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Light and fluffy Whipped Cauliflower Casserole is made extra creamy with goat cheese and thyme. It’s a rich but healthy vegetable side dish with a touch of elegance, meaning it’s the perfect low carb and gluten free casserole recipe to lighten up your holiday meals. But it’s easy enough to add to any weeknight dinner.
An Easy Cauliflower Casserole with Goat Cheese
I know mashed cauliflower has become a popular low carb substitute for mashed potatoes, particularly with the rise in people following keto diets. I’ll be honest, though, I’d rather not think of them as an alternative to taters. It’s really not the same.
But, that being said, I love cauliflower. And I might just love mashed cauliflower even more than mashed potatoes.
If you do it right, it is creamy and fluffy, and can be a blank slate for adding many different flavors. In this recipe, goat cheese adds that tangy flavor you’d expect, but it adds such a velvety texture too. And that little fresh, lemony note from the thyme is just perfect. It’s actually so simple you can make it any day of the week, but it really is worthy of a special meal.
Ingredients
Just a handful of simple ingredients come together to make this fluffy cauliflower casserole. Check out what you’ll need, but be sure to go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full amounts and instructions.
- Cauliflower. One head cut into large florets. It can just be roughly cut and you can keep most of the stem since you will stem and puree it.
- Greek yogurt. Make sure it’s plain, but you can choose whether to use nonfat, low fat, or whole milk yogurt.
- Egg. This helps make the casserole nice and fluffy, but not liquidy.
- Goat cheese. One of those small 4-ounce logs is perfect.
- Salt and pepper.
- Thyme. Fresh is preferred, but dried will work in a pinch. You’ll only need about one-third of the amount.
How to Make the Recipe
It’s really simple. First, preheat your oven to 400°F, and lightly coat a 2-quart casserole dish with oil or cooking spray. Then let’s get started.
Steam the cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower into large florets, discarding the tough stem, and steam over boiling water until very tender. Drain it thoroughly, and allow to cool slightly so that some of the excess moisture evaporates.
Puree until smooth. Place the cauliflower, Greek yogurt, egg, cheese, salt, and pepper into a blender or food processor. Blend it until everything is well-combined and it is nice and smooth.
Bake the casserole. Transfer the cauliflower mixture into the prepared dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. It should be hot all the way through and lightly browned on top. Garnish with more thyme if you like, and then serve.
Storing Leftovers
Wrap your leftover cauliflower casserole tightly with plastic wrap and you can refrigerate it for 2 to 3 days. It can then be unwrapped and reheated in the oven at 350°F right in the casserole dish. If you only have a small amount left, you can transfer it to an airtight storage container and microwave individual servings.
You can even make it in advance. Baked or unbaked the casserole can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days or frozen for up to two months if wrapped well.
If frozen, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. For an unbaked casserole, you’ll want to take it out of the refrigerator while the oven preheats, and you will have to add another 10-15 minutes onto the baking time to get it hot in the middle. If you are reheating it, make sure you give it enough time to get steaming hot.
Serving Suggestions
You can easily whip up this cauliflower casserole with your favorite weeknight meals like Honey Balsamic Steak Bites or Baked Blackened Chicken Breasts.
But there is just something extra-special about this dish that makes it perfect to pair with a Sunday bottom round roast or rotisserie chicken (made easy in the air fryer). And it is especially wonderful with your favorite holiday main dishes like glazed ham or prime rib.
Let’s round it out with some favorite side dishes:
- A roast beef supper is not complete without Gluten Free Yorkshire Pudding and Buttery Peas and Carrots.
- Your low carb holiday meal will be perfect with Bacon Green Beans and Spinach Feta Pinwheels.
- An elegant steak dinner goes nicely with Creamed Spinach and Roasted Asparagus with Hollandaise.
- A classic ham or turkey feast just calls for Scalloped Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole.
Recommended Items
A food processor will do the trick to make this fluffy whipped cauliflower. But for extra creamy results, I like to use my high-powered blender.
We we all know a high-powered blender like the Blendtec makes the most creamy smoothies, it can be used for so much more. Mix up muffin or waffle batter in a flash. Puree velvety smooth soups. And use it for whipped veggie dishes like this one.
I am a Blendtec ambassador, and should you make any purchases through my Blendtec Store link, I will receive a small commission, but that also means you can use the code CUPCAKESANDKALECHIPS to receive 20% off.
Then make these cauliflower recipes
Whipped Cauliflower Gratin with Goat Cheese and Thyme
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 4 oz. goat cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme plus additional thyme leaves for sprinkling on top, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F, and lightly coat a 2 quart casserole dish with oil or cooking spray.
- Cut the cauliflower into large florets, discarding the tough stem, and steam over boiling water until very tender.
- Drain thoroughly, and allow to cool slightly so that some of the excess moisture evaporates.
- Place the cauliflower, Greek yogurt, egg, cheese, salt, and pepper into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.
- Stir in thyme.
- Transfer the cauliflower to the prepared dish.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and browned on top. Sprinkle with additional fresh thyme leaves, if desired.
Did you make this?
Leave a rating below and tag @cupcakesandkalechips on Instagram and hashtag it #cupcakesandkalechips
#CKCchallenge I made this for the March 2023 challenge (GF casseroles) and loved it. Great balance of goat cheese, thyme and cauliflower. Will make again, it is a lovely side dish for spring.
I have made this three times and it’s fabulous. I substituted cream cheese the second time but the goat cheese was better.
I’m so happy to hear that you love the recipe, Kate. It’s one of our favorite side dishes!
This looks really good, but the goat cheese isn’t mentioned in the directions. Pinned.
Never mind! LOL!
Thanks for sharing, Vicky, and no worries… I’m glad you found the goat cheese in the recipe. 😉
I made this with dinner tonight and it was AMAZING. I used herbed goat cheese to add an extra kick and it worked beautifully! For the cauliflower I used steam-in-the-bag frozen, so prep only took five minutes. Extra points for the fact that my kids are currently inhaling their servings. Double win!
SO glad to hear that you enjoyed your dinner, Mandy, and YAY for it being kid-approved, too!
Sounds good, but how is this a gratin though? Doesnt that mean it needs a crust on top? Like breadcrumb/cheese.