The perfect gluten-free, veggie-centric side dish for any dinner or holiday meal! This Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is creamy, garlicky, luscious, and requires only 25-minutes to make!
Roasted Garlic Mashed 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.
May we 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 otherwise risk it 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.
Recipe ingredients
- Unsalted butter: Using unsalted butters allows for control with much salt is needed and avoids the risk of the mashed cauliflower becoming too salty.
- Sweet onion: I love using sweet onions in many of my recipes simply because they are less pungent than other types of onions. Look for Vidalia, Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, Sweet Mayans, or Maui onions. A standard white or yellow onion will also work just fine though.
- Heavy whipping cream: A luxuriously tasty addition for thinning out the mashed cauliflower. Subsitutions for heavy whipping cream that would also work are half-and-half, whole milk, or sour cream with a couple of tablespoons of water or chicken broth.
Don't steam it. Roast it!
Set aside your steamer basket and your pot of water because we are gonna ROAST this cauli! 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.
Put the dish towels, paper towels, hairdryers away. A cauli dry-out session won't be needed cuz things are getting roasted up in here!
No, not us. The cauli is getting roasted. Not in that way. Huh? Never mind.
I haven't had my morning chai yet.
The key to amazing flavor
The key to creating amazing 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.
Simply blend
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 Garlic Mashed Cauliflower --> It's creamy, it's flavorful, it's roasted, it's a way to fool your kids into eating their veggies (#parenthack), and it DEFINITELY deserves a place at the table with your holiday meal.
Right next to the mashed potatoes. Cuz double rainbow, man.
Recipe FAQs
Don't steam the cauliflower! Roast it! This will prevent watery, soggy mashed cauliflower. 20-25 minutes in a 450ºF oven is all that is needed.
Most often this question is asked because people are steaming their cauliflower (versus roasting it) and end up with a soupy, soggy mash from all the water that steamed cauliflower retains. If you roast your cauliflower as I suggest the likelihood of needing to thicken your cauliflower will be zero. You will actually end up probably wanting to thin it out a little which is what we do in this recipe by adding a little butter and heavy whipping cream while blending the cauliflower.
Well, that depends. Cauliflower alone is definitely good for us as well as the garlic and onions included in this recipe. Where the question begins to waver is how you make use of those optional ingredient 'extras' that contribute toward a more indulgent mashed cauliflower. But then again, it all comes down to your personal definition of healthy and your perspective on healthy fats. As I said, it depends. 😉
^^^ GET.IN.THAT! (<-- Hogan voice) ♡
More tasty side dish recipes!
- Dreamy Mashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash creamy and delicious
- Gluten-Free Cheesy Green Bean Casserole a classic holiday side dish with an upgrade
- Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Sausage, Apples, & Pecans all the flavors of Fall
- Twice-Baked Potatoes 4 different flavor combos!
Did You Make This Recipe?!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment and a star rating below! I greatly appreciate your feedback and it is also so helpful for other PMST readers who are thinking about making the recipe. Remember to snap a photo and tag @passmesometasty on Instagram so I can see!
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
A perfect gluten-free, veggie-centric side dish for any dinner or holiday meal! This Roasted Garlic Mashed 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
- ½ medium sweet onion, sliced
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to preference
- 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter*
- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream*
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
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 ingredient add-ins!
- If reheating is needed, transfer cauliflower mash to a pot and warm it over medium-low heat until heated through. Then serve it up babe!
Notes
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.
Mashed cauliflower can be made up to 3 days in advance. If making ahead store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Leftovers should also be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and can be stored for up to 5 days.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Keywords: cauliflower, side dish, gluten-free, keto, mashed cauliflower, roasted cauliflower, low carb side dish
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Michelle
So easy and so delicious!
Shannon Emery
Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed it Michelle!
Joseph
This is officially my new fav way to consume cauliflower!
Shannon Emery
Yay! So glad to hear you like this recipe!