Individual Carrot Soufflé Recipe

If you're looking for a tasty and elegant side dish or light dessert to impress your dinner guests, consider making individual carrot soufflés. This classic French dish is a delicate and airy blend of pureed carrots, eggs, and all-purpose flour, baked until puffy and golden brown.

According to food blogger Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, the light and fluffy texture and sweet, earthy flavor of these soufflés make them the perfect accompaniment to roast beef or roast chicken. They are also sweet enough to stand on their own as a light dessert — Prints recommend topping them with whipped cream or icing sugar if you're going that route! The best part? These individual portions are sure to impress your guests and make for a beautiful presentation on your dinner table.

To make these light little soufflés, you will need some peeled carrots, coarsely diced as well as butter, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and white sugar.

Before starting on the soufflé mixture, you'll want to preheat your oven to 350 F to ensure it's ready when the time comes to bake your individual carrot soufflés. Next, lightly grease six individual ramekins with butter or cooking spray to prevent the soufflés from sticking to the sides.

To prepare the carrots for the soufflé mixture, start by peeling and dicing them into roughly 2-inch pieces. Transfer the diced carrots to a large pot and add enough water to cover them completely. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low and let the carrots simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

Once the carrots are fully cooked, drain them in a colander and allow them to cool for a few minutes. You don't want them to be too hot when you mix them with the rest of the ingredients, as it can cause the soufflé mixture to curdle or become watery.

Once the carrots have cooled down a bit, transfer them to a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher until they are mostly lump-free.

For an even more luxurious soufflé, you can process them in a food processor or blender until smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the processor or blender as needed to ensure the carrots are fully pureed.

At this point, you can begin making the soufflé mixture by combining the pureed carrots with eggs and melted butter, stirring until thoroughly mixed. It helps to whisk the eggs separately before adding them to the carrot mixture.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Sifting the dry ingredients ensures that there are no clumps or lumps in the batter, resulting in a smooth and evenly baked soufflé.

The amount of sugar you add to the mixture will depend on whether you're serving the carrot soufflé as a side dish or as a dessert. If you're making it as a side dish, you'll want to add less sugar to the batter, about ⅓ cup, as the natural sweetness of the carrots will already provide some sweetness. On the other hand, if you're serving the soufflé as a dessert, you can add more sugar to make it sweeter — ½ cup is perfectly enough.

Once you've sifted the dry ingredients together, gradually add the mixture to the pureed carrots and stir until well blended and smooth. You want to make sure there are no lumps in the batter, as this can affect the texture of the soufflé.

The carrot soufflé mixture should be thick and creamy, with no visible chunks of carrots.

Once you've mixed all the ingredients together, divide the carrot mixture evenly among the greased ramekins. You'll want to fill each ramekin about three-quarters of the way full to allow room for the soufflé to rise as it bakes.

Transfer the ramekins onto a baking dish to make them easier to transfer in and out of the oven. Bake the individual carrot soufflés in the preheated oven at 350 F for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are puffed up and golden brown on top. Be sure not to open the oven door too often during baking, as this can cause the soufflés to collapse.

When they're done, remove the baking sheet with the ramekins from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before serving. If serving as a side dish, serve the carrot soufflés as they are. If serving as a dessert, sprinkle the ramekins with sugar or top with a dollop of whipped cream.

These individual carrot soufflés make a beautiful presentation and are sure to impress your guests with their light and airy texture and delicious flavor.