Gordon Ramsay’s cheat’s soufflé is a three-cheese bake made with cottage cheese, Monterey Jack, and cream cheese, mixed in one bowl and baked for 40 minutes at 180°C. No whisking egg whites, no ramekins, no stress. In the YouTube video he calls it “a stunning fuss-free soufflé that’s ideal for brunch.”
The recipe comes from Ultimate Cookery Course, where Ramsay describes it as “either a giant eggy pancake or a giant doughy omelette, depending how you look at it.” That honesty is the whole point, because this isn’t a real soufflé and he doesn’t pretend it is. It puffs, it’s golden, it looks impressive, but the technique is closer to a frittata than anything from a French kitchen.
What makes it work is the baking powder doing the heavy lifting that egg whites would normally do in a proper cheese soufflé. You skip the hardest step entirely and still get something that rises, which is why Ramsay files it under “cheats” rather than calling it the real thing.
Gordon Ramsay Cheat’s Soufflé with Three Cheeses
Course: Brunch, AppetiserCuisine: British, FrenchDifficulty: Easy6
portions10
minutes40
minutes380
kcal50
minutesFrom Gordon Ramsay Ultimate Cookery Course and his official YouTube video. Three cheeses, six eggs, baking powder, one dish, 40 minutes. No whisking egg whites, no ramekins. Ramsay calls it a stunning fuss-free soufflé ideal for brunch.
Ingredients
50g plain flour
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs, beaten
225ml whole milk
200g cottage cheese
350g Monterey Jack cheese, grated (or mild Cheddar or Edam)
75g cream cheese
30g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
Directions
- Preheat: Set the oven to 180°C (350°F)/160°C fan/Gas 4. Butter a 20x30cm baking dish.
- Mix the dry: Combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the wet: Make a well in the centre, pour in the beaten eggs and milk, and whisk until smooth and light.
- Add the cheeses: Stir in the cottage cheese and grated Monterey Jack. Dot small lumps of cream cheese and butter over the top, then fold everything together with a spoon.
- Bake: Pour into the greased baking dish and bake for 30–40 minutes until golden, puffed, and set all the way through. Ramsay says to look for a nice crispy skin on top.
- Serve: Cut into generous squares straight from the dish. Ramsay serves this with a light tomato and watercress salad.
FAQs
Why is this called a cheat’s soufflé?
A proper soufflé relies on whisked egg whites folded into a base to create lift, and that technique is precise and unforgiving: overwork the whites and it doesn’t rise, open the oven too early and it collapses.
This version skips all of that because the baking powder creates the lift instead, so you just mix everything in one bowl and pour it into a dish. Ramsay describes it as “either a giant eggy pancake or a giant doughy omelette,” which tells you exactly how seriously to take the word soufflé here.
Can you swap the Monterey Jack?
Ramsay says in UCC to use Port Salut, mild Cheddar, or Edam if you can’t find Monterey Jack. The key is choosing something that melts smoothly without too sharp a flavour, because the cottage cheese and cream cheese are already doing the richness work.
Avoid anything crumbly like feta or hard like aged Parmesan, because they won’t melt into the batter evenly and you end up with dry pockets instead of that smooth, custardy texture throughout.
Can you make a lighter version?
Ramsay addresses this directly in UCC: “use semi-skimmed milk and half-fat versions of the cottage cheese and cream cheese.” Three swaps, same method, and the bake still puffs because the lift comes from the baking powder, not the fat.
