I grew up eating Puff Puff, a popular traditional West African deep-fried dough that I adore down to this day, which means when it comes to fried doughs, I have pretty high expectations.
That said, during my first Mardi Gras experience in New Orleans, I got to try a heavenly bite of the magical light as a feather fried dough generously covered in powdered sugar that is the New Orleans beignet. 😍
From then on, Cafe du Monde’s beignets (and beignets in general) have had a special place in my heart.
What is a Beignet?
Beignets are sweet treats you’ll find almost every patisserie in New Orleans. Essentially, they are a cross between a donut and a fritter.
Dubbed as the official state doughnut of Louisiana, these rectangular treats are deep-fried, pillowy, light, and puffy doughnuts made with a yeasted dough and just the right amount of sweetness with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Recipe Ingredients
Below are the main ingredients that you’ll need in making these popular doughy delights.
- Yeast – An ingredient that makes our pastry light and airy, but use warm water to activate it.
- Evaporated Milk – This shelf-stable milk has been simmered until about 60 percent of the water content evaporates and then canned. It’s slightly creamier than fresh milk but has less fat than cream. (See my guide on how you can make Homemade Evaporated Milk.) Any regular milk will work fine if in case you wish to substitute the evaporated milk, but it won’t be as flavorful.
- Sugar – This kitchen staple is ideal for making all kinds of pastries.
- Egg – This binder is pivotal to the texture of many baked goods, beignets included.
- Vanilla Extract – Give your pastry a flavor boost with this ingredient. And you can make one at home, too. Go check out my Homemade Vanilla Extract recipe.
- Flour – Perfect for sweet and savory dishes alike, all-purpose flour is the main ingredient in most pastries.
- Butter – Creamy and flavorful, butter is a key ingredient bakers use to give their goods a delicious taste and texture. You can substitute butter with vegetable shortening, but I prefer the texture and the buttery notes in my beignets.
- Corn Oil – Replace corn oil with any other flavorless oil to fry your beignets. Peanut oil is pretty good, though.
How to Make Beignets
Prepare the Dough
- Activate the Yeast – 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. (Photos 1-2)
- Add the Liquids – Lightly whisk evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in the Flour – 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)
- Now the Butter – Finally, add melted butter and mix until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add in additional flour (if needed) to make a soft dough. (Photo 4)
- Knead the Dough – Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes.
- Let it 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)
- Punch the dough down and remove it from the bowl.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about ¼ – 1/3 inch thick. (Photo 7)
- Form the Beignets – Cut the dough into 1 1/2 to 2″ squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. (Photo 8)
- Let it rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
Fry the Beignets
- Patience – Working in batches to not crowd the oil, 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 and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook and absorb more oil (not good 😬). 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℉ and 115℉/43-46℃. Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast won’t activate. Your beignets won’t rise and get that classic melt-in-your-mouth texture in either situation.
- 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 Instructions
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.
Pro Tip: Just make sure your dough comes back to room temperature for about 30 minutes before frying.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve beignets piping hot, fresh out of the frying pan. Don’t forget to dust them with a healthy coat of powdered sugar and make a pot of Luzianne coffee.
Store beignets in an airtight container on your countertop at room temperature. They should keep for 2-3 days.
Reheat beignets 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.
FAQs
Although nothing compares to a perfectly deep-fried beignet, you could bake them if you’re trying to cut back on fat. Simply make the dough as the recipe says, preheat your oven to 400℉/205℃, then bake your beignets for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Dusting them with extra powdered sugar makes up for not frying them. 😉
Doughnuts and beignets have different shapes and textures. Doughnuts are round, while beignets are square. In addition, donut dough has more eggs, which results in a pastry with more air pockets than beignets. Both are fried, and both are absolutely delicious. 🤤
What Goes with New Orleans Beignets
I like to follow up a spicy meal, like this African spicy oxtail stew or Asun with these sweet pastries because I find it really rounds out the meal.
Definitely serve beignets with a hot drink. Two of my faves are the chai tea latte or a pumpkin spice latte. Usually, I dial back the sweetness of my hot drink to balance the pastry’s sweetness better.
More Fried Comfort Food Recipes to Try
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”f6rrNboF” upload-date=”2019-09-18T07:55:46.000Z” name=”New Orleans Beignets” description=” Beignets – These New Orleans doughnuts are the best! Soft, pillowy and light just like the ones eat at Cafe du Monde but taste even better! You can’t beat Homemade.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
This post was first published in February 2017 and has been updated with new photos and additional content.
Beignets (New Orleans)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180 mL lukewarm water
- 1 .25-ounce packet (7 g) active dry yeast
- ½ cup (125 mL) evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup (66 g) sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ – 4 cups (469-500 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter, melted
- corn oil (or any flavorless oil), for frying
- 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 about 1-2 minutes.
- Finally, add melted butter and mix until the dough is sticky but smooth. Add in additional flour (if 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 it is about ¼ – ⅓ inch thick.
- Cut the dough into 1 ½ to 2" squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Let it rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
- Working in batches to not 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:
- When mixing the yeast and water, keep in mind that the water should be somewhere between 110℉ and 115℉/43-46℃. Any hotter and the water will kill the yeast cells; any cooler and the yeast won’t activate. Your beignets won’t rise and get that classic melt-in-your-mouth texture in either situation.
- You can substitute butter with vegetable shortening, but I prefer the texture and buttery notes of my beignets.
- You can make the dough the day before and fry them in the morning. Just make sure you let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
- Oil should be at 375℉/190℃ when frying. Any cooler and the beignets will take longer to cook and absorb more oil (not good). Any hotter and the outside can burn before the inside is cooked through.
- Any regular milk would work fine if you wish to substitute the evaporated milk.
- Corn oil or any flavorless oil is excellent for frying these beignets.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used in the recipe.
Dan says
Fantastic!
I’ve made these twice now following this recipe and they turned out perfect both times.
Marie LeLoup says
Hello! 🙂 trying to make the dough the night before and fry them in the morning. Is it ok to leave it in the fridge over night? Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, you can.Let it rest outside , about 30 minutes before frying.
Chani says
How much yeast is it in grams?
imma africanbites says
Hi, Chani. It’s 7 grams. Updated the recipe box.
Brittany says
I was wondering what temperature should the oil be at for frying?
ImmaculateBites says
It should be at 375 degrees.
Gia says
What would be a good substitute for evaporated milk
ImmaculateBites says
Regular milk would work just fine.
Donna Miles says
I made these today for my husband’s birthday. Your recipe was easy to follow and the results were delicious! Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Great! So happy to hear it worked out well. Thanks for the feedback!
karen says
This recipe is the bomb! My 11 year old son wanted to make beignets for his French class and we decided on your recipe…so happy we did! Easy to follow, excellent results! They were perfect! Fried between 360 and 370 degrees. Thank you!
ImmaculateBites says
Yay! Thanks for choosing mine . So glad to hear it worked out well for you. Thanks for taking time out to share this with me.
Aya says
How many beignets does this recipe make? I’m wondering if I’ll need to double up the recipe since I’m making it for a group of people.
ImmaculateBites says
It all depends on the size. If you cut into 2-inch squares it will yield about 35-40. It really depends on the crowd- and the other items on the menu.
Khrystyna says
Omg!! So good! Just enough sweetness with every bite.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback!
FARIDA SEKHAR says
Thanks for the recipe. I am a Tanzanian and maandazi is our breakfast accompliment. I am trying beignet your recipe today. I dont understand after frying “make a pit stop on paper towel”. Please can you Explain. Thanks.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Farida! Pit stop simply means – letting it stay for a few minutes on the paper towel. Happy Cooking !!!
Nicole says
I’m trying these tonight! When and where do we add the pinch of salt?
ImmaculateBites says
You add it together with the sugar. Happy Cooking!!!
Cynira says
5* to these beignets! Usually I use Paula Deen’s recipe and I add more sugar, and I add butter. If I don’t add butter, they become kinda dry the next day. But with butter, they stay soft for couple of days. Great job Immaculate’s! I really love your recipes. You’very got me back to cooking again! Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Woohoo!!! . So glad to hear this cynira ! Thanks for taking the time to share this with me.
Cynthia says
Cynira just curious how much more sugar and butter do you add to the Paula Seen recipe?
Immaculate bites how many beignets will this recipe make exactly because the recipe says 4 -5. Is that the total amount? That doesn’t seem like very many. The Paula Deen recipe says it makes 36.
imma africanbites says
Hi, Cynthia. Thanks for raising that up. This recipe is a combination of Paula Dean and Anne Burrell’s and have also modified the amount of ingredient a bit. I’ve also updated the recipe to reflect the approximate amount that this recipe would yield which is around a dozen, depending of course on how big or small you cut the dough.
Ann okike says
Thanks,I’ll give it a try….
Didina Gnagnide Angorinie says
I wonder, would it be sacrilegious to put some cream or nutella inside them? Just once a year, of course . Or would it be too much?
ImmaculateBites says
For once a year you can stuff and dip it in chocolate -Lol. Not sacrilegious at all .. As a matter of fact , I tried it with Nutella and OMG. SO GOOD yet SOOO BAD. It’s going on my guilty pleasure rotation list.
Didina Gnagnide Angorinie says
I know what you mean…but I am more partial to cream. Nutella is great for a quick fix though! Well these beignets are gonna be great anyway.
Jzy says
what kind of oil?
ImmaculateBites says
I used corn oil. Any flavorless oil will do.