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Carrot Souffle is sweet, soft and fluffy with a nutty crunch top. It’s perfect to go with any roast or grilled protein (turkey, chicken, beef, lamb), and really complements a holiday dinner.
Long ago, in a galaxy right here, a famous restaurant named Chasen’s fed film stars, entertainers, politicians and other elite and A-listers fancy food. In fact, it was the site of the Academy Awards party for many years.
Celebs the likes of Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Alfred Hitchcock and Groucho Marx had their own booths at 9039 Beverly Blvd. It was that kind of place.
If you’ve heard of it, it’s probably because of the now-legendary 1963 incident when Elizabeth Taylor had vats of Chasen’s chili flown to the Rome set of the film Cleopatra.
But there’s another Chasen’s dish that had a huge following — Carrot Souffle. It was served as a side dish, and had many fans. So when the restaurant closed in 1995, of course the Carrot Souffle was missed.
You could serve it as a buffet side dish, or spoon some on the plates for Thanksgiving, Christmas or even Easter. It goes well with grilled or roasted turkey, chicken, beef, ham or lamb. Heck, I’d try it alongside pan-seared tofu, too.
We’re going to eat it for Thanksgiving as a side dish. The slightly sweet, carrot-forward flavor will work perfectly with everything else on the plate.
How to make Carrot Souffle
As always, first gather all the ingredients. For this recipe, you’ll need:
- Carrots. This is a very carrot-forward dish!
- Eggs
- Butter
- Flour
- Sugar
- Nutmeg
- Vanilla
- Walnuts. I used Red Walnuts from Melissa’s Produce, a milder, less tannic variety, but you can certainly use regular walnuts.
It’s very easy to make by cooking the carrots, throwing everything in a blender, and then baking it!
Let’s make Carrot Souffle!
Carrot Souffle is sweet, soft and fluffy with a nutty crunch top. It's perfect to go with any roast or grilled protein (turkey, chicken, beef, lamb), and really complements a holiday dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, tops removed and cut into chunks
- 3 eggs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Topping
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (or 1/4 cup crushed cornflakes)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Directions
- Turn oven on to 350F degrees. Lightly brush an 8x8-inch baking dish with avocado oil and set dish aside.
- Put carrots in a microwave-safe container with a lid and microcook for 8-10 minutes, until very tender. Remove from microwave and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. (If you carry on with the recipe with steaming hot carrots, you might scramble the eggs, so use this time to get all the other ingredients ready.
- While carrots are cooling, make topping: Chop walnuts finely, and in a bowl mix walnuts, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon melted butter. Set this aside.
- Add carrots to a blender container. Add eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, nutmeg, salt and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Whirl, starting on low and working up to high, until mixture is very smooth and well mixed.
- Pour and scrape into prepared baking dish, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Using your hand, sprinkle the top with the walnut-brown sugar-butter mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes. It will puff up slightly during baking, and the nut topping will likely brown a bit.
- Remove from oven and cool before serving. Can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold, as you like.
- Serves 6, or perhaps 8-10 for a big holiday meal with lots of other things on the plate.
Notes
Recipe source: Chasen's Restaurant in Beverly Hills, as published in "Chasen's: Where Hollywood Dined, Recipes and Memories," by Betty Goodwin (Angel City Press, 1996).
Carrot note: Chasen's recipe calls for the carrots to be boiled in salted water. I think it's faster and less water-wasteful to microwave them to tenderness. Chasen's also peeled the carrots, but I don't see any need to do that; simply wash them well.
Swaps: --Use a mild olive oil instead of butter in both the souffle and topping. --Use corn flakes instead of walnuts for the topping. --If you don't have ground nutmeg, you could use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie space to get some of that warm-spice aura. --You can reduce the sugar in the souffle to 2 tablespoons. I like it at 3, but 2 is acceptable, especially if your carrots are particularly sweet.
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It’s Holiday Side Dish Week on the blog!
Welcome to Holiday Side Dish Week! My food blogger friends and I are offering a variety of new side dishes to grace your table. Hope you try one or more of them and add something new to the celebration feasts for your family and friends. We posted Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week to get your cooking engines started. Thanks to Heather from Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box for hosting us.
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- The Best Baked Corn Casserole by Hezzi-D’s Recipe Box
- Homemade Old-Fashioned Dressing by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Twice Baked Potatoes by Blogghetti
- Palak Paneer Cornbread by Magical Ingredients
- Carrot Souffle by Shockingly Delicious WELCOME, YOU ARE HERE!
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Cabbage Salad with Oranges and Pecans by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Keto Cauliflower Mac & Cheese by Sneha’s Recipe
- Herbed Garlic Potatoes by Jolene’s Recipe Journal
- Gluten-Free Chipotle Cornbread Muffins by The Spiffy Cookie
Thanks for visiting…are you hungry for more? Follow Shockingly Delicious on…
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
What a lovely and delicious idea to make with carrots! I am loving it.
I’ve never heard of a carrot souffle but it looks so good especially with the nuts on top!
Aaah, Chasen’s! I wish I’d had a chance to visit. I remember the stories! So sad that it is gone. This soufflé recipe is a must try. Thanks for the recipe!
Interesting that the carrots are microwaved! I steam them all the time like that. Super quick and easy. This souffle looks packed with flavor.
I think I would prefer this than a sweet potato casserole, which I love. Can’t wait to make it. I never knew there were different kinds of walnuts!
Looks so good and I appreciate the cornflakes suggestion as both my guys are nut allergic but love carrots.
Jolene,
I think you could also sub Rice Krispy cereal for it, or do half cornflakes and half Rice Krispy cereal.
What a fun story! Being from Canada, I had never heard of this place before. What a delicious (and different) way to prepare carrots! I can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
Woohooo…..a new vegetable side dish to try. Thanks.