Savory Mushroom and Herb Gravy with Cauliflower Potato Mash is like Thanksgiving party in your mouth. It’s another beautiful side dish I wanted to share with you all this holiday season, hands down this may be a new favorite side dish in my household- even for my mashed potato lovin’ man. What I love most about this mushroom gravy is the deep, earthy, bold flavors of the mushrooms and herbs paired with the light, creamy, and fluffy Cauliflower Potato Mash, which is mostly cauliflower and a small amount of potatoes. This veggie side dish is a perfect addition to any holiday table.
You all know I love sneaking in vegetables, especially cauliflower into recipes just like my Cauliflower Pizza Crust. Today the focus is on mashed potatoes getting lower carb and lower fat makeover in comparison to traditional mashed potatoes; and without sacrificing any of the flavor or texture. Literally, throughout this recipe development and massive taste testing (I know, it’s such a hard job right?), I kept saying to myself “wow, this is good!”. Hopefully you, your friends and family will agree and have the same reaction to this deliciousness!
Often times gravy’s are made with loads of butter, flour, heavy cream, and sometimes the drippings from whatever meat was cooked. I’m turning gravy upside down with a gluten-free, non-dairy/vegan friendly and much healthier version of gravy that even the biggest of gravy fans will appreciate and devour with no complaints. This Savory Mushroom and Herb Gravy is loaded with some of my personal favorites when it comes to bold and earthy herbs such as fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme. The three flavors of this herbs together just scream autumnal recipes and holidays to my taste buds. The mushrooms again, are such a wonderful earthy flavor coupled with the other seasonings and red wine in this recipe that take gravy up a notch.
What’s a Cauliflower Potato Mash without it’s counterpart, gravy? One thing I routinely passed on during the holiday meal time was gravy. Since gravy is traditionally made with flour and butter, it’s not such a great combination for someone who lives a gluten free and dairy free lifestyle. This gravy has come to the rescue for my holiday table and hopefully for any of you out there who live gluten free or dairy free. Of course, this gravy is great to share with the whole family and and all your friends who may not be living that lifestyle as well, it’s that good!
TIP // When using red wine in this dish (or any recipes for that matter), use a red wine that you would enjoy drinking. If you can’t drink it, don’t cook with it.
TIP // If you’re not gluten-free, you can simply use regular AP flour. If you’re not vegan, use grass-fed butter. There are many ways to make this recipe work for your tastes.
You’re getting two recipes today which can of course be paired together to create the side dish pictured, or you may use both recipes solo. For example, this Savory Mushroom and Herb Gravy is delicious on anything from tempeh, beans, cooked quinoa, to squash. The Cauliflower Potato Mash is amazing by itself or in my favorite way adding heaps of nutritional yeast for a powerful cheesy flavor without the dairy and also loads of B vitamins. Below, I share more ways to enjoy this Cauliflower Potato Mash other than the mushroom gravy here today.
Cauliflower Potato Mash Toppings |
- Stir-in // nutritional yeast for a non-dairy cheese flavor,
- Dollop // Classic Cashew Cheese on top, or any cheese spread of your choice (be sure it’s organic if it’s dairy)
- Drizzle // fresh olive oil, fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, chives, dill, basil, etc.)
- Base // use this mash as a base instead of rice, pasta, etc. for a lower carb alternative
- McKel’s favorite // drizzle of truffle oil + pinch of truffle salt + fresh rosemary
- 4 cups of white button and baby portobella mushrooms (or assorted), coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup red wine (any kind you would drink)
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons gluten free all-purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill AP)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage
- 1 tablespoons vegan butter/grass-fed butter (optional)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, mined
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the red onion and mushrooms and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the red onions and mushrooms are soft, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the red wine and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Cook until this mixture thickens and most of the liquid is evaporated.
- OPTIONAL // you may puree half of this mushroom mixture in a blender to make this gravy thick, or you may puree all, or none. Add back into the skillet.
- Stir in the vegetable broth, sage, thyme, and fresh rosemary.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the gluten free flour at a time while whisking in the flour until smooth.
- Bring the mixture to a boil followed by reducing the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until thickened.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter (optional) until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Garnish with fresh herbs.
- Pour into a gravy boat or bowl.
- 1 large head of cauliflower
- 2 cups (handfuls) of baby gold/red potatoes
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts (optional)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Cut the cauliflower and potatoes into bite sized pieces, which allows for quicker steaming.
- Steam the cauliflower and potatoes for about 7-10 minutes or until soft in a steamer (or microwave if you don’t have a steamer).
- Put everything into a high speed blender or food processor and pulse until everything is well combined.
- You have a lot of flexibility at this stage- you can pulse for a thicker, chunkier consistency, or you can puree for a very smooth texture, or in between.
- Taste as you go along and adjust your seasonings.
- Serve with Savory Mushroom and Herb Gravy or other toppings.
- Enjoy!
What are your thoughts on using cauliflower as an alternative to mashed potatoes? Share below!
With love and inspiration,
McKel
