Beignets
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Nothing beats homemade Beignets! They’re soft, pillowy, fluffy and airy, not to mention totally scrumptious. Close your eyes, take a bite and enjoy!
The Best Beignets Recipe
Believe me when I say that you will never look at a store bought donut the same way ever again after trying a bit of one of my homemade beignets. I love watching these pillowy little treats bobbing away in the hot fryer oil, promising deliciousness to come. These little treats are fluffy and airy, super tender and delicious to the very last bite.
My mom used to whip these up for me as a kid so I always think of her when I’m standing over these frying away, turning golden brown and filling the kitchen with the most delicious smell. I’m excited to share this recipe with you all, so let’s get into it!
Why You’ll Love These Beignets
- Easy Recipe! No fancy ingredients or skills are needed to make this beignets recipe. And with the help of a stand mixer, this yeasted dough is effortless to make.
- Homemade Fluffy Donuts! Fried to golden brown perfection on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside, and then dusted with a bit of powdered sugar, these yummy beignets are delicious.
- Crowd Pleaser! You will not be able to keep these sweet treats around! Your family will eat them up as fast as you fry them and then beg you to make even more.
- Water – We want lukewarm water to help activate our yeast. Make sure the water is between 98℉ and 105℉ (36.5°C to 40.5°C).
- Yeast – Today we’re using active dry yeast. Make sure to check the expiration date on your yeast.
- Sugar – This sugar will both sweeten our recipe but it will also be food for our yeast to activate.
- Egg – We need only 1 large egg as a binder.
- Milk – Use any kind of milk you have on hand.
- Flour – All purpose works just fine for these little donuts.
- Salt – Every dessert recipe needs salt, just a bit to balance out all the sweetness.
- Butter – Unsalted and softened to room temperature.
- Oil – We want vegetable oil today, something like canola will work to fry our little beignets in.
- Powdered sugar – To sprinkle on top of our finished donuts, optional but highly recommended.
Making homemade beignets is really easy! In fact, even easier than donuts! Just follow these easy directions and they will come out perfect!
To begin, you need to bloom the yeast. To do this, whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Then allow the mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes undisturbed until the yeast has dissolved and begins to foam. However, if your yeast doesn’t bubble or froth up this means it’s dead and won’t work.
After the yeast has been activated, add the egg and milk to the bowl. Then whisk everything together until it’s well combined. For the best results use an egg and milk that is at room temperature.
Now let’s start making the dough! First, stir the flour and salt together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Next, add the yeast mixture and butter to the bowl and mix everything together on low speed for about 5 minutes using the dough hook. The dough is done when it starts to come clean from the sides of the bowl.
Next, transfer the dough into a greased bowl. Then cover the bowl with a clean damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Now, set the dough in a warm dark place for about 1 to 2 hours so that it can rise and double in size.
Once the dough has doubled in size, place it onto a clean lightly floured work surface. Then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a long rectangle that’s about ¾-inch in thickness. Now, cut the dough into long strips using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Then cut the strips into squares.
To fry the donuts, heat about 2 to 3 inches of vegetable oil to 350°F (177°C) in a deep frying pan or Dutch oven. For safety reasons and the best results, you can monitor the temperature using a digital cooking thermometer or candy thermometer. However, if the oil gets too hot you need to lower the heat or turn it off immediately. It’s much easier and safer to heat the oil back up.
While the oil is heating, line a large baking sheet with paper towels to place beignets to drain once they have been fried.
When the oil is ready, you can start making some donuts! You’ll need to fry them in batches. So just add 5 to 6 squares of dough to the hot oil and fry them for about 2 to 3 minutes turning them once. When done, they will be golden brown on both sides. Then transfer them to the paper towel-lined baking sheet as they finish frying so that the excess oil can drain.
After all the beignets have been fried, sprinkle them with some powdered sugar and serve them immediately to enjoy. You can also add a sprinkle of cinnamon or vanilla sugar if you like to make them different flavors!
What Are Beignets?
Beignet is a french word and it’s synonymous with the English “fritter” made from deep fried choux pastry. These fried fritters are sometimes also filled with fruit. But today, what we know as a beignet is mostly a square piece of dough, deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar.
This is probably what people think of when hearing the word beignet. Beignets are also quite popular in New Orleans Creole cuisine, brought there by the French colonists back in the 18th century.
Can I Bake My Beignets?
You sure can! If you’re not into frying or don’t have the tools necessary these will pop right up in the oven nicely.
- Once you’ve cut your beignets into their little squares, allow the dough to proof for a further 45 minutes.
- While this is happening preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Brush your beignets with a little milk before placing in the oven
- Bake the donuts for 12 – 15 minutes until golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar and serve hot!
What Can I Serve Beignets With?
These pillowy little treats pair perfectly with so much! Whether you’d rather snack on these all on their own or making a sweet spread, I’ve got you covered.
- Mulled Wine
- Nutella Frappucino
- A nice cup of coffee may I suggest cafe au lait?
- Banana Fritters
- Guinness Brownies
- Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
Expert Tips
- You could also use instant or rapid-rise yeast instead of the active dry yeast. If you do, you do not need to dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. It could be mixed right into the dough.
- To speed up the dough rising process, heat your oven to 200°F (93°C). Turn off the oven and place your dough as specified in step 4 in the oven with the door closed. This will ensure a warm environment for your dough and the dough will rise fairly quickly.
- If you’re planning on feeding a huge crowd go ahead and double the recipe because one thing’s for sure, these will disappear off the table in no time.
- Before frying these beignets make sure your oil is hot, it needs to be 350°F (177°C). Try one at first and check out the oil, the beignet should fry pretty quickly.
Leftovers
Sadly these little doughy morsels lose their appeal when not eaten fresh. Frying them up day of is part of the appeal! So while I don’t recommend storing these cooked, lucky for us the uncooked dough can be stored for future use!
Fridge
You can refrigerate uncooked dough for up to 2 days if stored in an airtight container. Just be sure to take it out of the fridge and allow to come back up to temperature before frying, You never want to add cold dough to a fryer.
Freezer
Form the beignets and line them up raw on a baking sheet, place this in the freezer and once frozen through move the beignets to an airtight container or freezer bag. Keep this in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow it to defrost fully on the counter before frying up!
Other Delicious Donut Recipes To Try
- Malasadas
- Cinnamon Sugar Donut Twists
- Cherry Filled Donuts
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Paczki (Polish Donuts)
- Blueberry Fritters
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Beignets
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup water (lukewarm )
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast ((or 1 envelope))
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted and softened)
- vegetable oil (for frying)
- powdered sugar (for sprinkling, optional)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the water, yeast and sugar. Whisk it all together a bit and let it sit for about 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast dissolves and starts to froth up.
- Once the yeast has dissolved, add the egg, milk and whisk.
- To the bowl of your mixer combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and butter to the bowl. Using the dough hook, mix it well until well incorporated. You will know that the dough is done when it comes clean from the sides of the bowl.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and place it in an oiled bowl. Cover it with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and let it sit and double in size, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours, in a warm place.
- Roll out the dough in a long rectangle that's about ¾ of an inch in thickness. Cut the dough in long strips then cut the strips to form squares.
- Add about 3 inches of oil to a deep frying pan, I used a Dutch Oven. Before frying the beignets make sure the oil is hot, it needs to be 350°F (177°C).
- Fry the beignets, about 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown on both sides. Make sure you turn them on both sides to fry them evenly.
- Transfer the beignets to a large bowl lined with paper towels to drain some of the excess oil. Sprinkle beignets with powdered sugar and serve.
Notes
- This recipe will yield about 32 beignets, but it depends on how big you cut them.
- You could also use instant or rapid-rise yeast instead of the active dry yeast. If you do, you do not need to dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water. It could be mixed right into the dough.
- To speed up the dough rising process, heat your oven to 200°F (93°C). Turn off the oven and place your dough as specified in step 4 in the oven with the door closed. This will ensure a warm environment for your dough and the dough will rise fairly quickly.
- If you’re planning on feeding a huge crowd go ahead and double the recipe because one thing’s for sure, these will disappear off the table in no time.
- Before frying these beignets make sure your oil is hot, it needs to be 350°F (177°C). Try one at first and check out the oil, the beignet should fry pretty quickly.
Recipe originally shared August 2011.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
