Filled with cheddar cheese and baked in muffins tins, this low carb, gluten-free side dish uses mashed cauliflower instead of potato. A great accompaniment for any healthy meal.
I have to admit, I spent most of my life sadly underestimating cauliflower. I’ve always liked it and it’s been in my vegetable rotation for many years. But for 37 odd years, I had really only eaten it steamed or raw. Maybe in the occasional stir-fry. I had no idea how versatile a vegetable it truly was. It was just the plain white vegetable that graced my plate with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, or sometimes hanging out on the crudite plate, often left behind with the mushrooms while the pepper and carrots got gobbled up. And although I liked it very much and ate it willingly at any time, I didn’t give it much credit for being interesting and adaptable.
And then…I became diabetic. And discovered low carb. And food blogging. Suddenly a whole new world of cauliflower goodness opened up to me. Mashed cauli in place of mashed potatoes? Cauliflower rice? Cauliflower pizza crust? Really, truly, this funny white cruciferous vegetable had so much more going for it than I ever thought.
So when I saw a recipe for Mashed Potato Puffs from Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice, I instantly wondered if I could make them with mashed cauliflower. I wanted to use my Sour Cream & Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower as the base but I knew they’d need something to give them a little more structure. I happened to have a few leftover egg whites, so I decided to whip those to stiff peaks and gently fold that in. And then I baked them similarly to the potato puffs and crossed my fingers.
The outcome, although not exactly like a potato puff, was utterly delicious. Cauli has a higher moisture content than potato, so these were almost like puffy, cheesy mini frittatas. My husband and I loved them and they passed the test with all 3 kids so I’d say they’re a winner.
Please see my Cheesy Cauliflower Puffs on A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine.
Nancy says
Love Cauliflower. I was thinking Appetizers in mini muffin tins. I plan to add a 4 ounce can of diced green chillies (drained) to the mix and serv with a bowl of salsa. My husband said he likes cauliflower better than spinach balls. He was borderline diabetic but not now.
Somany carbs in most appetizers I am bring spinach balls with a yogurt mustard sauce and Cauliflower Chili Muffins with a commercial salsa.
Nancy says
Love Cauliflower. I was thinking Appetizers in mini muffin tins. I plan to add a 4 ounce can of diced green chillies (drained) to the mix and serv with a bowl of salsa. My husband said he likes cauliflower better than spinach balls. He was borderline diabetic but not now.
Somany carbs in most appetizers I am bring spinach balls with a yogurt mustard sauce and Cauliflower Chili Muffins with a commercial salsa.
Maria says
Carolyn, look and sound yummy. Would these freeze well? I generally cook one day for all week, keeping me free to just be lazy and do fun stuff as much as I can 🙂
Carolyn says
I think they are too moist to freeze well, to be honest.
Mel @ Trailing After God says
These look amazing! I need to try some more of these cauliflower recipes. I haven’t yet! Thank you for sharing and the idea!
FrenchSophie says
I don’t have a muffin pan so did them in my regular cake pan (20 or so inches – square shape). Well I wonder if I should have cooked them a bit more (45 minutes though ?)
I thought, but maybe I was wrong, that these puffs would be more dry / hard. Nevertheless, it did a great lunch today ! I used them as a main dishes with some salad on the side 🙂
So thanks Carolyn, I realize now that I like cauliflower but never knew what to do with it !
Deborah says
I thought they would be dryer as well. Mine came out very moist. I’m not sure where I went wrong…
Carolyn says
They are meant to be moist. Not totally wet, but not dry. You just can’t get dry potato-like things with cauliflower. If you want it drier, though, I suggest a tbsp or two of coconut flour.
Barbara says
These look great. I am going to make them tonight with frozen cauliflower I just steamed in the microwave before I saw this. I have the pan too. Yippee! Thanks so much for all your great recipes.
Mary Anna says
Oooh, looks like a giant tater tot. (Sort of. if you squint…) I adored tater tots growing up. This is definitely on my list to try soon – might even do it tonight – I’m making beef carbonnade, and I bet this would go well with it.
Carolyn says
Definitely not as dry as tater tots, but really tasty!
Regan @ Cabot Creamery says
What a great use of a brownie tin (I guess that’s what that is, right?) Kid friendly for sure… and I’m with you on overlooking cauliflower for so long. To me, it was always just the counter balance to broccoli on the veggie tray 😉
Chetana says
Oh! what a great idea to take care of that cauliflower. Really loved that and dying to devour it anytime soon. I love cabbage too. Do you have anything this tasty for cabbage as well?
Eric says
I, too, love your square muffin pan, but, not having one, was wondering whether this could be made in a cast iron pan and then sliced like a pie? Probably have to bake it a bit longer, but that is doable. It could also serve as the base of some sort of savory, deconstructed tart thing-y. Hmmmmmmm…
Carolyn says
Well, that sounds good! I think it’s worth a try but would take longer to bake. Let me know how it turns out!
Isis says
These sound yummy and I am definitely going to try them! Any suggestions on what to serve them with? I’m having chef’s block, lol.
Carolyn says
We had ours with salmon but they’d be great with any meat dishes.
Joshua Hampton says
I love cauliflower. I’m seriously amazed at how versatile that vegetable is, as proven by your recipe.
Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg says
Oh I love cauliflower and I have diabetes as well. I’ll be adding this recipe to my rotation for sure.
Karen says
Thanks for all the great recipes. As to the person asking where the link was, I always have to search on this site. The pale blue is difficult to see for old eyes. Don’t feel bad about not finding it. I wish the links would show up more like the blue above the comment area “Speak Your Mind”. Much easier to see and read. Thanks again for the great recipes, They keep me coming back. ;^)
Angie says
Made these today, they were fantastic!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked them!
Candace @ Cabot says
Holy moly…you are a genius! And I love your square muffin tin thingy. Adding garlic to the steamer when cooking the cauliflower? Brilliant!
Susan Presba-Morris says
That is from Pampered Chef. If you would like one of these they are called the “ultimate brownie pan” available through my website. I use my for turkey or hamburger sliders and of course brownies that everyone loves with edges all the way around.
Enjoy!!!!
Susan Presba-Morris
Pampered Chef Consultant
#649347
Anita at Hungry Couple says
Serious yum! Even with no health issues, I am a life long cauliflower lover and am always looking for new recipe ideas for it. Adding this one to the list! Love the little square tins, by the way. 🙂
Tracy says
Where do i find the actual recipe?
Terri C says
There is a link right above the last photo 🙂
Tracy says
The link is not working for me.
Carolyn says
Where is says “Please see my Cheesy Cauliflower Puffs recipe on A Sweet Life
Lori Hoke says
This only brings up the picture not the recipe for me ..these look so delish 😍
Carolyn says
There is a link above the last photo which says “Please see my…”