Eating healthy year round is important to me. Thanksgiving is not a time to stuff fattening foods in your face and feel sick for the next three days. Well for some people it is, but not for my family. We will be having a Vegan Thanksgiving with healthy side dishes. We will have a board game and dessert party at the Grandparents house but overall we will be keeping it simple and healthy this year.
Chickpeas are still my favorite ingredient. This year I came up with the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. And to be honest, eating this Cauliflower side dish with my glazed carrots is my idea of a perfect Thanksgiving meal! Why are Chickpeas so good for you? These legumes are packed with protein and fiber as well as some key vitamins. The liquid that surrounds the chickpeas, sometimes called aquafaba, is almost a magical ingredient and can easily replace an egg white in many recipes.
Make this recipe, it looks just like mashed potatoes (which we all know are terrible for you) and make your Thanksgiving a bit healthier. This year I am thankful for all my friends, family, fellow foodies and all my lovely blog readers. I am thankful for each and every one of you.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of Cauliflower Florets
- 1 can of chickpeas, WITH the water that comes in the can
- 1 medium onion
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Cut your cauliflower florets off your head of cauliflower. You should use about 3 cups worth of florets
- Steam your cauliflower in a steamer on the stove or in the microwave, just till tender, and not mushy.
- Place steamed cauliflower in food processor and puree
- Heat your pan over high heat.
- While pan is heating dice your onion.
- Add your olive oil to your hot pan.
- Saute your onions until brown, stirring often. Add salt and pepper to your onions while they are sauteeing (About 7-10 minutes)
- Pour the entire can of chickpeas and water into the food processor.
- Process the cauliflower and chickpeas with juice for 2 minutes.
- Add your sauteed onions to the food processor.
- Process until smooth.
- You can serve the cauliflower just like this, or you can bake it in a pan at 425 for about 20 minutes. You will get a nice crispy top and you mash will pack a nutritional punch while being a delicious side dish or main course. Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!
Your simple but good for you thanksgiving sounds amazing! Now I just need a food processor!
Do you have a blender? That would also work!
Although I love the butter, cheesy mashed potatoes- this does look like a much lighter and yummy side dish!
your body will thank you for skipping those creamy mashed potatoes!
I’ve been eating healthy and exercising since May, and was a little worried about the upcoming holidays. However, with recipes like this, no need to worry. Yum!
I am sure you will do a great job this Thanksgiving! Even if you splurge a bit, you can easily get back on track.
I am also all for having a good healthy and hearty meal with family – not just stuffing your face with a bunch of junk! Love this recipe. I made cauliflower mash but with roasted garlic and dill. Love that your version also incorporates chickpeas!
I hope you give this cauliflower mash a try! Happy thanksgiving!
I can hardly wait to try your cauliflower mash! I love chickpeas too, so this recipe looks perfect for me. Thanks for sharing.
I know you will love it. I actually made this again yesterday. I put some of the mash in a whole wheat tortilla with some lettuce and tomato and ate that for lunch. It was sooooo good! I hope you enjoy it.