Loaded Cauliflower & Potato Bake

I don’t know about everyone else, but I am obsessed with potatoes. They are one of my favorite foods in the world. You can put pretty much put anything on them, and they will be yummy!

My favorite part about the holidays is the cheesy potatoes or the creamy buttery mashed potatoes.

I’m pretty much just like, “Pass the potatoes, please!”

I don’t much care about the turkey or the ham (or goose, if that’s your thing).

Potatoes.

I’ll just say this one more time. Potatoes are life.

Now that we have that out of the way, we all know that potatoes aren’t all that friendly when it comes to our waistline. Why, why, WHY? I mean, technically they are a vegetable… They do have a lot of nutrients such as Vitamin C, B6, antioxidants, and fiber. (Eat your skins, kids!)

When prepared healthily, they can be totally nutritious AND delicious.

Now about this recipe. A little, tiny back story on my love/hate relationship with cauliflower. (please don’t hate me)

Right before I got pregnant with little Pepper, I was doing the Whole 30. I made it through two 30 day challenges successfully by preparing cauliflower with basically everything. I ate it like there was no tomorrow. I would always have 3-5 heads of cauliflower in the fridge.

Fast forward to being 8 weeks pregnant with the little bug, preparing to do my third round of whole 30, and being incredibly nauseous all day, and all night. I couldn’t even LOOK at a picture of food without being sick. It was so bad!

I ate french fries, saltines, and peanut butter & jelly religiously for about 12 weeks. It was unreal.

One thing that really grossed me out was cauliflower. I hated the smell more than anything! It continued through my entire pregnancy. I didn’t even want to be in the same room as the stuff.

I finally decided that cauliflower and I needed to become friends again this weekend, because I LOVE a good potato and cauliflower mash. So in conclusion, my friends, the Loaded Potato and Cauliflower Bake was made.

…and it was better than I had ever imagined!

complete with all your mashed potato friends, a little butter, a little sour cream, a little chicken broth, a little parsley ….mmm!

And just for some additional love.. topped with some colby jack, bacon, and green onions.

I challenge you to make this and not tell whoever is eating it that it is 65% cauliflower. I promise they won’t know.

ENJOY!

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Loaded Potato and Cauliflower Bake

The perfect side dish!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8

Author Star

Ingredients

• 1 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes (cut into 1-inch chunks)
• 1 large head of cauliflower (cut into chunks)
• 1/2 cup non fat greek yogurt
• 2 tbs light butter I use Land O' Lakes Butter spread with canola oil
• 3/4 cup chicken broth low sodium, if available
• 3/4 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar
• 8 slices center cut bacon cooked and crumbled
• 1/2 tbs Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup green onions chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large pot, boil your cauliflower and potato pieces until fork tender (mine normally takes about 20-25 minutes). Remove from pot and drain.

3. Put your cauliflower and potato in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, greek yogurt, and seasoned salt.

4. With a potato masher, start mashing your little heart out while adding the chicken broth to get desired consistency. (Some like it chunkier, like me, and some like them as creamy as possible!)
5. When the desired consistency is reached, transfer to your casserole dish and spread evenly.

6. Sprinkle your cheese, followed by your bacon, evenly. Finish with the fresh chives and/or green onions. 

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes

Serving size: 2/3 cup

3 Freestyle Smart Points (calculated using Weight Watchers Recipe Builder) 

4 Smart Points (calculated with WeightWatchers Recipe Builder)
155 Calories 5g Fat, 16g Carbs, 3g Fiber, 3.5g Sugar, 9g Protein (calculated with My Fitness Pal)