Cauliflower Potato Salad (Keto)

This Keto Potato Salad is made with steamed cauliflower instead of potatoes and homemade garlic yogurt sauce for a light side dish to your summer BBQ.

This is simply the best keto potato salad ever. Once you have tried this version, you will not miss potato salad anymore!

Trimming The Cauliflower

First, trim the cauliflower leaves and remove the cauliflower stems. You can use this for a soup recipe later or discard them.

Then, using a sharp knife, cut the cauliflower into bite-sized florets. Follow my cauliflower-cutting tutorial for more details.

Steaming The Cauliflower

The best way to cook cauliflower for cauliflower salad is to steam the cauliflower florets. I don’t recommend boiling the cauliflower florets for a salad.

The vegetables soak up a lot of water in the boiling process, and it makes the salad watery.

There are two options for steaming cauliflower florets for a salad. I used a steamer, but if you don’t have one, your microwave is also a great option.

For full details on how to steam a cauliflower, read my Steamed Cauliflower Recipe.

Using a Steamer

Place the cauliflower florets into a steamer basket and steam for about 8 minutes until fork-tender.

Using a Microwave

Another option is to bring all the florets into a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high-power (900-1,000W) for 5-6 minutes or until fork-tender.

Cool completely before assembling the salad. It takes about 10 minutes at room temperature to cool the cooked cauliflower.

Making The Salad Dressing

Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, combine all the potato salad dressing ingredients: yogurt, mayonnaise, paprika, yellow mustard, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Taste and adjust the sauce, adding more vinegar for a tangy sauce or more salt and pepper if needed.

Assembling The Salad

In a large bowl, add steamed cauliflower florets, finely chopped hard-boiled eggs, parsley, dill pickle cubes, chopped celery, and chopped red onion.

Pour the salad dressing into the bowl and stir to combine.

Refrigerating

Of course, you can serve the salad immediately, but to enjoy all the flavors, refrigerate for at least one hour. This gives the sauce time to flavor the cauliflower, and it makes the salad even more delicious.

I recommend cooking the frozen cauliflower florets for only 3-4 minutes for a potato salad. Then, cool down in a colander and wait until all the water steam out.

However, frozen cauliflower tends to be tender, more watery, and less flavorsome than fresh cauliflower.

So it will work well in a potato mock salad but won’t deliver as much flavor and be a bit softer, slightly mushy as well.

Nutrition Facts

You are probably wondering why is a regular potato salad not keto-friendly.

Or, if you are not on a keto diet, why you should swap potatoes for cauliflower to make a healthy potato salad.

Potatoes are very high in carbs and calories. Compared to potatoes, cauliflower contains:

• Fewer carbs
• Fewer calories
• Is diabetes-friendly

Potatoes nutrition per 100 grams:

• 15 grams of net carbs
• 77 kcal

However, cauliflower contains only:

• 3 grams of net carbs
• 25 kcal

That’s the main reason why recipes often swap potatoes for cauliflower, and also because the texture of steamed cauliflower is very similar to potatoes!

Serving Ideas

This cauliflower salad is delicious when served on its own as a main meal with a squeeze of lemon juice and extra fresh herbs on top.

You can also add some fresh jammy eggs on the top for an even more eggy taste.

You can also make this cauliflower salad ahead and bring it to pot-luck, picnics, and barbecues as a side dish to perfectly cooked grilled meat or seafood.

It pairs very well with my 3-Ingredient Steak Marinade to make a simple summer dinner.

Storage

This cauliflower salad can be stored for up to 4 days in the fridge in a sealed container.

If you used frozen cauliflower, you can’t freeze the salad again, or it would become watery.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve listed below the answers to the most common questions about this recipe.

Have you made this cauliflower potato salad recipe? Comment or review below to connect with me and let me know if you love this recipe!