Sourdough beignets are warm, pillowy pockets of fried dough showered in powdered sugar and piled high for a special breakfast or a scrumptious dessert.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full affiliate link disclosure here.
You’ve probably heard of beignets by now. They truly are one of the tastiest little fried treats.
While they are considered an iconic Mardi Gras treat, don’t let that stop you. Beignets are easily enjoyed anytime, anywhere, not just in New Orleans.
They are a delectable, rustic dessert to be enjoyed any time of year. When served warm, they nearly melt in your mouth, the powdered sugar creating a soft, sticky exterior of deliciousness.
So as tasty as they are and knowing how I love to convert recipes to sourdough, here we have sourdough beignets.
They’re like regular beignets, but better — sweet, fluffy, golden fried dough with hints of sourdough flavor.
Why You’ll Love Homemade Sourdough Beignets
Delicious: Who doesn’t love deep-fried food? The benefit here is the fermented dough and your choice of quality oil, leaving you with a mouthwatering sweet treat that won’t treat your stomach like fair food will.
Served warm, they are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and perfectly sweet. Looking for a baked option? You might like these baked sourdough donuts!
Simple: While the name beignet seems to suggest a complicated or finicky process, this is a simple recipe with a very straightforward procedure. It’s quite simple and utilizes basic ingredients to create a heavenly treat.
Sourdough: This is such a fun recipe to make with your sourdough starter. The flavors combine so well, and the fermentation time allows a lot of flexibility.
Make your dough, then ferment it for up to 48 hours if you like before you ever get started on cooking. New to sourdough? I have a post you might find useful that is all about how to use a sourdough starter.
Ingredients
Sugar: A small amount of sugar is used for a hint of sweetness to the dough. A generous dusting of powdered sugar at the end will be the main source of sweetness.
Sourdough Starter: You’ll want an active, bubbly starter to rise the dough.
Flour: All-purpose flour works best for consistent results with these fluffy little pastries.
Neutral oil: This is your oil for frying, so go for one that is very neutrally flavored. Avocado oil or coconut oil would be a good choice.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Beignets
Step 1: In a small saucepan, heat the cream until warm but not hot. Add the sugar, whisking until dissolved, then allow to cool. (If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast in the sourdough starter.) Transfer the cream mixture to a large bowl, then add the active starter, egg, melted butter, flour, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 2: Place the dough onto a clean surface and knead for around 5 minutes or until the dough feels smooth.
Step 3: Set the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise until doubled in size. In a warm location, this might take 6-8 hours.
Step 4: After it has doubled, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle that is about ¼-½” thick. Cut the dough into 1½ inch squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. They don’t need to be perfectly even or uniform, though keep in mind that larger beignets will cook more slowly than smaller ones.
Step 5: Place the cut beignets onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel again and let rise for 1½ to 2 hours in a warm place.
Step 6: To cook the beignets, fill a deep, heavy pot with about 2-3 inches of neutral oil. Heat until the oil reaches 330-350 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry about 3-5 pieces at a time for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place the beignets on a cooling rack or a tray lined with paper towels to let any excess oil drip off.
Step 7: Dust the beignets with a generous amount of powdered sugar while they are still warm, repeat the process with the remaining dough, and enjoy!
Tips
- Feed your starter so that it is near its peak when you are ready to use it. Looking to use up your discard? Check out this collection of sourdough discard dessert recipes.
- Use a stand mixer for a simpler mixing/kneading process.
- Don’t roll out your dough too thin or the beignets won’t puff up well.
- It’s a great idea to set this up assembly line style: prepare your dough, hot oil, cooling rack or tray, and powdered sugar ahead of time.
- Beignets are best enjoyed while fresh and don’t reheat as well.
Recipe FAQs
Beignets are made from an enriched yeast dough that incorporates cream, butter, and egg with yeast being the rising agent. For sourdough beignets, we are still using an enriched dough, but achieving a rise through the wild yeast of an active sourdough starter and longer rise time.
Two possibilities are having rolled out your square of dough too thin, or crowding the pan so that the oil could not maintain the right temperature. Aim for rolling to around 1/2″ thickness before cutting your beignets, and fry a few at a time to keep your oil nice and hot.
I love to use avocado or coconut oil! You’ll want an oil that does not have a strong flavor.
Beignet dough will be soft and smooth, but not stiff or dry. If it’s sticky, sprinkle a touch of flour as you are rolling it out.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Irish Soda Bread
- Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread with Swirl
- Homemade Sourdough Poptarts with Jam Filling
- Homemade Sourdough Graham Crackers
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Bread
- Sourdough Garlic Knots
- The best Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Beignets
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cream, 180 g
- ⅓ cup cane sugar, 67 g
- 1 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly 227 g
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled 42 g
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 350 g
- 1 teaspoon salt, 5g
- Neutral oil, for frying
- Powdered sugar, for serving
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream until warm but not hot. Add the sugar, whisking until dissolved, then allow to cool. (If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast in the sourdough starter.)
- Transfer the cream mixture to a large bowl, then add the active starter, egg, melted butter, flour, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Place the dough onto a clean surface and knead for around 5 minutes or until the dough feels smooth.
- Set the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise until doubled in size. In a warm location, this might take 6-8 hours (or longer if your kitchen is cooler).
- After it has doubled, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle that is about ¼-½” thick. Cut the dough into 1½ inch squares using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. They don’t need to be perfectly even or uniform, though keep in mind that larger beignets will cook more slowly than smaller ones.
- Place the cut beignets onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel again and let rise for 1½ to 2 hours (or until about doubled in size) in a warm place.
- To cook the beignets, fill a deep, heavy pot with about 2-3 inches of neutral oil. Heat until the oil reaches 330-350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Fry about 3-5 pieces at a time for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place the beignets on a cooling rack or a tray lined with paper towels to let any excess oil drip off.
- Dust the beignets with a generous amount of powdered sugar while they are still warm, repeat the process with the remaining dough, and enjoy!
Notes
- Feed your starter so that it is near its peak when you are ready to use it. Looking to use up your discard? Check out this collection of sourdough discard dessert recipes.
- Use a stand mixer for a simpler mixing/kneading process.
- Don’t roll out your dough too thin or the beignets won’t puff up well.
- It’s a great idea to set this up assembly line style: prepare your dough, hot oil, cooling rack or tray, and powdered sugar ahead of time.
- Beignets are best enjoyed while fresh and don’t reheat as well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So I made it the day before let it ferment overnight on my counter and shaped let rest fried in some coconut oil. For some reason it still tastes a little too sour. Also, I fried it to be golden brown, but the inside was still not cooked so I had to fry again over all yummy puffed well maybe I’ll add more sugar the next time I make it.
Hi Lisa,
I am loving your recipes! I just want to clarify, if I want to make the dough ahead of time, do I make dough completely, let rise for the 6-8 hours as you have here, and then place in the fridge to ferment for up to 48 hours? Then remove from fridge, roll, cut, allow to rise again and then proceed with recipe? Thank you!
These beignet’s came out perfect! I decided to drizzle with honey in the end because I didn’t put the confectioners sugar immediately onto the fried dough. I used a pizza cutter to cut the one inch squares which turned out nice. I’ve made several of your recipes and they all turned out amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Could einkorn be used in this recipe? If so, how much would be needed? Or would I need to reduce the starter amount? Thanks!!!
No, it can’t! Not without almost changing the recipe entirely.
Can you make the dough ahead of time to long ferment? Then fry?
Yes, you could. Store in the fridge during the long fermentation.
Hi Lisa just curious what is the cream? Heavy cream? Just want to make sure! Thank you 🙂
Lisa can you please give me the metric recipe?
Here’s a conversion chart.
Big hit! What’s not to like about powdered sugar really 🙂 since you’ll need more than you probably think if your kids are like mine and put a heap on. I also used about half a coconut oil big tub that you get at Costco. I froze a sheet of the dough after it rose the second time since it made about 3 baking sheets worth. Even as 5 people were eating these (3 littles) it yields a bunch.
This sounds delicious! Do you think you could air-fry these?
Ohhh that’s a great question. I’m not sure since I haven’t tried it. It may work though.