New Orleans Beignets
These beignets, popular at New Orleans‘ Café 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, which I adore. So when, during my first Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I tried a heavenly bite of a beignet. Since then, Café du Monde’s beignets have had a special place in my heart.
What Is a 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
- Activate the yeast in warm water for about 5 minutes or until it dissolves and looks frothy. (Photo 1)
- Whisk the evaporated milk, sugar, salt, egg, egg yolks, and vanilla extract, then add it to the yeast mixture.
- Add about 2 cups of flour and continue mixing with a hand or dough mixer. If using a stand mixer, mix for about 1-2 minutes. (Photo 2)
- Mix in the melted butter (at least softened for easy mixing) until the dough is sticky but smooth, adding flour as needed to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes.
- Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size. Punch it down and dump it out on a lightly floured surface. (Photos 3-4)
- Roll it out until it is about ¼-⅓” thick. Cut it into 1½-2″ squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. (Photos 5-6)
- Fry it after letting the beignets rest for about 10 minutes, working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Flip once and fry until puffy and golden brown on both sides. (Photo 7)
- Drain excess oil and dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy! (Photo 8)
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.
- Beignets taste best fresh, and this recipe makes about 35-40 two-inch beignets, so invite some friends over and share this delicacy along with some strong coffee and cheerful 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 make 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 (café au lait), I love chai tea latte. Usually, I dial back my coffee’s sugar to balance the pastry’s sweetness.
More Amazing Pastries 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.
New Orleans Beignets
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm water
- 1 ¼-ounce packet (7g) active dry yeast
- ½ cup (120ml) evaporated milk
- ¼ cup (60ml) water
- ⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
- 3½-4 cups (470-500g) all-purpose flour (start with 3 cups and add more as needed)
- 4 tablespoons (60g) butter, melted or at least softened
- 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, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in about 2 cups of 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:
- 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.
- Regular milk is fine if you wish to substitute the evaporated milk.
- If you prefer brown sugar, you can substitute up to 2 tablespoons (half) for the granulated sugar.
- 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.
Thank you so much. Enjoyed every bite I made for my family.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
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
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.
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.
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!
I’m very happy you enjoyed Betty. Yes, the fluffier the better 😉
Love love love your recipe! Thank you so much
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 🙂
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.
Hello Lyn. Would love to know how it turned out for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful dear. Courage
I am interested in the verdict as well!
Loralyn
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.
Can the dough be frozen after it’s been cut into squares, and then thawed to cook later? Thanks.
Yes it sure can.
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!!
Hello Bren. It works just fine with this recipe.
Happy Baking!!!
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.