Gluten Free Souffle

4.50 from 2 votes

The fluffiest gluten free souffle with spinach and parmesan cheese makes a beautiful vegetarian main dish. Easily make it gluten-free by using sweet white rice flour in the roux.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: French

Servings: servings

Calories: 362kcal

Author: Nicole Spiridakis

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.

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