Low Carb Cauliflower Mash with Smoked Cheese

Low-carb cauliflower mash “potatoes”? Yes, please!

Mashed potatoes are a must with most holiday dinners. While mashed potatoes are really high in carbs mashed cauliflower is not – and by the time you get done tweaking it your guests may have a hard time figuring out which is which.

The one thing you will really have to watch out for is the tendency of cauliflower to be watery. Be sure to strain it very well and press as much of the water out as possible. A food prcessor works best for this but I have used a blender as well, you just need to work in small batches.

Variations of Low-Carb Cauliflower Mash

Once you have the basic low-carb cauliflower mash down you can easily make a bunch of different variations. Some that I like are:

• Substitute bacon fat for about 1/3 of the butter
• Substitute sour cream for the cream
• Add cooked, crumbled bacon
• Add your favorite cheese
• Add caramelized onions
• Add chives
• Add chipotle or sauteed chilies.

Of course, you can make them just plain with butter so you can add low carb gravy. Oh, I’ll be posting that soon too!

You can make these ahead of time, if you are on a holiday timeline you can plan on making these up to three days ahead of time. They freeze pretty well but might get a little watery so be ready to drain them in a sieve if that happens. Steaming them in a vegetable steamer works the best and creates the least amount of water.

Having low-carb choices on the table at Thanksgiving can make all the difference. I know when I give myself permission to indulge “just this once” it turns into a carb-orgy with the end result being me semi-conscious on the couch with chocolate smeared across my chin. Low-carb dishes mean that it’s less likely to happen.

If you’re not a carb-a-holic then you might do better, but why take chances when you have dishes like this to enjoy?
Nutrition Info

Recipe

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Smoked Cheese Cauliflower Mash

Mashed cauliflower is a creamy, low carb side dish that works like mashed potatoes. You can add ingredients like bacon or cheese, or you can leave it plain to use as a vehicle for low carb gravy.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American – low -carb

Keyword cauliflower, cheese

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 233kcal

Author Katherine Peters

Ingredients

• 1 pound cauliflower one head
• 2 – 4 tablespoons cream
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon bacon fat
• 4 oz cheddar cheese smoked
• 1/4 cup chopped caramelized onions, optional
• Smoked paprika for garnish

Instructions

• Cut the cauliflower into florets and steam until very tender. You can do this in the microwave if you like.
• Transfer to the food processor and process until tender.
• Return to the pot and cook, stirring often and watching carefully, until any liquid is evaporated.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients.
• Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 183mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 529IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 167mg | Iron: 1mg

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