This roasted garlic mashed cauliflower with ricotta cheese is one of my favorite creamy, low carb side dishes. Perfect with grilled chicken or seafood as a flavorful accompaniment.
Because this recipe is so simple with limited ingredients, I wanted to go with roasting over boiling the cauliflower. Although boiling can save a little bit of time, it doesn't give the deep, rich flavor you get from roasting. Roasting cauliflower gives it sort of a buttery, nutty flavor that pairs well with the garlic.
The good news is you can roast your garlic cloves in the skin right along with the cauliflower florets. When removed, they should be nice and soft. From there you can just peel them out of the skin and add it to the food processor.
What Ricotta Cheese is Best?
My favorite ricotta cheese brands are Calabro, Liuzzi and Bel Gioioso as they don't contain additives or thickeners. I also notice that the texture is super light and creamy as opposed to grainy. Although the texture doesn't matter as much for this cauliflower ricotta mash, when it's added to things like my Lazy Lasagna you'll really notice a difference.
If you're following a migraine diet, the main ingredients you'd want to stay away from are a lot of gums or carrageenan especially. Whey is ok in ricotta, it's just milk. It's whey protein you want to avoid.
Cooking Tips
The easiest way to get the roasted garlic mashed cauliflower nice and smooth is to use a larger food processor. If using a blender, you'll need to really work the tamper tool to get it blended and smooth throughout. You still want it to be nice and thick, so try to not be tempted to add liquid.
You could also just use a potato masher, but it won't get as smooth and whipped as intended for this recipe.
Other Vegetarian Side Dishes
For other side dishes similar to this ricotta and garlic mashed cauliflower you may like, check out these recipes. I would personally pair this with a simple grilled steak, seared salmon, or with my Creamy Rosemary Chicken.
Chipotle Sweet Potatoes
Creamy Boursin Pasta
Cauliflower "Mac & Cheese"
Broccoli Rice Casserole
Roasted Vegetable Tian
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Ingredients
- 1 large head cauliflower, trimmed into florets (about a 3 pound whole cauliflower)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6-7 garlic cloves, skin on
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: fresh chives for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spread florets and garlic on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes until nicely browned in spots. Remove the garlic from skin (it should be soft and you can just push the inner clove out).
- In a food processor, combine the cauliflower, roasted garlic, ricotta, and butter. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally to make sure it all gets blended. Taste and adjust any seasonings and serve warm.
This was amazing- my husband was so impressed that I could make cauliflower taste so good! Thank you for such a great recipe