic
  • 1 Teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Trim leaves from the head of cauliflower and cut into big florets, about 3 inch pieces.
  2. Place in a steamer and steam until tender, 15 minutes for big pieces.
  3. While the cauliflower is steaming, assemble the rest of your ingredients.
  4. When the cauliflower is tender, pour off any extra liquid from steaming, and place the cauliflower in a food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Process until smooth, and adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
  5. Serve immediately or refrigerate and re-heat in a double boiler when you’re ready to serve. You can also place it in a casserole dish, sprinkle with additional cheese and bake it at 350° F until heated through.
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins

 

 

9 thoughts on “Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower”

  1. This recipe looks really good. Can’t wait to try it. Oh! by the way Flathead Valley is breathtaking. We lived in Lakeside, MT for 1 1/2 then Whitefish for another 3 years.

    Reply
    • It sounds like you lived in some of the prettiest areas around here! I hope you enjoy the recipe, and be sure to let me know how it goes!

      Reply
    • I haven’t had that problem myself yet, but I’ve heard this happens with cauliflower recipes sometimes and it’s because of the fibrous stalk. Make sure you’re not getting any of the tough parts in there. If there’s lots of stalk, you can either discard it or use a vegetable peeler to get the tough out layer off. Also, you need to use a food processor for the smoothest results because hand mashing leaves it lumpy, (depends on what texture you’re after). Let me know what happens if you try it again.

      Reply
      • Oh ok, I believe I had a large portion of the stalk in there (I like to use all of the veggies when I cook) I will be sure to try this again without the stalk! Thank you!!

  2. I feel like the trick to recipes like this must be in the cream cheese, because I’ve tried many variations of this recipe out, and I’m always disappointed, but I’ve never put cream cheese in it. I’ll definitely have to try that one out!

    Reply
    • I think you’re right, the cream cheese makes a creamy final product that I like better than other recipes we’ve tried. I’m working on a version with olive oil and rosemary for a dairy free mashed cauliflower because we liked this one so much!

      Reply
  3. Yes!! I was wondering when you would bring out the Tupelo cookbook. I actually made the mashed sweet potatoes yesterday for a group dinner. I love this recipe!

    Reply

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