Holly is on Faces of Beauty today! Stop by and show some love 🙂
Please vote for me to make it to Round 3 in Project Food Blog…only a few hours left!
You guys know about my love of butter. Seeing as how each dessert I make for the most part has about a pound of butter in it, it’s really not a secret.
But Nate and I have recently realized that we are going on 2 vacations (a wedding and a beach vacation) in the coming month and want to start eating a little healthier. So when all of my birthday meals and festivities were over we decided to start eating a little healthier.
This recipe has 3 main ingredients, and the rest you can improvise on. Plus you’re getting a big hefty serving of cauliflower in every scoop! And y’all? For people like my husband who really doesn’t enjoy cauliflower, this is a very good thing.
CAULIFLOWER WHIPPED POTATOES
- 1 16-oz bag frozen cauliflower (or 1 head of fresh cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed)
- 1 huge Yukon Gold potato
- 1 8-oz container of cream cheese (I used the light chive and onion flavor)
I admit, I have tried the mashed cauliflower thing before and even I didn’t like it. And I LOVE cauliflower! Roast it up with a little olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and you’ve got one happy girl. But the texture is just not there when you steam and mash it up. Adding a potato will help with this, and since we’re not adding loads of butter, milk, and cheese, I’d say it’s OK to take a chance on throwing a potato in there.
Come on, live a little.
Where were we? Oh yes…peel the potato and cut into chunks. The smaller the chunks, the faster the cooking time. Start in cold water and bring to a boil, boiling for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are done (i.e. a fork can slide easily into a chunk of potato). Drain and dump into your food processor. While the potatoes are boiling, steam or microwave your cauliflower. I did mine in the microwave and took about 5 minutes til it was thawed and hot. You’ll want to leave these in the strainer for a little bit and then dump in the food processor right before you drain the potatoes. I’ve found cauliflower has a decent amount of water that will make the end result a little watery if you’re not careful!
Now the reason I use cream cheese is because it’s got such a great creamy, tangy flavor that it takes the place of butter, buttermilk, and cheese really well. If you get the lighter version more power to you! There are so many great flavored cream cheeses out there, and you could change the flavor of the whipped cauliflower potatoes anytime you want!
So yes, dump in that 8-oz thing of cream cheese. Season with a little salt and pepper if you’d like. Hit the pulse button a couple of times, then whip on the high setting until you’ve reached a desired consistency.
I knew Nate wouldn’t be happy if there were chunks in there, so I processed mine for 2-3 minutes.
Babe, I love you. But your occasional pickiness has given me glimpses into how to prepare food for our children. I’ll make sure to have them say thank you 🙂
The end result is a creamy, healthful side dish that pairs well with just about anything! We had baked crusted salmon (store-bought) and roasted green beans.
Also, as Jessica said, roasted green beans are life-changing. I actually used my potatoes as a dipping sauce for them. And any meal that gets us using one veggie as a vehicle to eat another can’t be bad, right?
I’m off to garner more healthy cooking ideas. It seems that somewhere in between learning to love myself and starting to cook butter-laden recipes again I lost all healthful creativity. Don’t worry though – it’s all coming back (it’s all coming back…) to me now!
On a final note, thank you all so much for your sweet and thoughtful comments on yesterday’s post. This is a hard time for my family right now, but our ultimate wish is to see my grandparents with zero pain and living the most comfortable life they can because they so deserve it. I’ll keep you guys updated when I know anything.
Happy Thursday!
ohhh…this looks delish. i love potatoes a little too much, great idea adding in the cauliflower!:)
SUCH a healthy meal girl!!! i love it!! YUM!
Wow!… a healthier version of mashed potatoes..might have to try it out for the holidays coming up. Thanks for the idea!
Those look like some of the creamiest “potatoes” I have ever seen! I love mashed cauliflower!!
Oh I love this recipe! I’ve tried making cauliflower mash before and it did not turn out well, at all. You are a culinary genius 🙂
Ha, love that you used Celine in this. And that si a very good song, by the way. Cauliflower is simply delicious and I am sure that this recipe is one that I will be making soon. It sounds amazing!!
I love the potato and cauliflower mash idea… 🙂
Hope you are having a great Thursday 🙂
I haven’t liked mashed cauliflower in the past either. My uncle thought it would be a “fun substitute to mashed potatoes” one thanksgiving ago, it did not go over well. But mixing them would be a million times better.
Ive had cauliflower mash before but never thought to put cc in there! Great addition!
I’m a lover of butter AND healthy food, too. I think the two can hold hands:-).
These look fabulous. I started salivating when I saw the final picture of them. I really need to try cauliflower potatoes!
i actually really like mashed cauliflour but adding a potato is a great idea for improving the texture.
Cauliflower is going on the grocery list…I’m going to try this method out later this week. Thanks!
Anything with cream cheese makes me happy.
My thoughts are with your family. My grandparents are dealing with some major health issues right now too. It’s hard not being with them, but prayers and good thoughts go a long way.
Great idea! I’ve done this with just cauliflower but adding the potato (AND cream cheese) is a fabulous addition!
Yes I agree! I’ve only ever done it with straight cauliflower, and it was kinda boring. This sounds way more delicious!
I love cauliflower mash. I usually leave out the potatoes, and since I don’t have a food processor mine usually are super lumpy. I love how yours are nice and smooth.
YUM! Those look fabulous! I must try to make them! And I voted!!
Yum, I’ve had whipped cauliflower potatoes on my “have-to-make list” for the longest time. I just replaced my food processor, so I guess now’s a good as time as any to make them! I haven’t heard of adding cream cheese in them, so I’ll definitely be giving that a try. Thanks for sharing!
Yet one more reason I need a food processor. I love adding cream cheese to potatoes. It adds so much more than straight butter.
Roasted cauliflower is amazing. I am going to have to try this!
Those sound really good. I like the thought of adding the flavored cream cheese.
AH! I love that you made the green beans!!
And I love you. You know why.
I love making cauliflower whipped potatoes. They are so good and can be healthy as well! It pairs really well with steak, yum!
Thanks for the Celine video 🙂 As much as I don’t really like her, she does bring back memories!
Your mash looks really good — and easy to make.
Take care!
Mmm… I’ve had these in restaurants and they tasted really good, healthy too.
I’ve never had cauliflower mashed potatoes, but they sure look amazing! I love that you used cream cheese!
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time, Heather!
Happy Thursday to you too! I had a cauliflower soup yesterday and I suspect it had the same ingredients in it! It was delicious!
What a great idea, I have to try this!!! I love roated cauliflower, but I’ve never tried mashed before.
I didn’t get a chance to comment on your post yesterday. Sorry you had to deal with that on your Birthday 🙁 You and your family are in my thoughts.
Yum! I thought I was the only one that wasn’t a fan of just straight mashed cauli..but adding a SINGLE potato..and a nice dose of cream cheese…genius!!
I love cauliflower! What a great way to change it up a bit. I feel the same way about straight up mashed cauliflower – it just doesn’t do it for me. I think the cream cheese and potato will probably amp up the texture a bit!
Gah Celine! Now I can totally tackle my day =)
Yumm yum in my tum tum! I LOVE cauliflower mash!
I’ve never made cauliflower potatoes. I love that you added cream cheese to it 🙂