Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)

Name: Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 500 g all purpose flour; 34 g rye flour; 100 g castor sugar; 10 g salt; 5 g baking powder; 10 g instant dry yeast; 160 g warm milk; 2 eggs; 500 ml oil (for frying); 250 g powdered sugar (for coating)

These fluffy, feather light clouds of dough are square shaped and fried until golden, then generously sprinkled with powdered sugar and they are BEST served hot with coffee. They are a rip off the popular Cafe Du Monde recipe.

This is the first time I have made and eaten beignets. So I could be biased to the recipe as I do not have anything to compare it to but from the way I see it, these beignets are to die for. They are fluffy, feather soft, pillowy fried pieces of dough drowned in a cloud of powdered sugar. They do not need any fancy equipment to make – or at least this recipe doesn’t need any. I did a bit of research before making this recipe and definitely got clarity on how to make this recipe watching Claire and a bunch of other YouTube videos (yes I call her Claire as in my head we are friends). I also read through many food blogs like Preppy kitchen etc.

What are beignets? Who invented beignets?

Beignet is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from pâte à choux, but can also be made using flour or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety of preparations, the most common being dusted with confectioner’s sugar. There are many was to make a beignet. This recipe is more New Orleans than it is French in origin.

Why is Cafe Du Monde so famous? What is Cafe Du Mondes beignet recipe?

Café Du Monde is the oldest coffee shop in New Orleans, opening as a simple coffee stand in 1862. Its simple menu has changed little since that era, still including dark-roasted coffee with chicory (served black or au lait), beignets, white and chocolate milk, hot chocolate, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. They are known for their HOT and FRESH beignets that are fluffy and pillow soft – perfect with coffee. Their recipe is said to have flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, barley flour, sugar, salt, yeast, baking power, salt, milk and eggs. Some say they fry their beignets in cotton seed oil as well.

What is the difference between a doughnut and a beignet?

Beignets have a single rise, unlike doughnuts. Beignets also, might not need any fat in the recipe i.e. butter. You don’t need to knead the dough for beignets until smooth like you would with dough nuts.

What is the difference between French beignets and New Orleans beignets?

French beignets are more pâte à choux, which needs a stand mixer to bring together. As well as the ingredients could include more eggs and the addition of butter making them more dense and crunchy but the New Orleans version is lighter in texture and doesn’t need a lot mixing (not this recipe atleast).

What do beignets taste like? How are beignets eaten? What is the English name for beignet?

They are sweet pieces of fried dough that tastes similar to that of doughnuts. They are best eaten hot out of the oil drenched in copious amounts of powdered sugar. Serve them with coffee. In English they are known as fritters or doughnuts.

What ingredients do you need to make these Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)?

To make these beignets we need all purpose flour, rye flour, baking powder, salt, castor sugar, instant dried yeast, milk, eggs. Some recipes suggest using vanilla, cinnamon etc but I have kept the recipe straightforward. To fry the beignets we need oil I have used vegetable oil (corn oil).

What equipment do you need to make these Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)?

Large mix bowl, rubber spatula, pizza cutter, heavy bottom sauce pot, slotted spoon and large tray. If you are using a small sauce pot to fry the beignets then you will need to fry them in batches. Traditionally the beignets are tossed in powdered sugar in a paper bag.

How to make these Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)?

In a large bowl add the warm milk, yeast and stir together. Let it sit for 15 minutes or until frothy. Add the sugar, eggs and stir well until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, rye flour and using your hands or a rubber spatula and mix together until no dry pockets are visible. The dough will be sticky and that is fine. Cover with cling wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 1-2 hours. You can place it in the fridge overnight at this point or allow it to rest for another couple of hours. Once doubled and fluffy transfer to a well floured surface and using your fingers spread out the dough to 18×13 inches approximately. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 30 pieces give or take and cover with a damp tea towel.

At this point, heat up the oil in a heavy bottom sauce pot. The oil should be atlas 3-4 inches high, you could use a smaller pot to reduce the oil but you will need to fry them in batches. Get a tray ready with the powdered sugar. You know the oil is hot when you sprinkle a little flour into the hot oil and it puffs up/dissolves instantly without smoking. Or place a wooden chopstick into the oil and it should bubble. Using your hands lift up a pice of the dough and brush of any excess flour before carefully placing in the the hot oil – away from you. I like to fry at least 5 pieces at a time. Cook on each side for 1 and a half minutes, flip and continue cooking until puffed and golden. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to the tray with powdered sugar. Repeat until you are done with all the dough. Toss the fried dough in the powdered sugar while still hot and serve immediately with coffee.

Serving these Beignets (New Orleans Style No Knead Recipe)?

The only way to serve these fried pieces of joy is hot and drenched in powdered sugar, with coffee. Trust me there is nothing better.

Looking for more pastry recipes to make?

Now that we have covered how to make beignets, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.