If you haven’t been to New Orleans you’ve probably never eaten a Beignet, but you’ve probably had something similar. Beignets have been associated with Mardi Gras in France since at least the 16th century, and many recipes for beignets appear in French works around the same time. Cafe au Lait and Beignets, is New Orleans for Coffee & Donuts. If you are unfamiliar, Beignet (ben-YAY) is French for Fritter, in New Orleans they’re square and topped with a firestorm of powdered sugar and usually served with a steaming cup of Cafe au Lait. Cafe au Lait is equal parts piping hot milk and good, strong Cafe Noir with Chicory.
The most famous place in New Orleans for Beignets and Cafe au Lait is Cafe Du Monde on Decatur on the riverside of Jackson Square, which is legendary, you have to go once. Cafe du Monde sells a Beignet batter mix that is widely available, but I made mine from scratch and Gluten Free. What else did you expect? 
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Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Rapid Rise Yeast or two Envelopes (if using regular flour only use one Tablespoon)
1 1/2 Cup Warm Water, 110*
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Cups Gluten Free Flour Blend or Regular Flour if not GF ( I used Namaste and have also successfully used Bob’s Red Mill)
In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir until combined then let sit until the yeast blooms (forms tiny bubbles), typically about 5 min. The sugar helps feed the yeast allowing it to bloom this is what creates those tiny air pockets in the dough which helps it puff up. (if you are using regular flour you only need 1 Tablespoon/1 pouch of Yeast, Gluten free flour tends to be heavier and takes more to make it rise)
Next add the oil, egg, salt and remaining sugar. Blend with a whisk until egg is beaten. Using a spoon add the gluten-free flour mix; stirring until combined. You might need to add some additional water if the mixture becomes too thick. Gluten free flour tends to absorb more moisture than regular flour. Cover bowl with Plastic wrap and set on the counter for 1 hour to rise. If you are using regular flour set the covered bowl in the fridge for 1 hour to rise (this controls the rising giving you small air pockets instead of large ones like in bread).
In a large pan bring oil to 350*. While that is heating Turn 1/2 of the dough out onto a well floured surface and then roll into a 9×12 inch square. Cut into 12 squares.
Fry the beignets for 3 min turning half way through to ensure both sides are golden brown.
Place the fried beignets on a rack over a cookie sheet to drain all of the excess oil. Once cooled heavily coat in powdered sugar and enjoy! Happy Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday everyone!
- 2 Tablespoons Rapid Rise Yeast or two Envelopes (if using regular flour only use one Tablespoon)
- 1½ Cup Warm Water, 110*
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 3 Cups Gluten Free Flour Blend or Regular Flour if not GF
- In a large bowl combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir until combined then let sit until the yeast blooms (forms tiny bubbles), typically about 5 min. The sugar helps feed the yeast allowing it to bloom this is what creates those tiny air pockets in the dough which helps it puff up. (if you are using regular flour you only need 1 Tablespoon/1 pouch of Yeast, Gluten free flour tends to be heavier and takes more to make it rise)
- Next add the oil, egg, salt and remaing sugar. Blend with a whisk until egg is beaten. Using a spoon add the gluten-free flour mix; stirring until combined. You might need to add some additional water if the mixture becomes too thick. Gluten free flour tends to absorb more moisture than regular flour. Cover bowl with Plastic wrap and set on the counter for 1 hour to rise. If you are using regular flour set the covered bowl in the fridge for 1 hour to rise (this controls the rising giving you small air pockets instead of large ones like in bread).
- In a large pan bring oil to 350*. While that is heating Turn ½ of the dough out onto a well floured surface and then roll into a 9x12 inch square. Cut into 12 squares.
- Fry the beignets for 3 min turning half way through to ensure both sides are golden brown.
- Place the fried beignets on a rack over a cookie sheet to drain all of the excess oil. Once cooled heavily coat in powdered sugar and enjoy! Happy Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday everyone!
I tried this recipe to a T! The batter turned out like cake batter. I could not roll the dough at all. I tried dropping by tablespoon into the hot oil but that only produced a heavy dough ball. Using that !much yeast produced a dough ball that tasted very yeasty. I bake a lot of gluten free things not sure why this didn’t turn out.
Good Evening D! I’m sorry that these didn’t turn out for you. Do you mind me asking what type/brand of GF flour you used for the recipe? Perhaps they have a different ratio of rice flour, coconut flour, potato starch etc. My GF flour blend had a higher amount of rice flour which was the reason I had to increase the yeast. I would love to help you have a successful outcome with this recipe. They were delicious so much so my non GF co-workers enjoyed them.
Looks so good! Which GF flour do you use? Thank you.
Good Evening J. Payne I use Namaste GF Flour blend its my favorite and I have found it to have the most consistent results. You can typically purchase alb bags at costco or Amazon for about $8 a bag.
I used King Arthur gf flour & it turned out too wet. I’ll have to look for namaste flour. I like their blondies.
This recipe works with namaste flour because namaste has xanthan gum. Xanthan acts in the place of gluten as a binder. It literally thickens and holds the dough together. If your gluten free flour blend (like King Arthur flour) does not contain xanthan this recipe will turn out like a cake batter.
Iv tried this recipe twice. Because I thought I might have done it wrong because the dough was very loose. I ended up dropping them in to the oil and then drainig them on a rack. They have a very bitter and oily taste. I used red mill gf baking flour.
If you use another brand of g/f flour how much xntham gum would you recommend?
I attempted these twice as well. I used Krusteaz 1 to 1 gluten free flour which has xantham gum in it. It didn’t work. I had the same results as Michelle. The dough which actually should be called batter was too loose. The second time I added more xantham gum but it didn’t make a difference. So I attempted dropping the batter into the oil. It did fluff up but it was so bitter. They were awful so two batches down the drain. Very disappointed
Did anyone figure out the trick to get it to work out? Maybe you just have to use the Namaste flour?
Has anyone made it and it worked? Can you list what flour you used and any other tricks?
I made these today despite my reservations after reading the comments! I think the problem is the recipe needs more flour than called for – I mixed quite a bit more in (guessing at least 1/2 cup, maybe more) after I let it rise. Then the dough was fine to roll out and they were delicious!