This Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Browned Butter is an easy to make a side dish that is so delicious. It has a slight sweetness with a mild garlic flavor that is complemented by a nutty browned butter. With this recipe, nobody will miss the actual mashed potatoes on the table!
If you're looking for a low carb keto-friendly substitute for mashed potatoes that you can feed even the pickiest eater, then I have the recipe for you! This 3 ingredient recipe for Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is ready in under 30 minutes. It is a recipe that nobody can resist!

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Garlic Mashed Cauliflower for the picky eater!
Grumpy loves his mashed potatoes. As a matter of fact, it's one food he will order when we eat out. While I didn't love mashed potatoes as a kid, I did learn to like them as an adult. However, the starchiness of them still would make me not want to eat them often.
Grumpy would eat mashed potatoes, gravy, and steak every night of the week if I would fix it for him. I know, I'm so mean! I think now that he has tried this Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Browned Butter, he would be willing to eat that every single night instead!
Adding Flavor with Browned Butter
You know that saying, bacon makes everything better? Well, that may be true. But, you should also add browned butter to your list of something that makes everything better! Some of my favorite recipes include browned butter. Browned Butter Sweet Potato Stacks and Banana Cake with Browned Butter Maple Frosting are two long time favorites.
I recently made this recipe for Balsamic Browned Butter Artichokes. I love that recipe and how nutty and delicious it is. That is when the light bulb moment happened. I wanted to make these Garlic Mashed Potatoes special and browned butter was the answer!
How to make Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Browned Butter
The fastest and easiest way to make Garlic Mashed Cauliflower is to steam the cauliflower and garlic together in a Microwave Steamer. And, the easiest way to turn it into a "mash" is to use a Food Processor.
I buy a whole head of cauliflower and then break it up and wash it myself. I also use fresh garlic. The garlic I used in this recipe were very large cloves that I skinned and sliced before placing in the steamer with the cauliflower.
While the cauliflower and garlic are steaming in the microwave, it's time to melt and brown the butter on the stovetop. You will want to make the browned butter. This is done by melting the butter over low heat, The butter should be watched carefully while it is cooking. If you take your eyes off the butter, it can burn in a heartbeat.
The butter will start to foam and on the bottom of the pan, you will see it starting to turn brown.
By the time the butter is ready, the cauliflower and garlic should have finished steaming and be ready to process to make garlic mashed cauliflower.
The steamed garlic and cauliflower are added to the food processor along with salt, pepper, and all but 1 tablespoon of the browned butter.
Once the cauliflower mash is processed, place it in a serving bowl. I like to top mine with the reserved tablespoon of browned butter and some fresh chopped chives!
🍽 Serve with...
You can serve Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Browned Butter the same way you would serve mashed potatoes! They are a great side dish to this Vegan Steak Recipe.
Tips for a successful side dish
It can be kinda hard to mess this 3 ingredient recipe up! However, below are some tips for you to remember when making this recipe the best side dish ever! And, one that everyone will request you make over and over again!
- Be generous with the butter. This is a keto recipe. So, having the fat in this dish is a good thing!
- Make sure your cauliflower is fork-tender. You don't want any "crisp bite" to it at all.
- Steam rather than boil your cauliflower.
- If you want to add a roasted flavor to this dish, try roasting the cauliflower in your oven instead of steaming it.
Garlic Mashed Cauliflower with Browned Butter
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash, trim, and break down cauliflower.
- Remove skin from garlic and cut into slices.
- Place cauliflower and garlic in a microwave steamer and using steam setting, cook on automatic until cauliflower is fork tender. About 8 -10 minutes.
- While cauliflower and garlic is steaming, melt butter in a medium sized saucepan over low heat. Cook butter until it becomes foamy and begins to brown. Swirl pan often to mix butter.
- When you see the brown solids forming in the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and set aside.
- Swirl the butter again and remove one tablespoon to use as a drizzle over top of the cauliflower in the serving bowl.
- When cauliflower and garlic is done steaming, place it in a food processor with salt, pepper, and all the butter except the reserved tablespoon.
- Process cauliflower mixture until smooth. Taste to be sure it does not need more salt and adjust if needed.
- Spoon garlic mashed cauliflower in a serving bowl. Drizzle with reserved butter and top with snipped chives.
Notes
- Net Carbs per serving = 3
- My garlic cloves were very large. I recommend doubling the amount of garlic if your cloves are smaller.
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