I’m a big fan of all things sweet potato, especially when the weather starts to turn. Sweet potatoes are a comforting ingredient, and they just smell like fall, winter, and the holidays. This sweet potato soufflé recipe is one of my favorite ways to use sweet potatoes, because it has so many of my favorite ingredients to pair with them. There’s spicy cinnamon, the rich, caramel sweetness of brown sugar and maple syrup, and buttery, nutty pecans. Just like my sweet potato casserole recipe, this soufflé satisfy your taste buds while being entirely vegan. And it’s also easy to make gluten free. You can see why it’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes!
Notes on Ingredients
Here’s everything you need to make this vegan sweet potato soufflé. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article for the specific amounts of each ingredient.
For the Soufflé:
Sweet potatoes – You can also use frozen or canned sweet potatoes if you prefer. AquafabaMaple syrup – Be sure to use pure maple syrup, rather than a syrup with artificial ingredients. Vegan butter – You’ll want to use melted, unsalted vegan butter for this recipe. Vanilla – Make sure to use 100% pure vanilla extract.CinnamonSaltBaking powderBrown sugarNon-dairy milk – You can use whatever type of non-dairy milk you prefer, just make sure that it’s unsweetened and doesn’t have any flavorings.
For the Topping:
Brown sugarAll-purpose flour – You can replace this with a gluten-free flour blend to make this recipe gluten-free.Vegan butter – Just as in the soufflé, make sure that the vegan butter is melted and unsalted.Pecan halves – Pecans and sweet potatoes are a match made in heaven, but you can use other types of nuts if you prefer.
What is Aquafaba?
Aquafaba is the liquid found in a can of garbanzo beans. It’s a thick liquid, and is commonly used in vegan baking. When beaten, aquafaba looks and behaves similarly to egg whites.
How to Make Sweet Potato Soufflé
Here’s how to make this sweet side dish.
Prep. Preheat the oven to 400F, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Prepare the sweet potatoes. Wash the potatoes, then prick them with a fork.Bake. Put the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake them for about an hour. Rotate the baking sheet halfway through. The sweet potatoes should be soft, and easy to squeeze.
Mash the sweet potatoes. Let the sweet potatoes cool for 15 minutes, or until you can safely handle them. Then remove the skins, place the sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl, and mash with a fork or a potato masher.
Change the oven temp. Reduce the heat of the oven to 350F, and grease a 2-quart casserole dish. Beat the aquafaba. Pour the aquafaba into a stand mixer bowl, and beat with whisk attachment on high speed until stiff peaks are formed. This should take about 5-6 minutes. Add the rest of the soufflé ingredients to the sweet potatoes. Place the vegan butter, non-dairy milk, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in the bowl with the sweet potatoes. Use an electric mixer to beat the mixture until it is well combined and smooth. This should take about 3 minutes.
Add the aquafaba. Fold the beaten aquafaba into the soufflé batter.
Pour into the dish. Pour the soufflé batter into the prepared casserole dish, and spread until it’s even.
Make the topping. Place the flour, brown sugar, pecans, and butter in a mixing bowl, and stir until well combined.
Add the topping. Sprinkle the topping over the top of the sweet potato soufflé.Bake. Place the soufflé in the oven, and bake until the topping is golden brown and crispy, which should take about 35-40 minutes.
Tips for the Best Soufflé
Here are a few tricks for making this sweet potato soufflé recipe.
Really beat the aquafaba. If you beat the aquafaba long enough, it will form very stiff peaks. A lot of people make the mistake when working with aquafaba of not beating it long enough, which results in softer peaks. Keep beating the aquafaba until stiff peaks are formed, or else you’ll end up with a sweet potato soufflé that is a little bit dense.Don’t fold the aquafaba too much. When you add the aquafaba to the soufflé batter, make sure you fold it in carefully. As soon as the aquafaba is incorporated, stop folding and mixing. If you fold it in too much, the aquafaba will deflate, making your soufflé heavy instead of airy. Use the right temperature butter. Both the soufflé and the topping use melted vegan butter. It’s important to use melted butter, and not firm butter, but you don’t want the butter to be hot. Melt the vegan butter, then let it sit until it reaches room temperature. If you use melted butter that is too hot in this recipe, it could make both the soufflé and the topping too wet.
Can This Recipe Be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes! If you’re making this dish for the holidays, you can easily make it the day before. Cook the entire sweet potato soufflé, then cover it with aluminum foil and place it in the fridge. Reheat in the casserole dish, in a 350F oven until heated through. This should take about 10 minutes.
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Sweet Potato Soufflé
Any leftover sweet potato soufflé can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can absolutely freeze this sweet potato soufflé. Just place it in an airtight container, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw or defrost before reheating in the microwave.
More Sweet Potato Recipes to Make
I hope you love this sweet potato soufflé recipe as much as I do. If you do, then you might want to try one of my other favorite sweet potato recipes.
Loaded sweet potato skinsMashed sweet potatoesAir fryer baked sweet potatoesVegan sweet potato pieSweet potato tater tots
Enjoy friends! If you make this sweet potato soufflé, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
