Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (2024)

Hush Puppies are the perfect addition to accompany your Southern-inspired meal from fried chicken to shrimp and grits. Bites of corn batter fried until crisp on the outside and tender and fluffy inside!

Of course Hush puppies are great for snacking too! Slather them in a sweet Honey Butter, dip them in soups or even in a spicy mayonnaise.

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (1)

Bites of Heaven

Small little handheld bites of heaven.

What Are Hush Puppies? Hush puppies are small bits of deep fried cornmeal batter. Unlike soft cornbread, they are crunchy and golden brown on the outside and melt-in-your mouth light on the inside. Typically, you’ll find them in golf ball sized globes or fingers, depending on how the cook drops them in the oil.

The main ingredient in hush puppies is always going to be cornmeal, we also add buttermilk, egg and a leavening ingredient, usually baking soda.

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (2)

These homemade hush puppies most often served with those other Southern classics: fried fish, shrimp boil, fried chicken and collard greens.

Can you freeze them? Sure you can! If you have leftovers or want to make extras, let them cool, and place them in a freezer bag for up to four months. The next time you’re hungry for some hush puppies, let them thaw and spread them out on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and warm them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to restore some of the crunchiness.

So Why are They Called Hush Puppies? It’s a much-debated question! It’s speculated (among many other stories) that fishermen would fry up the batter they used for fish fries, and toss them to yapping dogs to “hush” their barking. The true origins may be lost, but that doesn’t mean we enjoy this iconic Southern staple any less!

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (3)

How To Make Hush Puppies

This is one time when you’ll want to get out your deep fryer. True hush puppies are golden crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Here’s how to make this easy hush puppy recipe:

  1. Heat up your deep fryer. (If using a pan on the stovetop, you’ll need several inches of oil so the hush puppies will float as they fry.)
  2. Mix your ingredients and drop by spoonfuls into the fryer. Allow to cook until golden on the outside and tender in the middle.
  3. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Peanut oil holds up well to intense fryer heat and doesn’t produce any off flavors. You can also use canola oil, vegetable oil or corn oil.

More Southern Favorites

  • Corn Casseroleperfect for potlucks
  • Biscuits and Gravyserve with hush puppies!
  • Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuitseasy and flavorful
  • Dirty Riceanother delicious side
  • Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplingsperfect main to serve with hush puppies!

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (4)

4.91 from 55 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Easy Hush Puppies Recipe

If you need a side of bread to accompany your Southern-inspired meal, you won’t find anything more delicious than hush puppies.

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Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (5)

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (7)

Author Holly Nilsson

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup buttermilk you may not use all of it
  • oil for frying

Instructions

  • Preheat oil to 350°F.

  • Combine dry ingredients.

  • Beat egg. Add to dry mixture with most of the buttermilk adding more as needed to create a dough that is moist but not runny.

  • Drop mixture by teaspoon in hot oil.Cook 3-5 minutes until golden, turning once during cook time.

  • Place on paper towel to cool. Serve with honey butter.

Notes

If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can make abuttermilk substitute!

Optional: add a tablespoon of minced onion.

4.91 from 55 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 124 | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (8) Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (9) Cuisine American

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (10)

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Easy Hush Puppies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients for hush puppies? ›

What is hush puppy mix made of? ›

Hush puppies are made from a basic batter consisting of yellow cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk or milk and eggs. Many recipes call for the addition of scallions or onions. The base lends itself to riffing, too, including the addition of spicy peppers, cheese, spices or even beer.

What is Long John Silver's hush puppies made of? ›

Instructions. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and sugar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

What are original hush puppies? ›

In fact, the Carolinas can proudly claim to be the birthplace of this now-iconic American food. A hushpuppy is a simple treat—thick cornmeal batter dropped in spheres (or nuggets or fingers) into hot oil and fried till crisp and brown.

What goes with hush puppies besides fish? ›

What do you eat hush puppies with? Besides fried catfish, shrimp, chicken, crab cakes, or bbq, you might want to serve a dipping sauce for you hush puppies. We like honey or ranch, but ketchup, tartar sauce, remoulade sauce, or Outback sauce are all great options that go well with the savory-sweet fried cornmeal dough.

Why are my hush puppies falling apart? ›

If your hush puppies are falling apart, you may have used too much cornmeal. Try adding a little more (but not too much) flour. If you add too much flour, they'll become dense. For healthier hush puppies, try baking them.

Do you put anything on hush puppies? ›

Hush Puppies Ingredients:

The inside will maintain a light and flakey dough. These are best served with tartar sauce or even ranch dressing. Oil: Use a high smoking oil with a neutral flavor such as vegetable oil for frying.

What is the difference between cornbread and hush puppies? ›

The main difference is that cornbread is baked and hush puppies are fried, hence the difference in texture—though hush puppies can be air fryed, too. "Typically hush puppy batter is a little thicker than cornbread batter, but that is just a matter of moisture. The basic ingredients are the same," Matijevich said.

Why is fried cornmeal called hush puppies? ›

In the instance of hushpuppies, the tale goes that Confederate soldiers were preparing food around a campfire and heard Union soldiers in the vicinity, so they pitched their yelping dogs some fried cornmeal cakes and ordered them to “hush puppies.”

Are hush puppies healthy to eat? ›

Hushpuppies can be a modest source of essential vitamins and minerals. They often contain small amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron, which play vital roles in supporting overall health and well-being.

What is the flavor of hush puppies? ›

The texture of a hush puppy is crisp on the outside with a moist, tender middle. I would compare the flavor to that of buttery, salty cornbread that's fried until crispy. It's almost too good to be true!

Are corn fritters and hush puppies the same? ›

Hush Puppies vs. Corn Fritters

Hush puppies and corn fritters may be in the same family, but each is unique. They're both deliciously indulgent, deep-fried dough featuring corn, but hush puppies are made from a cornmeal-based batter, while corn fritters are flour-based and studded with corn kernels throughout.

What are the ingredients in Savannah classic hush puppies? ›

INGREDIENTS: Onions, Enriched Degermed White Corn Meal (prepared from cornstarch, niacin, reduced iron, tricalcium phosphate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid), Water, Enriched Wheat Flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid), Soybean Oil, Sugar.

What does hush puppies mean in slavery? ›

So, escaping slaves used to throw balls of fried cornmeal out to distract the hounds from tracking them. The hound stopped barking and tracking thanks to the cornmeal which later adopted the name "hush puppies.” We know this is true because it's popping up all over Facebook, right?

Which country are hush puppies from? ›

Hush Puppies is an American brand of casual footwear. A division of Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan. Wolverine also licenses the Hush Puppies name for apparel, toys and accessories.

What is hush puppy batter made of? ›

Ingredients for Hush Puppies

All-purpose flour and cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and pepper make up the dry mix. If you want to try a stone-ground cornmeal for a more toothsome bite, check out the varieties made by Anson Mills or Bob's Red Mill.

What is similar to hush puppies? ›

One man's fritter is another man's hush puppy. According to “The Food Lover's Companion,” a fritter is “A small sweet or savory, deep-fried cake made either by combing chopped food with a thick batter or by dipping pieces of food into a similar batter.”

What is another name for a hush puppy? ›

Besides "red horse bread," Southerners had several of other names for what we now call hushpuppies, like "wampus" in Florida, and "red devils" and "three finger bread" in Georgia. But hushpuppy was the term that stuck.

Do Hushpuppies contain eggs? ›

Typical hushpuppy ingredients include cornmeal, wheat flour, eggs, salt, baking soda, milk or buttermilk, and water, and may include onion, spring onion (scallion), garlic, whole kernel corn, and peppers.

Do hushpuppies have meat? ›

Hush puppy doneness temperature

They do. While they may not have any meat in them, the flour itself needs to be cooked before being eaten.

Do Hushpuppies have dairy? ›

While traditional hush puppies may include buttermilk or milk, there are many vegan alternatives available. Instead of dairy milk, recipes can be modified to use plant-based milk options like almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk.

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