Adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes is an easy way to reduce the carbs and calories. This easy Cauliflower Mashed Potato recipe is a slightly healthier side dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu.

I borrowed this idea for Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes from Oprah. She recommends adding some cauliflower to your mashed potatoes to make the dish a little bit healthier. If it is good enough for Oprah, I think we can get on board with this idea. I took my classic Thanksgiving mashed potato recipe and updated to incorporate cauliflower and to make healthy ingredient swaps without sacrificing flavor.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes are made with one part cauliflower to two parts potatoes. You can’t really taste the cauliflower, it just gives the mashed potatoes a lighter consistency.

I added reduced fat sour cream, 1/3 less fat cream cheese, Parmesan and a touch of butter and garlic to my Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes. The result was light fluffy creamy and cheesy cauliflower mashed potatoes – and you couldn’t even taste the cauliflower.

You can make cauliflower mashed potatoes a day to two in advance. The trick is to add too much sour cream since the cauliflower mashed potatoes will dry out as they reheat in the oven. I like to add about ½ cup extra sour cream.

I was able to find a 12-ounce bag of cauliflower florets that you steam right in the bag at Whole Foods. This was a timesaver – but you could simply boil the cauliflower if you are not able to find it in the steam and serve bags.

If you want to try some more traditional Thanksgiving mashed potato recipes, I recommend this recipe for Brown Butter and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes, and this recipe for Classic Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes. You could even try adding some cauliflower into those recipes!

How to make Cauliflower Mashed Potato:

Yield: 8 servings

Cauliflower Mashed Potato Recipe

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Adding cauliflower to mashed potatoes is an easy way to reduce the carbs and calories. This easy Cauliflower Mashed Potato recipe is a slightly healthier side dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Active Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 large Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 12 ounces (or one large head) of Cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon of Butter
• 6 ounces of 1/3 less fat Cream Cheese
• 1 – 1 ½ cups Reduced Fat Sour Cream
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• about ¾ teaspoon Salt
• about ¼ teaspoon Pepper

Instructions

First you want to peel your potatoes and loosely chop them. Place them in a pot and cover with cold salty water. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until soft.

While the potatoes cook, either steam the cauliflower in the microwave or boil until soft. You want the cauliflower to be very soft so that it mashes well.

Once the potatoes are ready, drain the water and then return them to the pot or place in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the cauliflower, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and Parmesan. Crush the garlic with a garlic press and add it. Then either mash by hand or use an electric mixer to whip the potatoes and cauliflower. I like to add the salt and pepper little by little tasting it along the way so that I add just the right amount.

You can either serve the cauliflower potatoes right away or you can place in a buttered dish and bake in the oven. You can prepare cauliflower potatoes two days in advance. If doing this, I recommend adding ½ cup extra sour cream so that the potatoes do not dry out too much while they reheat in the oven. I like to add a good amount of butter to the dish so that the edges of the potatoes get crispy.