If you've ever been to New Orleans, you know that Cafe Du Monde is where it's at! They are famous for their amazing beignets and it's totally worth the hype. I, however, live nowhere near New Orleans, so for Mardi Gras this year I decided to make my own homemade beignets. Specifically, these deep fried sourdough beignets!! The dough is light, pillowy, and fried to perfection. Then covered in a mountain of powdered sugar. Pure bliss I tell you.
As far as sourdough recipes go, these beignets are super easy to make and the dough is very forgiving! It can stay in the fridge anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, which gives you a ton of flexibility when making your beignets!
You might also like these sourdough donuts or these sourdough biscuits!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need 7 simple ingredients to make these sourdough beignets!
Sourdough Starter - You can't have sourdough beignets without sourdough starter!
Sugar - There's only a tiny bit of sugar in the beignet dough because they get most of their sweetness from being covered in powdered sugar!
Optional - You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste for extra flavor if desired.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
Making the Beignets
Since we're using ripe sourdough starter and the dough also requires chilling time, a little bit of planning is required. Depending on how active your sourdough starter is, you'll want to feed it about 6-8 hours before making your dough. Then the dough has to rise at room temperature for about 4 hours. Then the dough is refrigerated for 12-48 hours.
The dough is incredibly easy to make! You just combine all of the dough ingredients in a stand mixer and knead together with the dough hook attachment for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a nice ball and be soft and supple (but still just a tad sticky).
Then cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 4-6 hours (the colder the room, the longer the rise). This time allows the yeast to start working.
After the initial ferment, transfer the bowl to the fridge for 12-48 hours (I usually just do overnight). This second bulk ferment allows the flavor of the dough to fully develop.
When you're ready to fry the beignets, heat about 2 inches of canola oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or dutch oven (I prefer a deep dutch oven to prevent oil splatters). While the oil is heating, roll out your dough onto a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch thick. Then cut the dough into 2-3 inch squares.
Fry the beignets 3-5 at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. Flip the beignets often and fry until both sides are puffed and golden brown.
Remove from the oil and let drain on a cooling rack.
After the beignets have cooled for 1-2 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar! And by dust I mean cover in an avalanche of sugary goodness.
The sourdough beignets are best served hot so be sure to chow down immediately!
That's it!! Super easy and soooo good!
Sourdough Tips & Tricks
If you've never baked with sourdough before, it can be a little tricky. But don't worry, I have a full Sourdough Starter Guide all about making and maintaining a sourdough starter! I also have a full guide on different types of flour you can use to make sourdough and of course a guide on how to make a Beginner Homemade Sourdough Loaf. Below are a few quick tips and key terms you need to know.
- Sourdough Starter - A culture of wild yeast and bacteria that leavens and flavors sourdough bread. I use what's called a "liquid starter" versus a stiff starter. This means the starter is made with equal parts flour and water and should be a consistency similar to cake batter.
- Sourdough Discard - The portion of your starter that is discarded when feeding your starter (can be used in tons of recipes like sourdough discard blueberry muffins or sourdough pancakes).
- Ripe Starter - A starter that's ready to be used in baking. Your starter is ripe roughly 6 hours after feeding and will have doubled in size, have lots of visible bubbles, and a fresh acidic aroma.
Weigh your ingredients! For all my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams because it's much more accurate! I highly recommend getting a kitchen scale if you don't already have one! However, I have included alternate US customary measurements for your convenience.
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If your oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all breads and baked goods! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Easy sourdough recipes for beginners! If you've never made sourdough bread before, I recommend starting with some simple, no-fuss recipes like my sourdough naan or sourdough bagels! But if you're already a pro, I have a ton of fun sourdough recipes you can try!
Recipe FAQ's
No. This recipe is specifically designed for deep frying and won't have the same results if baked.
The beignets are best eaten the same day but can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Sourdough Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Sourdough Beignets
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 227 grams ripe sourdough starter
- 361 grams all purpose flour
- 65 grams granulated sugar
- 178 grams buttermilk, substitute whole milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 30 grams unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- canola oil, for frying
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the sourdough starter, flour, granulated sugar, buttermilk, melted butter, and salt.
- Knead on low speed for about 5 minutes until fully combined and smooth. The dough should form a nice ball but still be slightly sticky.
- Cover the dough and let rest at room temperature for 4-6 hours or until doubled in size. Place the bowl in the fridge and let the dough continue to ferment overnight (or up to 48 hours).
- When you're ready to make the beignets, heat about 2 inches of canola oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or dutch oven. It should take 5-10 minutes for the oil to heat to 350°F.
- Lightly flour the countertop and roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about ¼ inch thick. Then cut the dough into 3 inch squares.
- Fry 3-5 beignets at a time, making sure not to crowd the pan. Flip the dough often until they are puffed and golden brown on each side.
- Transfer to a cooling rack for about 2 minutes to drain off the excess oil.
- Dust very generously with powdered sugar and enjoy while still warm!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Nicole Hicks says
Made the half batch for dinner and a movie featuring Princess and the frog cut them out with the Mickey shaped cutter. They came out so cute and taste amazing will for sure be using this recipe again was so easy to put together. I did add vanilla and nutmeg as it’s included in the princess and the frog cookbook.
Stephanie says
I just made these this morning. Recipe was super easy to follow and worked great. I added slightly less sugar since I was using stevia instead of plain sugar. I’ll add normal amount next time as I feel they were a bit bland (which was my mistake) have you ever added vanilla to the recipe?
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes! I'd add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract!
Paul Kenneth says
My son just returned from New Orleans and Beignets. He said this recipe nails the texture! My sourdough starter is fairly sour and he has a sweet tooth. That said, these Beignets disappeared quickly- so no complaints!
Coral says
I made these last year and they were great! this year I want to try to ise gluten free 1:1 flour. Has anyone ever tried that on this recipe?
Kyleigh Sage says
I don't have expertise in gluten-free baking so I have no idea if it will work. I know other people have tested gluten-free 1:1 flour in many of my baked goods recipes (like muffins or cupcakes) and had good results, but since this dough is deep fried I don't know if it will work the same. If you do try it, I'd love to know how it turns out. But also I'd feel really bad if it doesn't work and you waste time/ingredients. It might be worth looking up some gluten-free deep fried donut recipes because those would have a similar texture.
Nylah says
Could I substitute with sourdough starter discard, or would it not work?
Kyleigh Sage says
If you want to use discard, you'll also want to add instant yeast to help them rise. I would add 2 teaspoons of yeast and then reduce the rising time. You can skip the first room temp rise and just place the dough in the fridge immediately after mixing together.
Page says
These were great! My husband asked me a year ago after visiting New Orleans to try and make some Sourdough Beignets and I finally tried it.. should have done it a long time ago. They were super simple and he thought they were great!
Natasha says
Wow - I just made these and they turned out sooooo good! I made them vegan but substituting buttermilk for soy milk + 1 tsp vinegar and used vegan butter. Its amazing how much they puff up when they hit the oil. Be patient and try this recipe out, it will definitely be added to my tried and true list!
Brenda says
This recipe was great! I did substitute a bit of rye flour for the white flour and added a bit of vanilla. I also left the dough in the fridge for a couple extra days because we were too busy to fry them. They still fluffed up nicely in the oil and were delicious!
Anita says
Great recipe! Thank you. It was delicious!!
Kristina says
These look delicious! Do you have to do the cold ferment or can you cook right after bulk ferment?
Kyleigh Sage says
I recommend the cold ferment because the dough is much easier to handle when it’s cold! But they should still fry up well after just the bulk ferment
JE says
I find this recipe to be very balanced. One thing I would love to figure out though, how do I get them to be light and fluffy? I’ve made this exact recipe three times now, and my beignets always end up too dense? I’ve tried using bread flour instead, I’ve also made sure to not over proof… I’ve tried hotter oil less time, lower temp more time etc.. They seem more dense caky and not pillowy. Any recommendations? Im looking for big bubbles and fluff!
Kelly says
Wow these are wonderful and SO easy! Thank for the excellent recipe!
Kendall says
These were amazing!! I love finding ways to use my sourdough starter and I'm so happy I tried this recipe
Andrew says
I absolutely love these! The sourdough starter really helps them puff up and they taste just like the ones I had in New Orleans!
Bri says
If you LOVE beignets but can’t make it to New Orleans (because why vacation somewhere SO HAUNTED!???) these are perfect! So yummy and fun to make when you have a few friends over (cause beignets are always best hot n’ fresh)