I love to serve easy and elegant side dishes with my meals, such as candied sweet potatoes, corn pudding and this show stopping carrot souffle. This is the absolute best way to enjoy carrots!
Have you ever tried a carrot souffle? If not, you’re totally missing out! This dish takes carrots to the next level, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.
How to cook carrots
This recipe starts with cooked carrots, which you can either boil or steam. To boil the carrots, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add peeled and sliced carrots, then cook for 15-18 minutes or until carrots are very soft. To steam your carrots, place one inch of water in a pot and bring to a boil. Place the carrots in the pot and cover the pot. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender. Drain the water away and you have cooked carrots ready to use in souffle.
How do you make carrot souffle?
Place cooked carrots in the bowl of a food processor along with butter, eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Puree to combine the ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder and sugar, then pulse until just combined. Spread the carrot mixture into a baking dish, then bake until browned and cooked through.
Tips for the perfect souffle
I find that a food processor provides the smoothest texture for this souffle. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender, or simply mash your carrots by hand. If you choose to mash the carrots by hand, the souffle will have a coarser texture but will still be delicious. This dish can be prepared up to 24 hours before you plan to bake it. Store the unbaked souffle covered in the refrigerator, then bake as directed. You may need to add a few more minutes to the bake time to compensate for starting with a cold dish. Carrot souffle can be served as a side dish or as a dessert. I’ve written this recipe to have a moderate level of sweetness, which works well as a side dish. If you’d like to serve it as a dessert, you can add 1/4 cup more granulated sugar, then top the finished souffle with powdered sugar before serving. Fresh or frozen carrots both work just fine in this recipe. I love to serve this recipe as a side dish at Easter along with other spring time delights such as Easter ham, peanut butter eggs and roasted green beans.
Carrot Souffle Flavor Variations
While this carrot casserole is delicious as-is, you can add other ingredients to the mix to customize it to your tastes.
Flavorings: Amp up the flavor with the addition of minced crystallized ginger, pumpkin pie spice or orange zest. Toppings: Add a brown sugar streusel topping, chopped pecans or miniature marshmallows to make your souffle extra special. Veggies: Swap out the carrots for a different vegetable such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, butternut squash or kabocha squash.
This souffle is a must-try recipe. It’s great for the holidays, or for any time when you want to dress up regular old carrots into something extraordinary.
More side dishes to savor
Roasted Root Vegetables Corn Fritters Angel Hair Pasta Bacon Baked Beans Baked Potato Wedges
Carrot Souffle Video
