Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

Why this recipe works

Mashed potatoes are the dish people miss most at a holiday table, and the potato is the part that makes them hard to keep on plan. Cauliflower solves that problem better than most substitutes, because it does the two things mashed potatoes need to do: it turns smooth and creamy under a masher, and it carries butter and garlic the way potatoes do.

Roasting the garlic is what makes this version worth writing about. Raw garlic in mashed cauliflower tastes sharp and a little harsh, and garlic powder tastes flat. A whole head of garlic roasted until it is soft and golden turns sweet and mellow, and it stirs straight into the mash with no bite at all.

The cauliflower itself needs a hot oven and a little space. Roasted florets brown at the edges and lose their raw, cabbagey edge, which is the flavour people complain about in steamed cauliflower mash. It is a side dish, not a meal, so serve it next to turkey or another Lean, the way the holiday table is built.

For the Optavia 5 and 1 plan, this is a Green and a Healthy Fat, with no Lean in it. The cauliflower is the Green, the butter and olive oil are the Healthy Fat, and the garlic and seasoning are the Condiment. Nothing in the bowl is a starch, and nothing in it needs to be counted as one.

Short on time? The recipe card below has everything on one screen: tick off the ingredients as you gather them, scale the servings up or down, and tap each step as you finish it.

Why this one is Day 21

This is the second holiday side of the calendar after the Day 3 cauliflower rice stuffing, and it fills the other half of the holiday table: the stuffing covers the savoury side, and this covers the creamy one. Mashed cauliflower is one of the most searched cauliflower formats on Pinterest in the run-up to Thanksgiving, and the site has cauliflower rice posts and cauliflower pizza posts but no plain mashed cauliflower, so this is a real gap. It also links naturally to the Day 20 holiday pillar, which went live the day before, and it gives readers a second side to pair with the roast turkey post the site already owns.

Serve it alongside Cauliflower Rice Stuffing with Sage and Mushrooms, Lean and Green Roasted Turkey with Mashed Cauliflower and Steamed Green Beans, and Green Bean Casserole.

Tips, swaps and storage

• Do not crowd the pan. Florets piled on top of each other steam instead of roasting, and steamed cauliflower makes a watery mash. A single layer with space between the pieces is the whole secret, so use two baking sheets if your pan is small.

• Roast the garlic until it is truly soft. Under-roasted garlic is hard to squeeze out of its skin and tastes sharp in the mash. If a clove still resists when you squeeze it, put the foil packet back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

• Do not add all the stock at once. Cauliflower varies in how much water it holds, and too much liquid is the most common way this dish goes wrong. Start with 1 tbsp, mash, and add the second only if the mash still looks dry.

• Swap the herbs, keep the counts: rosemary works in place of chives with the same timing. A spoonful of grated Parmesan makes a richer mash, but it is an extra condiment, so work the counts out again first if you add it.

• Make it ahead: roast the cauliflower and garlic up to a day ahead and keep them in the fridge, then mash and reheat gently in a saucepan with a splash of stock. The finished mash keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. It does not freeze well; thawed cauliflower mash turns watery.

Frequently asked questions

This recipe is educational information, not medical advice. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Optavia LLC or Medifast, Inc.