Name: Keto Duchess "Potatoes"
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces cauliflower florets; 2 cloves garlic; 1/2 cup water; 2 ounces cream cheese, softened; 6 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese; 2 large egg yolks; 1/4 cup coconut flour; 3/4 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp pepper; 1 tbsp butter, melted

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Mashed cauliflower makes a fabulous stand in for potatoes in this classic French side dish. Elegant and keto-friendly Duchess Cauliflower!

Titled image of keto duchess cauliflower potatoes on a white plate, with a platter in the background

Giving yet another shout out to the ever versatile cauliflower. I’ve got a wonderful new keto recipe for you and it’s a perfect and elegant holiday side dish.

Newcomers to keto tend to struggle finding keto side dishes sometimes. If you’re a meat eater, the main dish is pretty easy to figure out. But healthy low carb sides can be a struggle.

It’s just too easy to get stuck in a rut. A fresh green salad one day, some roasted broccoli the next, maybe some cauliflower rice. Rinse and repeat. Yep, I get it. I’ve been there too.

But these keto duchess “potatoes” are bound to shake things up a bit!

Close up shot of keto duchess cauliflower being piped onto parchment paper

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

I’m not going to lie to you and pretend that mashed cauliflower tastes just like mashed potatoes. It doesn’t and quite frankly, it never will. But done right, mashed cauliflower can be as delicious in its own special way.

And it’s a whole lot healthier and less carbalicious than those potatoes!

I have a couple of delicious mashed cauliflower recipes I love. This easy Sour Cream and Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower is so rich and creamy. And Ranch Mashed Cauliflower is tangy and delicious.

And so I figured that with a few tweaks, mashed cauliflower would be wonderful in these keto friendly Duchess Potatoes. But I am struggling because “Duchess Cauliflower” just doesn’t roll of the tongue that well.

Keto mashed cauliflower piped onto parchment paper into beautiful swirls

What are Duchess Potatoes?

Have you ever heard of this tasty side dish? Let’s be honest, it’s really just a fussy way of making making plain mashed potatoes look pretty. And you know only the French could come up with such a thing.

But they really are much more attractive than a mound of potatoes on your plate. Piped and swirled, with a delicious brown crusty exterior and a creamy center.

The potatoes are mixed with egg yolks, butter, seasonings, and sometimes cheese. Then they are piped into fancy swirls and brushed with butter, so that they brown on the edges.

I wasn’t entirely sure I could get them to hold up with cauliflower, since it has less starch and much more moisture than potatoes. It took a bit of experimenting but I am delighted with the results.

A spatula lifting duchess cauliflower potatoes off a baking sheet.

How to make keto duchess “potatoes”

This is a great way to jazz up your mashed cauliflower routine. Here are my best tips for getting it right:

Steam the cauliflower and garlic together until fork tender. This tenderizes both of them so that they can be blended up together. You want to drain them well before proceeding to the next step.
Cauliflower has much more moisture than potatoes do, so it’s important to use both cream cheese and the coconut flour for stability. Otherwise they will simply run out of the piping bag onto the pan.
You want the mixture to be thick enough to pipe and holds its shape. It should hold peaks as you stick a spoon or spatula in and pull it away. If it doesn’t do so, blend in a little more coconut flour.
Line the pan with parchment paper. These would stick badly to an uncovered pan. It also helps to lightly grease the paper, to lift them off later. I just brushed mine with a little avocado oil.
Use an open star tip for piping. You can make your mounds as big or as small as you like but the cooking time will vary depending on size. I made mine about 3 inches in diameter.
Bake for 10 minutes, then brush lightly with melted butter to help them brown and return them to the oven. The mounds are too soft to brush with butter before the first baking.
The mounds do shrink a bit as they bake, because they lose moisture. So expect the final product to be a little smaller when they come out of the oven.

Close up shot of keto duchess cauliflower potatoes on a white plate with parsley

Can you make keto duchess cauliflower potatoes ahead?

You can, but they are definitely best made fresh. I made this whole batch for just my husband and myself, knowing the kids would not be interested. So we ate them as leftovers for a few days, gently warmed up in our toaster oven.

They taste just as good as leftovers but they lose the slightly crispy outside and they become a bit gray in color. So they aren’t as visually appealing.

If you do have leftovers, simply store in an airtight container in the fridge.

More delicious keto side dishes