Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle ~ if you put nothing down on the dinner table but this light and fluffy, sweet and crunchy casserole I wouldn’t feel slighted in the least. As long as you let me have seconds 🙂

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle in a gratin dish with spoons

This Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle is fluffy, sweet, crunchy, earthy, and utterly irresistible. I guarantee it will be a huge hit at the holidays. but honestly I love it so much that I make it for special dinners throughout the fall. Why would we want to save something this good for only one or two nights a year? That’s insane.

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle with large serving spoon

One of the things that makes this side dish so incredible is that it starts from a whole pumpkin. The whole darned thing goes into the oven for an hour and comes out soft and ready to be pureed into the fluffy base for this souffle. Could you use canned pumpkin? Probably, but you’d miss out on some great flavor, and the drama of roasting a whole pumpkin.

For an alternative, try doing this with butternut squash, or sweet potatoes, either the orange or the yellow variety: Butter Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole.

A whole pumpkin ready to be roasted for Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle

The easiest (and healthiest) way to cook any winter squash

This unorthodox method is super easy and hands off, just the way we like it during the holidays!

Preheat your oven to 375F
Place the whole squash on a baking sheet
Pierce the squash in several place with the point of a paring knife
Roast for about an hour or until tender: until the the paring knife slides into the flesh easily. Small squash might take less time, larger squash will take longer.
Let it cool slightly, then slice the squash open into wedges and scoop out the seeds. (Save them to roast ~ here’s how.)
Peel off the skin (it comes off easily) or scoop out the flesh with a large spoon, and the squash is ready to use.

So I know it looks a little scary when you’ve got the whole pumpkin splayed out on the baking sheet like this, but trust me, the seeds etc scoop out super easily and you’re left with perfectly cooked flesh, it’s pure gold. This process is SO much easier than trying to peel, chop, and boil a rock-hard winter squash. PLUS it’s much healthier: all the nutrients stay in!

To assemble this butter pecan pumpkin souffle I begin by pureeing the pumpkin with some brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs, and my secret ingredient (freshly grated nutmeg, what else?) Then the fun, i.e. the butter pecan topping, begins…

Topping my Pumpkin Souffle with a crumbly butter pecan topping ~ yum!

I admit that once you top the pumpkin casserole with the decadent butter pecan crumble it does veer into the dessert lane. That’s ok, the holidays are only here once a year, so go for it. And if you want to healthify it, just halve the volume of crumble.

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle with two spoons

I’m crazy about this side dish, guys, I hope you try it this year. I have a feeling that if you do, it will become part of your holiday routine going forward, it’s that good.

the Great Island kitchen recommends

a classic 1.5-3qt oval gratin baking dish

I love the graceful shape of oval baking dishes, I use them for fruit crumbles, gratins, stuffed peppers, and side dishes of all kinds, like this pumpkin souffle. Don’t stress too much about the size, I go for anything between 8×10 and 9×12.

more holiday side dishes

Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle

4.43 from 7 votes

This Butter Pecan Pumpkin Souffle is a decadently delicious side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special meal.

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Prep Time:10

Cook Time:40

Total Time:50

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

1.5 quart casserole or gratin dish

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs cooked pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk, or half and half
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, more if you love it
fresh cracked black pepper to taste

topping

1 cup chopped pecans
2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup brown sugar, don’t pack it down
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Instructions

Set the oven to 350F
Put the pumpkin in the bowl of a food processor and add the eggs, brown sugar, buttermilk, and melted butter. Pulse about 25 times, and then run the machine for an additional few seconds to completely puree the mixture. A little texture is ok, don't over-process. Season with the nutmeg, and pepper. Note: if you use unsalted butter, add salt to taste as well.
Turn the pumpkin puree into a gratin dish and spread out evenly.
Blend the topping ingredients together in a bowl, tossing with a fork or your fingers until crumbly. Make sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar. Crumble the mixture evenly over the souffle.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes. If the topping browns too quickly, cover it loosely with foil.

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Keyword: Canned pumpkin, comfort food, holiday, side dish, Thanksgiving

Nutrition

Calories: 471 kcal · Carbohydrates: 49 g · Protein: 5 g · Fat: 30 g · Saturated Fat: 13 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 11 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 97 mg · Sodium: 189 mg · Potassium: 321 mg · Fiber: 4 g · Sugar: 35 g · Vitamin A: 13901 IU · Vitamin C: 4 mg · Calcium: 84 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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