Roasted Mashed Garlic Cauliflower. It’s creamy, and roasty, and garlicky with a slightly nutty flavor, and a way to get your kids to eat vegetables when their food group preferences consist of all things white and tan. Winner, winner, cauliflower dinner.
And don’t even look at me with that questioning side-eye. This is not that recipe blog where I tell you to give up mashed potatoes.
I will NEVER give up mashed potatoes. NEVVVVUUURRRR….
Glad we cleared that up.
This garlicky roasted mashed cauliflower is in ADDITION to our bowl of mashed potatoes. It’s like a double rainbow at our holiday dinner. Intense man, I know.
Plus, it’s ridiculously easy! And it’s a rebellion against the masses of mashed cauliflower recipes hanging out on the interweb that have us drowning our cauli in a pot of water followed by a warning to give it a thorough pat-down or risk our mash turning into mashy soup.
This is not a cauli mash soup recipe. I like cauli soup. But we’ll save that for another time schmoopsie.
We’re gonna ROAST this cauli instead! YEEEAhhh! <– just said this out loud to no one in particular in pure Hulk Hogan style, and I haven’t even had my morning chai. It’s gonna be a good day.
So we can put our hairdryers away. No cauli dry out session is needed since things are getting roasted up in here. No, not us. The cauli is getting roasted. And not in that way. Huh? Never mind.
Anyway, you don’t mind that I’m just caulling it cauli, do ya? (see what I did there, my spellcheck hates me.) It just feeeels too long to type out the whole word…caaaauuuuliiiflll…
I haven’t had my morning chai yet.
So like I was not saying, but also trying to say is that the key to the flavor in this luscious mash is in the roasting. Those golden brown edges on the cauliflower are what we are going for. Gives it depth. And we are deep people. After we’ve had a morning chai. But you’re probably a coffee person.
All we’re gonna do is spread out the cauli florets on a sheet pan with slices of sweet onion and several unpeeled garlic cloves. Just nestle them all in there together. Cuz more flavor. And more depth. And happy little cauli trees of roastiness. We’re getting giddy pants now.
Once everything is roasty and we’ve marveled at the ease of this recipe, things become even more stupid simple.
Just pop the roasted garlic out of its peel and add errry lil’ piece of roastiness into a high-speed blender with a little buttah and a little cream and anything else that suits your fancy mashed cauli giddy pants. And if you don’t have a high-speed blender add it to your holiday gift wish list. Or use an immersion blender. And if you don’t have one of those either, add it to your holiday gift wish list. Or mash it Hulk Hogan style with your fists. No, don’t do that.
Roasted Mashed Garlic Cauliflower –> It’s creamy, it’s flavorful, it’s roasted, it’s a way to fool your kids into eating their veggies (yes, I do that sometimes, don’t judge), and it DEFINITELY deserves a place at the table with your holiday meal. Right next to the mashed potatoes. Cuz double rainbow, man.
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Roasted Mashed Garlic Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
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A perfect gluten-free, veggie-centric side dish for any dinner or holiday meal! This Roasted Mashed Garlic Cauliflower is creamy, garlicky, luscious, and SO easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut up into florets
- 3–4 garlic cloves, peel left on but end trimmed
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to preference
- 2–3 tablespoons unsalted butter (see below for vegan/dairy-free option)
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (see below for vegan/dairy-free option)
Optional Add-Ins & Toppings
- your favorite cheese (cheddar, fontina, parmesan, cream cheese, #allthecheese)
- crumbled bacon
- sour cream
- fresh herbs (thyme, chives, Italian parsley, etc.)
- a squeeze of lemon
- Vegan and/or Dairy-Free Options: In place of the butter and heavy whipping cream, puree the cauliflower with additional olive oil or vegan butter. For a cheesy flavor, add nutritional yeast. For more creaminess, add vegan cream cheese. If you need to thin the consistency of the cauliflower mash add a little unsweetened plain almond milk.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Place cauliflower florets, unpeeled garlic cloves, and sliced onions on a large baking sheet. Drizzle it all with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to your preference, and toss with your fingers until the veggies are evenly coated.
- Arrange the veggies in a flat layer on the baking sheet and place in the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and you see those tasty browned edges.
- After the veggies have finished roasting, squeeze the garlic out of its peels. Transfer the cauliflower, onions, and garlic to a high-speed blender, or food processor. Add butter and puree. (Another method is to place all of the veggies into a pot and use an immersion blender to puree the cauliflower mash.)
- Then adding one tablespoon heavy whipping cream at a time, continue blending until desired mashed cauliflower lusciousness consistency is reached. Since cauliflower heads range in size, you might not need to use all 3 tablespoons of cream to reach a consistency of mash that suits your preference. Add don’t forget those other optional add-ins!
- If reheating is needed, transfer cauliflower mash to a pot and warm it over medium-low heat until heated through.
- Serves 4!
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cauliflower, side dish, gluten-free, keto, mashed cauliflower, roasted cauliflower, low carb side dish
^^^ GET.IN.THAT! (<– Hogan voice)
More tasty side dish recipes!
Dreamy Mashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash: Naturally creamy and delicious Japanese sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and garlic are steamed and then mashed with butter, sour cream, and milk to create these dreamy mashed potatoes!
Gluten-Free Cheesy Green Bean Casserole: Cheesy green bean casserole made from scratch! Fresh green beans in a homemade creamy cheesy sauce with shiitake mushrooms and bacon and then topped with homemade crispy sautéed onions. Finally a cheesy green bean casserole that is both gluten-free and incredibly tasty!
Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Sausage, Apples, & Pecans: A quick and easy one-pan meal with brussels sprouts as the star! Sausage, apples, pecans and sweet potatoes complement the sprouts for a savory and slightly sweet dish perfect for dinner or any holiday gathering.
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This is officially my new fav way to consume cauliflower!
★★★★★