Keto Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Published June 21, 2019 • Updated July 20, 2026
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I steam the cauliflower in chicken broth instead of boiling it in water, and that one change makes this keto mashed cauliflower taste like the real thing. Cream cheese and parmesan do the rest.
Low Carb Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
I’ve been making this keto mashed cauliflower since I started keto in 2012, and it’s the side dish I come back to more than any other. The reason mine tastes different from most cauliflower mash recipes is the cooking method. I steam the florets in chicken broth instead of boiling them in plain water. That broth infuses real flavor directly into the cauliflower, so you’re not starting from a bland, waterlogged base and trying to fix it with add-ins.
The squeeze step is where this recipe actually happens. After the cauliflower is fork-tender, I drain it, sandwich it between paper towels, and press out every drop of liquid I can. Skipping this is the single biggest reason cauliflower mash turns into soup. Reader after reader has confirmed the same thing in the comments below. Tricia put it perfectly: “The cream cheese can only do so much if the cauliflower is still waterlogged.”
Once the water is out, everything goes into a food processor with cream cheese, parmesan, salt, and pepper. The cream cheese makes it rich and thick, and the parmesan cuts any lingering cauliflower taste. I blend until it’s completely smooth, and what comes out looks, feels, and tastes like real mashed potatoes. I’ve served this at Thanksgiving and nobody clocked it. Reader Keisha’s husband, who grew up on Midwestern mashed potatoes, was halfway through the bowl before he asked what she did differently. That’s the kind of review that matters to me.
Here’s a tip nobody else mentions: if you want these to taste even more like real potatoes, try mashed potato extract. Start with one drop. Seriously, one. It’s incredibly strong and you can always add more. I mentioned this to a reader a couple years ago and it’s become one of my favorite tricks for skeptics.
This is one of my favorite low carb side dishes to pair with rich mains. I make it alongside keto green beans and bacon for weeknight dinners, or next to keto sweet potato casserole when I want a full holiday spread. It holds up as a base layer under keto cauliflower gratin too.
If you love cauliflower as much as I do, try my cauliflower tots, cauliflower fried rice, or air fryer cauliflower. And if you want another mashed side that isn’t cauliflower, my mashed turnips are worth trying.
How to make keto cauliflower mash
I steam my cauliflower in a skillet with butter and homemade chicken broth instead of boiling it in water. The broth adds real flavor to the cauliflower from the start, so you’re not working against a bland base. I saute a couple garlic cloves in the butter first, then add the florets and broth and let it all simmer until a fork slides through easily (about 5-8 minutes).
Here’s the step that makes or breaks this recipe: squeeze out every drop of liquid before blending. I drain the cauliflower, sandwich it between paper towels, and press hard. You’ll be surprised how much water comes out. Skip this and you’ll end up with cauliflower soup, not mashed cauliflower. Two ounces of cream cheese cannot save waterlogged cauliflower. Once it’s dry, everything goes into the food processor with cream cheese, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
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Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter -
2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
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1 cup turkey stock or chicken broth
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2 oz cream cheese
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¼ cup parmesan cheese
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½ teaspoon salt
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⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Melt butter
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
Sauté garlic
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Cook cauliflower
Pour in cauliflower florets and broth. Simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 5-8 minutes.
Press out liquid
Drain fluid. Squeeze out excess fluid from the cauliflower by placing it between two paper towels. Get as much fluid out as possible for thick mashed cauliflower.
Puree
In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked cauliflower, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth.
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen cauliflower florets or cauliflower rice instead?
I've made this with all three: fresh florets, frozen florets, and cauliflower rice. Fresh is cheapest but frozen cuts the prep time down to nothing. For cauliflower rice, cook it in a dry skillet with a little oil and no water until most of the moisture evaporates. Then sandwich it in paper towels and squeeze hard. That extra step kills the cauliflower smell too. I gave this exact advice to a reader a few years ago and it works every time.
Can I freeze this, and does the texture hold?
I freeze this all the time. I make double batches specifically so I can stash portions in the freezer for busy nights. The texture holds up fine. When I reheat from frozen, I microwave with a splash of chicken broth to loosen it back up. No issues with it turning watery or grainy.
How do I reheat without it getting watery?
I microwave mine with a small splash of chicken broth, not water. The broth adds flavor back instead of diluting it. I stir halfway through and check the consistency. If anything, the mash gets a little thicker as it sits, so that splash of liquid brings it right back to where it started.
Can I make this dairy-free?
I haven't tested a fully dairy-free version myself yet, but I'd swap the butter for ghee or coconut oil, and use coconut cream in place of the cream cheese. You'll lose some of the richness the parmesan and cream cheese bring, so I'd add extra salt and maybe a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to compensate. If you try it, let me know how it turns out in the comments.
How many net carbs are in a serving?
My recipe comes out to about 5 net carbs per serving. Most of that is from the cauliflower itself. The cream cheese and parmesan add almost nothing carb-wise, which is why I use them instead of milk or heavy cream. It's one of the lowest carb sides I make regularly.
How do I make the mash thicker?
The squeeze step is everything. I mean it. Squeeze the cauliflower between paper towels until you think you've gotten all the water out, then squeeze again. If it's still not thick enough after blending, I add a little more cream cheese or 1 teaspoon of arrowroot powder. I've honestly never needed the arrowroot when I squeeze properly.
What can I do with the leftover garlic butter broth?
I pour it back in a pot with a splash more chicken broth and turn it into gravy. I add xanthan gum, 1/8 teaspoon at a time, until it coats a spoon. It's way too flavorful to toss. You can also freeze it and use it as a base for soup later. A reader asked me this same question and I've been making the gravy version ever since.
Can I use sour cream instead of cream cheese?
I've tried it with sour cream and it works. Start with 1/4 cup and taste from there. Sour cream makes it a little tangier, which I actually prefer when I'm serving it alongside roasted chicken. The texture stays creamy either way.
Confession: food processor, not immersion blender. I'd been defaulting to the immersion blender on every cauliflower dish for years, and this recipe is what finally made the tool choice click. Cooking the florets in broth means the liquid gets absorbed rather than pooling at the bottom, so you're not blending loose soup. The cream cheese and parmesan bind to something solid. I've made other cauliflower mash that went thin by the time it hit the plate; this one holds and reheats without separating. At 5.3 net carbs it fits easily into a full meal.
Parmesan smell sold the table. More garlic next time.
I finally made this and I am not okay. I could eat the whole pot!!
Made this for a weeknight dinner and the cream cheese caught me off guard. Way richer than my mom's recipe. Once I stopped comparing them it clicked.
Comparison is the whole problem. I told myself for a long time it was a 'lighter' version of mashed potatoes and the cream cheese kept feeling like too much. Once I just let it be its own thing, the richness stopped being weird.
Not my first thought for a mixed-diet dinner party, but cream cheese and parmesan make it feel like real comfort food. Three people came back for more after the main course. Better than a compliment.
I didn't expect this to land in my weekly prep. Press it twice: once warm, once after a night in the fridge. Same texture on day four.
Pressing it twice hadn't occurred to me. I always squeeze warm and stop there. I'm doing the cold press step next batch.
Honestly I thought cauliflower mash was for people who'd decided food wasn't fun anymore, which isn't fair but that was my position for most of the year. Then a head went soft in the crisper and I made this rather than throw it out. The garlic in butter smells genuinely good, and simmering in broth instead of boiling in water made a difference I could actually detect while it was cooking. Color came out richer. The food processor with cream cheese and parmesan turned it into something fluffy, nothing like the waterlogged versions I'd had at places trying to be keto-friendly. I'd call it four stars because it's not mashed potatoes and I'm not going to lie about that, but I served it with chicken thighs last week and forgot to miss the real thing through the whole meal. Kind of what I needed it to do.
Morgan, 'decided food wasn't fun anymore' is where I started too. Water boiling makes apology food. Broth changes it.
Garlic hit the pan and I had company.
Two garlic cloves in that much butter is basically a dinner bell. People just appear.
Steaming the cauliflower in chicken broth instead of boiling it was the step that finally made this work for me. I've tried other versions before and always ended up with something thin and watery, but pressing out the liquid before blending made the texture actually hold. Do you think this works the same with frozen cauliflower florets, or does the extra water content throw things off?
Frozen works fine, I use it when I don't feel like chopping a whole head. More moisture means the press step takes longer, I give it a solid 2-3 minutes under a heavy pan instead of just squeezing over the sink. Spread on a dish towel, put weight on it. The broth-steam still does its thing.
Mashed potatoes were the one thing I kept mourning after going keto. Steaming the cauliflower in chicken broth instead of water is what finally makes this taste like the real thing, and the cream cheese keeps it from going watery the way most versions do.
Mashed potato mourning is a real phase. I went through like six versions before the broth thing clicked. The leftover garlic broth in the pot afterward is worth saving too, I make it into quick gravy with a little xanthan gum.
I have made at least four other cauliflower mash recipes and they all had that waterlogged, vaguely sad quality that makes you feel like you're being punished for being keto. This one is different and I think it's the broth steaming that changes everything, because by the time you add the cream cheese you're already working with something that tastes like it has a reason to exist. Mine came out freaking rich. Not "pretty good for cauliflower" rich, actually rich. My only note is I could've squeezed out more liquid before blending, mine was slightly looser than I wanted, but I'll fix that next time.
Yeah squeeze until you think you're done, then squeeze again. Most of the extra liquid is in that second squeeze. "Freaking rich" is exactly what I was going for with this one.
Is the chicken broth thing actually what makes it taste better? Every cauliflower mash I've tried ends up flat even with butter and cream cheese. Maybe that's the missing piece.
That's it. Water-steamed cauliflower is just wet and bland no matter what you add after. The broth gets absorbed while it cooks, so the flavor's already built in before the cream cheese even touches it.
made this tonight as my first keto recipe and honestly had no idea what i was doing but steaming the cauliflower in broth instead of water made a real difference in flavor. i was nervous about the squeezing step but it worked out and the cream cheese made it so creamy. one question, does it reheat well the next day or does it get watery again?
Reheats great actually. I do a small splash of chicken broth in the microwave, not water, and stir halfway through. If anything it gets a little thicker overnight, not thinner.
I doubled the parmesan (half a cup instead of a quarter) and it gave the whole thing so much more body. That sharp bite cuts right through the cream cheese. One tip: if your food processor runs hot, pulse it rather than blend continuously or it'll go gluey fast.
Yeah, more parmesan makes it feel like real mashed potatoes instead of just cauliflower. The food processor tip is legit, I've gone too long before and it goes from fluffy to gluey in about ten seconds.
My daughter was just told she has a dairy sensitivity and we've been doing keto together, so I'm trying to figure out how to adapt our favorites. Would dairy-free cream cheese still blend smooth in this or does it turn gummy? She loves mashed cauliflower so I really want to get this right for her.
I haven't tested dairy-free cream cheese in this one, but some brands do go gummy when blended. Coconut cream is a cleaner swap, blends out completely smooth.