Fluffy on the bottom, crispy pork rind crust on top — this loaded mashed cauliflower is my rebuild of twice baked potatoes, with crumbled bacon, cheddar, and green onions. 4.8g net carbs, 15g protein, and I honestly forgot I was eating low carb.
I have been making loaded mashed cauliflower for years, and this twice-baked version is the one my family actually requests as a side dish. Not because it is "healthy" (they do not care about that), but because it tastes like loaded baked potatoes without the carb crash afterward.
The biggest thing I have learned making this recipe over and over is that the paper-towel press is the single most important step. After you drain the cooked cauliflower, sandwich it between paper towels and squeeze out every bit of liquid you can. Skip this and you get watery mash. Do it right and you get thick, creamy faux-tatoes that hold up under a mountain of toppings. I cannot overstate how much this one step changes the texture.
One thing I do differently from most cauliflower mash recipes is cook the florets in chicken broth instead of water. It builds flavor into the cauliflower itself so you are not relying on cheese and bacon to do all the heavy lifting. The broth, butter, and garlic simmer together for about 5-8 minutes, and the cauliflower soaks up that savory base before it ever hits the food processor.
After blending with cream cheese and parmesan, I fold in cheddar, crumbled bacon, and chopped green onions. Then the whole thing goes into a casserole dish. Here is where the "twice baked" part comes in: I top it with more parmesan and ground pork rinds before baking at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. The pork rinds give you that crispy, golden crust that breadcrumbs would, but with zero carbs. It is my favorite trick for keto casseroles.
A medium head of cauliflower is roughly 2 pounds, which is what I use every time. Reader Nikki K asked me about this because her store's heads had shrunk, and that weight is the sweet spot for this recipe. If your head is smaller, just eyeball it and adjust.
This loaded version starts with my keto mashed cauliflower, and it is one of my go to holiday sides next to turkey or prime rib.
After the florets drain, the more liquid you press out between paper towels, the thicker the mash will be.
Make It Ahead for the Holidays
You can put this together ahead of time, which helps when you are cooking a lot of dishes for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Make the mashed cauliflower and stir in the bacon, cheese and green onion. Scoop it into the casserole dish and refrigerate it unbaked. On the day of your dinner, add the topping and bake it at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.
Add Ins to Try
If you want to change it up, try adding any of these to the loaded cauliflower:
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4
Steam cauliflower
Pour in cauliflower florets and chicken broth. Simmer on medium heat until cauliflower is tender, about 5-8 minutes.
5
Press out liquid
Drain fluid. Squeeze out excess fluid from the cauliflower by placing it between two paper towels. For thick mashed cauliflower, try to get as much fluid out as possible.
6
Blend
In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked cauliflower, cream cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.
7
Add cheese and bacon of course
Add cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onions to the mashed cauliflower. Stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish and top with remaining parmesan cheese. Sprinkle ground pork rinds on top.
8
Bake
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/6 of recipe
Calories
272
Fat
21g
Protein
15g
Total carbs
7g
Net carbs
4.8g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does one head of cauliflower weigh?
I use a medium head, which is roughly 2 pounds. Reader Nikki K asked me this exact question because her store's heads had gotten smaller. If yours is on the small side, just grab a second small one to make up the difference. I have tested this enough times to know that 2 pounds is the sweet spot for the right thickness.
Can I freeze keto loaded mashed cauliflower?
I have frozen this and it reheats well. The cream cheese base holds up better in the freezer than sour cream does (I have tested both). Let it cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. When you are ready, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. The pork rind topping softens, so I sprinkle a fresh layer on before reheating.
Can I use sour cream instead of cream cheese?
I have made this both ways. Sour cream gives you a tangier, more potato-like flavor that I actually prefer sometimes. Use the same 2 oz amount. The texture comes out slightly looser, so make sure you really press the moisture out of your cauliflower first. My only note is that cream cheese freezes better if you plan to make this ahead.
Can I skip the pork rinds on top?
You can, but I would not. The pork rinds are what give this the crispy, golden crust that makes it feel like a real twice-baked potato. They add zero carbs and all the crunch. If you skip them, try extra parmesan on top instead. I have also used crushed almonds in a pinch, but the pork rinds are my go-to.
Can I use an immersion blender instead of a food processor?
I have used an immersion blender, a food processor, and a regular countertop blender for this. They all work. The immersion blender is my pick for weeknights because there is less cleanup. Just make sure you blend long enough to get a smooth puree. A hand mixer works too but leaves it slightly chunkier, which some people actually prefer.
How do I reheat this from the fridge or freezer?
From the fridge, I cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until hot in the center. From frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight first, then bake the same way. I always add a fresh sprinkle of pork rinds on top before reheating because they lose their crunch. A quick 2 minutes under the broiler at the end gets that bubbly, browned cheese top.
Is there a way to make this recipe dairy-free?
I have not tested a fully dairy-free version of this specific recipe, but I think it could work. Swap the cream cheese for cashew cream or a vegan cream cheese, use nutritional yeast in place of the parmesan, and a dairy-free cheddar for the loaded toppings. The bacon and pork rind topping are already dairy-free, so those stay. The texture will be a little different, but the broth-cooked cauliflower base does most of the flavor work here.
Would this work without the pork rind crust, or is that what keeps the top from getting soggy? Haven’t cooked with pork rinds before so not sure they’re worth hunting down.
The top won’t get soggy without them, that’s not what they’re doing. What you’d lose is the crispy, golden crust that makes it feel like an actual twice-baked potato. I’d still track them down – most grocery stores carry them in the chips aisle, and they add zero carbs.
Storing mine in portions without the toppings and reheating at 350 for 8 minutes. Still fluffy, which I didn’t expect from cauliflower. Pretty sure the broth step is why. Steaming in stock instead of boiling keeps it from getting waterlogged. Been adding the bacon and cheddar fresh when I reheat. Takes an extra minute but the texture is completely different.
Steaming in stock keeps it from getting waterlogged the way boiling does. Never tried the fresh-topping reheat but I’m stealing that, throwing in a few extra pork rinds before it goes back in.
Hand mixer instead of mashing by hand, base gets noticeably fluffier. Also stirred a spoonful of sour cream into the cream cheese and parmesan; gives the filling a nice tang with the bacon. Four stars as written, but those two tweaks get it close to five.
The hand mixer is worth trying. I usually go for my immersion blender (less cleanup) but a hand mixer gets more air in, and you can feel the difference once it bakes. Don’t swap the sour cream out entirely. Full swap loosens the texture too much. Just a spoonful keeps the cream cheese base firm and you still get that tang from the bacon. I’m doing that next batch.
Richer than I expected from a cauliflower base, the cream cheese and parmesan are doing a lot of the work. Actually tastes indulgent. One thing for beginners: the seasoning felt light once everything came together. I kept second-guessing myself, didn’t add more salt until it already tasted flat, and then needed a solid extra pinch. Season as you go, not just at the end.
Cauliflower absorbs salt differently than potato does, and the broth step dilutes it more than people expect. I do a full taste right before it goes in the oven, every time.
Comfort food is the hardest part of keto, and loaded baked potatoes were mine. Made this on a Sunday half-convinced it would just be fancy cauliflower, and the cream cheese in the base was the thing that actually got me. It’s not really approximating the real thing. It just is the real thing.
Never thought to steam the cauliflower in broth right in the skillet instead of boiling it separately, but it changed the texture completely. Mash came out so much fluffier than expected, and the cream cheese just disappears into it. Hit minute 20 and the crust was already golden, so watch your oven. Does this hold up assembled the night before and baked in the morning? Asking for the rest of the week.
Jennifer, it holds. Keep the pork rinds separate and add them right before it goes in the oven or the crust goes soft overnight. 350 covered in foil, 15-20 minutes from the fridge and it comes out just as good.
I’ve tried at least four different cauliflower mash recipes this year looking for one that actually holds up as a side dish. This is the one. The pork rind crust on top is what separates it from every other version I’ve made, that crunch you get at the end of a bite is exactly what’s been missing. The base is fluffy enough that I stopped thinking about what it isn’t.
Four versions of cauliflower mash is a lot of cauliflower mash. That fluffy base only happens if you squeeze the moisture out hard. I skimped on it my first batch and the whole thing went loose.
Tried so many cauliflower mash recipes and they all end up watery. Never seen the step where you squeeze out the liquid after steaming. That’s literally why this one has actual texture. The pork rind crust got me to try it, but the texture is why I stayed. Not going back.
My cauliflower mash always goes watery no matter what. Pressing the liquid out first finally fixed that. The pork rind crust is new to me too, haven’t seen it anywhere else.
My husband has made his feelings about cauliflower mash pretty clear in the past (his exact words were ‘it tastes like sadness’), so I wasn’t setting high expectations when I made this Sunday. He went back for a second scoop before I even sat down. I think the pork rind crust on top is what got him, it adds this crunch that regular mashed potatoes never had. Only giving it 4 stars because mine came out a little watery (I don’t think I squeezed out enough liquid from the cauliflower), but that’s a me problem and I know how to fix it next time.
‘It tastes like sadness’ is the funniest thing I’ve read today. Glad the pork rind crust got him. It’s the part that doesn’t read as cauliflower at all.
My husband went back for seconds and spent five minutes interrogating me about the potatoes. He thought the pork rind crust was some kind of crispy breadcrumb. Telling him it was cauliflower was the best part of my night.
Hi Annie,
Quick question, I am ready to make this recipe yet since the weather change the cauliflower heads have shrunk! So was wondering if you have a ratio of how much cauli I should use (grams/ounces). I would really appreciate it! Thanks for your great recipes!
I can’t wait to try this recipe with your tips & tricks. I’ve got some mashed potato extract that I wanted to try too! Haven’t been a fan of the cauli-taste but with strong seasonings it’s tolerable (Spanish Rice).
Ooh that extract could work here. The cream cheese and parmesan are already covering most of the cauli-flavor, so between those and the loaded toppings it might actually get there. Report back.
