This Keto Mashed Cauliflower with Sour Cream and Chives makes a low-carb substitute for mashed potatoes that your family will love. This cauliflower mash is creamy and flavorful. This side dish is easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for a holiday meal or special occasion. This recipe is gluten-free.
How to make mashed cauliflower
Making mashed cauliflower is easy! The only prep is to wash the cauliflower and cut it into florets. If you are using fresh herbs (like the chives in this recipe), you’ll need to chop them and set them aside.
Next, you need to steam the cauliflower. It’s important to cook it long enough to make it tender enough that a food processor can easily puree it into silky smooth goodness. To test the doneness, just poke a floret with a fork. It should slip right in. Pick one of the larger florets to test as they will take longer to cook. When the large ones are done, the small ones will be done for sure!
When the cauliflower is done, remove it from the steam and transfer the cauliflower to a food processor. Add the tasty add-ins to the food processor. In this recipe, I simply add sour cream, dried minced onion, salt and pepper. Other options might include butter, cheese, dried herbs (don’t add fresh herbs at this point or your mash will turn green), or garlic. Next, pulse the processor to puree the cauliflower and blend everything together. Once the puree is silky smooth, you can use a spoon or spatula to stir in chopped fresh herbs or any other ingredients you want to stay chunky. Bacon bits or blue cheese crumbles are in this category. In this recipe, I stir in the chives at this stage.
Equipment needed to make mashed cauliflower
Of course, if you want to make mashed cauliflower, it’s easier if you have the right equipment. I use a steamer and a food processor in this recipe.
The Steamer
I use a steamer to cook the cauliflower. This steamer has a lower pot for the water and a top piece for the vegetables. This piece has holes to allow the steam to come up and surround the vegetables (or whatever you are steaming). A tight-fitting lid holds in the steam so the veggies can cook to tender perfection. The lid on the one I use has a glass top so I can keep an eye on the steaming veggies. I use my steamer three to four times a week, so I have found it to be a great investment.
You don’t need to have a special pot to steam vegetables. You can buy a steamer basket that expands to fit almost any pot you might want to use. These are very inexpensive and can be found anywhere cooking equipment is sold. I’ve even seen them in the grocery store! Just be sure to use them in a pot with a tightly fitting lid as you need to hold the steam in for the cooking process.
If you don’t have a special pot, or a steamer basket, you can still make this recipe. Just use one of the many alternatives. My favorite steamer hack is to put an inch or so of water in a large pot, the put a footed colander inside. After you bring the water to a simmer, just put the cauliflower inside the colander and cover the pot. This works perfectly as a steamer. If you don’t have a small colander, you might want to check out these steamer hacks from Food52.
The Food Processor
In this recipe, I use a food processor to mash up the steamed cauliflower. It makes short business of this job, and uses sharp blades to create a smooth, creamy cauliflower mash. If you don’t have a food processor, you might want to makes a different recipe. My Keto Cauliflower Risotto, for example, would serve a similar purpose but doesn’t require a food processor to make it smooth.
While a blender can sometimes be used to replace a food processor, many of them require extra liquid to make a smooth product. This works just fine with smoothies, like my low-carb strawberry smoothie, but nobody wants their mashed cauliflower to have a smoothie-like texture. Of course, some blenders are better than others at mashing vegetables with very little liquid. If your blender can mash cauliflower without adding liquid, you can use it if you don’t have a food processor.
Does keto mashed cauliflower taste like mashed potatoes?
Many people who follow a low-carb or a keto diet use cauliflower as a nutritionally dense low-carb replacement for high carb, low nutrition foods. I like to call cauliflower the great imposter because it can stand in for so many high carb foods. This nutritions vegetable can replace rice, pasta, pizza crust, and, as in this recipe, potatoes.
While mashed cauliflower may not taste exactly like mashed potatoes, you might find it more similar than you expect. Cooked cauliflower has a very mild flavor. When combined with other flavorful ingredients such as sour cream and chives in this recipe, or flavorful cheese like in my recipe for Mashed Cauliflower with Smoked Gouda, it takes on these flavors and you would hardly know it is cauliflower.
What to serve with keto mashed cauliflower
This version of mashed cauliflower is extremely versatile. While it is a flavorful side, the flavors aren’t so strong that they overtake a mild main course. This dish would work well with my roast chicken, my recipe for pork chops and green beans, or even a keto-friendly ham like this on from This Mom’s Menu.It would also work well to accompaniment to flavorful stews such as my beef bourguingnon or my recipe for Low-Carb Mexican Beef Stew.
Looking for a keto-friendly replacement for mashed potatoes? Try this recipe for mashed cauliflower! We add sour cream and chives to make it special. 🍴😋
Keto Mashed Cauliflower with Sour Cream and Chives
This Keto Mashed Cauliflower with Sour Cream and Chives makes a low-carb substitute for mashed potatoes that your family will love. This cauliflower mash is creamy and flavorful. This side dish is easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner, but fancy enough for a holiday meal or special occasion. This recipe is gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower about 12 ounces, cut into small florets.
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon dried minced onion
- sea salt to taste (I used ¼ teaspoon)
- black pepper to taste (I used ¼ teaspoon)
Instructions
Prepare the steamer by adding an inch of water to the bottom of the steamer pot. Bring water to a simmer. Place cauliflower in the steamer basket. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover the basket and place ofer the simmering water. Steam until VERY tender-10-15 minutes.
Remove the steamer basket from the water and allow any excess water to drip off of the cauliflower. Transfer cauliflower to a food processor. Add the sour cream, dried minced onion, sea salt, and pepper. Process cauliflower until creamy and smooth. I used the pulse setting for this. You may need to open the processor once or twice to push down the cauliflower on the sides. Stir in 1½ tablespoon of the chives. (Don't process them or the mashed cauliflower will turn green.) Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.
Transfer the mashed cauliflower to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the remaining half tablespoon of chives on top to garnish.
Amazing recipe. Took me 10 minutes and it’s very tasty. I didn’t have sour cream and used Greek youghut
I finally found the perfect Keto Mashed Cauliflower with Sour Cream and Chives recipe! Keto Mashed Cauliflower is so hard to find and this recipe is the best I have tried. It tastes just like mashed potatoes and has a really rich flavor. This one’s a keeper!
The recipe is so amazing. I tried it and it’s yummy.