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mashed cauliflower?

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Anyone have a recipe for mashed cauliflower- sans cheese?


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  1. Pretty simple: boil up some cauliflower until it's tender.. Drain it, put it in the food processor with a little butter (or margarine), some half-and-half (non-fat is okay), and some salt and pepper. Process it in pulses until you get it to the state you like - either slightly chunky or completely pureed. Good eats!

    7 Replies
    1. re: Deenso

      Follow same recipe, but add a few scoops of cream cheese. Pulsed completely, it tastes like mashed potatoes.

      1. re: MkeLaurie

        Definitely second the addition of cream cheese, even reduced fat for texture reasons... If you're looking to lower fat, you can also use chicken broth as a liquid substitute.

        1. re: Emme

          If you want to serve it with pasta--shells or some such--fry some garlic first, maybe a few anchovies, and then add the mashed cauliflower and fry to dry out. This is from Marcella Hazen, the Italian cookbook author. You can also add olives rather than anchovies and some Parmesan at the end.

          1. re: Bill

            It's kinda off the subject, but I use the water in which I boiled the cauliflower to boil the pasta. Just wanted to share!

      2. re: Deenso

        One simple but important addition: freshly grated nutmeg.

        1. re: Carb Lover

          where can I find fresh nutmeg?

          1. re: edinaeats

            The nutmeg's not fresh per se -- just freshly grated. You can buy whole nutmegs (as vs. ground nutmeg) in any spice aisle. Whole nutmegs are easy to grate on a microplane or any fine grater, and has *so much* more flavor than pre-ground nutmeg.

            Link: http://www.cooking.com/products/shpro...

      3. Another simple one. Steam or boil cauliflower until soft, drain. In a cast-iron skillet, melt some butter and olive oil. With a potato masher or spatula, mash cauliflower into melted butter/oil over med/med. high heat. Cook until it is beginning to brown and keep turning it over with spatula. Add s&p to taste. When it's done, it should be a little on the tan-side, rather than pure white. It gets a bit of a carmelized taste this way - a big fave with my family.

        1. I boil one head (broken up) with one or two cut up russet potatoes until they test done with a fork. I find that the addition of a little bit of potato really makes a difference in the texture. I then add salt, pepper, olive oil and a small amount of butter. Based on an earlier poster's suggestion I will now add some fresh grated nutmeg - that sounds very nice. Finally I mash it all up with a stick blender. This has become a favorite for our family.

          1 Reply
          1. re: Kass

            Sounds good, but it dependsupon whether Edina is making it for someone watching their carbs, or someone with diabetes. In that case, the potato should be disclosed. I know folks with diabetes who use mashed cauliflower as a mashed potato substitute and people don't even know if they're not told. Some call it 'mashed faux-tatoes'.

          2. I roast mine first. Simply the cauli (cut up nicely)with EVOO, S&P plus high heat (450F) for 1/2 an hour. Run above through a food mill (if it even makes it that far) with maybe a touch of sour cream... nirvana. If you want to really get exotic (and by exotic I mean serving it up on a Tuesday night with grilled pork chops) toss a teesny-tiny bit of curry into the cauli at the beginning or said roasting. I can't even begin to describe the transformation this veg goes through in the roasting process...

            1 Reply
            1. re: Shmingrid

              Wow, that sounds really good, I may have to try it this week...Would you think you could freeze the finished product?

            2. The site linked below has a wonderful group of great cauliflower recipes. Nice pictures, too.

              Link: http://www.hertzmann.com/