How to Steam Cauliflower in your Instant Pot
How to Make Low Carb Hamburger Helper in the Instant Pot
After steaming the cauliflower, all that’s left to do is saute the meat and make the yummy cheese sauce – and both of these can be done right in the Instant Pot!
And see? Melty, cheesy goodness without turning on your stove or oven!
Is this Low Carb Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger “Mac” Keto?
I have a lot of followers doing keto, and with a simple tweak, this recipe can fit a keto plan! Just simply change the rice flour to almond flour or your favorite keto flour and you will be good to go! And you can also change up the milk to whatever you have on hand!
What are the Container Counts for this 21 Day Fix Cauliflower Cheeseburger Mac?
You get to have a HUGE serving of this Cauliflower Cheeseburger “Mac” – 1/4 of the entire pot – and it counts as 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue and 1 tsp per serving. Which is awesome, except that this dinner is SO good…and I could eat it all in one sitting…but that would be alotta blues!
What are the Weight Watchers Freestyle Points for this Low Carb Hamburger Helper?
Weight Watchers is a little different than the FIX, so you want to use a lower fat cheese…but you can eat this delicious Cauliflower Cheeseburger Mac for only 5 points per serving!
Looking for more Healthy Instant Pot Recipes? Check these out!
31 Days of Healthy Instant Pot Recipes [21 Day Fix | Weight Watchers Freestyle]
Healthy Instant Pot Summer Recipes | 21 Day Fix | Weight Watchers
Healthy Instant Pot Mexican Favorites (21 Day Fix | 80 Day Obsession | Weight Watchers)
Instant Pot Cauliflower Cheeseburger "Mac" | Instant Pot Low Carb Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean grass fed ground beef
- 1 small to medium head of cauliflower green leaves cut off, stem still intact.
- 4 teaspoons rice flour or flour of your choice - almond flour is best for keto
- 4 teaspoons butter vegan butter, or ghee
- 1 cup unsweetened original almond milk or milk of your choice
- 1 1/3 cups shredded cheddar cheese use Daiya or Violife for dairy free!
- Himalayan salt
Instructions
- Place head of cauliflower on trivet and add in one cup of water to the IP. Set to steam for ZERO minutes.
- After pot comes to pressure, it will beep and and turn to warm (since you set it for 0 minutes). You can Quick Release right away.
- Carefully remove cauliflower. Cut into little florets and set aside.
- Drain water from IP and dry completely. Set to saute and add in ground beef. Brown until cooked through. Remove meat and set aside with the cauliflower florets.
- Wipe out IP and add in butter. Melt butter and whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the almond milk, and continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken.
- Once thickened, remove steel pot from IP base (essentially removing the heat) and stir in 1 cup of cheddar cheese until fully melted, adding salt to taste.
- Combine beef, cauliflower, and cheese sauce together and mix well. Top with remaining cheese and place back in the IP on warm. Place cover back on pot until the cheese topping melts and starts to bubble. If necessary, place back on saute for this to happen. Enjoy!
Laura says
Have you ever tried it with fat free or reduced fat cheese? I’m assuming it’d work but sometimes the lower fat versions change the consistency. I’ve made it before with regular cheese and loved it!
Nancylynn says
Yes, that should work just fine! Thanks for your comment and 5⭐ rating!
Andrea says
Hi – Would it work if I bought the cauliflower florets rather than a head of cauliflower and steam them? or even if I bought frozen cauliflower florets and thawed them, could I skip ahead of the steaming step altogether? Busy schedules and trying to reduce time, but also it looks so delicious!
Nancylynn says
Hi! If you buy the microwave steamer bag of florets you can steam the cauliflower in the microwave while you saute the meat! I am all about taking short cuts and saving time when you need to!!
Heather says
Hi, i just discovered your site and this recipe. It was absolutely delicious! My kids (12 & 16) ate it up and asked for more. Next time I’ll double the recipe.
Using up what was in my fridge, I added 1 small yellow onion, half a red bell pepper & half an orange bell pepper. Yum!
Thanks for you recipe & keep ’em coming!
Nancylynn says
Love the extra veggies and fridge clean out! And winning over teenagers is one of the biggest compliments ever, so thank you for sharing that!!
Angela says
This was sooo good. I didn’t expect to love it so much. Someone in the comments suggested adding taco seasoning, and taco sauce in the end. I did thar because I love those things. Such an excellent suggest. I doubled the recipe and used a lb bison and lb beef with heart and liver in the blend (Force of Nature Ancestral Blend). This is a great recipe to bid the flavor of those who don’t like the taste of heart and liver but want the nutritional benefits. For cheese I mostly used sharp cheddar and added in a little bit of Petit Basque sheep cheese because I ran out of cheddar. Definitely adding this one to the rotation. Thank you!
Nancylynn says
Oh wow! Such good modifications and suggestions. Thank you for your comment!
Stephanie Perdomo says
Made this for dinner tonight – tastes amazing.
I did add more seasoning (garlic and onion powder) and extra cheese. I use AP flour and whole milk bc that’s what I add on hand.
I also fried up some bacon, chopped it up and topped our dishes with an extra sprinkle of cheese, bacon and fresh chives. A home run dish!
Nancylynn says
This is all great info for other readers, thank you!
Chrystal Estremera says
How do I portion this for 1200 Cal 21 Day Fix? Im confused lol
Nancylynn says
Take the entire pan and divide it into 4 equal parts. Then count each serving as 1R, 1G, 1B, and 1 tsp.
Autumn says
This is a family favorite! So yummy, so delicious! I can’t believe my kids ask for all this veggie goodness! I was skeptical that having so much cauliflower but it is perfect! We make it in the steamer/oven and it’s delicious!
V says
Can you post the nutritional information? Serving size, calories, fat, carbs ? Thank you in advance!
Nancylynn says
Hi! The nutritional info included on my recipes is for the 21 Day Fix and WW. Other readers have success using MyFitnessPal to calculate calories, etc. Since no two heads of cauliflower are exactly the same it’s hard to say exactly how large the serving is, but you divide the final product into 4 equal portions here- roughly 1 1/2 cups! I hope this helps!
Nina says
Hi, My Fitness Pal or Fitbit didn’t work for me. Any chance you would have cal, carb, fat, protein numbers? We eat this all the time and I would love to track it more properly. Thank you!
Nancylynn says
We are looking to add this to recipes soon- stay tuned!
Muddy says
This is by far the best recipe I have tried during my keto journey. SOOOOOO happy I found this, and steak and eggs or cabbage and sausage was getting old!! I subbed rice flour for almond flour, added an extra tbsp of butter, and I used a 16oz bag of cauliflower pearls instead of a head. I just lined my steamer basket with some parchment paper and dumped the bag of cauliflower in. It came out to 4 – 11 oz servings. Soooooooo good! At 8 NC this is definitely a WINNER for me. Thanks Nancylynn!!!!
Nancylynn says
This is so helpful, thank you!
Emma says
Setting the instant pot to zero min for the cauliflower was not enough…I felt like I was eating it raw. Flavor is very bland and this dish literally just tastes like what it is ground beef and cauliflower.
Nancylynn says
Sorry to hear this recipe didn’t work out for you- thanks for the feedback! Cutting the cauli head in half first and/or setting to 1 min might work in the future if you give it another try.
Bridget Brown says
I wasn’t sure I was going to like this recipe but WOW was I wrong. I will be making this again for sure! It depends on the size of your cauliflower but for me it made 3 and 3/4 cups.
Nancylynn says
YAY! This is awesome! And yes – it definitely does!
Dan says
I made this tonight and it was AWESOME!! I added some taco seasoning to the ground beef to give it a Mexican twist and it was fabulous. Top it with some taco sauce for an extra punch. I will definitely be making this again!
Nancylynn says
Ooooh – I love that you gave it a Mexican twist!! I will be trying that, too!!
Jen says
Do you have a recipe for this that doesn’t use the instant pot?
Nancylynn says
Here’s the original oven version-
https://confessionsofafitfoodie.com/21-day-fix-cauliflower-cheeseburger-mac/
Phyllis says
I used almond flour and almond milk and it didn’t thicken up. What did I do wrong?
Nancylynn says
Almond flour is tricky as a thicker. Are you Keto?
Phyllis says
No, I’m not keto
Misty says
I just made with almond flour and had no problem thickening sauce
Nancylynn says
Nice work, Misty!
Sarah Notaro says
Wonderful recipe! Thanks for posting the keto/vegan substitutes. My husband and I loved it!
Nancylynn says
Thank you – this makes me happy!
amanda says
Hi, can you post the instructions for stove top or slow cooker?
Nancylynn says
Here is a link to the original oven version!
https://confessionsofafitfoodie.com/21-day-fix-cauliflower-cheeseburger-mac/
Annie says
Hi Nancy! I was wondering what the portion size was? Did I miss it? LOVE your recipes!
Nancylynn says
It’s 1/4 of the whole pot! And YAY!
Brittany says
What is a serving size?
Nancylynn says
1/4 of the pot
Somebody says
I’ve noticed this happening all over as i search 4 recipes for my ninja foodie…. Please edit this recipe to say set to zero on the pressure cooker, you can not set steam to zero! Also you’d have no need to vent since when in steam mode vent should be left open!
It really bothers me that ppl dont take the time to write exactly how they do things….. Even as i watched & paused the video over & over to try & clearly see if it was in fact pressure cook setting that allows timing of “zero” I’m still not positive but since this is what I planned 4 dinner this is what ill be doing & I’m hoping like hell that everything will turn out ok!
Cassi says
This recipe is brilliant. My children and I loved it, and I stole the leftovers the following day (my co-workers were ooing and ahhing about how it smelled so good) and it was still good. I used almond flour and used heavy whipping cream to make the rue/cheese sauce and it was so creamy and filling. I will definitely be making this again and again!
Nancylynn says
Ahh!!! I am so happy, Cassi!! Thank you for taking the time to rate and give those Keto friendly swaps so other readers can benefit!! Means so much!!
A says
I’d like to substitute the beed with ground chicken..what do you think?
Nancylynn says
I think it would be great!
Michelle says
Where can you get rice flour ?
Nancylynn says
At any grocery store, but feel free to sub in any flour that works for you!