So you probably wonder why I don’t have a mashed cauliflower recipe to replace the traditional holiday mashed potatoes. The reason for that is two-fold:
I use a keto cauliflower sausage walnut stuffing and prefer not to double up on the cauliflower sides.
I had a bad experience with mashed cauliflower last Christmas where me and my guests had a little too much of it and it caused us all to be super bloated.
As such, I have decided to go with a scalloped squash recipe that imitates scalloped mashed potatoes. Like its starchy counterpart, it is time-consuming to make and definitely something I would save for special occasions, but this is a holiday recipe, so that qualifies.
"Screw Potatoes" Scalloped Squash
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot flour mixed with 3 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons fresh time leaves, divided
- 1500g zucchini or patty pan squash, peeled and seeded and sliced into ⅛" rounds
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In large pot, bring water to a boil and add squash. Set timer for 12 minutes. Drain squash. (*Alternatively, you can set the squash to 2 min on steam in an Instant Pot.)
Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x13" baking dish. (*I use coconut oil cooking spray.)
Melt butter in a large skillet pan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the arrowroot flour almond milk slurry until it is evenly combined, and cook for 1 more minute. Gradually pour in the stock, and whisk until combined. Add in the milk, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon thyme, and whisk until combined. Continue cooking for an additional 1-2 minutes until the sauce just barely begins to simmer around the edges of the pan (avoid letting it come to a boil) and thickens. Then remove from heat and set aside.
Spread half of the sliced squash in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Top evenly with half of the cream sauce. Then sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded cheddar cheese over top then all of the Parmesan cheese. Top evenly with the remaining squash slices, the other half of the cream sauce, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. The sauce should be nice and bubbly around the edges. Then remove the foil and bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
Remove from oven and allow to rest 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of thyme and extra Parmesan. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.
I hope you enjoy this keto alternative to scalloped potatoes! If you make it, let me know what you think in the comments and/or share your photos on Instagram, giving me a tag so I can see how it went. Feel free to ask any questions you like in the comments as well. Happy cooking!
