Mashed Cauliflower
Mashed Potatoes are creamy, comforting, delicious… and can be a bullet train to CrankyTown, thanks to their direct route over the craggy heights of Insulin Spike Peak. But bow your head in gratitude to the cauliflower. (What a friend we have in cauliflower!)
Mashed with some coconut milk, coconut oil, and chives, humble cauliflower provides all the texture and comfort of mashed spuds, without the trip into dangerous territory. This is the recipe from Well Fed, reprinted here for your nom-y enjoyment.
Mashed Cauliflower
Prep 10 min | Cook 5 min | Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen cauliflower florets
1 garlic clove, crushed (about 1 teaspoon)
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
salt and black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons dried chopped chives
Directions:
1. Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions until it’s very soft, but not waterlogged.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl or small saucepan, heat the garlic, coconut oil, coconut milk, salt, and pepper, about 1 minute.
3. Meanwhile, purée the cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor, scraping down the sides. Add the coconut milk to the processor, along with 1 tablespoon of chives. Process about 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with remaining chives before serving.
Tags: caulfilower, dino-chow, paleo
22 Responses to “Mashed Cauliflower”
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I love your recipe for mashed cauliflower, but I like it even better when I make a batch that’s half cauliflower/half parsnips. It’s creamier and feels more filling. Sometimes I swap out the coconut oil for different fats, like butter, bacon fat or duck fat. In fact, I’m having some for lunch today with a meat and mushroom ragu. It’s basically the highlight of my day. (I know that sounds kinda sad, but I swear it’s a good thing!)
I actually tried a mix of half cauliflower and half turnips, and it turned out super yummy! Even my cauliflower-hating husband said it would be a fine substitute for mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving
Crazy, I made these last night! However – I think mine got waterlogged because I ended up having to add (very non-paleo) mashed potato flakes to make them even close to the consistency they needed to be. We are in the process of transitioning to a paleo diet, but it’s a hard sell with my hubby! I knew he wouldn’t stand for the cauliflower “soup” I had made, but next time I won’t cook it nearly as long!
recommendations for a good coconut milk?
I love mashed cauliflower but my husband really doesn’t like it for some reason. I add a little grassfed butter to it
I can’t eat coconut products (oil, etc) or dairy so I’m wondering if I could substitute olive oil and Almond Milk instead of coconut oil and coconut milk? Do you have any recommendations for substitutes because I could make a lot more of your recipes if I could substitute them. Thank you! Love your book and your blog.
I need coconut products substitutions as well. I have fructose malabsorption (diagnosed) and can’t have any fruit products
In this recipe, you can substitute chicken broth for the coconut milk — or if you have homemade mayo on hand, skip the coconut milk and throw in 1-2 tablespoons of mayo. I did that once, and it was luscious.
I will try this recipe.
How would I make this without a food processor?
You use old-school tools like a potato masher or a potato ricer… or an immersion/stick blender… or a hand-held or countertop mixer.
If you don’t have any of those things, you could go at it with a wire whisk and get an upper body workout.
That would be a workout! I used our good ol’ potato masher. It tasted great! Thanks Melissa.
Hi Melissa!
this will be my first Thanksgiving without Pepperidge Farm stuffing. I’m thinking of using Bell’s seasoning mix and using cauliflower as the “bread”, with diced onions, celery, pasture butter, and home made chicken stock– have you tried this, and do you have any recommedations?
Thanks so much, love your passion and especially, love Well Fed!
I haven’t tried a cauliflower stuffing, but I bet it will taste great. I’d recommend making it in a casserole on its own, rather than actually putting it in a bird, however — I think it might get too mushy inside the birdy.
If you make it in a casserole, you could make some almond flour “bread crumbs” to sprinkle on top so it gets crispy. Instructions for “bread crumbs” are part of this recipe:
http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2011/08/18/comfort-noodles/
what a great idea about the bread crumbs! I was definitely planning to bake it– I got the notion from a twice cooked cauliflower curry I invented one night (steamed it, chopped it, stirred it up with some coconut butter and a Savory and Spice shop curry blend and baked it). I’ll try to remember to let you know how it turns out!
* “bread” crumbs that is
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I ADORE this recipe. I’m away from my family for a few months training, and when I was back home this past weekend I made this, Cinnamon Beef Stew, and Chocolate Chili in HUGE pots to stock up the fridge to make my hubs’s life easier. I’ve never been a huge fan of cauliflower, but this…this I licked the bowl clean. So good!
One of my favorites from Well Fed! I cannot wait for Well Fed 2!!!
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I had to tell you what I did tonight! My store had no frozen cauliflower – really? – so I bought a head of fresh. Cut it up, boiled it and during the last 3 minutes or so of boiling it, I added half a bag of frozen spinach! Once it was done, I prepared it using this recipe. Bright crazy green but really tasty! I am like a little kid; sometimes you have to sneak in the spinach.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I love the addition of spinach — that’s genius!
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Holy crap!! These are amazing. The best recipe EVER for mashed cauliflower. Now I wonder if I can trick my kids.
I use fresh cauliflower that I steam first. These are unbelievably good. LOVE them.
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