Keto Mashed Cauliflower for Thanksgiving: The Low-Carb Mash That Passes for Potatoes

Thanksgiving falls on 26 November this year, and the keto corner of the internet has already started its annual campaign against the potato. Low Carb Spark refreshed its keto Thanksgiving menu on 27 October with mashed cauliflower in the creamy-side slot, and Farm to Jar published a keto mashed cauliflower on 26 October built on parmesan, cream cheese and butter, with the claim that a 96-year-old grandmother at the table did not notice the Yukon Golds were missing.

Mashed cauliflower has been the keto cook's standard swap for a decade, and the reason is in the numbers. Raw cauliflower carries 4.72 g of carbohydrate and 1.95 g of fibre per 100 g in the USDA FoodData Central Foundation Foods record, a fraction of what a potato brings. By our count from those figures, the cauliflower in a serving of this recipe contributes a little under 4 g of net carbohydrate; the dairy adds a little more.

The honest difference is water. Cauliflower is wetter than potato and has no starch to set, so a boiled, mashed head turns into soup. Steam it, dry it hard and whip it hot, and you get something dense and glossy that holds a well of gravy. The parmesan does the savoury work the potato's starch would have done, and a little cream cheese gives body. The flavour is sweeter and more vegetal than potato, so season harder than you think.

Ingredients

Serves 6 as a side. About 35 minutes in total.

• 1 large cauliflower, about 800 g, cut into small florets, stalk peeled and chopped
• 60 g unsalted butter, plus a knob to finish
• 60 g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 40 g parmesan, finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
• Half a teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
• A pinch of grated nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives or parsley

Method

1. Set a steamer over 3 cm of boiling water. Add the florets, the chopped stalk and the garlic cloves, cover and steam for 12 to 15 minutes until a knife slides through the stalk pieces with no resistance.
2. Tip the cauliflower and garlic into a colander and leave for 3 minutes. Then spread it on a clean tea towel and press hard with a second towel to wring out the water. This step is the whole recipe; skip it and the mash will be loose.
3. Return the dried cauliflower to the hot, empty pan and shake it over low heat for 1 minute so the last steam leaves.
4. Transfer to a food processor with the butter, cream cheese, parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Blitz for 45 to 60 seconds until completely smooth, scraping the bowl down once. For a rustic texture, use a potato masher in the pan instead.
5. Taste and adjust. Cauliflower needs more salt than potato, and a squeeze of lemon lifts it if it tastes flat.
6. If the mash is cooler than you want, return it to the pan and stir over low heat for 2 minutes. Do not boil it or the cheese will split.
7. Pile into a warm bowl, make a well with the back of a spoon, drop in the knob of butter and scatter over the chives. Serve at once with the gravy.

Tips, variations and storage

For a looser, dairy-lighter mash, replace the cream cheese with 3 tablespoons of double cream. Roasted garlic instead of steamed gives a sweeter note, and a tablespoon of grated horseradish turns it into a side for beef. Truffle oil is the restaurant move; a few drops are enough. Frozen cauliflower works if you steam it from frozen and dry it twice as thoroughly.

The mash can be made a day ahead, kept covered in the fridge and reheated gently in a pan with a splash of cream, or in a low oven covered with foil for 20 minutes. It does not freeze well; the texture goes grainy. For a loaded version, spread it in a baking dish, top with grated cheddar and crisp bacon and grill for 5 minutes just before serving.

Nobody at a Thanksgiving table is giving up the potato by decree. But a bowl of this next to the real thing, labelled honestly, usually empties first, and the people who need it will know which one to reach for.