Making hush puppies is easier than you think. These mini fried balls of cornmeal dough can seriously make a meal.
Hush Puppies Recipe
As a side dish, hush puppies are easy to grab, goes with a ton of recipes, and who can resist a mini fried piece of bread, kwim?
Golden brown and the perfect amount of crispy crunch, these mix and go hush puppies are delightfully easy to prepare and can feed an entire crowd. Often served along side a cat fish fry, hush puppies are a must have at any classic southern meal.
Timeless and a bit retro, this hush puppy recipe is true to its roots and I hope you love this perfect delicacy.
Scroll to the bottom for a printable version of this post, including all measurements and instructions, so you can follow along in your kitchen without being on your phone.
Here is what you need to gather to get started:
- Vegetable oil for frying hush puppies
- cornmeal
- 1/2 cup flour
- white sugar
- baking soda
- salt
- minced white onion
- green onions
- buttermilk
- vegetable oil
- egg
RELATED BREAD RECIPES: Skillet Cornbread, Fried Corn Fritters, Mexican Cornbread Casserole, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
SERVE ALONG SIDE: Air Fryer Salmon
Notes About Timing
Time is minimal to mix up, maybe 10 minute by the time you cut the onions. Cooking is done often in batches, so that can take a little more time.
One batch for me was about 5 hush puppies and I cooked them for 5-7 minutes each batch.
There is sugar in these, so they have a little sweet to them.
I like mine dipped in a little vinegar!
Alteration for Gluten Free
Dietary Changes: You can make these gluten free by altering the flour to a Gluten Free option like King Arthur’s Gluten Free.
How to make Hush Puppies
Heat at least 2″ of vegetable oil until hot. Be careful not to over heat your oil or it will instantly burn your batter. I do a medium low to start and adjust as needed.
In a mixing bowl, add cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Mix all ingredients well.
Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add buttermilk, oil and egg and mix well.
Stir in onions.
Using a 2 tablespoon portion scoop drop dough into hot oil and fry for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.
The batter will not be perfectly round and may spread a little when dropped into oil.
I use tongs to reshape a bit while in the oil.
Turn frequently to evenly cook.
When finished cooking, place on paper towel for oil to drain and serve warm.
Even though they have onions, they still taste amazing with honey.
Makes 12
Golden Brown Fried Hush Puppies
Hush Puppies recipe for a Golden brown fried ball and the perfect amount of crispy crunch, mix and go hush puppies are delightfully easy to prepare and can feed an entire crowd.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for frying hush puppies
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup minced white onion
- 2 large green onions, diced
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Heat at least 2" of vegetable oil until hot. Be careful not to over heat your oil or it will instantly burn your batter. I do a medium low to start and adjust as needed.
- In a mixing bowl, add cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
- Mix well.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add buttermilk, oil and egg and mix batter well.
- Stir in both kinds of onions.
- Using a 2 tablespoon portion, scoop drop dough into hot oil and fry for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.
- The batter may spread a bit when you drop it so I reshape with tongs as its cooking. Simply use your finger to dole out the batter from the scoop into the hot oil.
- Turn hush puppies frequently to evenly cook on all sides.
- When finished cooking, place hush puppies on paper towel for oil to drain and serve warm.
Notes
- You can make larger hush puppies but you may need to adjust the cooking time. Because the outside crisps quicker but the inside will need to be cooked longer, you may have to turn oil heat down to allow longer cooking without burning.
- You can substitute the buttermilk for whole cream, but cut in half to 1/4th whole cream and add a little at a time till batter is mixed. I find that whole cream can be a bit more watery so its easy to make the batter too loose.
- Any time you are frying something, getting the oil temperature right is important. While its tempting to turn the oil up super hot, start with a medium low where its frying but not burning and adjust as you do a few and see the temp.
- Carb counts provided by Carb Manager.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
12 peopleAmount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 111mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated with ingredients and serving size and may not be accurate. Please always double check with your own nutritional apps as well.
Jeraldine says
I’m going to try this Friday, it’s the exact to my Mother’s, except the buttermilk, I don’ t know if she used, though we had it in the fridge.
Thank you for this RECIPE, I already know it to be perfect!!
Trisha says
Hi Jeraldine, your mom sounds like an amazing cook! Let me know if you like the recipe this way or I should try Hush Puppies her way!
Connie Knorr says
Can you make this in an air fryer?
Trisha says
hi Connie, I actually JUST got an Air Fryer for Christmas. So I do not know the answer yet, but will test it out in the near future and update!
Ronda says
Tried these tonight. They were so good!!
Trisha says
Thank you for your feedback on the hush puppies! So glad you enjoyed!