This vegan mashed cauliflower with kale, onion and mushrooms makes a healthy and delicious side dish any night of the week.

Love mashed potatoes but looking for an alternative? Cauliflower mash makes a great option! Especially this version that’s loaded with kale, mushrooms, onions and garlic for a flavour-packed side everyone will love.

It would be a delicious side dish served with Chickpea Meatloaf or Vegan Stuffed Butternut Squash.

This dish is such a great way to vary your vegetable intake too. Cauliflower is packed with nutrients and this is a delicious way to enjoy it.

If you’re eating less carbs or just trying to include more nutritious plants in your diet, you can also try cauliflower in this Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Soup, Kale and Cauliflower Soup, Vegan Cauliflower Fried Rice and Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad.

Ingredient Notes

This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.

• Cauliflower: You’ll need 1 large head of cauliflower, 2 small ones or about 1.5 kg.
• Olive Oil: To make the recipe oil-free, this can be substituted with broth or water for cooking.
• Garlic: I like to blend whole cloves of garlic into the cauliflower mash and saute additional garlic with the mushrooms and onions.
• Onion: White, yellow or red onion all work.
• Mushrooms: Don’t like mushrooms? No problem. Just leave them out!
• Kale: Also optional or try it with spinach instead.

Cauliflower Seasonings: If you’re just making the mashed cauliflower and not the veggies, try adding nutritional yeast, sour cream or cream cheese, butter or cashew cream when you blend the cauliflower to add creaminess and flavour.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cook the cauliflower. The cauliflower can be boiled, steamed or cooked in an Instant Pot.

To boil the cauliflower, add it to a large pot of boiling water for 6 minutes. To steam, you’ll need about 15 minutes.

Once it’s fork tender, drain it well to remove excess water and then let it sit for 10 minutes.

Quick Tip: Letting the cauliflower stand for 10 minutes allows excess water steam off so you don’t end up with watery mashed cauliflower.

Step 2: Blend the cauliflower. You can blend the cauliflower right in the pot using an immersion bender or transfer it to a high-speed blender or food processor and mix until smooth.

Be careful not to over process the cauliflower and turn it into soup! You can serve the mashed cauliflower now or proceed with the kale, onions and garlic.

Tips: For a cheesy flavour, try adding a 1-3 tbsp nutritional yeast. Other additions that work well are a scoop of dairy-free sour cream or butter.

Step 3: Cook the mushrooms and kale.

You can do this in the same pot you cooked the cauliflower in or use a large skillet.

Add the olive oil, onions, garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened an starting to brown. Stir in the kale and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Quick Tip: For an oil-free recipe, use water or broth to saute instead of oil.

Step 4: Combine the veggies and mashed cauliflower.

You can either add the mashed cauliflower to the skillet and mix everything together or transfer everything to serving container and mix. Once it’s all mixed up, it’s ready to serve!

Quick Tip: Try it served with a few pats of vegan butter and a generous sprinkle of fresh chopped chives, parsley or scallions.

Notes & Tips

For a more traditional mashed potato-style cauliflower, skip the kale and mushrooms and simple blend the cooked cauliflower with 1-2 tbsp vegan butter, garlic and salt to taste. You could even use this version as the topping for vegan lentil shepherd’s pie.

For an amazing comforting meal, serve mashed cauliflower alongside this chickpea meatloaf or nut roast with vegan mushroom gravy.

Storing

• Let cool before storing.
• Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days and reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through.

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.

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Originally published March 28, 2016.