Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Sweet Potato Soufflés – Even Easier Than Easy

Soufflés have always had the reputation for being a difficult, and temperamental thing to make, which I’ve never really understood. As long as you can manage to whip some egg whites, and fold them into your batter without knocking all the air out, there’s really not much that can go wrong. 

And that’s with the traditional method, which requires making a saucy base first. These soufflés are even easier than that, since mashed sweet potato is the base. I like to microwave my sweet potatoes, mostly because it’s faster, but you can certainly roast them in a 375 F. oven instead. Just prick them as shown, and bake for as long as it takes to get them very soft. I’d love to give you a time, but that depends on the size.

I kept these very plain, so as not to distract you, but you can add all sorts of things. Cheese, bacon, and herbs, just to name a few. And that’s for savory applications, since these will also shine as a dessert. Just add some maple syrup or brown sugar to the mashed potatoes, to taste, along with appropriate spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, and you'll be in for quite the seasonal treat. But, no matter how you flavor these, or which course you serve them, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 to 6 Sweet Potato Soufflés:
2 teaspoon room temp butter to grease ramekins (mine were 5 oz. size)
4 large room temperature eggs, separated
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
pinch of cayenne
1/4 cup milk                                                 
crispy fried sage leaves to garnish, optional

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Would these still be good the next day?

quiet mike said...

Fantastic.

quiet mike said...

Fantastic.

Yumi Shiraishi said...

Chef John, love love loooove your videos. Although I do have one teensy big request — Closed Captions in other global languages. Some YouTube chefs have their subscribers submit translations for them to use it for CC’s on their channel. Could you please consider doing so?

Unknown said...

I have been dreaming of this recipe for years as Southern sweet potato souffle served at Thanksgiving is not a souffle at all. Thank you for making so many of my culinary dreams come true. I will definitely try this recipe.

Mike said...

I plan on making these tomorrow to go with Berkshire pork chops (looking forward to that, too :) but only cooking for two. Any changes needed if I half this recipe? Thanks. PS: I’ve been faithfully watching and reading for several years now and have learned a lot in a very enjoyable way.

Niki Baker said...

Yum!! It looks so good! I like to measure and your "splash" of milk looks like more than I would consider a splash. About how much do you think you added? Or should I just add it until the texture looks right? Thanks for all your recipe videos.... they have led me to try many things I wouldn't have thought I could do. :)

Laurie said...

What changes in cooking time would you suggest if you want to use a large soufflé dish instead of individual ramekins?

Laurie said...

What changes in cooking time would you suggest if you want to use a large soufflé dish instead of individual ramekins?

Unknown said...

Hello Chef John - I'm glad I checked this Blog because I was loving your Sweet Potato Souffle video on you tube, but I was hankering for a little sweetness and spice. I think I'll add this to my Thanksgiving menu. Thank you.

Sullivanspapa said...

does Chef Bobby have daughter named Sue?

Pyrofish said...

This reminds me of your asparagus souffle which was a huge hit with my wife and me. This one, the kids might actually try! Thanks again Chef John!

DAVID HESTER said...

John I made this tonight for a dinner party with my friends and it turned out fantastic. Yet again you prove that you are the champion of high quality educational food media.

Next time I'll add roasted apples and pancetta to the base

gmass said...

Out of curiosity, if you were gonna make a BUNCH on these for a party, 1) can you use a cupcake pan? and 2) can you make the batter ahead of time and then throw in the oven when needed?

Nick said...

Chef John, is there a way to make them the day before Thanksgiving to be served with the meal?

Unknown said...

Trying this one tonight. Thanks Chef John and Thank you for taking the "Fear out of Souffles!

Unknown said...

This sounds fantastic! Would you mind sharing how you fry sage leaves though?

Chuckles Hamman said...

Just finished eating my first batch. Shockingly, they looked just like CJ’s. I added a touch of cinnamon and sugar in the raw. After all, I am the Bobby Flay of my soufflé.

Seriously, this was so good. Sweet, light, airy, perfect.

This was my first soufflé. I’m scared to make another because this sets the bar very high.

On the behalf of the entire internet, Chef John, thank you for making our lives better by teaching us how to make such delicious food.

Unknown said...

I'm making these now. Thanks for the recipe, CJ!

Unknown said...

John, what size ramekins were those?...4oz or 6oz? Thanks!

Unknown said...

John, what size ramekins were those?...4oz or 6oz? Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi! Do you have a link to the full recipe? Thanks!

Michael C said...

I made these today for Thanksgiving. The recipe is a great base, and you can make them either sweet or savory (including adding grated parm and garlic powder. I did them semi savory/semi sweet, I used a pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp each of ginger and cinnamon, a drizzle of maple syrup and 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper. None of the spices overwhelmed the sweet potatoes at all IMHO, these were the best part of my dinner tonight. Thanks Chef John.

Mike said...

Mike, you will not be disappointed in your Berkshire chops! Simply pork the way in was before it became “the other white meat.” Don 9vercook it. Just pink is awesome!

Anonymous said...

Another triumph, Chef John! I wish I could post my pic - excellent with herbed, grilled lamb chops and green beans. ❤❤❤