Hush Puppies Recipe

Close side shot of a tray of homemade Southern hush puppies served with lemon wedges

This Southern Hush Puppies recipe creates the most tender and flavorful little balls of fried cornmeal batter. Perfect for serving alongside your favorite seafood!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword homemade hush puppies, hush puppies recipe, southern hush puppies recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings fritters

Calories 52kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
½ cup very finely chopped or grated Vidalia onion or minced fresh chives
Optional, for serving: remoulade sauce, pepper jelly, Ranch dressing, tartar sauce, comeback sauce, or honey butter

Instructions

In a large cast iron Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat about 2 inches of oil over high heat until it reaches 350°F.
To make the batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. In a second bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and onion (or chives).
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Line a cooling rack with paper towels and set near the stovetop. To fry the hush puppies, use a cookie dough scoop or large spoon to drop the batter into the hot oil. Fry in batches until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per batch. Set on the paper towel-lined rack to drain. Season the warm hush puppies with additional salt, if desired. Serve warm.

Notes

You can omit the diced onion, substitute with a pinch of dried onion powder, or use sliced green onion or chives instead.
Sweet Hush Puppies Recipe: Hush puppies are typically savory (not sweet); however, you can increase the sugar to 2 tablespoons for a sweeter taste. Try serving the hush puppies with honey butter, honey mustard or pepper jelly for an added sweet touch.
Hush Puppies with Corn: try adding ½ cup - 1 cup of corn kernels to the batter for more texture and flavor.
Cajun Hush Puppies Recipe: try adding diced bell peppers or pimentos to the onion in the batter. A little bit of Cajun seasoning adds great spice!
Other seasonings to add to the batter: we keep it simple with salt, pepper, onion and a touch of sugar; however, you can also add garlic powder, paprika, or herbs such as thyme, parsley or rosemary.
For some added spice, try stirring minced jalapenos or red pepper flakes into the batter.

Nutrition