Last night, I decided to get creative. Post-wisdom teeth Matt was in need of something soft and nutritious but tasty for dinner. Enter: Healthy Mashed Potatoes!
These taste like normal mashed potatoes, but there are a few secret ingredients. 
Not only is the nutrition amped up with equal parts mashed cauliflower (you seriously don’t even taste it), but there’s also added protein and fiber from a can of cannellini beans, too! I promise you don’t taste those, either. Matt couldn’t figure out what the secret ingredient was when I asked him!
Matt gave them two thumbs up. His comment? “They taste like normal mashed potatoes.” Win.
Healthy Mashed Potatoes
(Serves 6 to 8 as a side)
Ingredients:
- 1 large head cauliflower
- 4 medium/large potatoes, or an equal amount smaller sized
- Fresh or dried rosemary
- 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Optional variation: 1/2 C skim/low fat milk
Instructions:
1) Slice potatoes into small pieces, chop cauliflower. Put in a large pot full of boiling water; add in a couple sprigs fresh (or a few shakes dry) rosemary and a pinch of salt and pepper. Boil until soft.
2) Drain potatoes and cauliflower; let cool for a few minutes. In a large bowl, use an immersion blender (or mash by hand, or use a blender) to blend together potatoes, cauliflower, and beans.
3) Add the garlic powder, a few more shakes of dried rosemary, salt and pepper to taste, and milk, if desired. Mix and enjoy! Serve warm.
I busted out my immersion blender for the occasion.
This thing still terrifies me. I had images of mashed potatoes on the ceiling (and all over myself).
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and…
What do you know… it worked perfectly! It took me a minute flat to blend everything. So easy and awesome. I need to use this thing more often!
Yum
And since I knew you all would ask (and I was curious myself), I went ahead and calculated the nutritional stats for this recipe (not including the optional milk).
When broken into 7 servings, each serving contains:
- 211 calories, 0.6g fat, 44g carbs, 9.3g fiber, 47mg sodium, 0.9g sugar, 10.3g protein. Not too shabby! Lots of fiber and protein, and it’s also very high in potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and more.
I know it’s not exactly mashed potato weather outside right now, but these would be perfect alongside some BBQ and corn on the cob! Or, you could always bookmark it to save for winter
—
I’m officially on my summer break now! Today will be filled with packing, cleaning, organizing, etc., because Matt and I are headed to the beach tomorrow for the weekend! Saturday is his birthday so we wanted to do a fun getaway He’s feeling better today so we’re hoping that he’ll be okay for the weekend. We planned this trip ages ago and unfortunately, this Tuesday was pretty much the only option for getting his wisdom teeth out or else we would have waited!
I also have plans to bake some Whole Wheat Zesty Lemon Zucchini Muffins today – they will be perfect to bring with us to the beach (and to use up the mass amounts of zucchini in my fridge from the garden at work)!
Have a great Thursday!
These look pretty awesome Anne!
Ok, I am seriously dubious about these since I am a huge mashed potato fan, but I am going to give them a go!
Let me know what you think!
I saw your tweet yesterday about the immersion blender and laughed b/c I am terrified of mine too! I wanted one for so long and now that I have it I’m too scared to use it half the time.
I never thought to add beans! What a great way to sneak in protein!
Yum! I’ve tried a cauliflower/broccoli mash before – they were really good! I like the addition of beans…a nice little kick of protein!
These look awesome and sound so hearty! I’m impressed with all your cooking during your internship – during mine I barely had time to eat!
Trust me, I had a lot of scrambled eggs and toast dinners, haha
I’ve got to second the crowd here – what a great idea to add the beans! I do the potato/cauliflower quite often (and sometimes add a roasted carrot or two). I’m always a fan of sneaking vegetables into my mash!
I’m a fan of sneaking veggies into everything!
holy YUM those look delicious! Last night Rob and I made chorizo with mashed white beans – which also looked and tasted like mashed potatoes! great minds cook alike.
hope matt is feeling better! xoxo
Ooo sounds delicious! So jealous you are in Spain! xo
Great idea! These look amazing
I really love the idea of white beans in mashed potatoes! I wonder how they would be in mashed sweet potatoes– delicious I’m sure!
I bet they would be! You really can’t taste them at all since white beans are so mild
yum! I know I loved mashed potato’s when my wisdom teeth were removed….well I love them now still haha
awesome recipe! I might secretly offer to make the mashed potatoes at thanksgiving this year…
Haha you totally should!
Definitely making those mashed potatoes at some point in the near future! Thanks!
Looks great. I also like mashed turnips. Have fun at the beach.
This sounds great! But you really should try some Himalayan pink salt. I get mine from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com. The flavor is so much better than regular salt! Thanks for sharing this recipe—I can’t wait to try it!
Yum sounds tasty!
Both of these recipes look amazing…I’m kind of bummed I already ate dinner and didn’t have those potatoes!!!!
Ummmmmmm…….. YES.
I love mashed potatoes. I can eat them for a meal. And with this recipe packed with veggies, fiber and protein I really can eat it as a nutritious meal!
That is really clever, Anne! Well done…
I LOVE mashed potatoes. And about the only other major item I have mixed with potatoes is sweet potatoes. NO, I am not being funny. It’s the truth. I do add garam masala, amchur powder, cumin powder, green and red fresh chillies as well as coriander leaves chopped fine. All of these are acceptable to me…but cauliflower! Anyway, I shall try your recipe this weekend and will let you know how it turned out.
I hope you enjoy it!
I’ve heard about using Cauliflower in mac n cheese dishes, this is another great healthy alternative. I especially love the incorporation of beans in the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Anne! Just found this recipe online and my husband and I are making it for dinner! Can’t wait to taste the final dish. : ) Was just getting to read your blog some more and noticed you went to Dickinson College, which is where my husband went to college – he graduated in 2002. Wonder if y’all know each other? Either way, great blog – love your healthy take on recipes.
No way! I bet we do – it’s such a small school and I graduated in 2004… email me his name!