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Healthy food meets comfort food when potatoes, garlic, and cauliflower meld into a silky, steamy plump pile of low carb potato perfection! You better believe it’s going to shine next to beef, chicken, pork, or vegetables. And it’s so easy - throw it all into the instant pot while you’re busy doing something else
Mashed potatoes are so creamy and comforting, but I don't often eat them because they are too high in starchy carbs. That's why I've replaced half the potatoes with cauliflower. I know that you’re probably not a big fan of strong cauliflower flavors, and neither am I. It’s not what we want in a creamy, buttery comfort food.
But wait - when you cook the cauliflower along with the potatoes in chicken broth in an Instant Pot something magical happens: the flavors mellow and lose that strong taste. I applied this same technique to my Low Carb Half Calorie Rice. And when you add blended cottage cheese instead of milk, you end up with a thicker mash, AND get a nice dose of protein!
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This is my Fork Tender Pot roast recipe ⬆️ also made in an instant pot!
Here's What You Should Know
- It's got that comfort food flavor, but with less carbs. It’s a “carb smart” recipe, but it’s not a keto recipe.
- You are eating mashed potatoes, but with a sneaky serving of cauliflower that no one will notice (people who eat it can’t believe it contains cauliflower).
- Using the instant pot makes it so easy, you don’t have to worry about checkin up on it to see if it’s done yet. When the IP beeps, then you know. And it will keep warm for you until you’re ready to mash it up.
5 Things You Need to Make Low Carb Mashed Potatoes
Here are the 5 main ingredients you’ll need - plus salt, pepper, and butter (which you might already have on hand).
- Potatoes - I generally use Russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes. I really like making this recipe with red potatoes with some of the skin still on. It makes a lumpy, chunky kind of mashed potato, but some of us like that rustic texture!
- Cauliflower - focus on using the cauliflower florets, and don’t include much cauliflower stem. The stem is kind of tough and tends to have a stronger flavor than the florets.
- Garlic cloves - what I love about this recipe is you don’t have to mince the garlic. Just peel it and maybe cut it into quarters if it’s very large, and add it to the instant pot. It will soften with the other ingredients as the instant pot does its magic.
- Chicken broth - you can use a cup or two of water if you need to and it won’t affect the final product much. But in the instant pot the broth gets infused into the veggies, and I think it helps to tame the strong cauliflower flavors really well.Cottage cheese - This is my secret ingredient for thick and creamy mashed potatoes. if you have plain, nonfat Greek yogurt that can work, but it will have more of a tangy/sour-ish flavor. Cottage cheese is the best for its thickness and mild creaminess, so use that if at all possible.
- Cottage cheese - This is my secret ingredient for thick and creamy mashed potatoes. if you have plain, nonfat Greek yogurt that can work, but it will have more of a tangy/sour-ish flavor. Cottage cheese is the best for its thickness and mild creaminess, so use that if at all possible.
Bottom Line - How Many Net Carbs?
For about 1 cup of low carb mashed potatoes, you will get about 150 calories, 5 g fat, and 7 g protein.
Notice that the grams of carbs is higher than the other macronutrients: 21 g carbs. Regular mashed potatoes have roughly 35 g carbs, so my recipe reduces this by 14 grams, and doubles the amount of protein.
AND with the addition of cauliflower, that gives us 3.8 grams of fiber. We can subtract the fiber from the carbs, leaving us with only 17 grams of net carbs! Remember, these are not keto mashed potatoes, but they are low in carbs.
This can fit very well into a low carb diet - especially if you eat them with even more high fiber vegetables and include protein like chicken, beef, pork chops or fish.
Best Tools for Mashed Potatoes
The main thing you need to make these mashed potatoes is an Instant Pot. Pressure cooking the potatoes, cauliflower, and garlic together is my favorite way to tame that strong cauliflower flavor.
Here's What I Use
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Buy Now → I do not recommend using a food processor or blender for this recipe. Those appliances are a little too powerful! You will lose that creamy texture you’re going for and head straight to “gluey”. This is what happens when potatoes get over-mixed (and we don’t want that!).
See How It's Done 👀
Low carb mashed potatoes are so easy, you barely need a recipe (but I've given you one of course). And while I was at it, I decided to shoot a little video, too. It’s short, so have a look!
Thick and Creamy Mashed Potatoes - Step by Step
Video is fun, but you can scroll through these steps to make it easier. Remember to scroll down to the recipe card for the complete instructions 👇
Step 1. Add cauliflower, potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth to the instant pot.
Step 2. Choose the Manual setting, for 10 minutes.
Step 3. Meanwhile use an immersion blender to blend the cottage cheese until it’s smooth, with no visible curds. Note: a blender can also do the job, but is a little messy.
Step 4. Once the instant pot beeps, release the pressure and drain the veggies in a colander.
Step 5. In a large bowl add the veggies, cottage cheese, and butter. Do a “rough mash” with a potato masher or a big fork. Add some seasoning to taste.
Step 6. Use an immersion blender or a hand held mixer if you want a really smooth, creamy texture.
How to Store Leftovers
One of my favorite things about these potatoes is that they are even better the next day. The flavor becomes a little richer.
And they get even thicker, just like traditional mashed potatoes. Which makes them an excellent candidate for a make ahead side dish for busy weeknight dinners or big family meals when you already have too much on your plate 😜
Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Reheat a full dish in the microwave for 2 minutes at a time, stir gently, and heat for 2 minutes more. Repeat this until the potatoes are heated through.
What to Serve with Low Carb Mashed Potatoes
- Juicy Air Fried Chicken Breast
- Dijon Chicken With Low Carb Mushroom Sauce
- Low Carb Chicken Meatballs
- Fork Tender Pot Roast
Low Carb Mashed Potatoes
Healthy food meets comfort food when potatoes, garlic, and cauliflower meld into a silky, steamy plump pile of low carb potato perfection! You better believe it’s going to shine next to beef, chicken, pork, or vegetables. And it’s so easy - throw it all into the instant pot while you’re busy doing something else.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 generous servings
- Category: sides
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: low carb
Ingredients
- 4 cups chopped cauliflower florets
- 4 cups potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
- 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup Cottage cheese, blended smooth
Instructions
- Put cauliflower, potatoes, garlic, and broth in the Instant Pot.
- Choose the Manual setting, for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile use an immersion blender to blend the cottage cheese until it’s smooth, with no visible curds.
- Once the instant pot beeps, release the pressure and drain the veggies in a colander
- In a large bowl add the veggies, cottage cheese, and butter. Do a “rough mash” with a potato masher or a big fork. Add some seasoning to taste.
- Use the hand held mixer or immersion blender to blend the potatoes until smooth and fluffy. Adjust salt and pepper or add extra seasonings if desired.
Notes
- don't skip the cottage cheese, it's key to thick and fluffy potatoes.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, blend the cottage cheese in a regular blender or food processor.
The carbs are still there, but when mashed potatoes are chilled some of the starch molecules rearrange to form a more resistant starch that your body cannot easily digest. After the potatoes have been chilled thoroughly, you can reheat them and you will still keep the resistant starches.
If you whip or beat the potatoes for too long, they will break down and become too thin. And if you overcook the potatoes, the starch will break down too much and they will have a gummy or gluey texture. Follow the instructions in the recipe card so you can end up with perfect mashed potatoes.
There are several things you can use if you don’t have a potato masher. A big fork can do the job, even though it might make your arm tired! You can also use a hand held mixer, or an immersion blender as shown in the step by step photos above. And I often mash my low carb mashed potatoes in my stand mixer
When you whip or beat the cooked potatoes for too long, the starches will break down and lose their structure completely, leaving you with thin, gluey soup (like I mentioned above).
Refrigerating these low carb mashed potatoes makes them thick like regular mashed potatoes. Plus you can take advantage of those resistant starches. If you need mashed potatoes for a meal but they ended up too thin, adding dry potato flakes could help thicken them up - but that does add extra carbs
It is SO much easier using an Instant Pot, but if you don’t have one you can boil the potato, cauliflower, and garlic just like you would with regular mashed potatoes - in a pot of water on the stove. If you do that, allow the cauliflower to boil for about 5 minutes before adding the potatoes and garlic, since cauliflower has a longer cooking time than potatoes.
What are some Other Low Carb Side Dishes?
Comfort Food, Low Carb Style
This recipe is part of a round up! 🤠 🐎 If you like this recipe, you'll love Best Low Carb Gluten Free Recipes