This brown sugar sweet potato soufflé is made with three pounds of nutrient and antioxidant-rich sweet potatoes. It has the consistency of a sweet potato pie but this unique side dish is not overly sweet. It’s not quite sweet enough to classify as a dessert. It’s the perfect side to eat at the end of your Thanksgiving meal, to hold you over until dessert. I’d say that it’s one part side dish, one part dessert and 100% delicious.
Customize this brown sugar sweet potato soufflé recipe
I’ve eaten gluten free for almost 15 years and I created this recipe as a substitute for one of my Thanksgiving favorites…pumpkin pie. Over the years, I’ve tried quite a few variations including this one with less sugar so that it tastes more like a sweet side dish rather than a dessert. It’s the perfect subtly sweet side dish to balance out a plate full of savory Thanksgiving dishes.
Here are a few more variations that I’ve tried over the years.
- Adjust the sugar – I like to keep this recipe pretty light on the sugar and save the super sweet flavors for dessert. Decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup if you’d prefer the natural sweetness of the potato to be the star of the show or increase the sugar to 1 cup for a sweeter soufflé. When you’re deciding how much sugar to use, keep in mind that the topping recipe also has sugar so consider leaving the topping off if you increase the amount of sugar in the soufflé.
- If you prefer to use real maple syrup, substitute at about a 1-to-1 ratio. I find maple syrup can be a little sweeter so I use just a little bit less.
- Gluten-free: To make this brown sugar sweet potato soufflé gluten free, simply swap the regular flour for a gluten-free 1-to-1 flour like my favorite Bob’s Redmill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking flour.
- Powdered sugar: If you prefer a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead of the nut topping, add about a tablespoon of powdered sugar to a strainer and gently shake it over the soufflé to create an even dusting of sugar. Make sure you allow the soufflé to cool for 10 minutes or so before adding the sugar. If it’s sprinkled onto the top of a hot soufflé, it will melt and disappear.
- Add a handful of dried cranberries to the topping for festive flavor and color. You can add them in addition to the nuts or in place of the nuts.
- Add carrots for a taste that reminds me of carrot cake. Yum! Here are a few recipe variations with carrots: carrot and sweet potato soufflé recipe and carrot and orange soufflé.
- Swap out the vanilla extract for orange extract or the zest of an orange, for a citrusy flavor that pairs perfectly with the sweet potato.
- The blender or food processor creates a smooth consistency. A hand mixer will also work for this recipe but the texture isn’t quite as smooth.
Looking for more delicious sides?
- Portabella and Green Bean Casserole
- Thanksgiving Mashed Potatoes
- Mom’s Macaroni Salad
- Warm Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Soufflé
This brown sugar sweet potato soufflé is made with three pounds of nutrient and antioxidant-rich sweet potatoes. It has the consistency of a sweet potato pie but this unique side dish is subtly sweet.
Ingredients
Soufflé
- cooking spray
- 5 large sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Substitute for orange extract for a citrus flavor.
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg optional
- ¾ cup brown sugar This makes a pretty sweet soufflé. Reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup for less sweet version.
- 2 tablespoons flour I use a 1-to-1 gluten free baking powder to make this recipe gluten free.
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Topping
- ½ chopped nuts I recommend walnuts or pecans or a mixture of both.
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom and sides of the casserole dish with cooking spray. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes using a fork or a knife and place them on a parchment paper or foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 50 minutes or until tender. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
- Scoop the flesh from the sweet potatoes and add them to a blender or food processor. Add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, spices and brown sugar and process until smooth. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients to the blender and process for a few seconds to combine the wet and dry ingredients. If your blender or food processor isn't big enough to hold the entire mixture you can add all over the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Stir with a large spoon or hand mixer and process the mixture in batches.
- Pour the sweet potato mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
- While the soufflé bakes, make the topping by combining the topping ingredients and stirring with a whisk.
- Once the soufflé has cooked for 50 minutes, remove it from the oven and spread the topping evenly on top. Put the soufflé back in the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
Notes
The blender or food processor creates a smooth consistency but feel free to use a hand mixer instead.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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