New Orleans Beignets – These New Orleans doughnuts popular at Cafe du Monde are soft, pillowy, and light, made with love in your kitchen. 💕 Forget regular doughnuts because these are easy and satisfying.
I grew up eating mandazi and puff puff, popular traditional West African deep-fried dough I adore. So when, during my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I tried a heavenly bite of a New Orleans beignet. Since then, Café du Monde’s beignets (and beignets in general) have had a special place in my heart.
Content…What Is It? |
What Is a New Orleans Beignet?
Beignets are sweet treats covered in powdered sugar that are somewhere between a donut and a fritter. Dubbed Louisiana’s state doughnut, the delicious yeast dough, fried and dusted with powdered sugar, is absolutely divine.
How to Make Beignets New-Orleans Style
Prepare the Dough
- Activate Yeast – In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine lukewarm water and yeast. Let the yeast activate for about 5 minutes or until it dissolves and looks frothy. (Photos 1-2)
- Liquids – Lightly whisk evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in about 2 cups flour and continue mixing with a hand or dough mixer. If using a stand mixer, mix for about 1-2 minutes. (Photo 3)
- Butter – Finally, mix in the melted butter until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add in additional flour (if needed) to make a soft dough. (Photo 4)
- Knead – Turn the beignet dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes.
- Rise – Place the beignet dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat it. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. (Photos 5-6)
Make the Beignets
- Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about ¼-⅓” thick. (Photo 7)
- Form – Cut the dough into 1½-2″ squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. (Photo 8)
- Rest – Let rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
- Patience – Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan, fry the dough squares until puffy and golden brown. (Photos 9-10)
- Drain – Remove them from the oil, making a pit stop on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.
- Dust with powdered sugar immediately.
- Serve warm with a steaming cup of café au lait, and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook, absorbing too much oil. Any hotter and the outside can burn before the inside is cooked through.
- When mixing the yeast and water, keep in mind that the water should be somewhere between 110℉-115℉ (43-46℃). Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast may not activate.
- Beignets taste best fresh, and this recipe makes for about 35-40 2-inch beignets, so invite some friends over and share this delicacy along with some strong coffee and good conversation. 😉
Make-Ahead and Leftovers
If you make your beignet dough ahead of time (up to three days), you can keep it in the fridge and fry them when you are ready. Just make sure your dough comes back to room temperature for about 30 minutes before frying.
Store fried beignets in an airtight container on your countertop at room temperature for 2-3 days, or freeze them for 3-4 months. Reheat by popping them in the microwave for 10 seconds. If you’ve got a few extra seconds, try reheating them in your countertop convection oven to get that crispy outer layer back.
What Goes With New Orleans Beignets
I like to follow up a spicy meal, like African spicy oxtail stew or asun, with beignets because they round out the meal.
Definitely serve beignets with a hot drink. Besides coffee with milk (cafe au lait), I love chai tea latte. Usually, I dial back my coffee’s sugar to balance the pastry’s sweetness.
More Amazing Pastry Recipes to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
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This blog post was originally published in February 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
Beignets (New Orleans)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm water
- 1 .25-ounce packet (7g) active dry yeast
- ½ cup (12ml) evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup (66g) sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 3¾-4 cups (470-500g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (42g) butter, melted
- corn oil for frying (or any neutral-flavored oil)
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine lukewarm water and yeast. Let the mixture do its job for about 5 minutes or until it's dissolved and looks a little frothy.
- Lightly whisk evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in about 2 cups flour and continue mixing with a hand or dough mixer. If using a stand mixer, mix for 1-2 minutes.
- Finally, add melted butter and mix until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add additional flour as needed to make a soft dough.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes. Place the beignet dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat it. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until ¼-⅓ inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 1½-2-inch squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
- Working in batches so as not to crowd the oil, fry the dough squares until puffy and golden brown.
- Remove them from the oil, making a pit stop on a paper towel to soak up any extra oil.
- Dust with powdered sugar immediately. Serve hot with café au lait, and enjoy!!!
Tips & Notes:
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook, absorbing too much oil. Any hotter and the outside can burn before the inside is cooked through.
- When mixing the yeast and water, keep in mind that the water should be somewhere between 110℉-115℉ (43-46℃). Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast may not activate.
- You can make the dough the day before and fry them in the morning. Just let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
- Regular milk is fine if you wish to substitute the evaporated milk.
- Corn oil or any neutral-flavored high-smoke-point oil is excellent for frying.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in the recipe.
Kelly Diamond says
This recipe is well written and easy to follow. I used rapid rise yeast but otherwise followed the recipe and I will definitely make these again. Thank you so much for sharing.
Imma says
You’re welcome, Kelly :)!
Nicole Bates says
At what point would you refrigerate overnight? After punching down? After rolling out?
ImmaculateBites says
You can refrigerate after punching down or rolling out . They both work.
Rhonda says
Quick question…..how long do you deep fry each batch?
Imma says
It doesn’t take long. Usually 2-3 minutes, but it could take 5 minutes if you’re at high altitude. Hope that helps.❤️
Esperanza Acuna says
I just had a question can i use instant yeast
Imma says
Yes, you absolutely can. My post on yeast substitutes explains you can add it directly to the dough, and you’re good. https://www.africanbites.com/substitute-for-yeast/
John Pass says
I use about 4 cups of flour. It makes dozens of beignets. After deep frying them I let them cool some and freeze them for later. I heat them in a new wave oven 2 minutes each side. They come out crispier than eaten right away. Freezing is the way to go. You can’t store them any other way and expect a tasty beignets.
Imma says
Thanks for sharing your amazing experience. Happy lovely weekend, try some other amazing recipes to feel special.
Christina C says
I never tasted a Kristy Kreme donut, but these are amazing! My girls agree they’re better than the fancy (expensive) bakery down the street. Thanks for the great recipe!
Christina C says
Oops! This review is for the other recipe. Not sure how it got posted here or why I can’t remove it now. Lol!
Kristen Bingel says
I’ve had Krispy Kreme donuts. They’re the most amazing cloud soft pillowy donuts that melt in your mouth you’ll ever experience. I’m from SC, so they’re a staple in the local diet. If you didn’t sell them to fundraise as a kid, you didn’t grow up in here. Lol I also love love love beignets. We made them in French class and I’ve been in love ever since. Now what recipe are you talking about that Krispy Kreme came up? I’m dying to know!!
Imma says
Thank you so much for your feedback. And I’m so happy you loved them.
Sarah says
YOU ARE A GENIUS. These were incredible. I followed your advice and refrigerated some of the dough for the next day, and was in heaven all over again. Made some quick caramel (because I had feelings I needed to eat), and will be making these again and again. Thanks for another phenomenal recipe!
Bob says
We add in 2 cups of flour and mix 1-2 min. Then we add the butter… When does the rest of the flour get added – before or after the butter?
Imma says
You start with 2 cups of flour, then after mixing in the butter, you add as much as you need to get the right texture (step 4). You’ll also need flour for kneading so your dough doesn’t stick to the surface (step 5). Please let me know how it turns out! :heart_eyes:
Christine says
Delicious! Easy to follow recipe results in yummy beignets! We can’t wait to make these again! Thank you!