My second favorite food is potatoes. I like them cut and fried. I like them smashed and covered in butter, cheese, bacon and garlic. I’ll take em baked or broiled. I’ll eat them in a salad or with a burger. I’ve even eaten them raw. I like white ones, red ones, and purple ones. I don’t care if their from Idaho or Ireland or Frito Lay; if they are that starchy goodness, I’ll take them anyway you make ’em.

Giving up potatoes has always been difficult for me. In the past, cheating on low carb diets usually meant eating at least one helping of potatoes. I’ve actually thought in the first part of this round of Keto, “I’m probably going to have to occasionally cheat on my diet because I can’t live without potatoes.”

Then I stumbled upon a recipe for Mashed Cauliflower.

I know what you must be thinking. “There is no way on earth you can make cauliflower taste like a potato. It’s impossible.” I thought the same thing when I heard about some Ketoers eating it.

But believe me, as a self-professed potato addict, this recipe for mashed cauliflower is so convincing that I call them mashed potatoes. When I’m told my husband what I was making for dinner, I said, “Mashed potatoes,” and neither of us batted an eye. I just don’t refer to it as mashed cauliflower. Part of that probably is because it doesn’t have the same ring to it, but the other, much larger part of it, is that they taste incredibly similar to mashed potatoes that I forget what it is I’m actually eating.

So without any further ado,

Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1 stick of butter (and you must say it like Paula Deen as you pull it out of the fridge)(Just Kiddding… but I imagine myself saying it like her!)

like as you pull it out of the fridge)(Just Kiddding… but I imagine myself saying it like her!) 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

4 oz of Cream Cheese

5 cloves of Garlic

2 cups of shredded cheese (I started shredding my own from a block because of the additional additives in shredded cheese)

3 Tbs of fresh baby dill, or 1 Tbs of dried dill

Any other toppings you want on your potatoes (I add crumbled bacon to mine)

Directions:

Chop your Cauliflower into smallish pieces, put it in a pot of water, and let that sucker boil for a good 30-40 minutes until it is super soft. Drain the Cauliflower. Put it back in the pot (now without water since you drained it) and put the cream cheese, Parmesan, and butter on top of the cauliflower. Mash those suckers up with some sort of mashing device. You could also use a hand mixer, but don’t put the mixer in a non-stick pan unless you want bits of Teflon in your potatoes. Just transfer it over to a mixing bowl before using a hand mixer. Once those are mixed up, add the shredded cheese, garlic and heavy cream. Keep on mixing! Finally, add the dill. Mix the potatoes up really well and cook them on low for 5-10 minutes so all the flavors blend in. Serve it up, however you like it. I threw some bacon crumbles on top.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. This has been a lifesaver on Keto. I’m so glad I don’t have the urge to quit Keto for a day to gorge myself on unhealthy starches. Eating a few portions of this every few weeks actually keeps my potato cravings in check.

The Nutrition facts (without garnishes) are as follows: