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.
Lindsey says
The beignet recipe was easy to follow and very specific. They tasted great for the ingredients they entail, however, I won’t be making them again as it seems to be too much work for something so simple
Veronica says
These were really easy to make! I cut way too short squares, but the (mini) beignets were still soft and fluffy. Thanks so much for the recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome. Thanks for letting me know.
Janine k says
I have fast acting instant yeast instead of the recommended yeast.. can this work before I invest in it? Can it be substituted with what I have?
imma africanbites says
Hi, Janine. It works fine with this recipe.
AJ says
I like to prepare a day and a advance. I did read where you said I can do in advance and place in refrigerator, my question is can I cut the sections out and store in the refrigerator and then the following morning bring to room temperature prior to frying?
Frances says
Hello please can u explain d measurement if using cup the one I ve for measurements uses grams thank you….
imma africanbites says
Hi Frances. You can switch to cup measurement in the recipe box. Just click on US Customary below the recipe ingredients and it should switch back to cups. Let me know if that works on your end.
ELlis says
Hi, I previously made this and it tastes wonderful! Am going to make it again but somehow the US-metric conversion is gone, why is it so? If I remember correctly, this page allowed me to adjust portion and convert the measurements, but now it’s no longer adjustable.
Jennifer says
Thank you for posting this recipe. My son was recently diagnosed with Celiac, so no more Cafe du Monde, which were his favorite. I substituted King Arthur GF flour, & they are perfect! He loves them!
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome . Thanks for the feedback.
Uchechukwu says
Thank you so much. Enjoyed every bite I made for my family.
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks so much!
sydnei says
Hi Sydnei here:
I give this recipe a high five plus 10 ⭐️‘s !! I’m 13 , My first time baking , It was easy to make. I surprised my brothers and sister, while they watch Princess and a frog , They loved them , especially when I added honey.
I can wait to figure my next project! Cooking and baking can be fun!
Thank you
ImmaculateBites says
Aww… that is so sweet of you. I bet your siblings eat it all and gave you two thumbs up. Cooking and baking is SOOOO much Fun.
Keep it up!!
Much love.
Mumtaz says
Thank you! Love this recipe they are very much like Maandazi. I am from Tanzania and I love trying new recipe.
Recipe Rating I give you 10 Stars.
Betty says
Super easy to follow recipe. Great tasting too! My friends liked it better than the Cafe Dumont bc they weren’t as greasy and they were fluffier! Thanks!
Imma says
I’m very happy you enjoyed Betty. Yes, the fluffier the better 😉
Khrystyna says
Love love love your recipe! Thank you so much
Destany says
I’m confused with the 4.08 cups…
if I’m making a batch for 20 people what would I be using. Like in Tsp,tbs, and cups? Sorry 🙂
Lynn James says
I ordered the boxed mix for the Cafe Du Monde Beignets from Amazon because I hadn’t found a real recipe from scratch that had the feedback and rave reviews that accompany your recipe. As I feel that it would be wasteful to simply discard the mix, I am more curious than ever to prepare the “boxed” version AND prepare your recipe, especially considering The Cafe Du Monde Mix claims to be “the original, best beignet one can buy second only to ordering on the Quarter”. I will post a follow-up after my little taste test to let you know which one came out ahead (I will say in advance, your recipe appears to be less labor-intensive and more “user friendly” simply from reading the preparation steps, so you’re already markedly ahead in my book.
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Lyn. Would love to know how it turned out for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Nforya Gladys says
Beautiful dear. Courage
Loralyn says
I am interested in the verdict as well!
Loralyn
ENWEFAH EMMANUEL says
LOOVVVEE your site, your recipes come in METRIC, thanks cos thats all i know. I AM A Nigerian and love fried dough alot. Thanks fall the tips.
Janie Griffiths says
Can the dough be frozen after it’s been cut into squares, and then thawed to cook later? Thanks.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes it sure can.
Bren says
Hello…
Was looking for a “delicious beignet recipe” …. & BAM…. theres yours with RAVING REVIEWS!
As a US missionary living in Jamaica… I have brought INSTANT active yeast with me. Will the INSTANT make a difference?
Thanks
CANT WAIT TO TRY!!
ImmaculateBites says
Hello Bren. It works just fine with this recipe.
Happy Baking!!!