Wanting the comfort of mashed potatoes while navigating the GAPS Diet? These creamy whipped white navy beans, smothered in butter and herbs make for a delicious mashed potatoes alternative.

whipped white navy bean gaps diet mashed potatoes with butter and herbs on a plate

Why Eat A Mashed Potatoes Alternative?

Sometimes a comfort food is in order. While potatoes are a satiating part of a traditional/ancestral diet, they are temporarily removed while following the GAPS protocol. This is to allow the digestive system a “break” and speed the rate of gut healing. After following the GAPS diet protocol, our family is able to enjoy potatoes as a regular staple again. However, we still enjoy this delicious (and very potato-like) recipe as part of a regular meal plan.

Soaking Beans (+ Why This Is Important)

Soaking beans and nuts before consuming them helps to remove phytic acid and other compounds that make these food groups more difficult to digest.

Mashed Potatoes Alternative Recipe

Yield: About 6 servings

Mashed Potatoes Alternative- NO CAULIFLOWER

Wanting the comfort of mashed potatoes while navigating the GAPS Diet? These creamy whipped white navy beans, smothered in butter and herbs make for a delicious mashed potatoes alternative.

Ingredients

3 cups dried navy beans, properly soaked (see notes about how to soak beans)
1 tsp sea salt for soaking
1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon each parsley, organic garlic granules, organic onion granules (or to taste)
1 stick grass-fed butter (or to taste)

Instructions

1. Add properly soaked beans (see notes about how to soak beans) and about 6 cups of water to a cooking pot. Ideally, use a lead-free, non-leaching cooking pot or instapot (use crockpot setting).

2. Cook beans until soft. If boiling on the cook top, this may take up to 2 hours. If using a crockpot/instapot, you can cook on low all day or high for about 2 hours.

3. Strain water from cooked beans and add the beans back into the pot.

4. Add 1 stick of butter and blend beans and butter with an immersion blender.

soaked white navy beans and grass fed butter in a bowl with an immersion blender

5. Add herbs and blend.

6. Scoop and serve with an additional pat of butter or herbs and salt to taste.

Notes

How to Soak Beans?

Pour white navy beans into a glass container, such as pyrex (which we use for literally everything!), leaving room for the beans to expand. I recommend filling the container about half full.
Cover the beans completely with water and a few pinches of sea salt or a squeeze of lemon. I add about 1 inch of additional water above the submerged beans.
As the beans soak up water, you may need to add more.
Allow the beans to soak for 12-24 hours.
Strain and rinse the beans with fresh water.

In addition to creamy mashed potatoes, our family also enjoys this recipe as “dumplings” the next day. When my mom tried the dumplings, she said they were indistinguishable from mashed potatoes.

gaps diet mashed potato dumplings — Mashed Potato “Dumplings”

What are your favorite comfort foods with a healthy twist? I’d love to read your ideas below.

Resources

Posts

How to Start an Ancestral Diet (without Overwhelm)?
What is the GAPS Diet? An Easier Explanation
GAPS Diet Meal Plan

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Mashed Potatoes Alternative- NO CAULIFLOWER

Why Eat A Mashed Potatoes Alternative?

Soaking Beans (+ Why This Is Important)

Mashed Potatoes Alternative Recipe