Carrot Souffle Recipe
This carrot soufflé recipe creates a rich, silky, melt-in-your-mouth side dish perfect for Thanksgiving or as an elegant alternative to sweet potatoes year-round. Simple indulgence worth living for.
What I love most about holiday sides is the warm and delicate yet spicy flavors that grab your taste buds at first bite. While the main dishes are the stars of the show, where would they be without the entire cast of supporting actors?
And this carrot soufflé recipe provides a showstopping side that will make any main more attractive. Besides, soufflé is easier than it sounds with beaten egg whites, flour, milk, and whatever flavor you want, whether savory or sweet. That said, there are a few tips for spectacular results every time.
Secrets to a Perfect Soufflé
Several of you, my dear readers, have asked me what went wrong. I hear you and sympathize with the challenges. I take a shortcut by whisking the eggs whole into the batter and using baking powder to get it to fluff. But if you’re looking for the old-fashioned way, here are a few tips, both from personal experience and wise advice from friends and chefs.
- First and foremost, make sure all your bowls and utensils are clean and dry. The fastest way to ruin light and fluffy egg whites is a little oil residue on the bowl or beaters.
- Bring your ingredients to room temperature before starting the process. Egg whites beat higher and stiffer if they’re not cold.
- Add a pinch of cream of tartar for more stable peaks.
- Whip the eggs to stiff glossy peaks, not dry. Soft peaks will collapse faster, leading to a custardy texture, and dry peaks will be harder to fold in.
- Be careful when folding the rest of the ingredients into the whipped egg whites so they don’t deflate.
- Make sure the base is thick enough. If it seems watery, gently stir in flour a little at a time until it thickens sufficiently.
- Coat the baking dish or dishes with oil, then lightly coat with breadcrumbs so the soufflé can rise more easily.
- Preheat the oven, don’t open the door to peek until it’s done (a window in the oven door is a plus), and serve immediately upon removing it from the oven.
- And finally, bake it long enough to cook through so the eggs aren’t borderline raw.
How to Make Carrot Soufflé
- Peel, chop, and cook the carrots.
- Add the sugar, baking powder, and vanilla extract, and mash with a potato masher until the carrots are pureed. Then stir in the spices.
- Stir in the flour and salt, then fold in the eggs and milk. Add the melted butter, stir well, pour into your soufflé pan, and bake.
Making Ahead and Storage Instructions
Because I’ve taken the easy way out in this recipe, you can mix everything ahead of time, pour it into the greased baking pan, cover, and keep it in the fridge until the next day. Pull it out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking, while the oven is preheating, and bake as usual.
Store leftovers in an airtight Tupper-like container in the fridge for 4-5 days and reheat in the microwave or oven. It will last in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Serving Ideas for Carrot Soufflé
If you would like to serve this as a dessert on Thanksgiving, increase the sugar by ¼ cup. It’s a delicious finish to a roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and homemade cornbread.
More Amazing Holiday Sides
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”NaIcvPWp” upload-date=”2020-11-05T07:14:43.000Z” name=”Carrot Souffle” description=”Rich, fluffy, and oh-so-yummy CARROT SOUFFLE is an elegant crowd-pleasing side dish any time of the year. It literally melts in your mouth and is a perfect alternative to those who aren’t fans of sweet potatoes as a side especially on Thanksgiving. You’ll totally live for this simple indulgence!” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
Carrot Souffle
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) carrots
- ½ cup (100g) brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons (12g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- ½ teaspoon (1-2g) ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5g) grated nutmeg (optional but recommended)
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- ½ cup (118ml) milk or evaporated milk
- ¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted but not sizzling hot
Instructions
- Peel and cut the carrots into chunks, then add them to a medium saucepan. Cover with water by at least an inch, and cook until soft (15-20 minutes). Drain water from the carrots and return the pot to the stove on low heat to dry the excess moisture, being careful not to burn them.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).
- Place the carrots in a large bowl while still hot, then add the brown sugar, baking powder, and vanilla extract and mash into a puree.
- Add the flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix thoroughly.
- Beat the eggs, add them to the batter with the milk, and stir well with a wooden or stainless steel spoon.
- Add the melted butter, and continue mixing until fully combined.
- Spray a 4”x8”×8” casserole or oven-safe dish with non-stick cooking spray, and, optionally, lightly coat with flour. Pour the batter into the dish about ¾ full.
- Bake at 350℉ (180℃) for 30-40 minutes or until fluffed and set.
Tips & Notes:
- Add more flour if needed to thicken the batter if it feels too soupy.
- A soufflé baking dish should be 3-4 inches deep, and you should have ¾-1 inch space between the top of the soufflé and the top of the dish so it has room to rise without overflowing.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Not sure what happened but my consistency was watery before baking. It came out more like a custard. Not sure what I did wrong?
Sorry that happened to you, Dawni. There are a few possible reasons it turned into custard. Since the batter was already liquidy before baking, it wouldn’t have been the oven temperature or underbaking. It could have been that there wasn’t enough flour or too much milk.
Weighing ingredients helps for accurate measuring. But adding a splash of milk if it’s too thick or adding a little more flour if it’s too thin should do the trick.
Hope that helps.
Can this be made dairy free? I have serious dairy allergy
Yes you can. Replace the milk with full fat coconut milk and coconut oil. If you don’t like coconut, try almond milk and a neutral-flavored oil.
OMG! This came out sooo good! Im going to include this carrot soufflé at all my holiday dinners.
woohoo!!!, I am happy that you like it. We gave a sweet Potato Souffle recipe too. I guess you should try it to have another great experience. Thank you
Easy and delicious. I was worried that it would be too sweet but it wasn’t. (I used coconut sugar.)
I’m glad you like it, Tamara. Thank you for stopping by and sharing your tips.
This was just incredible. The most comforting casserole imaginable. The spices and vanilla make it feel like Thanksgiving, but it’s light and airy, and so sweet. I accidentally left out the flour and it still came out wonderfully, so hey! Gluten free, and I wasn’t even trying! LOL! I cut back just a bit on the brown sugar and it was still wonderful sweet. Next time I’ll try with a stevia blend so I can feel a little less guilty about eating the whole thing myself!!
That’s great, Gwen! Thank you for sharing! At least now we know that accidentally leaving out flour still turns out good 😀
Loved this recipe! Wanna make it for thanksgiving tomorrow, I saw instructions for boiling carrots a day ahead…would I mash them also before refrigerating?
Yes that would work.
I used swerve white and brown sugar with the recipe I had. I’m going to try her recipe next.
Hi Sakina!
Using Swerve as a sugar substitute in your carrot soufflé is a great idea, especially if you’re looking for a lower-calorie or lower-glycemic alternative to regular sugar. Swerve is a brand of erythritol, a sugar alcohol that tastes sweet like sugar but doesn’t have the same calories or blood sugar impact.
Enjoy experimenting with the new recipe, and I hope your carrot soufflé turns out deliciously!
Do you have any recommendations on cook time and dish size if I double this recipe? Thanks!
A 9×13 baking dish would work out just fine. Keep the same cooking time.
Hope this helps!
I know this is alternative to sweet potatoes, but could I sub sweet potatoes instead of carrots for a sweet potato souffle? Thanks!
Hi Jen!
It might not have the same consistency but it will work out. Happy Cooking !!!
can i cook this in the oven along with my roast? Will that affect the cook time or the rise?
Hi Liz, I don’t see why not! As long as you have enough space in your oven and your Carrot Souffle is done before your roast, you should be good.