Paleo Strawberry Souffles (4 Ingredients!)
These tasty cloud-like strawberry soufflés are only FOUR ingredients! They’re paleo friendly and easily made keto/low-carb, too.
**This recipe was updated and rewritten on 2/10/21 for more clarity & consistency.**
I think we’ve been conditioned as a culture to fear souffle baking.
How many cartoons did you watch as a kid where it showed a front door slamming and immediately cut over to the kitchen where it shows a souffle falling in the oven?
They’re really not that temperamental. Feel free to slam a door or two while you make these.
If you’re comfortable working with egg whites, then these are a cinch and they only take about 30-40 minutes from start to finish.
These were inspired by a recipe from an Austrian dessert cookbook I used to have. The recipe intrigued me, but it needed an overhaul because it was REALLY poorly written.
Like, lots of important steps missing. And no indication of the size or number of ramekins. Yikes, man.
So, I cleaned it up for you.
Oh, did I mention this recipe only has four ingredients?!
Only 4 ingredients!
Yep. Truth.
- Strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- Lemon juice
- Egg whites
- Honey or whatever liquid or granulated sweetener you prefer
How to make Paleo Strawberry Souffles
First, buzz up your strawberries — either in a blender or a food processor.
Then, strain the seeds out. I strain them right into the bowl of my stand mixer with a fine-mesh metal strainer.
After adding the lemon juice and part of the egg whites and sweetener, it gets whipped like crazy.
The first time I made these I was surprised that you could add that many ingredients to egg whites and still have them fluff up that nicely.
Egg whites can be temperamental. Like teenage girls.
You end up with this bowl of fluffy, pink heaven. Seriously, stick your finger in that strawberry fluff.
See that bowl on the bottom with the white stuff?
That’s the other part of the egg and sweetener. That will get whipped up as well and make more of a meringue-type of thing.
Strawberry clouds, yo.
Aren’t those swirls so pretty??
Pile that strawberry fluff into 6 ramekins. Pile them high.
They puff up, but they puff STRAIGHT up.
There will be a little bubbling around the edges, but very little will ooze out of the ramekins, if anything.
I have these 6-ounce ramekins on Amazon and I use them a lot. You could use 8-ounce ounce ones, if that’s what you have.
Is it normal for soufflés to fall?
Yes, a little.
A couple minutes after they come out of the oven, they’ll start to fall.
Don’t worry, it’s normal.
You can eat them as soon as they’re cool enough not to burn your face off.
When they finish falling they’ll be slightly lower than the edge of the ramekin.
If they fall all the way down to the bottom of the ramekin, then something is off. Maybe overbeaten egg whites or too much puree?
Can you eat strawberry soufflés cold?
Yep! You can refrigerate these strawberry soufflés and eat them chilled.
(We actually liked them better chilled!)
My daughter likes hers frozen!
If you want, you can throw a little whipped cream on top. I’ve see sprayable coconut and almond milk whipped cream at Trader Joe’s and other grocery stores.
I love that there are dairy-free options now!
(Although the real thing is pretty fantastic.)
Let me know what you think of this recipe! If you make it, tag me on social media so I can send you some love — #perrysplate or @perrysplate.
Paleo Strawberry Souffles
Ingredients
- 8 ounces strawberries (thawed, if frozen)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons honey, divided
- 3 egg whites, divided
- 6 6-ounce ramekins (8-ounce ramekins are fine, too)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place a fine-mesh strainer over a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Blend the strawberries in a blender or a food processor. Pour the puree into the strainer to remove the seeds and use a rubber spatula to press the puree through the holes, getting as much puree out as you can. Discard the seeds and thick pulp.
- To the strawberry puree, add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the honey, and 1 egg white. Whip for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is very fluffy and has reached soft peak phase. (If you remove a beater, the mixture should stand up on its own with the "peak" of the mixture flopping over a little.)
- In a separate, medium sized bowl, whip the remaining 2 egg whites with a hand mixer until it gets bubbly, then drizzle in the remaining tablespoon of honey. Continue to beat the egg whites until they reach soft peak as well. (See note)
- Gently fold the white egg white mixture into the pink mixture. Don't overstir or you'll lose volume.
- Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. (DO NOT GREASE THEM.) Divide the fluffy strawberry mixture among the ramekins. They'll be very full.
- Bake them on a rack in the center of the oven for 15-16 minutes. Or until the top of each souffle is stiff and has golden brown spots -- like a toasted marshmallow.
- Remove from the oven and serve as soon as they've cooled off enough to eat. Serve as is or top with a little whipped cream.
Notes
Nat's Notes:
- If you have a stand mixer, you can whip both mixtures at the same time! Get the first mixture started in your stand mixer and then use a hand-held mixer to whip the other mixture. They should be done close to the same time.
- Feel free to use a different sweetener if you like. Maple syrup, monkfruit sweetener, or regular sugar all work well here. Avoid using a super concentrated sweetener like Stevia drops or it'll affect the texture of the souffles.
- These soufflés will fall quite a bit after they've been removed from the oven. They're also good frigerated. (My daughter even likes them frozen. Haha.)
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Yay! They worked out. :) And that 6 servings thing is crazy. What kind of ramekins are they using that they get 6 servings?
They’re so pink and pretty. Love it! I’ve never had a souffle but these look nice. I think I’ll have to try. :)
No idea. That information would have been useful :)
Oh my goodness, Natalie! These look insanely good. I think I just found my anniversary dessert for this weekend!!! I love how you call it the souffle fluff. And you’re totally right. Somehow we all internalize that “souffles are difficult” message. My stepmom used to make an absolutely spectacular cheese souffle that was one of my favourite things and it’s so ridiculously easy to make!
I’ve never had cheese souffle!! Now I know how easy it is, it’s next on my list. What kind of cheese does she use?
I so want to make these. I have yet to make a souffle because I am afraid of them flopping! I brought the Austrian Desserts cookbook to my parents house last week and my 95 year old Austrian great aunt was there visiting as well and she was looking at the book telling me all about the desserts she had as a girl growing up in Vienna and which were her favorites. I am going to tackle the Dobos torte since that was her favorite! It was fun listening to her stories and translating some of the recipes since she said some weren’t translated well. She is, um, very nit picky to put it lightly! ha ha!
How sweet!! I can’t wait to see how your torte turns out. Don’t fear the souffle. It’s not hard at all. They do fall after they’ve cooled off and don’t look quite as pretty, but they still taste good.
These look so fluffy and delicious! I love that the ingredient list is short and simple too :)
Mmm what an awesome dessert!
Umm.. so cute!!! I love the natural pink color to these and I bet they taste amazing!
Those are so pretty! They would make such a great dessert at a shower, or tea party or something girly and pretty like that :-)
omg!! so yum they look… can the eggs be substitute for sour cream or anything else? allergic to eggs.
Sorry, I don’t think there’s a substitute for eggs in souffle. Whipped egg whites give souffle their texture, so you can probably understand why sour cream wouldn’t work. Bummer!
I almost just took a souffle dish from my momma’s house that she got as a wedding gift and has never used. I told her I would get it next time I’m home (I took a whole box of other dishes this time…ya know…for the blog ;-) ). I think I might have to give this a try when I do get it.
Also: I can’t see Grog’s wife pureeing strawberries or beating egg whites, but you catch my drift. <—Actually laughed out loud.
I would love to take a box of dishes from my mom’s house. Or 12. She’d never noticed. (She has a dish collecting illness.)
Looks fantastic, love it!
Ooo the fluffiness is melting my mouth! Those look so good :)
I’m so glad to read your comment “I can hold my desserts pretty well.” That’s SO me! My hubby watches in amazement sometimes! :-/
I was wondering why the need to strain the seeds? Just curious.
It’ll give it a better texture, and you won’t get seeds stuck in your teeth. You can probably leave them in, though!
Makes sense! Thanks much – I look forward to making these.
Just took these darlings out of the oven and the recipe worked out just right.
I’m happy with the taste and appearance. I’m seventy and this was my first-ever souffle. ;+))
Do I have to use raw honey or will regular honey work as well?
Either would be fine.
I would love to try this but I’m not a big strawberry fan, could I use raspberries or do chocolate?
Also, why the lemon? I’m generally not a citrus person, is it for flavor or for another reason?
I haven’t tried using raspberry, but I imagine it might work! Lemon brightens flavors — especially when you use a little with berries. It doesn’t make it taste like lemon at all, it just makes the berries taste more vibrant.
I made these today and they were delicious. Very light and fluffy. I didn’t have a stand mixer so just stood there for 15 mins and held the mixer, but it all worked out well. This recipe does produce a very large batch of souffle’s. I filled up (3) 15 oz. ramekins + (4) 9 oz. ramekins + (4) 1/2 cup ramekins. Straining the seeds was a little time consuming, but well worth the effort. Since they are light and fluffy it would ruin the texture of each bite if you encountered small seeds (personal opinion). Thanks for the recipe!
Glad you had luck with it! I found myself scrounging around for ramekins, too. It made it hard to judge just how much it made. Haha.
Absolutely terrible.
It’s late at night and I’m surfing Pinterest for recipes to use up all of these egg whites left over from a double batch of creme brûlée (you aren’t the only one who can hold dessert well!). You know what I hate? Finding a recipe that I feel I just must make RIGHT NOW but it’s late. Too late. I don’t have any strawberries thawed. And I’ve already eaten! (Of course, now my stomach is growling–I’m not making this up!) I’m really excited to make this, and my head is spinning with the possibilities! (I have a huge garden and orchard so LOTS of fruit in my freezer! Have you tried others?) Sadly, it’ll have to wait till morning, and then the strawberries have to thaw… Thanks for sharing! ;o)
This recipe did not turn out at all. It made an enormous amount. I filled 6, 2 cup size ramekins and an 8×8 pan. Once it came out of the oven it basically liquified. It looked beautiful though! After reading other soufflé recipes it looks like maybe the egg whites were over beaten? I don’t know. The flavor was amazing though. I wish it had been yummy.
Hi! These sound delicious and the recipe is a perfect way to use up my leftover egg whites! I am just wondering…
is the inside texture like a pudding, or more dry?
Also, do I have to strain the seeds?
And does the souffle just taste like strawberry???
Thanks so much!
How far do you fill the ramekins? Half way full or more than that? I am gluten free and this would be a great treat..
Fill them full :)
This looks delicious.. Just wondering if you have to grease the ramekins first or just fill up ?
TIA
Thanks! Nope, don’t grease them. If you grease them, the mixture doesn’t have anything to cling to and it won’t puff up as much.
Can you make these half way cooked ahead of time and finish cooking while having main course?
Can you bake in larger glass baking bowl? I do not have ramekins.
Very intrigued by this recipe! Can I use 1 cup glass prep bowls instead of ramekins?
Sure! As long as they’re oven safe, you’re good to go.
Could you use some type of foil, disposable looking ramikin for a huge group, say 250?
So I made these and after 10 minutes in the oven they collapsed. when I spooned it out it shriveled up into the smallest amount like it was non existent. Do you know what the reason for this would be?
They collapsed in the oven? Did the oven get opened while it was baking? They can be temperamental to sudden temp changes. After they come out, they do sink somewhat, but there should still be a souffle left to eat. Did you overbeat your whites, possibly?
This is what happened to me as well. What’s over beaten? Directions say 10-15 minutes!
I’m curious why the recipe ingredients lists the honey as “divided”? It looks like all 6 tbsp are added to the 3 egg whites. Did I misread something?
3 tablespoons are added to the egg white/strawberry mixture. The other 2 tablespoons are added to the egg whites alone.
I am confused as well. Says 6 tbsp of honey divided. But she says 3 tbsp with the egg white and strawberry mix and 2 with the egg whites . that is only 5 tbsp. Where does the 6th tbsp go?
This look so good! What a yummy and healthy one to serve guests!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
They keep for a few days in the fridge, but they won’t be puffy again.
I had a similar Strawberry Pudding Soufflés at a restaurant recently and found myself craving it and wondering if I could recreate it today. Thanks, Natalie!
Strawberry Pudding Souffles based your posts and content is really interesting and also i shared your blog link with my friend.
I don’t know what I did wrong, but it turned out as just hot, pink foam. :(
You may have done it correctly. These souffles are really foamy and light — there isn’t a lot of substance in them.