The fluffiest vegetarian soufflé with spinach and cheese makes a beautiful vegetarian main dish. I love making this dish for a special meal's centerpiece, although it's also perfect for a casual weekend dinner.
If you love souffle (and who doesn't?) you'll love this veggie-packed version! Easier than you'd expect, with the simple swap of sweet white rice flour as its base, this beautiful souffle is so fresh and flavorful. I love adding spinach to my souffle, but you can try other varieties (a sweet potato or pumpkin souffle is lovely in fall), and it makes a special centerpiece to any meal. Add a side of roasted cauliflower, or serve slices of quiche with bowls of vegan asparagus soup.
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Why You'll Love Souffle
The souffle featured in this post is inspired by an Alice Waters recipe from her cookbook, The Art of Simple Food. I love a souffle packed with tender baby spinach leaves and lots of Parmesan cheese and served with a crisp salad and roasted potatoes.
- So easy. Look, I get it-making a souffle can feel a bit intimidating! But if you follow along with my instructions, I promise you can make it.
- Pretty. When you take a souffle out of the oven, take a moment to admire its gorgeously puffed top!
- Vegetarian. Most souffles are vegetarian, though some contain bacon or ham. This one is happily vegetarian, relying on fresh veggies for flavor.
What is a Souffle?
A soufflé is a puffed-up French baked egg dish that gets its name from the souffler, meaning to breathe or puff. If a souffle is done right, it will emerge from the oven gloriously fluffy and puffed. Souffles can be made sweet or savory, complicated or simple. I wrote an article for NPR years ago featuring recipes for sweet potato souffle, chocolate soufflé, and strawberry souffle. Check that out if you want to try some other options.
Ingredients Needed
Here's a glance at everything that goes into this souffle recipe, with full ingredient amounts included in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Spinach - I use baby spinach leaves.
- Green onions - Or you can sub 4 thinly sliced cloves of garlic.
- Heavy cream - I don't think there really is a substitute for heavy cream in this recipe - it gives the souffle the beautiful richness that distinguishes it from other egg dishes. In a pinch, you could try half-and-half.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter.
- Parmesan cheese - You can use grated or shredded Parmesan.
- Flour- All-purpose flour forms the base of the roux. Or use sweet rice flour for a gluten-free version.
- Milk - Whole milk is best!
- Eggs - Use large eggs in this recipe. You need 4 egg yolks and 6 egg whites.
- Salt - I always use fine sea salt in my recipes!
What Kind of Eggs are Best for Souffle?
Fresh, large eggs are best! If you have chickens or neighbors who share their freshly laid eggs with you, souffle is a wonderful way to showcase them. That said, any type of egg will work, although try to use eggs that you've purchased recently rather than a carton that has been in the fridge for a while. Make sure to bring the egg whites to room temperature before whipping them for the best results.
How to Make a Vegetarian Souffle
There are more than a few steps for making souffle, but they're not complicated. You can get an idea of how to make this souffle below. Check the recipe card for the detailed instructions.
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 375℉ and butter a 6-cup souffle or gratin dish.
- Wilt spinach: Chop or tear the spinach and steam it until wilted.
- Steep: Put the green onion and cream in a small saucepan over low heat, bring to a boil, then let it steep.
- Make roux: Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in the sweet white rice flour, and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
- Add milk: Whisk in the milk and stir until thick.
- Add cheese: Add the salt and stir in the Parmesan.
- Combine: Stir in the egg yolks, spinach, and cream mixture.
- Beat egg whites: Whisk or beat the egg whites until they form firm peaks.
- Fold: Gently fold ¼ of the whites into the base to lighten it.
- Finish: Gently fold in the remaining whites.
- Add to pan: Scrape the batter into the prepared dish.
- Bake: Place in the oven and bake until golden brown and set.
Souffle Tips
At its heart, souffle-making is a fairly simple endeavor. Good eggs are the most important ingredient here, followed by the advice to bring the egg whites to room temperature before you whip them. You want to get enough air into the whites so that they make the souffle rise nicely, but you don't want to overbeat them, otherwise they can get too dry. A few more tips for souffle are below:
- Use fresh eggs: Use the freshest eggs you can get. This means that those eggs you've had kicking around the refrigerator for a few weeks might not be the best to use in your souffle. If you have laying chickens, you're all set, but for the rest of us, a fresh box from the farmers market or supermarket will work fine.
- Remove all yolks from the whites: When separating the eggs, be careful not to leave even a speck of yolk in the whites. Eggs just out of the refrigerator separate more easily, but make sure to get the whites to room temperature before whipping, as they will whip to a higher volume when not cold. This is important when you're making a souffle because the puffiness comes only from the egg whites.
- Use a clean bowl: Make sure the bowl and beaters are absolutely clean and dry when you start whipping the white.
- Work quickly: Once whipped, work quickly but gently to fold the whites into the souffle base. The goal is to maintain as much airiness as possible before baking.
- Make ahead: You can make the souffle base up to 24 hours in advance of when you plan to bake the completed souffle. Place it in an airtight container in the fridge, then bring it to room temperature along with the egg whites before proceeding with the recipe.
- Don't open the oven door! This is so difficult, but try not to open the oven door to peek at your souffle's progress. I've done this far more than I should admit and have suffered a somewhat deflated souffle.
- Other flavor suggestions: Try different cheeses, other vegetables such as asparagus, red pepper, or pureed sweet potatoes, and fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, and rosemary.
Serving Suggestions
Souffle needs an accompaniment of vegetables, either a crisp salad or a side of greens. As shown in the photos, I love to roast red and white cream potatoes (cut them in half and rub them with olive oil and salt) and sweet potatoes, then add them to a serving of souffle. And a bowl of crisp-caramelized roasted cauliflower and/or broccoli is always welcome.
Or, toss a skinny, spindly bunch of asparagus in a bit of olive oil and salt and roast them for about 20 minutes at 375℉. Souffles are also lovely served with fresh fish such as salmon: slip a pound of salmon into a bath of lemon juice, white wine, and salt and pepper and bake it at 375℉ for about 30 minutes. You could also keep it very simple and serve a souffle with a loaf of crusty, fresh easy dutch oven bread.
Storage & Reheating Options
While a souffle has the best presentation soon after it emerges from the oven, you can save leftovers to enjoy another time! Here's how to do it:
- Fridge - Place leftover souffle in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat - You can reheat the souffle in the microwave in 30-second increments until hot, or gently reheat it in a 350℉ oven until heated through.
Recipe
Gluten Free Souffle
Ingredients
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced and with the green parts discarded
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra for the dish
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons sweet white rice flour
- 1 ⅓ cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 6 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Butter a 6-cup souffle or gratin dish and dust it with a few tablespoons of the Parmesan.
- Chop or tear the spinach finely. In a small frying pan, steam the spinach in a tablespoon of water until wilted, then drain.
- Put the green onion and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring slowly to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.
- Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, stir in the sweet white rice flour, and cook for 1 minute while stirring. Whisk in the milk and stir until it thickens. Add the salt and stir in the remaining Parmesan. Turn off the heat and stir in the egg yolks, spinach, and green onion-cream mixture.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks but are still somewhat soft. Gently fold ¼ of the whites into the base to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining whites.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared dish and bake until golden brown and set, about 1 hour. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Use fresh eggs: Use the freshest eggs you can get. This means that those eggs you've had kicking around the refrigerator for a few weeks might not be the best to use in your souffle. If you have laying chickens, you're all set, but for the rest of us, a fresh box from the farmers market or supermarket will work fine.
- Remove all yolks from the whites: When separating the eggs, be careful not to leave even a speck of yolk in the whites. Eggs just out of the refrigerator separate more easily, but make sure to get the whites to room temperature before whipping, as they will whip to a higher volume when not cold. This is important when you're making a souffle because the puffiness comes only from the egg whites.
- Use a clean bowl: Make sure the bowl and beaters are absolutely clean and dry when you start whipping the white.
- Work quickly: Once whipped, work quickly but gently to fold the whites into the souffle base. The goal is to maintain as much airiness as possible before baking.
- Make ahead: You can make the souffle base up to 24 hours in advance of when you plan to bake the completed souffle. Place it in an airtight container in the fridge, then bring it to room temperature along with the egg whites before proceeding with the recipe.
- Don't open the oven door! This is so difficult, but try not to open the oven door to peek at your souffle's progress. I've done this far more than I should admit and have suffered a somewhat deflated souffle.
- Other flavor suggestions: Try different cheeses, other vegetables such as asparagus, red pepper, or pureed sweet potatoes, and fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, and rosemary.
Helen says
So thorough! You help make it easier for us novices. This is a delicious recipe and so doable due to your clear instructions. Great helpful photos. Couldn’t be more clearly laid out. Thanks!
Lindsay says
That was such a wonderful post. Even on this mid-week, mid-day lunch break I am blanketed by the wholesome, calming, cozy feeling of a sitting down to a Sunday night meal... Sundays are my favorite time to be in the kitchen and now that I am done with grad school and returning to weekends that are my own, I am loving them more than ever!
Anne Zimmerman says
I so want to make a soufffle!
Pam says
There is nothing more lovely than Sunday dinner, and you convey the message well! Can you tell us more about the lovely lady whose picture you posted? She looks like someone I would enjoy knowing!