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Now you can enjoy New Orleans-Style Beignets without leaving the comfort of your home! If you’ve never enjoyed these soft and pillowy fried doughnuts before, you’re in for a treat. Because this is the best fried beignet recipe! Serve beignets warm, with plenty of powdered sugar!
Copycat Café du Monde Beignets
We’re heading to New Orleans for vacation today and I couldn’t be more excited to chill out in the big easy! Give me all the fried dough, boozy iced coffees, and gumbo, please and thank you!
But before we head to the airport, I’m popping in to share my favorite deep fried beignets recipe with you. Aka copycat Café du Monde beignets, which are the best in New Orleans.
They fry up crispy, chewy, and golden brown! And you serve the beignets warm, covered in powdered sugar, with piping hot coffee. Sweet enough to be dessert but we love making these for breakfast or brunch!
What is a Beignet?
To put it simply, beignets are square shaped pieces of dough that are deep fried and generously sprinkled with confectioners sugar.
- Leftovers taste ok at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well over time.
- The word beignet is French, and translates to fried dough or fritter.
- Unlike traditional doughnuts, they have a unique square shape.
- Texture wise, they’re crispy on the outside, with an airy pillowy soft interior.
- When it comes to taste, they’re not overly sweet. Which is why they’re served covered in lots and lots of powdered sugar.
- Best served hot, with a cafe au lait or cup of coffee.
- You’ll need a deep fry thermometer for this recipe. Because if your hot oil temperature is off, your fried dough will be too. This is the candy thermometer I use, and I love it. It costs me less than 10 bucks, and I’ve probably used it over a hundred times!
- To proof the yeast mixture, your warm water should be between 110 and 115 degrees (F). If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast cells, and if it’s too cold, the yeast will remain dormant and the dough won’t rise.
- This recipe requires bread flour. Bread flour is a high-gluten flour that has a tiny amount of barley flour and vitamin C added. The barley flour helps the yeast activate. The vitamin C increases the elasticity of the gluten and its ability to retain gas as the dough rises.
- The dough will double in size as it rests. Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours so it has time to properly develop.
- Fry the dough working in batches. If you crowd the oil, the beignets won’t get crispy or golden brown.
How to Serve Beignets
- As soon as you see the fried dough has achieved a golden brown color, remove them from the oil.
- Transfer them to a paper towel lined baking sheet to absorb some of the oil.
- Once cool enough to handle, transfer them to a large platter.
- Cover with powdered sugar and serve beignets warm!
As mentioned a few times earlier, I don’t suggest saving these for a future use. They get soggy after a few hours. So they’re best eaten right after making!
More Beignet Recipes:
If you can’t make it to New Orleans this year to enjoy cripsy golden brown fried dough… give it a try at home! Full step-by-step recipe video in the recipe card below!
New Orleans-Style Beignets
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, between 110 and 115 degrees (F)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 7 cups bread flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups peanut oil, for deep frying
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In a medium-size bowl, add the warm water, sugar, and yeast and whisk well to combine. Sit aside for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture has bubbled up and become foamy.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and evaporated milk. Beat in 3 and 1/2 cups of the flour until smooth. Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the yeast mixture (careful here – this mixture can splash up if added to quickly!); beat until smooth. Add in the butter and beat until incorporated. Finally, beat in the remaining 3 and 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Beat until dough is smooth and cohesive; about 2 minutes. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with three layers of paper towels, set aside.
- In a large enameled cast-iron pan, heat 4-inches of oil to 360 degrees (F). Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Cut the dough into 2 and 1/2-inch squares.
- In batches, fry the dough until they puff up and are golden brown in color, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beignets to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
- Dust with powdered sugar and serve at once!
Can the dough be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for a while?
I’m excited to try this wonderful recipe. Q: can i still do the recipe if i don’t have a paddle mixer?
I don’t have paddle hook but I have a sunbeam mix master with dough hooks. Can I use that instead?
I made these this morning for my wife to have with her coffee. Made the dough last night and put in the refrigerator. Easy and Excellent! Will make again. Followed the recipe exactly. Have not had Cafe Du Monde version, but we will be there in 2 weeks to compare…Thank you!
How did these compare to cafe du monde?
Can I substitute the Peanut oil with virgin Olive oil or Vegetable oil? Some of us in the house have a high peanut allergy…..
Vegetable oil will work fine as a sub!
Made these a couple of weeks ago and they were amazing, complete hit and were gone the next day woth only 4 of us in the house. Making these again today and have run out of bread flour after I already made the dough, will it be ok to roll out with regular flour? May need to add some to the dough as well as I only had about 6 1/2 cups of bread flour
Made this for a Super Bowl Party. Excellent, turned out great. Wonderful texture and taste. Some one needs to tell us how to serve them warm after they are fried? Especially if you have to transport them to a gathering. Great recipe. Will try again for Easter with the grandchildren.
Wonderful, I just don’t understand why you’d fry in peanut oil when tallow or lard is so much tastier and far healthier. I will never understand why somebody would recommend anything other
Maybe when many have allergies to mammal products like tallow or lard and still enjoy a sweet treat now and then.
Some religions don’t allow people to eat cow or pork products!
I cried, I can no longer travel home and go chill at Cafe Du Monde, stuff my face with beignets. I’ve tried other recipes before but this one is the best. It gave me a piece of home. Delicious, I ate mine with my favorite Chantilly cream mixed with a little raspberry preserve.
Shoot. I’ve started adding the flour…When do you add the butter? Did you skip this step ☹️
The ingredient list for this recipe calls for 4 cups of oil for frying, but the steps say 4 inches in a dutch oven- which is a lot more than 4 cups! Can you clarify?
When deep frying, the more oil you have the better, as it is a larger thermal mass. So when you drop the cold dough into the oil, the oil doesn’t dropping temperature too much. The colder the oil, the more oil will be absorbed by the dough, and make the finished product greasier. So more oil is always better.
When deep frying, the more oil you have the better, as it is a larger thermal mass. So when you drop the cold dough into the oil, the oil doesn’t dropping temperature too much. The colder the oil, the more oil will be absorbed by the dough, and make the finished product greasier. So more oil is always better.