The best flavours of fall come together in this low carb cauliflower and butternut squash casserole. A perfect Thanksgiving side dish.
I’m immensely pleased with myself at the moment. Not just because this is a delicious low carb casserole recipe that I am excited to share with you. And not just because I am ahead of the game here and bringing you a great Thanksgiving side dish with plenty of time to spare.
But because of the photos I managed to get. Okay, so there is nothing earth shattering about the composition or the lighting or the styling. But look closely at the photo of the casserole dished out. Do you see it, do you see it? It’s a little faint, but yes, that is steam rising from the food. I can’t believe I managed to catch that on camera!
This might not seem like a big deal to you, but it sure is to me! I have tried to capture steam rising from my food before and not been even remotely successful. I even did a little reading on how to do it and was discouraged because it seemed beyond my ken. And I am sure this was just pure luck, with the right light and the right dark backdrop.
But when casserole really was hot from the oven and when I inserted the spoon, there was so much gorgeous steam, I had to try to capture it. I got a number of pictures with little whisps here and there but this was the best of the lot.
And it makes what amounts to mashed vegetables look that much more inviting. If I knew what I was doing on Photoshop, I am sure I could have enhanced the effect a little more, but I am happy with it as it is.
Now for the food itself. Butternut squash is such a fall comfort food, but it’s just high carb enough not to be all that good for me. Still, I saw some lovely ones at our local farmer’s market and I had to get one.
Along with a very large head of cauliflower, and I knew they’d be a great combo. Stir in a little Parmesan, cream and dried thyme and you have yourself a delicious low carb dish for Thanksgiving. It made my whole house smell like the holidays.
Cauliflower and Butternut Squash Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed butternut squash
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into florets
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese divided
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- In a large pot or vegetable steamer, steam squash, cauliflower and garlic cloves until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pot.
- Drain vegetables very well in a colander, shaking to remove any excess water, and then transfer half to a food processor. Puree until smooth and transfer to a large bowl, then repeat with remaining vegetables.
- Stir half of the Parmesan, the cream salt, pepper and dried thyme.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Transfer pureed vegetables to a 3 to 4 quart glass or ceramic baking dish and spread out smoothly. Top with remaining Parmesan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Turn broiler on high and broil 5 minutes to brown topping.
- Serve hot.
Denise says
I landed on this recipe while searching for another savory butternut squash recipe to use up the plentiful supply of squash we grew this year here in southwest Georgia. To start, i used one of the small, under-ripe butternut squash that we picked so that they wouldn’t go to waste. They are easy to peel and the flesh is a very pale beige with a very nutty flavor. I use 2 cloves of garlic and one small onion and steamed the vegetables until very tender, about 15 min. Then i pureed them in the food processor with 2 tablespoons of half and half, salt and pepper and 1/2 cup cheddar cheese since i didn’t have enough Parmesan. I omitted the thyme, it’s not my favorite and can easily overpower a recipe in my opinion. I topped the casserole with the other 1/2 cup of cheddar and baked for 30 minutes. This is an excellent way to serve two under used vegetables. Thank you for posting the recipe
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
DonnaL says
Stupid question. Do you use fresh Parmesan or the grated one in the green can?
Thanks
Carolyn says
Fresh parm and I grate it myself.
jewel says
Well first all low-carb Turkey day, and I stole many recipes from your site. But without doubt, this casserole got the most wows from my fam. Thank you for sharing so much knowledge and so many wonderful recipes. You are tops!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
MARY Barton says
I can’t get the directions for the butternut and cauliflower casserole. Link will not open can you post the directions
Carolyn says
Ingredients
4 cups cubed butternut squash
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup cream
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
In a large pot or vegetable steamer, steam squash, cauliflower and garlic cloves until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pot.
Drain vegetables very well in a colander, shaking to remove any excess water, and then transfer half to a food processor. Puree until smooth and transfer to a large bowl, then repeat with remaining vegetables.
Stir half of the Parmesan, the cream salt, pepper and dried thyme.
Preheat oven to 350F. Transfer pureed vegetables to a 3 to 4 quart glass or ceramic baking dish and spread out smoothly. Top with remaining Parmesan and bake for 30 minutes.
Turn broiler on high and broil 5 minutes to brown topping.
Serve hot.
Yield: 12