Sweet Potato Soufflé – Immaculate Bites

Sweet Potato Souffle vs. Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole is definitely Southern comfort food. Souffle, I believe, is French comfort food. Combine the two, and you have a soul-satisfying and delicious recipe for any time of year, but especially great for the holidays.

Souffle is fluffed with beaten egg whites, flour, and baking soda, while a casserole is pure mashed sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows or toasted pecans. They are both astonishingly delicious, but the soufflé (like my carrot souffle) is creamier with a lighter texture.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Sweet Potatoes – The principal flavor and bulk contributor to this souffle are mashed sweet potatoes.
2. Eggs – The egg yolks are separated from the whites, then the whites are whipped into a beautiful fluff that gives the souffle its light texture.
3. Brown Sugar – Not only does this sweet ingredient up the flavor factor, but the molasses in it adds minerals.
4. Vanilla Extract – This fabulous flavor enhancer goes so well with desserts and is so easy to make at home. Check out my homemade vanilla extract recipe.
5. Evaporated Milk – The concentrated milk adds creaminess without adding too much extra liquid.
6. Butter – This creamy fat gives any dish an excellent texture and flavor.
7. All-Purpose Flour – Flour helps hold the fluffiness, so it doesn’t collapse.
8. Baking Powder – A leavening agent helps the eggs in their job of fluffing a souffle.
9. Spices – Allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg go so well with sweet potatoes and pumpkin. You can replace them with a pumpkin pie mix, too.

How to Make Sweet Potato Soufflé

Cook the Sweet Potatoes

• Rinse, peel, and cut the sweet potatoes into chunks, then place them in a medium saucepan. Water should cover the potatoes with at least an inch. (Photos 1 & 2)
• Cook the sweet potatoes – Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat. Cook until tender and are easily pierced with a fork—about 12 minutes or more, depending on the size of the potatoes. (Photo 3)
• Finish the potatoes – Drain water and simmer for about 1 minute or until water has evaporated. (Photo 4)
• Alternative – Using leftover baked sweet potatoes. Peel and mash. 😉

Make the Sweet Potato Puree

• Preheat oven to 350℉/177℃.
• Make the sweet potato puree – Place in a large mixing bowl while sweet potatoes are still hot, with brown sugar, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and evaporated milk. Thoroughly mix using a handheld mixer; a stand mixer works just as well. (Photos 5-8)
• Finish the puree – Add melted butter and mix. Follow with the flour, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Continue mixing until smooth and thoroughly blended. (Photos 9-12)

Assembly

• Beat the egg whites – Beat the egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks in a medium bowl. This helps soufflé from being too dense. Do not overbeat. (Oops, I was having so much fun I forgot to take pictures 😬)
• Start to mix – Gently fold in a third of the egg whites to the sweet potato mixture using a large spatula. This initially lightens up the mixture and prepares the batter for the remaining egg whites. (Photos 13 & 14)
• Gently finish mixing – Add the remaining egg whites all at once and gently fold them until barely any white streaks remain. Stop folding. (Photo 15)
• Prepare the baking dishes – Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan (or 3½- to 5-quart casserole or divide it in ramekins). In this recipe, I split the sweet potato soufflé in half. One half I baked in a casserole (about a 2-quart casserole dish) and the rest in ramekins. (Photo 16)
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until well puffed and slightly brown on top. Do not open the oven door for at least 20 minutes to prevent cold air from collapsing the soufflé. The soufflé will deflate slightly when removed from the oven.
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

Alternative Ingredients

1. Sweet Potatoes – Canned sweet potatoes (canned yams) will work. Drain them very well and mash them, then measure four cups of puree. If they’re packed in syrup, you may want to halve the sugar so it’s not too sweet. I know it wouldn’t be a sweet potato souffle, but you could use pumpkin puree, too.
2. Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses mixed in. I don’t worry about having it in my pantry before starting a recipe. Mixing a teaspoon of molasses in a half cup of white sugar will give you the half cup of brown sugar you need.
3. Dairy–Free – Just about any vegan butter replacement will work, and you can use coconut cream to replace the evaporated milk.
4. Gluten-Free – You can replace the flour with all-purpose gluten-free flour.

Tips and Tricks

1. To double the recipe, double all the ingredients. If baking in a larger baking dish, add 20 minutes to the baking time.
2. You can see in the pictures what I love to serve with this scrumptious dish. Homemade Biscuits and Bacon Wrapped Green Beans. Why not go all out on a meat-free night? Oh, wait, bacon doesn’t count.😉 Shhh!
3. While common sense tells us that a recipe with beaten egg whites is not good for a make-ahead, this one defies all logic. Go ahead, and make the recipe all the way up to right before you bake it. Then wrap it up and keep it in the fridge. It will last a few hours, at least giving you time to have it ready to bake later that day or in the morning for breakfast.
4. You can even freeze the unbaked souffle for up to three months. Cover it well with plastic wrap after it cools and put it in the freezer. When ready to bake, thaw it for about eight hours or overnight in the fridge and bake.
5. Leftovers will last in the fridge for three or four days in an airtight container.
6. If you want to freeze leftovers, they should last frozen for about a month in an airtight container.

FAQs

What Else Can I Add?

For a side dish: Crushed pineapple, toasted pecans, and toasted walnuts.

For a dessert: Candied cranberries, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, grated and toasted coconut, and chocolate chips.

More Decadent Sweet Potato Recipes

1. Sweet Potato Casserole – This Southern classic comfort food is topped with crunchy buttery pecan, brown sugar, and toasted gooey mini marshmallows. A creamy, sweet must-have for the holidays.
2. Sweet Potato Bread – Another traditional Southern comfort food that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. This recipe is a great way to use leftover sweet potatoes from your holiday dinner.
3. Candied Sweet Potatoes – Mouthwatering and tender sweet potatoes coated in an aromatic buttery brown sugar glaze with a zesty, citrusy hint of lemon and orange. Is it a side dish or dessert? That is totally up to you.
4. Sweet Potato Pie – Sweet potatoes are the shining star of this dessert. However, the homemade pie crust takes the cake. The decadent filling spiced up with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg makes a special holiday dinner even more incredible.

Watch How to Make It

This blog post was originally published in December 2021 and has been updated with a video.