Cauli & Celeriac Mash with Onion Rings
This low carb, vegan and Whole30 friendly mash is creamy and flavorful and topped with delicious airfried crispy onion rings! It's the most wonderful healthy side dish!
Oh my, this dish! Talk about comfort food! It's basically like a hug in a bowl for me. I mean, look at it! It's creamy and flavorful and crispy! And on top of things, you know it's healthy as well. Double win? For sure!
I have a huge love for mashed potatoes. I'm talking buttery, milky rich mashed potatoes - not the instant stuff that only resembles a memory of proper mashed potatoes. Homemade mashed potatoes are so yummy! But I guess there are healthier side dishes because let's be honest, it's lots of butter that makes them so creamy and delicious!
So in my never ending kitchen adventures of trying to create comfort food that is actually healthy - and at best low carb - this is my newest favorite side dish! I have made this many times recently because it's healthy, fast and so good! Instead of potatoes, I used a mixture of cauliflower and celeriac. Cauliflower on it's own is quite bland and a bit watery. But in the combination with the celeriac, it creates a really good replacement for mashed potatoes! In case you're not familiar with celeriac, it's the root of celery. Here in Germany that's a very common vegetable to get in the supermarket. Can you get it where you live?
The airfried crispy onion rings are a very important part of this dish. They add a wonderful crunch and lots of flavor to the mash! Now, if you're expecting something like those super oily deep-fried onion rings that are 90 % batter and 10 % onion, then this won't be for you.
But I'll be honest (and this might be a controversial food opinion), I hate onion rings like those. They're so overly greasy and taste like nothing to me! So I wanted to create a healthy airfried version of basically crisped up onion. These are just that! The coating is a mixture of almond meal, nutritional yeast and a little bit of salt. Very simple and not overpowering so you still get to taste the onion. I love it!
Will you make this side dish soon? Or how about my Vegan “Cheesy” Broccoli Bake?
This low carb, vegan and Whole30 friendly mash is creamy and flavorful and topped with delicious airfried crispy onion rings! It's the most wonderful healthy side dish!
- 1 lb cauliflower
- 0.8 lb celeriac
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 small red onions (or one big one)
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/8 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cut cauliflower into pieces.
Peel celeriac and cut into pieces.
Add both to a pressure cooker together with the cup of water and pressure cook on High for 10 minutes. Slow release steam (this will take about 5 minutes).
Add cauliflower and celeriac to a blender together with coconut oil and salt and blend until smooth.
Peel onion(s) and cut into medium-thin slices. Break into individual rings and put aside.
Pour almond milk into a small bowl.
In another small bowl, mix together almond meal, nutritional yeast and salt. Mix well.
Dip onion rings into the almond milk and then into the other mix. Add to an airfryer basket and try to have as little overlapping as possible. Spray with olive oil and airfry at 200°C (392°F) for 8 - 10 minutes.
Add cauliflower & celeriac mash to a bowl and top with the crispy airfried onion rings. Enjoy!
