Homemade Sopapilla Recipe
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This homemade sopapillas are light and airy fried dough that puff up in the oil, then get dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar and drizzled with warm honey. They take about 10 minutes to prep, and the flour, the fat, and that honey finish are the key ingredients you can not miss. I know these will quickly become your new favorite go-to dessert once you try them.
I have such fond memories of my first sopapilla. When I lived in Missouri we used to go to a Mexican restaurant called Casa Gallardo in Chesterfield, and it was the first place we ate when we got to town looking to buy a house. My sweet tooth was already raging at that age, and the menu described the sopapilla as a flowery doughnut fried and served with honey, powdered sugar, and ice cream. That sounded good to me, and it was ridiculously good, so good that a few times I asked my parents if I could eat dessert first. Yes, for real! If you like a good fried treat, take a look at my homemade churros or apple fritters too. What I love the most about it is the size and that warm honey, because that is exactly how I first had them.
Sopapilla
A sopapilla is a piece of fried dough that puffs up hollow and airy in the oil, so the outside goes crisp and flaky while the inside stays light and open. It is a staple of Mexican and New Mexican cooking, where it usually shows up at the end of the meal dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar and drizzled with honey, though in some places it is served savory and stuffed like a little pocket. The name traces back to an old Spanish word for a fried dough soaked in syrup, and the puff is the whole point, since a good sopapilla balloons in the oil the second it hits the heat.
It is a short recipe with only a few steps. You whisk the dry ingredients, work the fat into the flour until it looks like a coarse meal, then mix in the egg and warm milk to make a soft dough. That dough kneads for a few minutes, rests under a towel, then gets rolled thin and fried until it puffs and browns. The last thing that happens is the good part, when the hot sopapilla gets showered with cinnamon and powdered sugar and a drizzle of warm honey.
I mean, none of it is hard, so follow the steps and pay attention to the two chef tips below about the fat and the thickness, and you will have a plate of puffed, golden sopapillas that taste like the ones I fell for as a kid.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These are the few ingredients I use to make sopapillas at home:
- All-purpose flour – The main structure of the sopapilla and what holds the puff together. Bread flour works as a substitute.
- Sea salt – Balances the dough against all the sweet things going on top, and helps the crust brown as it fries. A little Diamond Crystal kosher salt is what I like here.
- Baking powder – This is where the lift comes from, so it is what helps the dough puff up nicely while frying. Do not skip it.
- Fat – Lard is the classic here and makes them the flakiest and fluffiest, so use it if you have it. Unsalted butter is a great substitute, or shortening at the very least.
- Egg adds fat, structure, and flavor to the dough. Cold or room temperature is fine.
- Warm milk is the main liquid, and I always go whole for the extra fat and flavor. One percent, two percent, or skim will work, and even water will do the job if that is all you have.
- Frying oil – I try to use avocado oil these days for the health side of it, but any neutral oil like vegetable oil fries these up just fine.
- Cinnamon, powdered sugar, and honey. Technically optional, but for me they are not. The cinnamon brings the warm flavor, the powdered sugar and warm honey sweeten everything, and once you have them this way there is no going back.
How to Make a Sopapilla
Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder until combined.
Work in the fat: Add the fat and rub it into the flour with your fingers until it is fully incorporated and the mix looks like a coarse meal, with no big pieces of fat left. This step matters more than any other, so take your time with it.
Make the dough: Make a well in the center, add the whisked egg, and start mixing the flour in with your hands.
Add the warm milk, 1/3 cup at a time, mixing as you go, until it all comes in and the dough holds together.
Knead and rest: Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 7 minutes, then cover it with a towel and let it rest for 45 minutes. That rest relaxes the dough so it rolls out and puffs instead of fighting you.
Roll it out: Take a golf-ball-size piece of dough and roll it out to about 6 inches across and a 1/4 inch thick. Hold that thickness, because too thin and it will not puff the way it should. From here you have a choice: leave it as one big round the size of a pita, which is how I first had it, or cut the sheet into triangles for the more traditional version that fries up like thick, fluffy tortilla chips. Both puff the same way, so go with whichever you like.
Fry until puffed: Fry the dough in 350°F oil for about 2 minutes per side, until it is browned and fluffy.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Finish and serve: Dust each hot sopapilla with cinnamon and powdered sugar and drizzle warm honey over the top. I love serving them right away.
chef tip + notes
At this point I have fried enough of these to know exactly where they go wrong, so let me steer you around the two spots that matter. The first is the fat: work it into the flour until the whole thing looks like a slightly damp meal with no visible chunks, because that is what gives you a tender flaky dough instead of a tough one. The second is thickness, and I roll every piece to a solid quarter inch. A hair thicker is fine, but roll it too thin and the dough will not trap the steam it needs to balloon up in the oil. Get those two right and these puff every single time.
- Rest the dough: I always give it the full 45 minutes under a towel. Skipping the rest makes the dough spring back and roll unevenly.
- Keep the oil at 350°F: Steady heat is what makes them balloon fast and brown without soaking up grease. Let the oil recover between batches.
- Do not skip the toppings: The cinnamon, powdered sugar, and warm honey are what make a sopapilla a sopapilla. Add all three.
- Serve them fast: These are best within minutes of frying, while they are still hot, crisp, and puffed. They deflate and soften as they sit.
Serving Suggestions
The way I love these most is the way I first had them, served warm with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream melting into the cinnamon and honey. That is dessert-first territory for me, and my family will tell you a plate of these does not last long on the table. A hot sopapilla with the ice cream going soft on top and honey running down the side is about as good as a fried dough gets.
They are also the perfect ending to a Mexican dinner at home. When I make a batch of chicken enchiladas for the family, I will fry up sopapillas for after, and everyone forgets they were full 10 minutes earlier. Make them big like a pita the way I do, or cut the dough into triangles for the more traditional look, and either way they close out the meal on a high note.
Guys, feel free to decorate these sopapillas by serving them with chocolate sauce, caramel, or my delicious homemade whipped cream.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These are meant to be eaten within minutes of frying, so I do not make them far ahead. I will mix and knead the dough, then let it do its 45-minute rest right before I fry.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure that they do not have any cinnamon, sugar, honey, or other sauces on them before storing. These do not freeze all that well, so I do not recommend doing so.
How to Reheat: Add the desired number of sopapillas to a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 350° for 4-6 minutes or until hot and crispy. You can also simply heat it in the microwave.
More Dessert Recipes
Video
Homemade Sopapilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ cup fat
- 1 whisked large egg
- 1 1/3 cup warm milk
- oil for frying
- cinnamon, powdered sugar, and honey for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder until combined.
- Next add in the fat and use your fingers to break so that it is completely incorporated into the flour.
- Make a well and add the whisked egg to it and then slowly start to mix in the flour using your clean hands.
- Add some a 1/3 cup of the milk at a time while mixing the dough together until it’s combined, and all the milk has been added.
- Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes on a clean surface and then cover with a towel and let rest for 45 minutes.
- Take a small amount of dough, about a golf ball size, and roll it out until it is about 6” in diameter and a ¼ thick.
- Fry the dough in oil at 350° for 2 minutes per side or until browned and fluffy. Repeat the process until the dough has been used and fried. See additional Chef Notes on frying procedures.
- Serve the sopapilla by dusting it with cinnamon, powdered sugar, and warm honey. See chef notes on other options.
Oh boy tasty 😋 thank you ChefBilly😁🤩👋
Thank you
Absolutely yummy! Thank you!
my pleasure
Which restaurant inspired these? Born and raised and I know my fave spots for sopapillas but curious what is yours?
Casa Gallardo
Going to be trying this recipe! What kind of fat was used in the video?
I make Sopapillas all the time and I have to say that the addition of the milk and egg are inspired! Really Great Recipe! Thanks Chef Billy!
I was in Santa Fe New Mexico at a Native American Celebration with native dancers and food booths and I had a savory stuffed sopapilla with shredded meat lettuce cheese salsa and it was amazing! You gotta try it!