If you love mashed potatoes, but you're trying to stay low carb, try this flavorful Easy Loaded Cauliflower Mash instead made with frozen cauliflower!
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Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. Is there anything better than a potato? Well, maybe bacon, but we'll get to that a little later! I could probably eat potatoes with every meal, but we know that's a big no-no if you're low carbing it. Thank goodness for cauliflower! I mean, let's just say it - cauliflower will never be a potato, but it's a nice substitution. Especially for mashed potatoes! Mashed cauliflower is so easy to make. It's even easier if you use frozen cauliflower florets.
I had a bag of frozen cauliflower in the freezer. When I'm grocery shopping, sometimes I find myself lingering around the frozen veggie case. I'll always prefer fresh veggies (especially this time of year), but it's nice to have frozen options in a pinch! I've seen a ton of recipes for cauliflower mash using fresh cauliflower. So I decided to try it with my little, neglected bag of frozen cauliflower. I almost surprised myself with how delicious this dish was!
Easy Loaded Cauliflower Mash
If you're still not convinced that cauliflower is the new potato, just wait because this isn't just mashed cauliflower. Oh, no! This mash is LOADED! Even with all of the delicious ingredients thrown into this dish, it remains to be low carb friendly. What's not to love about a dish that's made with cheese, sour cream, chives, and bacon?! Lots and lots of crumbled bacon!
So here's the deal. This mash starts with a bag of frozen cauliflower getting boiled until it's nice and soft. Your kitchen will stink like hell for a little bit, but don't worry! Once you start adding all of that cheesy, bacon goodness on top, the aroma will get better! Mash up the cauliflower, then add in sour cream, chives, cheese, and bacon.
It all gets popped into the oven for 20 minutes. You want a nice, golden brown edge to it. Then, top it off with more cheese, more chives, and yes, more bacon! Toss it back in the oven until the cheese melts and starts to bubble around the edge. So good!
Easy Loaded Cauliflower Mash
Ingredients
- 1 - 16 oz. bag cauliflower florets
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 6 cooked bacon strips crumbled
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese mix
- 1/4 cup fresh chives chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a small casserole dish.
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Carefully add the bag of cauliflower.
- Boil until the cauliflower has softened, about 10 minutes.
- Drain. Then, use a potato masher to mash the cauliflower.
- Add to a food processor, along with the sour cream and garlic powder. Pulse just until smooth.
- Stir in half of the crumbled bacon, half of the cheese, and half of the chives into the mashed cauliflower.
- Season with salt and pepper and spoon into the prepared casserole dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edge of the mashed cauliflower has turned golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese and bacon.
- Lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with more fresh chives before serving.
I'm going to be totally and completely honest right now. Would I say that I'm never eating mashed potatoes again? Hell to the no! But this substitution for some loaded up mashed potatoes is pretty darn good! It's easy, it's cheesy, and it's full of flavor!
So the next time you have a hankering for mashed potatoes, try this instead! It might even become a new favorite side dish for your family! Grab a spoon and dig in!
Did you make this Easy Loaded Cauliflower Mash recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
