Rice Souffle: An Easy, Economical Vintage Recipe
“Rice Souffle is Economical” is the title of the cut out newspaper column from my great grandmother’s recipe collection. I’m guessing this is from the 1960’s.
If you are older than me or maybe even older than my mama, you may remember a housekeeping/cooking column written by Heloise. Readers would write in with their questions or requests for recipes (like this rice souffle). She would answer with a witty column complete with a recipe or housekeeping tip.
I LOVE finding cut outs from Heloise in my collections of old recipes. (To read more about Heloise, this article was good!)
This particular clip was found in my great grandma Murphy’s recipe book.
What is Rice Souffle?
According to this vintage newspaper clipping, rice souffle is a good way to save the housewife some money on her grocery bill.
It uses leftover rice, cheese, milk, and egg, a little bit of butter, and salt. Also, this is an economical meat substitute, according to Heloise.
“It is still one of the nicest dishes that has ever been served on our table,” she states in the article.
So with such a high review on rice souffle, I had to try it myself!
I felt like such a 1960’s housewife making this. I served it as the main dish. But, it could be a nice side dish as well!
What You Need for Rice Souffle
This recipe is so simple, yet it feels a little bit fancy when you’re separating and whipping the egg whites. So there’s just a tiny bit of cooking skill required to fancy it up. But it’s so basic, too.
One cup of rice- Heloise suggests using leftover cold rice. I made mine a few hours before I cooked, so it could cool down. I also used brown rice, because this is just my go to rice. (It’s a THM- E item.)
3 Eggs- these will be separated…yolks from whites.
Grated cheddar cheese
Milk
Pinch of salt.
These ingredients are usually already available to me…I don’t know about you.
How to Make the Rice Souffle
First, preheat the oven to 300. We will put the rice souffle in a glass baking dish. Use an 8×8, or get out your vintage pyrex glass baking dish for this one.
Separate the eggs. Beat the whites until stiff. Set aside.
Add the egg yolks to one cup of cold cooked rice. (I used brown quick cook rice, then let it cool.)
Blend in one half cup of milk. (THM friendly, use almond or oat milk.) But I used raw milk in this recipe. Continue blending in two tablespoons of butter, and 1/4 pound (1 cup) of cheddar cheese.
Stir everything well.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Add a pinch of salt.
Bake in 300 degree oven for 30-45 minutes or until the souffle is browned.
In the recipe column, Heloise said she added tuna or shrimp to the mix. I’m sorry, but I couldn’t hardly do that. Haha. If you added up shredded chicken now…that would be really delicious! It would be a great addition to the table. (As Heloise said.)
But tuna would be a unique dish, for sure! And added protein. So have at it if you dare.
Economical Housewife
I loved making this, and seeing this vintage recipe come to life. It was really good, too! It definitely works for a quick side dish.
When I was eating this, I could just imagine sitting around my great grandma’s table. I don’t know whether she made it or not, but it sure is a good idea to make your meals stretch just a little bit more.
Plus, it’s a good combo of fats and carbs for growing kids.
THM Notes
As a Trim Healthy Mama coach, I like to make sure most of the recipes I share are on plan. (Some aren’t, because I also like to share old family recipes and I just believe it’s ok to balance every now and then.)
This Rice Souffle recipe is a Crossover meal on the THM plan. That means that the brown rice (carb) is mixed with the fats (eggs and cheese) for a crossover of fuels. This Crossover is still on plan, but may not exactly be weight loss friendly, if that’s what you’re goal is.
I am in maintenance mode in my THM journey, and I have to incorporate Crossovers into my day. So if you’re looking to maintain weight, or are pregnant or nursing, this recipe is a fine crossover!
Rice Souffle
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked and cooled rice I use brown rice
- 3 eggs separated
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup milk almond or oat milk for THM
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 pinch mineral salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Separate the egg whites from the yolks and beat the whites until stiff.
- Add the egg yolks to the cooled rice.
- Blend in one half cup of milk, two tablespoons butter, and the cheese. Stir it all well.
- Gently fold in the egg whites with a pinch of salt.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is browned.
- Enjoy!
