Piccadilly Cafeteria Carrot Souffle is one of the restaurant’s most popular recipes. I know when I have made this dish for people, they can’t believe it is carrots.
Do you have finicky vegetable eaters? I would try the Piccadilly Carrot Souffle recipe on them because this sweet carrot casserole is quite delicious.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
Delicious Carrot Side Dish
Piccadilly Cafeteria carrot souffle is very popular at the restaurant. I know when I’ve made this dish for people, they can’t believe that they’re eating carrots.
Do you have finicky vegetable eaters? I would try this recipe on them and don’t tell them it’s made from carrots until they’ve finished eating their portion. This carrot soufflé is sweet and quite delicious and doesn’t have an eggy taste.
About Piccadilly Cafeteria
The first Piccadilly Cafeteria opened in 1932 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After twelve years of success serving up homestyle comfort food, a budding restaurateur by the name of T. H. Hamilton took over and grew the business. Today, there are many Piccadilly restaurants located across the southeast.
Favorite dishes are fried chicken, carrot soufflé, and a range of famous desserts. There’s always something for everyone at Piccadilly.
When Did Soufflés First Puff Up?
Soufflés have probably been around ever since flour, milk, eggs, and butter have been whipped up into different concoctions to please the discerning palate.
The first recorded appearance of a soufflé dates from the early 1700s when a French cook, Vincent de la Chappelle, made soufflés for European dignitaries including Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV.
Learn more about the history of soufflés.
The Soufflé in Paris
The soufflé has long been associated with French haute cuisine. If you have ever watched the movie Sabrina starring Audrey Hepburn, you might remember the scene at a Parisian culinary school where the master chef humiliates her (and most everyone else in the class) by his critiques of their failed efforts at making the perfect soufflé.
“Too low; too high; too heavy; sloppy” he intones to each one. You can watch this short amusing scene about cooking souffles. But please don’t let it put you off making a soufflé.
Don’t Forget to Turn on the Oven
Sabrina sighs to her French baron friend, whose soufflé is perfect, “I don’t know what happened.” He explains to her that she forgot to turn on her oven. He says:
“Your mind has not been on the cooking. It has been elsewhere. A woman happy in love, she burns the soufflé. A woman unhappy in love she forgets to turn on the oven.”
So, don’t spend time worrying how high your bubbly mixture is puffing up while it’s baking. The ingredients hidden inside will taste heavenly and light as a cloud – as long as you remember to turn on the oven.
Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need for this copycat Piccadilly carrot souffle recipe:
- Carrots
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
How to Make Carrot Souffle Like Piccadilly
- Steam or boil carrots until extra soft. Drain well.
- While carrots are warm, add sugar, baking powder, and vanilla.
- Whip carrots with a mixer until smooth.
- Add flour and mix well.
- Whip eggs and add to the carrot mixture, blend well.
- Add softened butter to the mixture and blend well.
- Pour mixture into 13 X 9-inch baking dish about half full.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 1 hour or until the top is a light golden brown.
- Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar over top before serving.
What to Serve Carrot Souffle With
A carrot souffle is a wonderful side dish for roast chicken, Thanksgiving turkey, ham, steak, or roast beef.
Other sides to serve along with it are steamed green beans, roasted Brussel sprouts, and a crisp garden salad.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Leftovers
Storing: Allow the carrot soufflé to cool to room temperature after it comes out of the oven. Do not leave it out for more than two hours, as bacteria can start to grow. Once cooled, transfer the soufflé to an airtight container. Place the container in the refrigerator. Properly stored, the carrot soufflé will last for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Freezing: Let the soufflé cool completely at room temperature. Wrap the carrot soufflé tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. For an added layer of protection against freezer burn, place the wrapped soufflé in a heavy-duty freezer bag. Ensure you press out as much air as possible from the bag before sealing. Freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
How to Reheat Leftover Carrot Souffle
- Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the soufflé in an oven-safe dish and cover it with foil to prevent it from drying out. Heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until warmed through.
- Microwave: Place the soufflé in a microwave-safe dish and cover. Heat on medium power in 1-minute intervals, stirring between each, until warmed through.
Try the Piccadilly Cafeteria Carrot Soufflé
Make the famous Piccadilly Cafeteria carrot soufflé at home. You are going to love the great flavor. It’s the perfect side dish for the holidays, and your kitchen will smell amazing while it’s baking.
Want another vegetable soufflé? Try my Sweet Potato Souffle recipe.
Want Two Piccadilly Desserts? Try these!
Popular Vegetable Side Dishes
- Asparagus Casserole
- Cooked Carrots
- Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Fried Zucchini
- Green Bean Bundles
- Homemade Coleslaw
- How to Cook Cabbage
- Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Roasted Red Potatoes
Be sure to try more of my vegetable side dish recipes and the best restaurant copycat recipes here on CopyKat.com!
Piccadilly Carrot Souffle
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds carrots peeled
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 pound butter
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Steam or boil carrots until extra soft. Drain well.
- While carrots are warm, add sugar, baking powder, and vanilla.
- Whip carrots with mixer until smooth.
- Add flour and mix well.
- Whip eggs and add to flour mixture, blend well.
- Add softened butter to the mixture and blend well.
- Pour mixture into 13 X 9-inch baking dish about half full as the souffle will rise.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until the top is a light golden brown.
- Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar over top before serving.
Jo Ann Allen
Would this be just as good using canned carrots? I don’t want to mess it up🥹
Stephanie Manley
I think it would be less expensive to make this with fresh carrots, but you would need to make sure you have the same volume of carrots by weight after you have drained them if you want to use canned carrots.
Susan
I haven’t tried it yet but I want to. Is the sugar critical to the cooking process or just for flavor? I don’t like fake sugars but would like to try this recipe with as little sugar as possible and still taste good.
Stephanie Manley
Yes, I think it is important for the flavor and the structure of the souffle.
Lindseh
Can you use Gluten Free flour and it will still be okay?
Stephanie Manley
I am sorry I do not know what would happen, I have not tested the recipe this way.
Doctor Grandma Jeannie
Unbelievable! SUBERB! I’m not a huge fan of carrots, but this dish has me snacking on it at 3 AM! It looks and tastes a lot like a sweet potato casserole, but without the cloying sweetness. I like my sweets, and this is plenty sweet, but not sickening. I have made it with sugar, with Splenda Blend, and with Splenda. They are all great, although I don’t think it’s quite as fluffy with all Splenda. That could me my imagination. Using all Splenda brings the net carbs down from 81 to 22 g per serving. I have made a half recipe in an 8×8 inch dish, and baked it for about 55 minutes. I spray my glass dish first. WONDERFUL! My family is now addicted also, including my husband who hates carrots. Thanks for the recipe. This is an all time favorite.
Stephanie Manley
You know, this dish is like an unsung hero in my cooking repertoire, people love this when they take their first bite. So glad you enjoyed it.
KatP
Been making this recipe for years exactly as it specifies and it’s always a hit!
Nikki
I’m excited to try this, but can I make it ahead? Does it reheat well?
Stephanie Manley
I don’t like to make this ahead of time, the texture changes a bit in a way I personally don’t like. It reheats well. But it is best the first time you serve it.
Vallerie
This is it! Beloved
Llinda
Sorry. I sliced up 4 bags of whole carrots. Was this correct
Stephanie Manley
You should use 3 1/2 pounds of carrots in this recipe. I don’t know what size of bags of carrots you used, but again, it’s 3 1/2 pounds of carrots.
Linda
I used 31/2 lbs carrots. I lb bags. I sliced them. Is this correct
Karen
I’ve been using this recipe for years but to make a sweet potato soufflé. I’ve always loved Piccadilly’s carrot soufflé but one Thanksgiving, my husband’s aunt told me to switch out the carrots for sweet potatoes. After making it once, I was hooked and now my family requests I make it every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We like to add marshmallows on top instead of the powdered sugar. Both recipes are great! Thank you!
Stephanie
Thank you! I am so glad you enjoy this recipe!
Dianna
My son was devastated when Picadilly closed here because he loves their carrot souffle. He asked me to make it for Thanksgiving this year, and I found your recipe. It was SPOT ON. He had 3 helpings. Big thanks! This is a keeper.
ruth
is the nutritional value listed for the whole dish of the carrots soufflé or for a single serving?? That’s a lot of carbohydrates!! and a lot of calories and a lot of sugar for one single serving of a vegetable?? I am overwhelmed how unhealthy this carrot dish is???
Stephanie
Nutritional value is listed per serving. It’s important to enjoy things in moderation.
Jasmine Falls
1/2 pound of butter? is that correct?
Stephanie
Yes, it is correct.
Baltisraul
I read that this recipe from Piccadilly Cafe was their number 1 requested recipe of all their offerings. Hade you ever heard that?
Stephanie
I haven’t heard this, but I don’t doubt it to be true.
Baltisraul
Making this AGAIN for the 4th. The entire family always makes this their first request, It is just one of those recipes that has never gotten a single bad review, even first time they might be trying it.
Stephanie Manley
So glad you enjoy it! I have always had similar results with this.
Carrie
I actually worked at Piccadilly for 20 years and the broccoli and rice casserole was the most asked for. Carrot souffle was the next.
Susan
Broccoli and rice casserole sounds great. Do you have the recipe?
Calvin L Wilson
I’ve made this several times by the recipe, at home, Christmas dinner, Thanksgiveing dinner, and church dinners, everyone has loved it every time.
Gymgirl
I grew a boatload of carrots and canned them last November. I grew another boatload of carrots this season, and figured I’d better start using up all the pints of carrots, LOL!
Been having carrot souffle on my mind for two weeks now, and finally decided to look up a recipe. I found this one. Several modifications had to be made, out of necessity.
First off, I canned my carrots with 1/2 Tbsp of canning salt because I didn’t have a sweet dish on my radar at the time. I tasted the salt when I opened them and decided to go for it. Especially with 2.5 cups of sugar, which, for me, is way too sweet. So, I cut it back to a little less than 2 cups of sugar.
Cardamom is my new spice, girls! So, hey, why not? I ended up adding 1/2 tsp. to the recipe. Nice!
Finally, I discovered I had only one stick of margarine, so, I added 1/4 c of vegetable oil.
That’s it. And, if it tasted amazing BEFORE I baked it, you KNOW what magic happened in the oven!!!
P.S. My oven must be slow, cuz, I just added 15 minutes to get it to set. It’ll keep baking when it comes out, too. No worries!!
P.S.S. Thanks to the poster who said to use 6 cans of carrots. I used 5 pints of carrots and 1 pint of Butternut Squash that I also canned.
My kitchen smells amazing right now!!!
Danielle
I made this recipe twice this week and oh my gosh!! It is absolutely delicious. I didn’t make any modifications to the recipe. I’m so happy I finally found a recipe that didn’t have that eggy taste!!
Karen
I make this every year but with 4 large sweet potatoes instead of carrots. I started substituting marshmallows for the powdered sugar. It changes up the recipe but is delicious both ways. Thanks for sharing.
Evelyn M Wells
Can I use pecans in the dish?
Bridgett Kelly
My carrots are bits chunks is it ok
Barb J Kolbe
When I made this recipe…
I microwaved the carrots by cutting them in pieces and put them in a bowl with water -cover with plastic wrap to steam.
This way carrots don’t lose nutritional value and taste – like when you boil.
To give an even better taste, I used half maple syrup instead of all sugar. Add cinnamon.
I also beat the eggs for a long time to get stiff and folded the eggs in to make a souffle fluffier.