Creamy parmesan Instant Pot mashed cauliflower is a healthier, low carb alternative to mashed potatoes. Prep it ahead in the Instant Pot for an easy holiday side dish!
I’m back with another healthy holiday side dish.
Remember last week when I posted this Instant Pot Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pine Nuts?
Well today, we’re talking cauliflower. Mashed cauliflower. Which doesn’t sound appetizing in the least, but trust me, it is. Especially when parmesan cheese, garlic and fresh thyme are involved. It gets so creamy, you’re going to forget you’re eating cauliflower!
My favorite part about this Instant Pot mashed cauliflower is that you can put the whole head of cauliflower right in the Instant Pot! No need to break it down into florets. Just remove the stem and leaves and put the whole head right in!
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How to make cauliflower mash in the Instant Pot
Like I mentioned above, for this Instant Pot mashed cauliflower recipe, I put the whole head of cauliflower in the Instant Pot. Because of this, it does take longer to cook (15 minutes on steam), but I just loved how hands off it is to make.
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- Put some stock, garlic, and fresh thyme leaves in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place the cauliflower, leaves and stem removed, and scrubbed, on the trivet
- Cook on the steam setting for 15 minutes, then do a quick pressure release
- Allow the cauliflower to cool slightly before transferring to a bowl and mashing with parmesan cheese, greek yogurt and some seasoning
Can you make mashed cauliflower ahead?
Of course you know me, I’m all about the make ahead meals. We made this Instant Pot mashed cauliflower ahead and re-heated it in a variety of ways:
- BEST: bake it in a casserole dish (covered) at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until heated through
- In a pinch: just heat it in the microwave.
- Keep it warm: Make it ahead and keep it warm in the Instant Pot using the ‘warm’ setting. You’ll want to keep the lid on to keep it from drying out.
Are you looking for a stove top or slow cooker method of cooking this mashed cauliflower? Then check out this post.
Get PERFECT Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower with these tips:
- Make sure to let the cauliflower cool 5-10 minutes (with the Instant Pot lid removed) before mashing. This helps extra moisture drip down (and helps it get extra creamy!), and makes it easier to handle
- If you are looking to prep a bigger batch, you could cook this in two batches, or you will need to chop your cauliflower into florets. This tutorial tells you how to cook it in florets.
- I used my trusty 6 quart Instant Pot; this recipe has not been tested in an 8 quart Instant Pot
More Instant Pot recipes:
- 7 Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipes
- Instant Pot Enchilada Quinoa Casserole,
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- 38 Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes
Creamy Instant Pot mashed cauliflower is a healthier, low carb alternative to mashed potatoes. Prep it in the Instant Pot for an easy holiday side dish!
- 1 head cauliflower leaves removed and stem cut out
- 1 cup stock
- 4 cloves garlic
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt plain
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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Place the stock, garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme in the bottom of a 6 quart Instant Pot. Place the trivet on top and the cauliflower on the trivet.
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Cook for 15 minutes on the steam setting. Do a quick pressure release (release the pressure immediately when the IP beeps). Allow the cauliflower to rest with the lid open for 10 or so minutes, until it cools slightly and it safer to handle (and allows extra moisture to drip off).
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Carefully transfer the cauliflower to a new pot with as little liquid as possible from the Instant Pot.
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Mash with the yogurt, cheese, salt and pepper.
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This recipe is easy to re-heat in a pot or the microwave, and keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Since cauliflower sizes vary, you may need to adjust the seasoning to taste.
For a larger batch, you may wish to use the slow cooker version of this recipe, or work in two batches to cook the cauliflower.
Gail
How do you core the cauliflower while keeping the head whole?
Denise
I just sneak the knife up and around the bottom and work carefully 🙂
Diane DiPrete
can this be converted to 8 quart ? if so any changes?
Denise
Hi Diane! Should be no problem. Same cook time. Hope you enjoy!
Simon
Regular parmesan from Italy is NOT vegetarian. It contains calf liver rennet. You need to find Italian style hard cheese and check the ingredients.
Denise
Hi Simon! Yes, parmesan is (surprisingly) not vegetarian. However, I don’t believe I mention anywhere in this post that it is a vegetarian recipe? If I did could you please direct me to it so I can change it? Thanks so much!
Sandy
I make mashed cauliflower often. I break the head into 4 sections and tuck the garlic in. I only cook for 3 minutes and drain the water off before mashing
Denise
That’s great!
Lindsay Wilkins
This looks great. Do leftovers taste ok? I meal prep for the week so wondering if this will work! Thanks in advance!
Denise
Hi Lindsay, apologies for my late reply, I’ve just returned from holidays! Leftovers keep well, for up to 4 days! I hope you enjoy 🙂
Angela
I freeze my mashed cauliflower in little glass Pyrex dishes for a few months even. Just reheat and eat.
Denise
Great idea!
Joey
Just made this recipe, love it! Delicious and rather simple !
Denise
I’m so happy to hear that, Joey! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Belinda
The net carb count on the nutritional chart looks very high per serving. I’ve run all the numbers myself and maybe get that many for the whole batch. Am I overlooking anything?? BTW, I make a lot of cauliflower in my IP but it never even crossed my mind to put the entire head in! I’m no fan of chopping, thanks! And this sounds really tasty!
Denise
Hi Belinda! I just re-ran the recipe through My Fitness Pal and got roughly the same thing…here’s the link so you can see the breakdown (these are strictly estimates, of course!). Looks like there are 30g carbs in a head of cauliflower, you could reduce this by serving smaller portions if you’d like.
Belinda
Well, I guess I really have never looked up cauliflower by the head! Seems like it shouldn’t have so many carbs but of course it makes sense. I’m enjoying your recipe now and it is amazing!!!! It will become a regular side with me now. Oh, I just cut mine into large florets cause I KNOW that works for me! Added probably 2T water, set my instant pot for one minute, quick release, drain and add all that yummy stuff, used my immersion blender for easy clean up.
Lisa
We enjoyed this! I skipped the thyme, as I don’t care for that flavor. I also cheated, and added some prepared instant mashed potatoes (about 2 servings worth) to thicken it up a bit. and stretch out the servings.
Denise
That’s a great idea to add potatoes to thicken! Glad you enjoyed, Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice review <3
Amy
Could I use frozen cauliflower instead of fresh?
Denise
Hi Amy! I’m sure you could use frozen cauliflower, however I’m unsure on the cook time. You’d probably have to cut the cook time way down since they’d be in florets. I would try 3-5 minutes.
Julie Lynne Brouwer
Do you include the garlic and thyme in the mixture or leave it in the pot?
Denise
Hi Julie, you could do it either way. For these photos I didn’t put the garlic or thyme in when I mashed them and it still had a ton of the flavor. I will update the recipe card with these instructions 🙂
Karla
Hi I’m about to make this!! Looks amazing ?❤️ Just a question how much salt and pepper did you add? I’m not good at calculating ? is it a tablespoon? Thank you! I love your blog btw!! ???
Denise
Hi Karla! I used 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. If you have a really big head of cauliflower you may need to increase it. Hope you enjoy!
Jeanna
this looks delicious! Thank you for providing a link for the non-instant pot users. I see it was originally posted 09-29-14.
Denise
Hi Jeanna! Yes, the original recipe is an oldie but a goodie. I reworked the recipe and technique for this post. Hope you enjoy 🙂