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Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

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Light and fluffy cauliflower mashed potatoes that go great alongside your favorite fall meals.

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Fall is definitely making its entrance these days with the shortened days and cooler temps!

Our nightly dinner menu seems to be following suit. We have been eating lots of soups, pumpkin this and that, and my personal fav roast and carrots. We usually just add in some taters with the carrots but I decided to switch things up and go for some cauliflower mashed potatoes.

No regrets here you guys. These cauliflower mashed potatoes can join our roast and carrots dinner any time in the future. They are dee-lish!

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

As the comfort foods begin to hit the table, it’s nice to throw in some yummy healthy alternatives at times just to ease the heavy meals throughout the cold months.

Some of my favorite meals this time of year that are on the lighter side include:

I love this time of year for more than just the food, I promise. But let’s be real, the cozy fall food is just awesome!

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

 

To be honest, I never make the usual kind of mashed potatoes. It’s not that I don’t like them but I just like other stuff over mashed potatoes. The last time I made cauliflower mashed potatoes was a couple years ago for my filet oscar and they were just as amazing with that too!

Hope you find some fun ways to add these to your fall menu because I am pretty sure you are going to love them!!!

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Megan
Light and fluffy cauliflower mashed potatoes that go great alongside your favorite fall meals.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Sides, Vegetable
Cuisine Gluten Free

Ingredients
  

  • 1 head cauliflower broken into florets
  • 4 cloves garlic peeled
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1/4 cup milk any kind
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-2 tablespoons green onions sliced

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add cauliflower florets and boil for 5-8 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.
  • Using a slotted spoon, transfer florets to a food processor. Add garlic, cheese, milk, butter, dill, salt, and pepper. Process until mixture is smooth. Stop and scrape sides a few times.
  • Transfer mashed cauliflower to a bowl and add sliced green onion and stir in.
  • Serve warm.

Notes

Lightly adapted from Eating Well Cookbook "Vegetables: The Essential Reference"

 

Healthy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

 

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Grilled Romaine Salad

Grilled Romaine Salad with Homemade Caesar Dressing

 

Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

Simply Fancy Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

 

Everyday Baked Potato Wedges

Everyday Baked Potato Wedges

Best Creamy Tomato Soup with 5-Minute Homemade Croutons

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The creamiest tomato soup that will have you screaming for more!! The 5-minute homemade croutons are the icing on the cake!

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

I told you I like soup. I really like creamy tomato soup.

I used to vurp at the thought of tomato soup when I was young(er). Am I old? I don’t know how to say that. Okay, when I was a teenager I hated tomato soup. It always confused me because I love tomatoes sooo so much. I like tomatoes so much I have converted my husband, the tomato hater, into a non-hater. Yasss! #wifegoals

So my favorite tomato soup is from Panera and IMO this soup closely resembles that soup. #foodbloggergoals!

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

This soup just screams fall and is definitely worthy of fitting into your “10 recipe rotation” if ya know what I mean.

I made a tomato soup a couple years ago for the blog but for as much as I love a good tomato soup it needed some updates and improvements.

Our family totally fits into that “let’s dunk it” kind of group. We will grab whatever bread is around and make a sandwich, toast some garlic bread, or as a last resort load it with cheese! However, this time I really wanted the soup to be the main course and didn’t want to bother making sandwiches…call it lazy.

Then I remembered about some amazingly easy croutons I made last year when I was a Pampered Chef consultant and they have this recipe for 5-minute croutons made in the microwave. OMG! They are awesome!

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

They really just make the soup that much more fun! I mean homemade croutons!! And in five minutes but no one has to know that. All they need to know is that you are a wizard in the kitchen!

Oh, and lil secret–I bet no one will notice that there are 2 medium carrots in this tomato soup either until you tell them. We’re just rocking it today aren’t we?!

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

Ingredients

Olive Oil
Carrots
Sweet Yellow Onion
Crushed Tomatoes
Large Fresh Tomato
Tomato Paste
Garlic
Vegetable Broth
Heavy Cream
Salt/Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Fresh Basil

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

 

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

Best Creamy Tomato Soup with 5-Minute Homemade Croutons

Megan
The creamiest tomato soup that will have you screaming for more!! The 5-minute homemade croutons are the icing on the cake!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Soup
Servings 4 .5 cups

Ingredients
  

Tomato Soup

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium carrots diced
  • 1 sweet yellow onion chopped
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 large fresh tomato such as beefsteak variety, chopped
  • 5 fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

Croutons

  • 2 cups bakery bread such as sourdough ciabatta, or Italian, cut into 3/4'' - 1'' cubes
  • 1 tablespoon Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions
 

Tomato Soup

  • In a pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add onion and carrots and cook 5-8 minutes or until carrots soften.
  • Add tomato paste and garlic. Stir in until well mixed and cook another minute.
  • Pour in crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, tomato, and fresh basil. Stir mixture together and bring pot to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, covered.
  • With an immersion blender or regular blender, blend soup. Add heavy cream and stir.
  • Serve warm and top with homemade croutons.

Croutons

  • Add bread to a microwaveable baking dish. Pour olive oil over bread and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix together to evenly coat the bread with the oil and seasonings. Microwave on high 4-5 minutes, stopping every minute to stir, until bread is golden brown around the edges.

 

 

 

Best Creamy Tomato Soup

 

More Delicious Soup Recipes

 

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

 

White Adobo Chicken Chili

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Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

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A vegetarian soup that is packed with tons of flavor! It uses frozen veggies in addition to fresh to increase convenience and get dinner on the table quicker. 

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

 

Soups season is on the way!!!

Whether it is officially soup season or not we can still be prepared, right?!! Lately we have been having cool mornings, hot afternoons, and chilly evenings. And that’s enough for me to start thinking about soups for dinner.

I am totally into testing out new soups for the season and freezing the extras right now. Besides, a healthy soup for dinner is the way to go during the cold winter months when I feel like doing nothing past 6pm when it is already pitch black outside. I don’t feel so sluggish after a healthy bowl of soup and yet it is still comforting after shivering all day long. The cold and I don’t always get along very well.

 

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

 

I really love the way this soup is prepared too because although I chop up the ingredients for the mirepoix (combination of onions, carrots, and celery), I use frozen veggies when it’s time to add more to the pot. It’s less hassle and more convenient!

Also, I added quinoa rather than pasta to this minestrone recipe. It stays gluten-free, adds protein, and is totally delicious that way! A complete win-win in my book!

 

Minestrone with Quinoa

 

I also prefer adding kale to this minestrone over spinach. This is my personal opinion, but I feel kale holds up better in a soup even when eating it for leftovers. Plus as I’m sure you already know, kale is just a nutrient powerhouse. It’s packed with Vitamins K, A, and C.

This soup is what I love to call a nutrient dense meal as opposed to energy dense. It only contains 330 Calories per 2 cups but is packed with nutrients.

 

Minestrone with Quinoa

 

Ingredients

Yellow Onion
Carrots
Celery
Mixed Frozen Veggies
Dried Thyme
Fresh Basil
Canned Diced Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Vegetable Broth
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Kale
Great Northern Beans
Quinoa

 

Minestrone with Quinoa

 

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

Minestrone Soup with Quinoa

Megan
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Dairy Free, Gluten Free
Servings 10 cups

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 2 cups mixed frozen veggies including corn, peas, green beans Or you could use some freshly chopped potatoes, zucchini, or squash
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 5 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
  • 28 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 3-15 oz cans vegetable broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups chopped fresh kale
  • 1 can Great Northern beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • Optional toppings: Parmesan cheese
  • Serve with toasted crusty bread like

Instructions
 

Mirepoix

  • In a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add chopped onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until onion has softened.

Add Frozen Veggies, Seasonings, and Broth

  • Add the frozen veggies, dried thyme, and basil leaves and stir in. Cook for another 2 minutes or so.
  • Now add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, vegetable broth, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
  • Stir mixture together well.
  • Increase heat to medium high and bring pot to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes.

Add Kale, Beans, Quinoa & Simmer

  • Meanwhile, chop up the kale and set aside. Once the mixture has simmered for 15 minutes, add the kale, beans, and quinoa to the pot. Keep the pot at a simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.
  • Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8-1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
  • Serve with grated shredded Parmesan cheese on top if desired and toasted crusty bread on the side.

Notes

To keep recipe vegan, omit Parmesan cheese or use vegan cheese.
To keep recipe gluten free, use a gluten free bread on the side or omit.
For the bread, I like using a sourdough or ciabatta bread. I brush olive oil on slices, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and some fresh ground black pepper. Broil on high for 2-4 minutes.

 

 

Minestrone with Quinoa

 

More Delicious Soup Recipes

 

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Creamy Mushroom Soup

 

White Adobo Chicken Chili

White Adobo Chicken Chili

 

Healthy Chicken Enchilada Pot

Healthy Chicken Enchilada Pot