Cauliflower Purée with Thyme
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This cauliflower purée is creamy and comforting, and it just happens to taste remarkably like mashed potatoes.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
This cauliflower purée is creamy and comforting, and it just happens to taste remarkably like mashed potatoes. I’m not sure if it’s just my eyes playing tricks on me, but it really does! It also has the benefit of being easier to make, healthier and lower in carbs. But don’t make it just for that reason — it’s delicious in its own right. In fact, when my friend Heather tested the recipe for me, she sent me a text that read, “OMG so good, just licked the bowl of my Cuisinart.” Try serving it with my Onion-Braised Beef Brisket, Grilled Flank Steak with Garlic & Rosemary, Roast Chicken or Easy BBQ Boneless Short Ribs.
What you’ll need to make cauliflower purée
Step-by-Step Instructions
There are a lot of mashed cauliflower recipes out there; what I like about this one is that the cauliflower is steamed in, and then puréed with, chicken broth. This adds flavor and eliminates the need to add cream to thin out the purée.
Begin by bringing the chicken broth and salt to a boil and a large pot. Add the cauliflower and steam for about 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very tender.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cauliflower to a food processor and add the butter along with a few tablespoons of the chicken broth.
Process until smooth and creamy, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add the chopped thyme and process until evenly mixed.
Transfer to a bowl and serve.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
You may also like
- Broccoli Purée
- Creamy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Purée
- Curried Cauliflower and Apple Soup
- Golden Roasted Cauliflower with Pecorino Romano Cheese
- Creamed Spinach
Cauliflower Purée with Thyme
This cauliflower purée is creamy and comforting, and it just happens to taste remarkably like mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower (about 2 lbs.), cut into ½-inch pieces (don't worry about keeping florets intact)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, bring the chicken broth and salt to a boil. Add the cauliflower; bring back to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and steam for 20 minutes, or until cauliflower is very tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower to a food processor. Add 3 tablespoons of chicken broth from the pot, along with the butter. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add thyme and process until just combined.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 151
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 13g
- Sugar: 5g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 731mg
- Cholesterol: 25mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I am a vegetarian. Will this recipe work as well with vegetable broth rather than the chicken broth? I’m wondering if this will alter the flavor too much. Thanks!
Arlene, Vegetable broth will work just fine here– hope you enjoy!
Can this be done in a nutribullet? I don’t own a food processor. Thanks!
Hi Denise, I don’t have a Nutribullet, so I’m not certain, but there may not be enough room in the Nutribullet or enough liquid in the recipe for this to be successful– sorry!
Thank you so much for such a fab recipe my kids asked for second and they hate all vegetables made with short ribs turned out great
Would love to try this recipe but do not have a food processor. Any substitutions? Thank you
Hi Melissa, While the ingredients would remain the same, I’m not sure there’s enough liquid in the recipe to have this work in the blender- sorry!
I have used a hand mixer and it worked quite well.
What I would do is mash it with a good, heavy fork until you had most of the chunks gone. From there I’d grab a whisk and whip the heck out of it until it was smooth.
Small price to pay for how good this is!
This recipe is great “as is”. Doubled the recipe & served it with turkey dinner for our family & guests. Everyone enjoyed it. Made turkey-vegetable soup out of the leftovers and added the leftover cauliflower mash after the soup had finished cooking. It gave the soup a creamy “turkey pot pie” texture & taste. Yum!
Simple recipe but the chicken broth kills the flavour of the cauliflower.
This is a delicious meal. I served mine with plain yogurt and the fresh cracked pepper… yum!
This is my favorite No Carb substitution. I love this recipe. I tried four other mashed cauliflower recipes. Just started cooking this for our Thanksgiving feast!!
Have made this twice now once with fresh cauliflower, once with frozen/steamed cauliflower – both were delicious, and my husband swears he would have thought this was mashed potatoes if I hadn’t told him. Great for low-carb eaters….
This recipe was delicious! It’s a great change from potatoes and my guests thought they were potatoes. Another wonderful recipe from Jenn.
My 2 1/2 year old I made this a couple of weeks ago and she has been pretend making it in her kitchen and asking for it since. I had never actually eaten cauliflower in my life before I tried this because I couldn’t stand the smell. But we all loved it! Decided to write a review today because I was pulling back up to make it tonight.
I made this recipe as written for Rosh Hashanah, and then again this week for break fast, substituting chives for the thyme. It is phenomenal. It is on the permanent rotation at our house. Thanks so much! PS the Autumn Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup rocks…can’t wait to try the Rugelach.
What a great way to introduce cauliflower! You’ve really opened my mind as I didn’t know how to prepare it so that my family would accept it without putting a nasty face! I’ll try it soon and let you know how it went!
I have not tried your recipe yet. Is there another substitute for the butter? I am Kosher and I would like to serve it with meat.
Hi Ilene, Margarine will work just fine.
Nice change from potatoes. Worked well with my pot roast and pan gravy.
I loved this recipe. Next time going to try it with lemon thyme. Also, thought might try with carrots.
This looks great. Can it be made with non-dairy margarine or some other substitute for butter? I’m looking for a delicious non-dairy side dish.
Hi Joanna, Yes, that will be fine. Enjoy!
Heaven in a bowl! Potatoes just became obsolete for me. Extremely easy to put together … a winner.
This was amazing! I put it in my vitamix and it was super smooth and creamy. I will absolutely be eating this regularly!
Mine came out a bit too runny, but tasted delicious. My husband thought it was great, but my kids couldn’t understand why I didn’t just make my usual mashed potatoes. When they heard it was cauliflower, they were no longer interested.
I’ve been searching for a much healthier “mash potatoes” to appease my husband but be more inline with a higher protein lower carb life style.
This recipe (slightly altered) has become a huge hit in our house. I thought the recipe was a little bland for my taste, so i added a little bit of garlic powder and some sliced parmesan cheese to the mix and it came out totally Delish. My youngest who won’t eat mashed potatoes loves it and the rest of the family does too.
Win!
Would it become smooth enough with a stick blender rather than a food processor?
Hi Melanie, Not sure there is enough liquid to make it work with the stick blender.
Oh my my…D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!!
This was the first time my family has ever had cauliflower purée and it was a success! Thank you for the wonderful recipe. Consensus…this is family’s new substitute for mashed potato. Turned out beautifully!
This is delicious! On occasion when I needed to double the recipe, and didn’t have enough cauliflower, I used the same quantity yukon gold potatoes as I would have cauliflower for half the recipe. No one has known I’ve ‘messed’ with their mashed potatoes. With the mashed potatoes, I did add a little extra chicken broth for the right consistency.
This is a new staple at our house!! Dare I say it’s even better than regular mashed potatoes??? Never-the-less I doubled the recipe and took 2 servings for myself for that ultra-comfort food experience!!! I will be serving with flank steak with garlic and rosemary tomorrow. Stay tuned for my review on that. Thank you Jen!!
I made this for my significant other because he is on a low carb diet and this is the best alternative to mashed potatoes! The only alteration I made was I used 1 tablespoon less butter than the recipe and it turned out fantastic! I have made this dish 3 times already because he loves it so much!
I really liked this. I have made it just like recipe. I have also made it w powdered goats milk. It give it a creamier richer flavor. Just one scoop. Yumm
I made this as one of our sides for Christmas dinner. It was delicious! Next time I will double the recipe. Even those at the table who claimed to not like cauliflower enjoyed it!
I just made this for dinner and it taste surprisingly good. I didn’t have any fresh thyme so I used a little bit of the dry herb instead. I will be making this again for Christmas.
Hi Jenn,
This recipe is very popular in our house. I’m thinking of making it for Christmas dinner. Is it ok to make it ahead & freeze it?
Lynda
Hi Lynda, I’m sorry I’ve never tried freezing it so can’t say for sure, but you can definitely make it several days ahead of time and reheat in the microwave.
This is the best. I made it for Thanksgiving and got the whole family converted…away from mashed potatoes. I tested 4 different mashed cauliflower recipes with my immediate family and this one won hands down. Then I made it for the entire Thanksgiving crowd. Thanks you for another WINNING recipe.
Another great recipe!! I am going to serve this with Christmas dinner, not say what it actually is then make the big reveal after everyone has eaten. I have never heard of any cauilflower allergies so it should be a safe “trick”. Thank you!
Additional info…Mine slightly runny but the flavor and texture was on point. I will use less broth next time during the puree step.
Loved this recipe & so did my family, who are not too keen on cauliflower. I added some grated parmesan to give it a different flavor which worked well. Would make again. Also, keeps in the fridge for several days – so either make ahead or as leftovers.
My husband loves mashed potatoes but I do not. I tried this as an alternative and he loved it! It was so easy to do and it got me to use a very expensive Cuisinart I bought years ago and never used. The simplicity of making it got me hooked but the high fiber veggie taste was even better. We even made it for a recent dinner party and I gave out the recipe to everyone.
Excellent. I have searched long and hard for this delicious side. Easy and satisfying.
This was delicious and easy to make. I just made this in preparation for Thanksgiving and I snuck a spoonful. I’ll never make mashed potatoes again!
I made this with a purple cauliflower, and although it looked like Play-doh, it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. It is a most guest-worthy dish.
My kids and husband LOVED it. I served it with your braised brisket dish and both were a hit. Thanks Jenn for all your delicious recipes.
Absolutely out of this world. I have looked long and hard for this recipe. I am addicted!!!
Love, love, love all your recipes!! Just started making this and realized my fresh thyme has gone bad. Can I use dried or is it worth it to go get fresh?
Hi Heather, Dried is absolutely fine; just use half the amount 🙂
This was absolutely delicious I could have eaten the entire recipe standing in the kitchen! I used chopped parsley as I didn’t have thyme. I can’t wait to make it again. People had told me of this cauliflower thing as a substitute for mashed potatoes, and I must admit I thought it sounded awful but it’s not a substitute, it’s a stand alone and will be on my Christmas menu for sure. Thanks Jen
Hadn’t read the reviews and thought the same thing – could replace mashed potatoes! This dish is fantastic! Can’t wait to pair it with a havarti grilled cheese sammy. Used more of the broth and salted butter and it was fine. Also drizzled some sage & mushroom infused olive oil over it for presentation. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I tried this last night and absolute loved it, can easily replace mashed potatoes, mu husband even liked it. This will be a regular now on.
I am a vegetarian. Can I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth?
Absolutely!
I was thinking about pairing the pureed cauliflower with your Broiled Asian-Style Flat Iron Steak instead of the buttered rice you suggest. My kids LOVE cauliflower. Any ideas to give this a more Asian-style profile? Thanks! (P.S. We are working our way through all your recipes, and haven’t met one that didn’t get two enthusiastic thumbs-up from our whole crew. Thanks!)
Hi Amy, Glad to read you are enjoying the recipes! You could omit the salt and add a tablespoon of soy sauce to the chicken broth instead. You could also add 1/2 teaspoon of Asian sesame oil along with the butter.
We used your suggestions last night and the cauliflower was delicious! Next time, I’ll double the recipe for my cauliflower-loving crowd. Thanks!
OMG! Tonight I made these for supper and I don’t think I will ever be able to eat mashed potatoes again. Give it a try, you will not regret it.
Great recipe. Tastes just like mashed potatoes but healthier. The only thing I would add to the recipe is to be careful not to over puree since you don’t want to liquify the cauliflower.
Is there a way to reduce the sodium? While it is healthy, I am trying to keep the sodium down for my family. Thanks
Hi Kerri, Feel free to reduce or omit the salt.
I was wondering why is the carb count so high per serving?
Hi Dana, I don’t believe 13g is high; most low carb diets call for between 50-150 grams per day.
Jenn — I think Dana was saying that the carb count is probably wrong. Cauliflower is very low carb. — Deb
How much in advance of a meal can this be made? How long will it keep in the fridge?
Hi Paula, It can be made several days ahead of time and reheated in the microwave.
Jenn, you mention steaming the cauliflower, but I see no mention of using a steamer basket. Is the cauliflower actually boiled in water, then drained?
Karen, You just steam the cauliflower in the chicken broth for about 2o minutes, or until the cauliflower is very tender. No basket necessary!
I don’t understand this answer. Cauliflower is either placed IN boiling/hot water (not what I would think of as steamed) or placed in some kind of a container OVER boiling water, e.g. not in direct contact with the water. Please explain which way you mean.
Hi Susan, Sorry if you found this wasn’t clear. The cauliflower is place directly into the pot with the broth. Hope you enjoy!