I make this goat cheese souffle with fresh chives, tarragon, parsley, and sometimes basil from our garden . . .
This is another great vegetarian main, especially in the summer if you have a lot of herbs on hand. We aren’t vegetarians in our house, but I try to swap out meat a few nights a week with eggs or fish. I’ve found that this souffle is particularly delicious with tomato risotto as a side.
For a cheese souffle, this is definitely on the lighter side – perfect for hotter days. The goat cheese adds a subtle tang that keeps it from feeling heavy, and the herbs add a fresh flavor.
A note on herbs
I have listed my typical herb breakdown, but you can definitely swap out herbs for what you have in the kitchen that is fresh. Just add about 4 tablespoons of herbs total. I’ve done this with combinations of dill, parsley, basil, chives, tarragon, marjoram, etc.
One thing to remember if you’re adjusting herbs is that some herbs (tarragon and dill, for example) are stronger than others (like chives, parsley, basil, marjoram). So if you’re using an herb that has a particularly strong flavor, consider reducing the ratio you are adding of it relative to the other herbs by a half (for tarragon) to a third (for dill) and make up for it by adding more of an herb with a less dominating flavor.
How much goat cheese?
I’ve seen some recipes that use more goat cheese, but I like to use less for three reasons. First, the goat cheese flavor can easily dominate the flavor of the souffle — while I don’t mind this, one of my kids will sometimes refuse to eat it if it smells too strongly of goat cheese. When I tone the cheese down, even my child who doesn’t like cheese will eat it.
Second, goat cheese actually has quite a few calories and a lot of fat — so reducing the cheese a bit results in a higher proportion of egg in each bite and fewer calories.
Third, reducing the cheese a bit increases the lift of the souffle, which results in a more beautiful result fresh out of the oven. The picture above uses 8 ounces of goat cheese. The picture below uses only 6 ounces.
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Goat Cheese Souffle
I like this souffle because it is on the lighter side of cheese souffles – perfect for summer and hot weather. The herbs keep it tasting very fresh, and the goat cheese adds a subtle tang.
Necessary Equipment: 48-ounce ramekin (I use this one)
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Ingredients
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 bay leaf
6 ounces goat cheese (cut into small pieces)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
olive oil
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chives
1.5 tbsp parsley or basil
1.5 tbsp tarragon
Instructions
1. Make the roux.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. This will create a very thick paste. Keep whisking to ensure the butter and flour are well mixed. Cook just until the flour loses its raw smell (1-2 minutes). You’re not waiting for the mixture to change color (if you keep cooking, the paste will become golden – don’t do that).
2. Add the milk.
Whisk in the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time. After each addition, make sure the mixture becomes smooth again so there are no lumps. In the picture below, I have added about half of the milk and whisked it smooth.
It should not take you more than about 2 minutes to add in all of the milk.
Once you’ve added all the milk, add the bay leaf, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Then reduce the heat and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes very thick (see picture below). This usually takes me about 5 minutes. Once the mixture has become very thick, turn off the heat.
3. Add the cheese and egg yolks.
Add the cheese to the hot mixture. I usually slice the goat cheese log into 1/2 inch slices and toss in a few slices every thirty seconds or so, stirring well between each addition to help the cheese melt. Mix until all the cheese has melted into the mix.
4. Separate your egg whites and yolks.
Then add the yolks into the cheese mixture and stir well to incorporate. Cover and set the mixture aside to cool. This is your souffle base.
5. Prepare the herbs.
Wash and roughly chop up your herbs now. Make sure to dry the herbs as well as you can (before chopping obviously) so you don’t have lots of extra water entering the souffle.
6. Preheat the oven and prepare the baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Then spray a 48-ounce (1.5-quart) ramekin well with olive oil. Then pour about 1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese into the center of the ramekin, and rotate the bowl until the parmesan cheese covers everywhere inside the dish. This serves the double purpose of ensuring the egg in your souffle doesn’t stick to the ramekin and ensuring that the edge pieces are delicious.
To grate my parmesan (and get the finely grated parmesan below), I use a microplane like this one.
7. Prepare the egg whites.
Whisk the egg whites together with the cream of tartar using a stand or electric mixer. The cream of tartar will help the egg whites maintain their volume. (The acidity of the tartar lowers the pH of the egg whites. This increase in acidity helps strengthen the protein bonds that support the air bubbles in the whipped egg whites, resulting in a more stable and more voluminous foam.)
Once the egg whites reach stiff peaks (a spoon dipped into the egg whites and lifted up will create a peak in the egg whites that does not collapse or move; see picture above), turn off the mixer.
8. Finish the souffle base.
Stir the chopped herbs into the cooled souffle base.
Then, very gently, fold in about 25% of the whipped egg whites. Then fold in the remaining whipped egg whites very gently, trying to maintain the fluffiness of the egg whites as much as possible. It’s better for there to be some egg white streaks in your souffle but for it still to be fluffy than for you to have something that is perfectly mixed.
9. Pour the mixture into the prepared souffle dish and bake at 375F for 45 minutes.
Do yourself a favor and put the souffle dish on a baking sheet so that it is easier to take in and out of the oven.
The souffle is ready when it looks puffy and golden on top. It should jiggle slightly in the center when you move it.
Serve immediately (it will slowly start to droop the longer it is out of the oven).
- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
