Beignets New Orleans
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
[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 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.
Hello!! I just wanted to say thank you for posting this recipe!
I like trying new things and Beignets were on my list for a long time since they seem similar with a deep fried pastry we have in Greece (loukoumades). I used buttermilk instead of evaporated milk and I added some cinnamon with the vanilla. I’m a college student and I made them for a get together with my friends.
To say they were amazing would be an understatement! Everyone enjoyed them! 😀
This recipe easily became a favourite of mine since it is both super-easy and tasty!! ^^
Yaaay! I’m so happy reading this one. Thanks for dropping by
Can you freeze the dough and fry from frozen?
Hi. I haven’t tried freezing the dough, but I don’t see why it won’t work. Just adjust your frying time. Or you can make the dough a day ahead, wrap it with a plastic wrap and place in the fridge. Then fry them in the morning. Just make sure you let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature before frying.
Would I need to modify the recipe if I wanted to bake these.?
For tender beignets , you may want to add about 2-4 tablespoons more butter.
I made these Beignets today as a trial run to see if I could successfully pull them off. They we’re perfect, almost like pillows of Heaven! I liked the idea that someone mentioned using Nutella or other fillings so I may have to try that in the future. I am planning on making these again on Sunday for Mother’s Day and that’s why I wanted to try them ahead of time. So far I have loved your meatball recipe and now you’re beignets. I have saved quite a few other recipes from your site into my recipe folder. if you lived close, I swear we would be besties! thanks for putting these recipes together and sharing them with us. by the way do you have a cookbook or are you planning one in the future? okay, well take care.
Can I use fresh yeast? How much will it be?
Hi Signe. I have yet to try fresh yeast . So I can’t provide you with accurate measurements.
Normally if you need to substitute active dry yeast with fresh yeast it would be double the amount (by weight). Don’t know how that translates into volume, though…
If I were to do a filling inside of the beignets, would I add the filling before or after frying the beignets? Or when do you suggest the filling gets added?
You can do both – before and after frying. But I prefer having it filled before frying and just seal the dough well.
Hi there can I make these the night before, cut to size and ready to go, will they be ok like that in the fridge overnight?
Hi Audrey,
Yes, they will. It has worked for me in the past.
Ima,thanks for always coming up with beautiful recipe that are workable.Can the dough sit alone from night till morning without being refrigerated before frying?
No, it can’t . It will change the taste and texture of the beignets.
Thanks for this recipe, & I added a few more ingredients. I added 2 ripe, mashed bananas, 1/2 tsp allspice & 4 cups flour total, plus extra for dusting when I was cutting the dough. (Adding the banana is how we do it in Haiti)
Everything else remained the same. My dough was a bit sticky, but I let it rise anyway.
I sprinkled my surface with flour, then the dough. I gently pressed & patted it into a rectangle, then cut out the squares. I spaced them a bit, so they’d rise better, for the 10 minutes you recommended.
I fried them, dusted with powdered sugar & had to stop myself after 2! They are absolutely delicious!
Thank you for that tip, Wes! Will have to try it your way some other time.
Is it okay if I can use coconut milk with this recipe?
You sure can.
I would love to make the beignets and was wondering if they can be cooked in an air fryer.
Hi, Helen. I haven’t tried air frying them, but I do some online on google.
Salted or unsalted butter
Please use unsalted butter.
I added butter to milk mixture. Should I start over?
No, just continue it still works.
Hi I am trying to make this recipe but I don’t understand how much is 7 g of yeast can you convert that into teaspoons for me
Hi Reeva, one packet or sachet of active dry yeast is equal to 2 teaspoons.
I have learned from America’s Test Kitchen/Baking Illustrated to use shortening for frying donuts. They seem to be less greasy. It’s easy and usually takes one container.
I just made these for my family and they turned out great! I’m not a very frequent baker, neither am I very experienced so this is really a great recipe for anyone and everyone.
I will make these again on Christmas 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.