This easy carrot souffle recipe with a crunchy brown sugar topping is the BEST way to eat your carrots! Perfect for a Thanksgiving vegetable or weeknight side dish, this dish is a light, fluffy way to enjoy carrots at the holidays. It's easy to make in advance, and leftovers heat up beautifully.
Ok, raise your hand if homemade carrot souffle is new to you? It's ok if you raised your hand! This is one of those recipes that is absolutely mandatory for families that know and love it, and a quick hit with folks that try it for the first time.
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Recipe Notes
The gist is: A very similar recipe to sweet potato souffle with a base of carrots and a choose-your-own-adventure pecan topping. Cooked carrots get pureed with eggs, flour, and seasonings, then puff up as they bake under a brown sugar pecan topping.
The result is slightly lighter than a sweet potato casserole with plenty of sweetness but more depth of flavor from the carrots - more savory even though there's plenty of sweetness happening in this recipe.
Sidebar if you're into lighter side dishes, this MICROWAVE sweet potato casserole is full of citrus and insanely delicious.
Timing Pro Tip
This carrot souffle recipe uses both melted and softened butter. If you can, take the butter out of the fridge first thing in the morning or even the night before so it's nice and soft when you're ready to use it - this is especially helpful at Thanksgiving when you may need softened butter for several recipes.
Brown Sugar Pecan Topping
The ingredients for the pecan topping on this souffle are fairly self-explanatory. I use cinnamon and cardamom for extra flavor, but you can skip the spices or only use cinnamon if you prefer.
Combine flour, sugar, very soft butter, pecans, and spices in a bowl.
Use a fork to combine everything well, then set the topping aside while you make the rest of the carrot souffle. I usually do this part while the carrots are boiling, which takes a few minutes.
Ingredients and Ingredient Notes
- Baby carrots make this super simple; but you can use regular carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks
- The butter in this part of the recipe gets melted, so it's fine if you only have a bit softened for the topping.
- Flour, eggs, and baking powder work together to give the souffle lightness and lift.
See the recipe card below for full ingredient list and quantities.
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Boil the baby carrots in a few inches of water until they're very soft - about 15 minutes. This can also be done in advance to save time the day you make the carrot souffle.
Steamed Carrot Variation: If you prefer, you can steam the carrots OR buy bagged frozen or fresh carrots in steamer bags to save even more time.
Step 2: When the carrots are cooked, add them to the bowl of a food processor with the rest of the souffle ingredients.
Step 3: Blend the carrot mixture until very smooth, scraping down the bowl of the food processor a few times if any larger pieces of carrots get stuck.
Step 4: Spread the carrot mixture into a baking dish (9x13 or slightly smaller).
Step 5: Spread the prepped pecan topping all over the top of the souffle - I use a fork for this to be sure there aren't any large clumps. Bake the souffle uncovered at 350F for 50 minutes.
The souffle will puff up in the oven then deflate slightly as it cools, this is normal! Let the dish cool for a few minutes once it comes out of the oven, this is yummy served warm or at room temperature, which makes it perfect for Thanksgiving when it's tough to keep everything hot for serving.
Pro Tips and FAQs
It can be! I serve this as a side dish (similar to sweet potato souffle), but it's sweet enough that you could easily add it to a dessert table if that's your preference.
This recipe isn't gluten free since there is flour in both the carrot mixture and the topping. To make this carrot souffle recipe gluten free, sub the flour for a 1-1 gluten free flour that you enjoy baking with.
Maybe, but you'll need some kind of blender to make the carrot puree nice and smooth. A blender or immersion blender work nicely here, although you may have to puree the mixture in a few batches if you have a small blender typically used for smoothies or sauces.
If that's what you use, mix the individual batches together in a large bowl after blending to be sure the ingredients are evenly distributed, then transfer the mixture to a baking dish.
You can also use a hand mixer to blend the carrot mixture - it'll have a little more texture, but will still be delicious.
What to Serve with Carrot Souffle
I love this as a Thanksgiving side dish, but it's also great as a Sunday dinner side!
Pair this recipe with:
Make Ahead and Leftover Storage
To prep this recipe, boil or steam the carrots in advance and store them in the fridge for a day or two to save time when you make the full dish. You can also make the entire carrot mixture in advance and store it in the fridge, unbaked, for 1 day - more than that and it won't puff up properly in the oven.
Leftovers keep nicely in the fridge for 3-5 days, they're yummy cold or you can microwave them a bit to reheat.
I cannot begin to tell you how much we loved this from the very first time we made it. The flavors are very classically Thanksgiving but the extra lightness from the carrots and warmth from the cardamom in the topping are really, really special.
Enjoy this one!
More Easy Vegetable Side Dishes
Recipe
Carrot Souffle
Equipment
Ingredients
Pecan Topping
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup butter softened to room temperature (½ stick)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
Carrot Souffle
- 2 pounds baby carrots or regular carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup butter melted (1 stick)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- For the topping, combine all ingredients in a bowl and combine with a fork until evenly mixed. Set aside while you make the carrot mixture.
- Boil the carrots in water for 15 minutes or until very soft, then drain. Alternatively, you can steam the carrots if you prefer (see notes above in the main post).
- Add the cooked carrots and the rest of the souffle ingredients to a food processor and puree until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Transfer the carrot mixture to a baking dish (9x13 or slightly smaller works well here).
- Top the carrots with the pecan topping, spreading it evenly over the carrot mixture.
- When ready to bake, bake the carrot souffle at 350F for 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Nicole says
I adore this recipe. It's sweet, it's luscious, and it's EASY.
Ben says
Holy cow, this was good. It's like a carrot version of sweet potato casserole.
Liz says
I have made carrot souffle before but without the topping! After trying your recipe, I will be making it again for Thanksgiving! It's a winner!
Colette says
You can't go wrong with carrot souffle!! Everyone needs to make this recipe sometime and impress their guests at Thanksgiving.
Kate says
This carrot souffle is perfect! Super tasty, and sooo easy. I'll make this recipe again!