B and I have been eating about a head of cauliflower a week. Whether it’s raw or roasted, cauliflower has seemed to become a staple in our household, to my excitement. Why do I love cauliflower? It’s so versatile, healthy, super easy to make, and it can take on so many different flavors depending on what you do with it. A few weeks ago I made some mashed cauliflower for the first time and have been making it about monthly since. It’s another healthy side dish that tastes like it should be unhealthy – but it’s not!

Simple Mashed Cauliflower

Here’s what you need:

• 1 medium cauliflower or 4 cups cauliflower florets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• Optional – something to add more creamy goodness to the mixture: I’ve used cream cheese, Greek yogurt, butter, cream and milk

Here’s what you do:

1. Chop cauliflower into large chunks, around 1-2 inches in length.
2. Cook cauliflower. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add to boiling water and cook 10-12 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the cauliflower.
3. Drain cauliflower and throw into your food processor.
4. Use food processor to completely mash cauliflower. Throw in garlic, and the salt and pepper to taste. Mash the cauliflower completely, it may take 5 minutes to get it to a nice consistency like that of mashed potatoes.
5. Taste the blended cauliflower mash. Add more garlic or salt/pepper as needed.
6. Optional: Add some Greek yogurt, cream cheese or sour cream to make the cauliflower even creamier. I’ve made it with heavy cream (leftover from making the Murphy’s Irish Stout Cupcakes), Greek yogurt, and even Parmesan cheese. This most recent time I followed the recipe, above, without any added cream or anything (just garlic, salt and pepper) and it was delicious!

Pat yourself on the back and enjoy how delicious and healthy your mashed cauliflower is. If you somehow managed to eat half of the recipe (made as is without any of the optional add-ons) you’ve only downed about 105 or so calories. AND you’ll be stuffed! B and I manage to make 3-4 servings out of the above recipe when served as a side dish.