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| I have fond memories of Twice-Baked Potatoes, but now this Twice-Baked Cauliflower would suit me better! |
(Updated with better photos and a slightly lightened recipe, November 2011.) I'm one of those people who really like cauliflower, and I especially like this dish, possibly in memory of all those twice baked potatoes I ate before I started eating the lower glycemic index way. I remember my mother making them for special occasions, and I'd help scoop out the potato insides and mix them with sour cream, cheese and butter, and lots of cheese sprinkled on top when the potatoes went back in the oven for the second baking. In those days all the Denny siblings considered twice baked potatoes to be the ultimate gourmet treat, something my mother didn't make very often for the twelve (12!) people she was cooking for.
Don't think of the cauliflower in this recipe as just a replacement for potatoes though. This is a great way to prepare cauliflower, whether or not you're a potato eater. I've been re-discovering The Low Carb gourmet by Karen Barnaby and that's where I found this recipe. I did eliminate the butter, reduce the amount of bacon, and used low fat cheddar, cream cheese, and sour cream to make it more South Beach Diet friendly. I made this last night for my brother Mark, his wife Lisa, and two of my nephews and their wives, and it was a hit with everyone (even those who thought they didn't like cauliflower!)
And yes, if you want to be picky, the cauliflower is really boiled, then baked, but I agree with Karen Barnaby that Twice-Baked Cauliflower is a title that really captures the spirit of this dish. Give it a try if you like cauliflower.
Cut up the cauliflower into small pieces and cook in boiling salted water until it's barely soft, then drain and mash the cauliflower, leaving some chunks. (I mash it a few times in the colander and then transfer to a bowl and mash a bit more.)
I know that bacon isn't recommended for the South Beach Diet, but I do use it occasionally in small amounts. This recipe called for 8 pieces, which I cut down to six. I buy the pre-cooked bacon at Costco, and cook it so it's very crisp, then blot well with paper towels, so I get rid of as much of the fat as I can. I think Canadian Bacon would taste great in this if you don't want to use bacon, and it would also be fine with no bacon at all.
Combine the mashed cauliflower, light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.
Put the mixture into a glass casserole dish with a lid that you've sprayed with olive oil or non-stick spray, and top with the low-fat sharp cheddar and the rest of the bacon.
Bake with the lid on at 350F/180C until the mixture is bubbling and all the cheese has melted, about 30-35 minutes. (I take the lid off for the last 5-10 minutes to brown the top a little.
And here's the photo from 2008 when I first updated this recipe with a photo (and obviously I was a lot more into the macro photography look in those days!)
Twice Baked Cauliflower(Makes 6-8 servings; recipe adapted slightly from The Low Carb Gourmet.)
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
4 oz. low fat cream cheese (do not use fat free)
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (do not use fat free)
1/4 cup minced green onions
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (If you only have finely grated Parmesan, use a bit less)
6 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, fat blotted with paper towel and then crumbled
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
(I used Kraft 2% milk sharp cheddar)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Cut out stem and core from cauliflower, and cut into small pieces. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until cauliflower is tender, but not overly soft. Drain well and mash with potato masher, leaving some chunks. Mix in light cream cheese, light sour cream, green onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon.
Spread evenly in a medium-sized glass casserole dish. Sprinkle with low-fat cheddar cheese and reserved bacon. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
South Beach Suggestions:
Even though I lightened this recipe with no butter, less bacon, and less fat due to low fat cheese, light cream cheese, and light sour cream, this recipe is best as a "once-in-a-while" treat for the South Beach Diet since all the fat is saturated fat. With that caution, I think it could be eaten for any phase of the diet. Serve it with lower fat dishes such as Grilled Tuna with Cherry Tomato Salsa or Soy Braised Pot Roast. Cauliflower is very low on the glycemic index, and should be a good choice for any low-glycemic eating plan.
More Tasty Ideas with Cauliflower You Might Enjoy:
(Recipes from other blogs not always South Beach Diet friendly; check ingredients.)
Pureed Cauliflower with Garlic, Parmesan, and Goat Cheese from Kalyn's Kitchen
Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan from Kalyn's Kitchen
"Cauliflower Rice" with Fried Onions and Sumac from Kalyn's Kitchen
Orange Cauliflower Mac-n-Cheese from Food Blogga
Broccoli and Cauliflower Sformatino from The Perfect Pantry
Farro and Roasted Cauliflower Salad from [No Recipes]
(Want even more recipes? I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.)








100 comments:
Kalyn,
That I've got to try.
Absolutely delicious, and I think it'd be a perfect side for any dinner table!
I have everything except the cauliflower: easy to fix THAT.
Bacon makes all taste so much better
Oh this looks and sounds WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for posting I'm totally going to make this. My mouth is watering already!!!!
Let me just add that even if you think you *don't* like cauliflower, you should try it. Or some version of roasted cauliflower... Poor ugly vegetable got such a bad reputation somehow, and your recipe ought to fix that right up. :)
Talk about comfort food! Yum.
Fantastic Kalyn! I love cauliflower too and usually do it 'South Beach mashed potato style'. This is a great new twist that I'll be trying this fall.
I love cauliflower too...actually I love all those vegetabes that people generally tend to hate...broccoli, green beans etc..
I prepare twice baked cauliflower too with indian spices and tomatoes. It's just heavenly!
I'll try your version the next time I'm hankering for some cheese
I LOVE Karen Barnaby! This cauliflower dish sounds too good. I'm going to try this very soon.
This just looks devine. The crust is gorgeous. I prefer dry heat methods of cooking cauliflower anyway and this just looks sooo good!
Oh my! I really love twice baked potatoes with all the fixings--and that's a lovely substitute. And cauliflower is very popular in our house--so perfect!
Sounds sooo good. Will definitely try this. Reminds me of a dish my mother-in-law used to serve using rutabaga so I think you could substitute rutabaga for the cauliflower for a change. (Might want to leave the butter in for that.)
wow, i think i actually drooled on my keyboard! can't wait to try this. and i agree with jeff, bacon makes everything taste better! :)
Thanks everyone. I see I've been too busy teaching school and getting behind on responding to my comments, but never fear, I read them all and appreciate you guys.
Kalyn,
This sounds fantastic. We have some orange cauliflower sitting in the fridge at the moment...but none of the other ingredients (I'm in the opposite situation from where Alanna was when she wrote her comment...), but that's easily remedied. I'm dying to make this!
Genie
The Inadvertent Gardener
This is true comfort food, Kayln!
I think it will work with the ham we are having.
This recipe is a real winner, Kalyn. It's also very flexible - I've made it several times and I don't always have everything in the ingredient list, but you just substitute or make do without. And it's still wonderful. I'm posting the recipe on my blog, and giving you all the credit, though. Thanks so much for another great recipe.
Carolyn, thanks but credit should go to Karen Barnaby. I just adapted her recipe, and I agree, it's totally a winner! You might check out her cookbook. There are so many other interesting recipes, and the book is so old now I bet you can get it on Amazon.com for just a few dollars.
While I don't do the SB diet, I am diabetic and have to watch my carbs. I once tried smashed cauliflower at a restaurant and loved it. Since then, I've tried to find a recipe I liked. I think this is it. It was really great...thanks for sharing it!! I even posted about it on my blog!
I've made a version of this recipe many times. It's better if you use the veggie-flavored cream cheese, the one with chives. I also use frozen cauliflower and it's just as good.
Just wanted to let you know that I've made this a couple of times now and the whole family loves it! Company goes crazy over it and we all eat too much of it! LOL Yes, it's that good!
Nancypants, thanks for letting me know how much you like it. It's one of my own favorites too.
After the last few comments, I realized I should re-post this recipe as one of my Recipe Favorites. Comments before this one are earlier than March 28, 2008, when I reposted the recipe.
I made this on Easter. It was VERY tasty!
Patty, thanks for letting me know you liked it. I made it for Thanksgiving two years ago, and it was a big hit for that too.
That's an excellent recipe. It reminds me of a fully loaded baked potato. But, better for me. :):)
Wow, this looks delicious! My kids will love it, too! Thanks for a great recipe! :)
We don't have 'baking' potatoes here, only the waxy kind so no twice baked...
And this sounds better anyway....
What a great idea!
The dish looks very comforting kalyn!
Siri
That looks great. Can't wait to try it :)
I do love this one. Interesting about your mom and the twice baked potatoes, my mom did the same and oh how we loved them.
That sounds divine! I love cauliflower and have been looking for new ways to prepare it. Thanks!!!
Kalyn, I am a cauliflower's lover too. Like you, I like boiling it first... sometimes I find a very fainted sulfur-alike taste in it; so boiling kind-of helps. This recipe is definiately a keeper!
I try to take care of GI too. It is a good idea to cook cauliflowers instead of potatoes.
Looks lovely...since we are vegetarians- can omit the bacon and add some toasted pita chips for the crunch :)
I am absolutely in love with your Spring header (the eggs and the butterfly)!!
Thanks everyone for the nice comments about this favorite of mine. Nandita, my talented brother Rand is the one who does the headers. He just keeps coming up with good ones every time!
This is an old favourite of mine. One of my favourite versions is this. Not diet ferendly I'm sure but absolutely scrumptious.
You do not have to boil cauliflower in water and you shouldn't as you lose many of the nutrients. Instead use a steamer basket that fits into a regular pan. I also steam frozen cauliflower and broccoli and it is much more tender than it is when it is done in the microwave.
Anonymous, you can definitely use a steamer if you prefer.
Hi, why only low-fat and not fat-free? I don't normally buy anything but FF sour cream and hate to buy different for one recipe unless it just flat won't work with the FF.
I haven't made it with FF sour cream, so I can't say for sure how it would work, but I'm guessing it would be okay. My suggestion to not use fat free is because fat free sour cream usually contains much more sugar than either light or regular sour cream. Since I'm trying to avoid sugar, I prefer light sour cream.
Ah, okay, that makes sense. I didn't even think to check the sugar because I already had the FF in the fridge. When we run out I'll definitely check that out!
Thanks for all your great recipes. You're making this life change to better eating sooooo much easier to handle!
DeAnn, you're welcome! Hope you like this recipe, it's one of my favorites.
I used 2% greek yogurt instead of sour cream and french onion flavored Laughing Cow light instead of cream cheese because that's what I had on hand. It turned out great!
I also used a 2 pound cauliflower (the largest in the store) and it didn't seem like enough after the stalk was discarded. Does anyone know what weight I should use next time?
Ana*Maria, I just use a bag of frozen cauliflower and it makes an 8x8 pan.
Kalyn, this looks amazing!! Can you use the food processor to puree the cauliflower, or is it better mashed with the potato masher?
Erica, I prefer the coarser texture mashed with a potato masher; I think the food processor would turn this into a puree.
I've made this twice now and enjoyed it both times. I omitted the butter, and instead of bacon used Morningstar farms veggie bacon. Next time, I think I can omit the bacon completely as I use Trader Joe's shredded smoked cheese blend. I also eat it as the main course with something green on the side. Great comfort food for Phase 2 of South Beach, especially now that the weather is cold. Thanks Kalyn!
Nicole, so glad you enjoyed it. I really like the idea of using a smoky cheese.
I substitute the cream cheese with Chipotle Laughing Cow - delish!
Great idea! I love hearing how other people adapt the recipes, thanks for sharing!
Great side dish. I think I could eat this as my main meal though:)
This just might be the most delicious incarnation of cauliflower I have ever seen. Who doesn't love twice-baked anything???
Donna
Yum! I love your healthier spins on traditional dishes. I bet I could fool the kids with this into thinking it's mashed or twice-baked potatoes ;)
Donna, I'm pretty sure this is my favorite cauliflower recipe!
Zesty, thanks so much. I do think most kids would gobble this up.
Thank you - I will be trying this one very soon - and then maybe for the holidays. I'm always trying to find different things for my parents visits
I love cauliflower, but dislike most of the recipes I find, especially those for "mock" mashed potatoes. They just don't appeal to me. However, this recipe looks great, and I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing!
Kat, hope you have fun trying it. I can't say enough good things about this recipe.
LBtS, hope you enjoy it! This is definitely a touch above some of the other cauliflower recipes I've tried!
The only thing I've ever made with cauliflower, outside of serving as crudites or steamed, are the "mock" mashed potatoes. And as Lost Between the Spaces above said, not so good. This looks like a good flavorful combo to try.
Hi Amy. Trust me, this is just absolutely delicious! Even my sister-in-law who "hates" cauliflower loved it.
This is so decadent looking, it's hard to believe it's low-fat! I might have to try making a dairy-free version of this so my son can try it.
How dare you wave that cheesy-bacony cauliflower under my nose when I'm going through post-Thanksgiving rich food withdrawls... *L*
Oh, this looks so delicious. Give me a week of soups and salads, then this is going on the menu!
I love cauliflower and this looks awesome.
Jeanette, I would still consider it a bit of a splurge, even though I used all low-fat products. But well worth it. Hope you can figure out a dairy-free version.
CJ, I know, I'm just cruel aren't I? I ate the very last of it for breakfast yesterday, sigh.
We love twice-baked potatoes - but we can't get fluffy baking potatoes here so it just doesn't work. This wood!(With French modifications of course - we don't have lo-fat stuff, so I would use yogurt.....)
Katie, I am fascinated that they don't have fluffy baking potatoes in France. The waxy potatoes are so much better for South Beach. I think this will be great with yogurt; hope you enjoy!
Yum! Talk about comfort food, can't wait to test out this recipe as I too have been a huge fan of twice-baked potatoes since as long as I can remember. Cauliflower is an interesting choice I'd like to try.
Courtney, hope you enjoy it!
This looks fantastic! I now have a use for my HUGE head of cauliflower that has been sat in my kitchen for a few days!
Lauren, wish I had a big head of cauliflower. I'd make this again right away if I did!
I fixed this last night and my wife and I almost ate the whole thing in one sitting. With a salad and a piece of leftover turkey it was a perfect meal. Thanks for another new staple to our menu.
Cauliflower is good especially for those who are in a diet because it is high in fiber that making them harder to digest thus the "full" feeling in the stomach lingers long, but on the other side, mixing it up with other fatty foods like bacon will ruin your diet.
Bill so glad you enjoyed it so much!
Jill if you're not willing to ever, ever eat even a small amount of bacon, then you definitely shouldn't make this. We wouldn't want to "ruin your diet."
Love this idea, Kalyn! :-)
Shirley
Thanks Shirley. This recipe is so delicious. The only problem is that it's hard to stop eating it!
I made a double batch of this on Sunday. So yummy. By Monday night it was all gone. Will make again. Thanks for another great recipe. I paired this with Phase 1 Balsamic Onion Pot roast. Awesome!
Tammy, that sounds like a great dinner. I just bought cauliflower to make it again myself!
HELP!!!! I was planning to make this tonight (for the 3rd glorious time) and just realized my cream cheese was completely molded (the joys of organic). Do you have a substitution idea? I already have my cauliflower in the pot to boil.
I'm sure it is too late now, but if it happens again I might try Laughing Cow Cheese or even goat cheese.
That's so funny. That's exactly what I did. I used a few triangles of garlic herb laughing cow cheese. Thanks! We absolutely love this recipe. I can't convince my kids (they're 4 and 3) yet but I keep trying. :-)
Glad we're on the same wavelength.
Absolutely fabulous! I did microwave the cauliflower, just longer than normal. I also used a food processor, but was careful not to puree it. Thanks for the recipe!
Theresa, glad you enjoyed it!
oh my! this looks delish!
I think I've died and gone to SBD heaven!! I made this for dinner tonight as a side dish to accompany chicken breasts grilled with red peppers and onions. Even the non-dieters in this house loved it! This dish will remain in my regular dinner rotation. Thanks so much for all the good recipes, and please keep'em coming! BTW, the Marinated Flank Steak was also a hit around here!
Mamak, so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
We made this last night and it was delicious...I will not only add to our monthly rotation, but also to my Thanksgiving table. I didn't use as much cheddar since I didn't have much in the house, also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese...YUM!
Also, does it bug you that people look at a recipe and say "oh looks good?" I just don't get it...make the recipe and then comment...oh well, just a minor pet peeve of mine:)
I will definitely be trying this with the head of cally I have in my fridge. I would like to add that you consider subbing out the the sour cream with low fat Greek yogurt. It has many health benefits and I have found that it is almost undetectable as a substitute. Perhaps you may want to drain it a bit in this recipe though. Thanks for the recipe.
Kalyn, I had to tell you that I really liked your recipe and actually went for seconds. The things is as a kid I would refuse to eat cauliflower and even as an adult it's not something that makes it on my shopping list.
I needed a side dish and at a moments notice tossed a head in the shopping cart. Even on the way home I thought to myself what a stupid thing to do. It probably will get all moldy before I do anything.
Once home, I googled Cauliflower recipes and saw your face next to the google post ( your SEO tagging works like a charm) and decided to try your recipe.
Everyone loved it - including me! :) Thanks!
How fun to hear that! I love getting people to like vegetables they had not previously been fans of. (And I'm lucky to have a great web designer to help me with getting my photo to show up in Google.)
OMG this sounds wonderful will be trying it this weekend thanks so much for sharing your great food ideas
I've made this twice and seem to love it even more the second time! AMAZING!! This will forever be a go to side dish in my home. THANK YOU!
Amazing recipe! I didn't have the cream cheese but I had Laughing Cow Swiss wedges and used four of them instead. I also had to substitute the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Amazingly, they all worked out deliciously. Thanks for the great recipe. It will be on my Christmas dinner table.
Joanna, I love the sound of your lighter version; going to try it!
My DIL made this for our Christmas get-together and it was super yummy. I'm going to make it for New Years Day dinner. Bsince I am diabetic and keep my carbs low, this recipe is perfect for me!!
Nana, so glad you enjoyed it!
Mine is in the oven now!! I left put the green onions, but otherwise followed the recipe. Can't wait to try it again!
Mines in the oven right now! Can't wait to try it, it looks delicious
This is SO delicious! Do you have any idea how many calories it has per serving for 6?
Beth, I talk about why I don't provide nutritional information under the FAQ.
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