Faux loaded potato skins? Say what? Yep..not one potato in this recipe…but you’d never know it! Tastes just like loaded potato skins! You know with cheese and sour cream, tomatoes and bacon? But they are healthy, low-carb and low-calorie! ( 64 calories each). Perfect for your super bowl party, game day, pot-luck,..or heck just for lunch! {low-carb, low-calorie, GF, Keto, Vegetarian option}
So how is it possible to have “potato skins” without potatoes? It’s called cauliflower! It’s such a versatile vegetable . Cauliflower itself doesn’t have a ton of taste…it takes on the taste of the ingredients you surround it with. In this case we are baking it up (in a muffin tin) with just a little pepper jack cheese. Creating cauliflower and cheese muffins basically and topping them with all the goodies you would normally find on “loaded potato skins” (cheddar cheese, tomatoes, green onion, sour cream and bacon).
So how does all this work? Cauliflower as a stand in for potatoes? It’s actually quite easy! You use one head of fresh cauliflower and cut it into florets. Give the florets a little wiz around in the blender to create a “rice’ like consistency .( You can read more about that process here (cauliflower mushroom risotto with Parmesan and truffle oil) add the cheese and a couple of eggs, and bake up the cauliflower “muffins” in the oven.
Shortly before the cauliflower muffins are ready to come out the oven you top them with a little cheddar cheese (totally necessary for” potato skins”! IMO). Once the cheese is all bubbly and hot, just take the cauliflower muffins out of the oven and let cool slightly. Then top with a dollop of low-fat sour cream, some diced tomatoes and green onions and a pinch of crumbled bacon.
Keeping these vegetarian is super simple, just substitute veggie bacon for the real bacon ( I used Morningstar Farms brand). Cut up the veggie bacon (with kitchen shears) into super tiny pieces and cook in a frying pan on the stove. I used the tip of my wooden spoon to crush the pieces a bit while they were cooking so they would be more like crumbled bacon.
If you are looking for something healthy to serve /take to the Superbowl party next weekend …gotcha covered! With only about 64 calories per “faux loaded potato skin “(and only 1.6 g carbs ) you can indulge without guilt.
Easy to make, easy to take (to the Superbowl party, pot-luck etc.) easy to serve (no utensils needed) and fun to eat!
and shh…don’t tell the kids there is cauliflower in here!…these taste just like loaded potato skins they won’t even know! and it’s a good way to get them to eat a few extra vegetables. 🙂
- 1 medium size head fresh cauliflower, cut into florets
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup sour cream, reduced fat
- 1 piece of bacon, cut into very small pieces and cooked ( or 2 strips veggie bacon-(like Morningstar Farms)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 tomato, diced
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a standard (12 muffins) muffin tin with non-stick spray. Set aside
- In a blender (or food processor) add approx. 1 cup of cauliflower florets and pulse for approx. 15-20 sec. until the cauliflower is the consistency of rice. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and continue working in batches until you have 2 cups of cauliflower "rice". Add eggs, pepper jack cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly.
- Divide the cauliflower mixture evenly between 12 greased muffin cups (approx 2 Tbsp per muffin cup). Muffin cups will only be ½ full. Bake for 25 min.
- Remove muffin tin from oven and evenly divide cheddar cheese among 12 cups. Return to oven for an additional 5 min. until cheese is melted and bubbly. Let cool for 2-3 minutes.
- Slide a knife around the edges of muffin tin and remove each cauliflower muffin. Top with a dollop of sour cream, bacon (or veggie bacon), green onions and diced tomatoes. Serve warm.
Wow … I’m making these babies