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Cauliflower Purée with Thyme

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This cauliflower purée is creamy and comforting, and it just happens to taste remarkably like mashed potatoes.

Blue bowl of cauliflower puree.

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

Ingredients including chicken broth, sea salt, and thyme.

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.

Pot of cauliflower florets.

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.

Pot of steamed cauliflower.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cauliflower to a food processor and add the butter along with a few tablespoons of the chicken broth.

Cauliflower and butter in a food processor.

Process until smooth and creamy, then taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Food processor of pureed cauliflower.

Add the chopped thyme and process until evenly mixed.

Pureed cauliflower topped with thyme.

Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Blue bowl of cauliflower puree.

Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)

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Cauliflower Purée with Thyme

This cauliflower purée is creamy and comforting, and it just happens to taste remarkably like mashed potatoes.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 25 Minutes

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

  1. 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 Edamam

  • 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.

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Comments

  • I made the cauliflower puree tonight. Delicious!
    We loved it. Thank you

    • — Jeannine,Canada.
    • Reply
  • This was so delicious and quick to make. My husband couldn’t tell it was cauliflower.
    Thanks for the recipe!

  • easy and delicious.

  • Super easy to make and delicious! I used the immersion blender rather than the food processor. We all loved it!

  • This is my new favorite side! Absolutely delicious, thank you!

  • Made this today as a side to some rye crusted pork medallions with mustard. This purée stole the show. It almost didn’t make it to the table I kept eating it from the processor. Follow it as is, no need to change anything.

  • This was delicious and I love that there’s no heavy cream in it.

  • So GOOD and so EASY!! Can’t wait to make this again!

  • How did I miss this recipe??? Found this in my Once Upon a Chef Cookbook. Served it last night and wow is it DELICIOUS !! Great to eat cauliflower in a different way, and my husband LOOOOOOOOOOOOVED it. Excited next time to try some of the other reviewers (immersion blender, easier to clean 🙂 & the garlic. 🙂

  • Another winner! I did as some others recommended and added a couple cloves of garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme to the broth and let that simmer with the cauliflower. I used only 1 tbsp of butter and I think next time I’ll skip it all together. I don’t have a food processor or an immersion blender so I just gave it a really good mash. This is seriously so delicious!! Currently eating it with a couple slices of Jenn’s turkey meatloaf. YUM!

  • Totally delicious! I made this for Christmas dinner instead of mashed potatoes since my sister was already bringing a potato dish. I loved everything about them, especially how well them went with the rib roast… which got me to thinking if I added fresh horseradish to this dish to eat with beef, I think it would be spectacular! And healthier than creamed horseradish! Thanks again Jenn!

    • OOOPs! 5 stars all the way!

  • This is not only better than mashed potatoes, but it’s also healthier. We paired this with the turkey meatloaf and roasted broccoli with chipotle honey butter, as suggested. It was an incredible meal! One that I will make forever!

    P.S. Once Upon a Chef the cookbook deserves a sequel!

  • The cauliflower was very runny after I’d pureed it, so I didn’t add the chicken stock. Because of this it was pretty tasteless. What did I do wrong? I strained the cauli before pureeing it.

    • Sorry to hear you had a problem with this. Are you saying that you didn’t add the broth before pureeing the cauliflower?

      • That’s correct. I steamed the cauli in the stock, strained it, then pureed. It was already too soupy.

        • — Christine Ruffell
        • Reply
        • Hi Christine, that’s kind of a head-scratcher – I haven’t had that problem before. Perhaps your cauliflower just contained more water, but it’s hard to say for sure. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!

  • Another winner! Made this last night, reduced the amount of broth to 2/3 cup, puréed in the pot with an immersion blender, came out perfectly delicious. Devoured! Will be added to our Thanksgiving menu. Thank you, Jennifer for another terrific, easy recipe!

  • Can you use fresh dill instead of fresh thyme for this cauliflower mash

    • It will have a different flavor with the dill, but it will work. Please LMK what you think if you try it!

  • I made this to go alongside the turkey meatloaf from this site. Excellent recipe! I even fooled a couple of my girls, who thought the ‘mashed potatoes’ were really buttery. Next time I will definitely double the recipe as I had to ‘test’ the recipe several times before it made it to the dinner table. 🙂 Thank you!

  • This was so good! I left the broth in and used an immersion blender – they were perfect! I left the lid off a bit longer (was distracted with other meal prep) than I should have so perhaps the liquid evaporated a bit. The texture was absolutely perfect!

  • Who would have guessed cauliflower could taste so good? And it works very well for a make ahead side. Make exactly as recipe states, don’t forget the fresh thyme, and some folks won’t know that this not a potato mash! Wonderful!

  • Great recipe! Followed exactly as is, but strained the cauliflower after cooking and put back in pot, worked well with an immersion blender.

    Added a little cayenne which is great if you like some heat. Just eyeballed it. Also strained it but that took a while.

    Overall great recipe, my mom and aunt swears by your recipes!

  • Really lovely dish. Apologies for not staying true to recipe but I am a vegan so used homemade veggie broth with high quality EVOO for butter. Both easy and elegant.

  • I still need clarification on the STEAMing aspect of this recipe. When I steam vegetables, I place them on a basket/rack above the boiling water. They are not in contact with or in the water. The rising steam cooks them. But, in this recipe, I believe the cauliflower is actually immersed in the chicken broth kept at a simmer until tender. Is that correct?

    • Yes that’s correct, Maret.

  • These are SO good! While not identical to mashed potatoes, they’re a great alternative! Like others, I did not add any reserved liquid when I pureed the cauliflower and found the texture to be better (thicker) without it. I’ve also substituted fresh chives for the thyme (we always like chives in our mashed potatoes) and that was delicious as well!

  • I cut two 1inch cauliflower steaks then used the reserve for the mash/puree.
    For the puree I found you don’t need the reserved liquid. Blend it once drained and add stock if you need to, you probably won’t!
    For the steaks I put int he over for 20 minutes on baking paper and brushed them with a mix of olive oil and smoked paprika. served with sea bass, a loin of iberico pork would have been a nicer accompaniment!
    Thanks for this recipe, it was a delicious addition to our dinner and we prefer to mash – converts!
    M

  • Hi, Can you confirm whether the cauliflour is steamed or boiled in the liquid? Thanks, I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

    Gary H

    • Hi Gary, you steam the cauliflower. Hope you enjoy it!

  • Delicious!! Thanks.

    • — Natalie Grandy
    • Reply
  • This is garbage

    • That is rude. Just say POLITELY why it didn’t work for you

      • — Carol Winkelman
      • Reply
    • Very disrespectful.

    • Very rude indeed! I really loved your recipe and can’t wait to cook it for the rest of my family. If you didn’t like it, there’s no need to be offensive when you can simply say how it worked out for you without offending anyone.

  • Can this be frozen ?

    • Hi Asra, I can’t say for sure how this would freeze because I’ve never done it – sorry! If this is helpful, you can definitely make it several days ahead of time and reheat in the microwave.

      • Yes that’s helpful ! Thanks !

  • My second time making this and it’s such an incredible sub for potatoes ! So healthy and guilt free . I put it through several passes in the blender to get smooth consistency . I found it best to completely drain out the broth after Califlower is done steaming bc first time I made this it came out too soggy with added broth

  • Jenn, I dislike cauliflower, yet am committed to eating more vegetables. And this recipe… is amazing!! Made as is: very good. To save time, have used frozen cauliflower florets and it tasted great. Have also added one very small potato (to please my husband), and used Italian seasoning (was out of thyme.) The one addition of the small potato changed the consistency to match almost identically regular mashed potatoes. These are now a regular staple. Thank you. Healthy AND delicious.

  • Simple and wonderful. Makes a nice change from the ubiquitous garlic mashed potato.

    • — Scott Cochrane
    • Reply
  • You’d think a classically trained chef would know what “steam” means! Much better recipes out there with flavor from sources other than butter.

    • Rude!!! This recipe is fantastic! You’d think an adult would know what “kind, constructive and mature” mean!!

  • Can you estimate how many cups of cauliflower this would need? With the various sizes of cauliflower heads, I’m wondering if this is the reason some reviewers had issues with the final result being thinner than expected.

    • Hi Leslie, One head of cauliflower should weigh 2 to 2.5 pounds, which would be about 4 cups of florets. Hope that helps!

      • Thanks Jen. Sorry for the double posting of the question – I thought I did something wrong when posting the first time since I didn’t see it. Also, I guess I should have paid more attention to the directions as well – it’s clearly stated the cauliflower is about 2 lbs. Thanks for your kind patience!

        • You didn’t miss anything, Leslie – I added the weight after answering your question. 🙂

  • Hi Jenn
    Can you double the recipe for Cauliflower Purée with Thyme? And what about making it ahead of thyme 😂?
    Judee Diehl

    • Hi Judee, Yes and yes – and it can be reheated in the microwave. 🙂

  • Hi Jenn – apologies for another question, but since cauliflower heads vary greatly in size, can you give an estimate of how many cups of florets are steamed? I’m wondering if this may be the reason some reviewer results were thinner than expected.

    • Hi Leslie, One head of cauliflower weighs 2 to 2.5 pounds (which is about 4 cups of florets). Hope that helps!

  • Can you freeze this a week in advance of using it? If so, what is the best way to reheat?

    • Hi Nelle, 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.

  • Once the broth comes to a boil and the cauliflower is added, is the heat then turned off so the cauliflower can “steam”?

    • Hi Leslie, once you’ve added the cauliflower and brought the liquid back to a boil, you then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low (but not turn the heat off) so the cauliflower can steam. Hope that clarifies! 🙂

      • Thank you! That definitely clears it up. I’m looking forward to making this for Thanksgiving.

  • Help! I have made this twice and both times it has come out very soupy. I followed the recipe exactly. Every thing else I have made has come out perfect!

    • Sorry to hear these were thinner than you expected. Just a heads up that these will not have a thick texture like mashed potatoes. Next time, I’d suggest cutting back on the broth a bit. Hope that helps!

  • This was really good and very easy! Highly recommend.

  • Have to bring a veggie to someone’s home for Rosh Hashanah..looks perfect. Can I make it and then just zap in microwave to heat?

    • Yes, definitely, Doreen. It reheats beautifully in the microwave.

  • Amazing! Husband thought it was mashed potatoes. Thank you, Jenn. I make your recipes multiple times on a weekly basis!

  • Is frozen cauliflower a possibility?

    • Hi Penelope, I haven’t tried this with frozen cauliflower, but a few other readers have commented that they have and have been happy with the results. Hope you enjoy!

  • Hi Jenn
    Tried this recipe from your cookbook. Wow what a great take on cauliflower! I trust your recipes so much I made it for company before I tried it lol
    Thanks for your fantastic blog.
    I also will tell you your cookbook is the first one I have bought for years and it is a keeper!
    Regards Sharon

  • Absolutely delicious, even without thyme!

  • Love this! It’s my new substitute for mashed potatoes! They are such a nice change of pace instead of potatoes and delicious! So glad you put this in your new cookbook.

    • — Tammie Koehnen
    • Reply
  • I keep kosher and would love to know what I can substitute for the butter so that I can use with chicken stock. For kosher you can not combine meat or poultry with milk. Any suggestions. The recipe looks fabulous as do all of your recipes.
    I just ordered your cookbook!!!!

    • Hi Louann, You could either leave it out or use margarine. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the cookbook, too!

  • loved it. we are not fans of cooked cauliflower but now we have it at least once a week

    • — marilyn schliem
    • Reply
  • Have made this many times but hard for a large crowd. Have you tried it with Cauliflower rice instead??

    • Hi, I’ve never tried this with cauliflower rice, but I think it should work. Please LMK how it turns out!

      • I tried this with about a pound of cauliflower rice and added 3 small peeled potatoes (about 11 oz) cut into small pieces to make up for the missing amount of cauliflower. Followed the recipe to steam in 1c of broth until tender. Used my hand-held mixer in stainless steel saucepan to whip to the consistency of mashed potatoes, but when I tasted it, it was lumpy, so I put it in the cuisinart and pureed. We loved it. The liquid was about just right for cooking the vegetables; but I thought that if I used too much, I would add a small amount of dried milk or potato flakes to soak up the excess. Great way to get more cruciferous veggies in my diet. Thanks for all of your great recipes, Jenn!

        • This sounds like a good modification – did you use frozen cauliflower rice? Thank you, Jamie

  • Another winner, Jenn!

  • I love Cauliflower Puree with Thyme. Took a dish I frequently make into something special. I served it with pecan crusted cod and asparagus simmered in butter. A great meal!

    • — Susan Weintrob
    • Reply
  • This recipe is really easy and delicious. I followed everything except at the end I used my hand blender in the pot and it worked perfectly. Nice light and tasty substitute for potatoes.

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