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)
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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.
Nadia says
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!! ^^
imma africanbites says
Yaaay! I’m so happy reading this one. Thanks for dropping by
Uzair Valli says
Can you freeze the dough and fry from frozen?
imma africanbites says
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.
Irma says
Would I need to modify the recipe if I wanted to bake these.?
ImmaculateBites says
For tender beignets , you may want to add about 2-4 tablespoons more butter.
Melissa F says
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.
Signe says
Can I use fresh yeast? How much will it be?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Signe. I have yet to try fresh yeast . So I can’t provide you with accurate measurements.
Fiamma says
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…
Raven says
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?
imma africanbites says
You can do both – before and after frying. But I prefer having it filled before frying and just seal the dough well.
Audrey Kenny says
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?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Audrey,
Yes, they will. It has worked for me in the past.
Babatobee says
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?
ImmaculateBites says
No, it can’t . It will change the taste and texture of the beignets.
Wes J says
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!
imma africanbites says
Thank you for that tip, Wes! Will have to try it your way some other time.
Jesse says
Is it okay if I can use coconut milk with this recipe?
ImmaculateBites says
You sure can.
Helen says
I would love to make the beignets and was wondering if they can be cooked in an air fryer.
imma africanbites says
Hi, Helen. I haven’t tried air frying them, but I do some online on google.
Dollie says
Salted or unsalted butter
imma africanbites says
Please use unsalted butter.
Jacque says
I added butter to milk mixture. Should I start over?
ImmaculateBites says
No, just continue it still works.
Reeva says
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
imma africanbites says
Hi Reeva, one packet or sachet of active dry yeast is equal to 2 teaspoons.
Denise Losey says
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.
Tina says
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 🙂
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.