November to March is sweet potato season and so now is the time I start whipping out my favorite sweet potato recipes, including my mom’s simple classic gingered sweet potato soufflé. I’ve been eating this dish for years and it’s just one of those satisfying comfort foods everybody in the family loves. Another family favorite sweet potato dish is my vegetarian casserole (Apple and Ginger Sweet Potato Casserole).

How to Make a Sweet Potato Soufflé

Supposedly in France it is said that guests must wait for a soufflé; a soufflé will never wait for them. Personally, I think it’s just this sort of saying that is responsible for creating a lot of unnecessary mystique surrounding the soufflé. Because really, a soufflé is not at all difficult to make. And a sweet potato soufflé is particularly easy.

The success of your sweet potato soufflé will depend on the egg whites being beaten to the correct degree and then folding the egg whites into the sweet potato mixture with care (you don’t want to over stir!) When beating the egg whites you want to be sure you use a super dry bowl, mix the egg whites with a bit of cream of tartar and beat them with an electric mixture long enough so that stiff peaks form and hold their shape. This can take a good two minutes, so you need to have a bit of patience. You then want to gently fold the egg whites into the sweet potatoes. But, other than being careful with the egg whites, making a sweet potato soufflé is really very, very easy. And the reward is a light airy creation perfect as a side dish for any holiday meal (actually, the sweet potato soufflé is so simple to make you can serve it as a side dish weeknights too.)

You Can Eat Clean and Still Enjoy Sweet Potato Soufflé

Since we all need as many easy healthy recipes as we can collect this time of year, this vegetarian, dairy-free sweet potatoe souffle is one you can absolutely add to your guilt-free holiday recipe collection. Rich in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and magnesium, sweet potatoes also have a nutritional edge over regular potatoes due to their rich stores of beta-carotene (and by the way, you don’t want to eat “fat free” sweet potato recipes because you need a bit of fat in order for your body to convert beta-carotene into fat-soluble vitamin-A.)

Although my mom once made her soufflé with butter and a good deal of brown sugar she has since tweaked the dish to be a clean eating recipe and replaced the butter with extra virgin coconut oil, reduced the sugar and swapped brown sugar for agave syrup. I added a bit of cardamom (a spice) to the recipe because cardamom actually enhances the sweetness, compliments the ginger and sweet potatoes and adds just a sprinkle of exotic richness.

Sweet Potato Soufflé Recipe

Serves: 4

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil (such as Barlean’s), melted
• 2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or pure maple syrup for paleo
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom (optional)
• Unrefined sea salt, to taste
• 3 pastured organic egg whites
• Pinch of cream of tartar

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Use a fork to poke holes on all sides of the sweet potatoes. Place sweet potatoes directly on oven rack and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and set aside to cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. Transfer sweet potato pulp to a medium sized mixing bowl. Add orange juice concentrate, melted coconut oil, ginger, agave syrup, cardamom (optional) and salt. Use a handheld mixer and beat until all ingredients are well blended and mixture is smooth.
4. Place the egg whites in a large, clean very dry bowl. Add the cream of tartar and, using clean beaters, beat until soft peaks form and hold their shape. Spoon about 3/4 of the egg white mixture into the sweet potato mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir gently to blend.
5. Carefully divide the sweet potato mixture into four 6-ounce ramekins. Gently place a dollop of the remaining egg white mixture on top of each ramekin.
6. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn oven off and wait 5 minutes before removing the sweet potato soufflé. Serve at once.