Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower

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Flavoursome and creamy instant pot mashed cauliflower. These veggie mashed potatoes are a wonderful side dish and perfect for midweek dinners, or for a holiday alternative to mashed potatoes.

You can also use this instant pot cauliflower mash as your main recipe and then transforming it into a cauliflower crust.

Instant Pot Caulifllower Mash
Instant Pot Caulifllower Mash

Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash

Let’s talk about one of those low carb greats. One that I discovered back in 2015 when I did my first ever round of the Whole30 and discovered the paleo way of life.

It is the well-loved cauliflower.

How cauliflower back then became the go-to for many, many people because they could replace cauliflower in many recipes instead of the humble spud. The spud suddenly became very unloved.

But it did mean that if you liked cauliflower, you suddenly had some great ways to cook it.

Our favourite was of course (and still is) to pressure cook the cauliflower like we do in our instant pot cauliflower recipe, then that’s your cauliflower base that you can use in so many different recipes.

Today’s cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe follows on from the basic steaming of the cauliflower and shows you how to transform it into mash and also how to then use the mash to make a cauliflower crust with.

If you are looking for more delicious cauliflower recipes do try: air fryer frozen cauliflower, soup maker cauliflower soup, cauliflower in microwave, microwave cauliflower rice, or our personal favourite instant pot cauliflower cheese.

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Does Cauliflower Mash Taste Like Cauliflower?

Yes, cauliflower mash does taste like cauliflower, so you have to love cauliflower to love cauli mash. Though you can season the cauliflower however you like and give it an extra flavour if you aren’t that keen on cauliflower.

Is Cauliflower Mash Better Than Potato Mash?

This depends on how you like your mashed potatoes. I prefer mashed cauliflower because it is lighter and is good not just for your meal but also for your leftovers. I recommend you try our cauliflower mashed potatoes recipe and also try our instant pot no drain mashed potatoes, which uses white potatoes and see which one you prefer.

Why Is My Cauliflower Mash Watery?

The cauli mash is watery because it is holding too much water and you have not drained the excess water enough.

Have you seen those videos where they show you how to make cauliflower pizza crust? And note how much time is spent in removing the excess water, well you don’t need to be as harsh in removing water with the cauliflower for mash, but you still need to have a good go.

Why Is My Cauliflower Mash Grainy?

Think of the grainy texture of the cauliflower mash, just like you think of the lumps in traditional mashed potatoes. The grainy bits of cauliflower rice are your lumps.

To avoid grainy cauliflower mash, simply give it an extra mashing with your potato masher.

How Can I Thicken Cauliflower Mash?

If you need to thicken cauliflower mash I would recommend putting the cauliflower mash into a mesh strainer and letting it naturally drip through with the excess water and then mixing it. This will get rid of the excess liquid and will make it easy to thicken.

How To Make Mashed Potatoes Out Of Cauliflower?

If you are wondering how do people make mashed potatoes out of cauliflower then think of it like you are making traditional mash out of white potatoes.

You prepare and steam the potatoes first, then you drain the liquid and then you mash with your favourite seasonings and flavours.

Well, with mashed potatoes out of cauliflower it’s the exact same method you are just steaming cauliflower florets instead of white potatoes.

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Ingredients For Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients For Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Cauliflower – We recommend a medium or large cauliflower that you have chopped into cauliflower florets.

Liquid. You can opt for filling the instant pot with water or stock for you to take the instant pot to pressure. I usually use water if just steaming cauliflower, but if I want to transform the cauliflower into cauliflower cheese or cauliflower mash, then I will opt for stock.

Seasoning – Then you will need some seasoning. You can keep it simple with salt and pepper, and of course add any of your favourite dried seasonings. Mixed herbs or oregano are my favourite as you always have them in, and they taste so good with this steamed cauliflower recipe.

Best Cauliflower Mash Extras

I love that we all have a different option as to what is the best add in to mashed potatoes. My favourite is often adding in some salad dressing or some ranch dressing as it adds lovely flavour, but here are a few more bests:

  • Mashed Cauliflower With Cream Cheese – Probably my biggest go to for easy cauliflower mashed potatoes and so delicious too. Add one of those smaller tubs of Philadelphia cream cheese and you are all set. If you are looking for a weight watchers mashed cauliflower recipe then do this but go with lightest Philadelphia to keep the points down.
  • Mashed Cauliflower With Sour Cream – You can also swap the cream cheese for sour cream or a crème fraiche.
  • Parmesan Cauliflower Mash – Or go cheesy and add in some parmesan cheese. Or any melting cheese will also work well such as cheddar cheese.
  • Garlic Mashed Cauliflower Recipe – If you wanted to make garlic mashed cauliflower I recommend adding in some garlic butter, or some garlic butter and some aioli as it really brings out the flavour and is like heaven on the dinner table.

Then for extra flavour you could also consider some mustard as mustard mash is amazing.

Can You Recommend An Instant Pot?

I often get asked which electric pressure cookers we recommend and which one we use. In 95% of our instant pot recipes, we use either this instant pot duo (we have both the 6qt and 8qt) or the Ninja Foodi air fryer and pressure cooker in 1. You can click on the links above and read up on them.

Plus, we recommend you head over to our instant pot recipes category as we have many electric pressure cooker recipes and have been using instant pots for 5 years.

How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash?

instant-pot-cauliflower-mash
  • Prep. Add to the instant pot inner pot the veggie stock, that is enough to bring the instant pot to pressure. Next cut the whole cauliflower into florets. Add to the instant pot the steamer basket and then spread over the steamer basket the prepared cauliflower florets. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Cook. Place the lid on the instant pot then cook cauliflower in instant pot for 8 minutes, followed by a quick pressure release.
  • Drain. Then set up a bowl system with a large bowl, and a sieve and allow the cauliflower to sit there for a couple of minutes whilst you lose the excess liquid. Then push down on the cauliflower to release even more liquid and avoid watery cauliflower mash.
  • Transfer. Next transfer the cauliflower to a bowl and use a masher and add in any add ons to create instant pot mashed cauliflower.

Air Fryer Cauliflower Pizza

If you would like to turn your cauliflower mash into cauliflower pizza, then you can do this too!

But you will need to do is drain the cauliflower A LOT more than what you have done for instant pot cauliflower mashed potatoes.

We will usually strain with a mesh strainer and then squeeze out every last bit of water using a clean tea towel.

Then mix the cauliflower with 1 small egg, loads of cheese (as much as you want) then load the cauliflower mixture into the bottom of a pizza pan and then you have air fryer cauliflower pizza waiting for the toppings.

Listen To Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower

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What To Serve With Mashed Cauliflower?

You can serve mashed potatoes made with cauliflower with anything you would normally serve regular mashed potatoes with. Such as our slow cooker pork stew, instant pot liver and onions, or even our air fryer boneless and skinless chicken thighs.

More Pressure Cooker Mash Recipes

Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower

This cauliflower mash instant pot recipe is an updated post and we originally shared with you back in 2018.

Your cauliflower mash instant pot recipe is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.

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Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower

Flavoursome and creamy instant pot mashed cauliflower. These veggie mashed potatoes are a wonderful side dish and perfect for midweek dinners, or for a holiday alternative to mashed potatoes.
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Total Time13 minutes
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Instant Pot
Servings: 4
Calories: 49kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Let’s get making mashed cauliflower! Place 1.5 cups (360ml) of veggie stock into your instant pot. Then add your steamer basket ready for loading up with cauliflower florets. Next chop the cauliflower into medium florets and load them into the steamer basket.
    How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash?
  • Season the cauliflower with salt and pepper and your dried herbs and also add in the frozen garlic. Then add the lid and set the valve to sealing and pressure cook cauliflower for 8 minutes, followed by a quick pressure release.
    How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash?
  • After a quick pressure release, add a large bowl to your worktop and put a sieve over it. Put the cauliflower through the sieve and give it a couple of minutes to get rid of excessive moisture. Then push down on the cauliflower in the sieve to get rid of some extra bits. As you don’t want watery cauliflower mash.
    How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash?
  • Then transfer the cauliflower to a mixing bowl and add your mash extras and mash until smooth and grain free. Do a taste test and if needed add extra salt and pepper and seasonings to suit your taste. Then serve.
    How To Make Instant Pot Cauliflower Mash?

Notes

Liquid. I recommend some instant pot veggie stock as it really flavours the instant pot cooking pot and makes the cauliflower mash taste even better.
Draining. The draining process may seem excessive but it does get rid of any of the water and stops the cauliflower being watery once cooked.
Thanks for reading our cauliflower mash instant pot recipe on Recipe This. We have many more instant pot recipes for you to check out next. Though if you would like to see more veggie recipes then do check out our instant pot potatoes and carrots next.

Nutrition

Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 295mg | Potassium: 449mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition InfoPlease Note: Nutrition values are our best estimate based on the software we use at Recipe This and are meant as a guide. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Recipe This

Hi! I am Sam and along with my chef hubby Dom we love sharing with you easy everyday recipes using kitchen gadgets. We are also the authors of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook, an amazing air fryer cookbook filled with 140+ everyday air fryer recipes. Beyond the air fryer we also love the instant pot, slow cooker, soup maker, ninja foodi, pie marker and several other kitchen gadgets. CLICKING HERE →

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