Last Updated on March 26, 2022 by Anne-Marie
A recipe for Tiana's famous New Orleans beignets from The Princess and The Frog, Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids.
Why this recipe?
Why am I sharing Tiana's beignets recipe from Princess and the Frog? Well, many years ago, we were sent a copy of Princess and the Frog to watch.
I enjoyed the animation, Randy Newman’s music, and references to the culture and food of New Orleans, especially the beignets!
My daughter Lucie loved Tiana, the princess story, and funny characters like Louis the trumpet playing gator. What child wouldn't?
We both loved how Tiana’s dream was about cooking her special beignets recipe, and her dream of opening up a restaurant. So fun!
Not since Ratatouille has a Disney movie appealed to the cook in me.
How to make Tiana's famous beignets recipe from Princess and the Frog
1. In a medium bowl, combine 2 3/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.
2. Whisk everything together.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the flour mixture.
5. Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface.
6. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky.
7. Next, slice the dough into 2 1/2 -inch squares.
8. Now it’s time to fry the beignets (be sure to ask an adult to help you). Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer.
Check the temperature with a cooking thermometer every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.
9. Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes.
10. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain.
11. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!
Bring on Tiana’s beignets!
One of Tiana’s specialties is her beignets recipe. Beignets are popularly served in New Orleans at breakfast or as a snack with powdered sugar on top.
(Wondering if that old bag of powdered sugar in your pantry is OK to use on your beignets? Read: How does powdered sugar go bad?)
Beignet recipes were brought to New Orleans in the 18th century by French colonists and became a large part of Cajun or Creole cooking.
If you go to New Orleans, you must go to Café du Monde to try their famous beignets with powdered sugar and a cup of their chicory coffee served café au lait style.
In fact, beignets are so popular in Louisiana that they were made the official state donut.
I also recommend the beignets at Disneyland at the Mint Julep Bar. Best snack in the park!
Can I make Tiana's beignets recipe gluten free?
If you want to make gluten free beignets, I would try it using an all-purpose gluten free flour like Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour.
This is my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour and it cooks and bakes up just like regular flour.
This type of gluten-free flour blend has white rice flour, xanthan gum, potato starch, etc. so it bakes up just right and you don’t have to buy extra specialty ingredients.
However, I haven’t tried it, so I can't say how well it would work. But if you do try it, let everyone know in the comment section below.
Learn how to measure flour correctly for the best results in your everyday cooking and baking.
Check out my Best Gluten Free Products List to find more terrific gluten free baking products!
Can I make Tiana's Princess and the Frog beignets sugar free?
Part of the fun of beignets is all that powdered sugar, right? But we may not feel so great about giving our kids so much sugar for breakfast or snack time.
Well, there’s a delicious, natural, sugar free alternative – Swerve Sweetener!
You can add Swerve to the batter and use Swerve Confectioners Sweetener instead of powdered sugar.
Swerve is natural sugar replacement that doesn’t have the bitter aftertaste associated with other sweeteners like stevia.
I’ve seen it sold at some grocery stores, but you can also find it online.
Make Princess and the Frog beignets for Mardi Gras!
Celebrate Mardi Gras! If Mardi Gras is coming up, why not watch Princess and the Frog via streaming rental on Amazon?
Make some beignets, and some other delicious Cajun dishes to get into the spirit like:
- Easy Mardi Gras King Cakes Recipe
- Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- One Pot Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
- Any of these 60 Best Cajun Recipes
- and a side dish of Skillet Cornbread
- Wash it down with some Iced Tea Sangria (mocktail)
Visit your local dollar store for inexpensive Mardi Gras decorations and beads and have a party with the kids.
Get into the spirit of New Orleans: After enjoying your homemade beignets and Cajun feast, put on some Louis Armstrong New Orleans style music.
Get the cookbooks!
Order a used copy of the companion cookbook, The Princess and the Frog: Tiana’s Cookbook Recipes for Kids. It's adorable!
Both you and your child will love the easy recipes. (I have a copy, trust me.)
It shows you how to make Tiana’s recipe for beignets and other fun recipes like Swamp-Water Smoothies and Banana French Toast.
Another Disney cookbook: If you and your children love cooking Disney inspired recipes, check out The Disney Princess Cookbook.
This fun, Disney themed cookbook features a Princess and the Frog inspired recipe for Tiana’s Baked Caramel French Toast!
Looking for more easy breakfast recipes?
Try these easy muffin, crepes, casserole, and breakfast sandwich recipes:
● If you love crepes, try Easy Gluten Free Crepes Recipe Without Flour or Easy Rice Flour Crepes Recipe (Gluten Free)
● If you like making breakfast casseroles, try Blueberry French Toast Casserole Recipe or this Overnight Breakfast Casserole Recipe
● This Quick and Easy French Toast is a special treat that can be made in 10 minutes
● If you love muffins, bake up this Gluten Free Applesauce Muffins Recipe or this Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins Recipe
● Love bagels? Try this Ultimate Breakfast Bagel Sandwich Recipe.
Tiana’s Famous Beignets Recipe from Princess and the Frog
A recipe for New Orleans beignets from The Princess and The Frog - Tiana's Cookbook Recipes for Kids.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine 2 3/4 cups of the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk everything together.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water, egg, and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture from Step 1.
- Use some of the remaining flour to dust your work surface. Place the dough on it and pat it into a large 1/2 -inch-thick square. Dust the top with more flour if it gets sticky. Next, slice the dough into 2 1/2 -inch squares.
- Now it’s time to fry the beignets—be sure to ask an adult to help you! Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan on the stovetop until the temperature reaches 325° on a deep-fat thermometer. Check the temperature with a cooking thermometer every so often while cooking. If it gets too hot, temporarily turn the heat down, or off.
- Carefully drop 3 dough squares at a time into the hot oil. Fry them for 3 minutes, turn them over, and continue frying for 3 more minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the beignets to a wire rack set atop paper towels to drain. Dust the beignets with confectioners’ sugar, and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 143Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 201mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 3g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated per the ingredients list. Serving size may not be accurate. Please double-check with your preferred nutritional app for the most accurate information.
Recipe and pictures used with permission from Disney.
Originally published on March 26, 2010 and February 9, 2017. Updated with new pictures.
Thank you for the recipe! Can I use rice bran oil or sunflower oil instead? Will it still work?
I love the idea though! You are very talented!
Use an oil that’s good for frying foods in that can be used at a high heat.
Made these with my granddaughters and they were sooooooo good! Like others have stated, the dough was quite liquidity and sticky which made it difficult to get the dough in a square shape and to lift off the surface to fry, so I quickly realized the flour on the surface and top of the dough needed to be a lot more than dusting. I made them again today (they are that good) and with a lot more flour on the surface and top of the dough, I have the height, the square. The first batch looked like fried chicken!! LOL!
This recipe is so delicious and one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted I fully recommend this recipe our whole family loved this it was moist delicious and very filling
I’m so glad you loved Tiana’s Famous Beignet Recipe! With Mardi Gras just around the corner, I hope you keep this delicious dessert in mind. Enjoy!
I just tried then the other day for the first time and I wanted to make them myself thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome. Glad you liked Tiana’s beignets recipe from Princess and the Frog!
Do the beignets have gelatin? my friend in my class can’t have gelatin. 😊😊😊😊😊🦒🦒🦒
No gelatin.
So I made this and the batter is liquidy and I’ve made it twice and it is just sitting on the counter but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong
You could add more flour. Others have done that as well to Tiana’s beignets recipe from the Princess and the Frog Tiana’s Cookbook for Kids.
can you bake these in an over or air fryer? i don’t have oil
I bet you can find an air fryer recipe for beignets online. Use their batter recipe foe best results.
Beignet dough is supposed to be a little wet. Put some flour on the surface as well as the top of the dough after you roll it out. Tiana’s beignets from Princess and the Frog is an excellent recipe and these things are completely irresistible
Agreed! We just tried this recipe for the first time. I saved only enough reserve to coat the dough ball and then rolled them out on a floured surface. They got rave reviews from everyone in the household. Very good recipe, I would definitely recommend it.
I made these for a potluck and everyone absolutely loved them! Thank you for the recipe!
This dish is actually a French dish that the French took with them when they went to Louisiana. I am a French-speaking person who also happens to speak Spanish. This dish is eaten constantly in FRANCE.
Fried dough goes back to ancient Rome and is found in many cultures. You can read more about the history of beignets at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beignet
A little tip, in the movie they put honey before the powdered sugar. I did and I PROMISE you won’t regret it in this beignet recipe.
Love this idea for making Tiana’s beignets recipe from Princess and the Frog even better!
I just made these tonight in a practice for my daughter’s Disney themed bridal shower. They are delicious but I’m not sure 2 3/4 cup flour is enough. They were awful sticky and I had to add a lot of flour to my work space. More than a dusting. Any ideas why my dough was so sticky?
I want to try and make these only with chocolate inside and I believe in the movie she first drizzled on some honey then covered it with the powered sugar. I just watched the movie that’s why I’m pointing this out. Can’t wait to get the stuff to make this haven’t baked in a good minute. I’ll make this regular one too.
It’s been awhile since I’ve watched the movie so I’ll have to rewatch it to see if she used honey. Usually honey isn’t put on beignets, so I wonder why they’d do that in the movie?
My children did not like these at all. They are very bland, even with the powdered sugar.
I’m sorry your girls didn’t like them. Did you leave out the sugar that’s in the batter? Beignets taste very much like doughnuts, so I’m surprised by your comment, Margaret.
I just thought I must share, that I was looking for this recipe for my LUCIE!!!! I have a LUCIE that love Tiana, and when I saw that you made this for you LuciE I knew it must be the one!!!!
I think that you meant 3/4 not 23/4 cup I just thought you might want to know that I would. This looks yummy.
Feeding Nine on Dime, it’s 2 and 3/4 cups of flour. There just needed to be a space there. Thanks for finding that typo!
Melissa, you’re the first mom of a boy that I heard who liked it. My
nephews weren’t too impressed. See you soon!
My 2 year old son loved princess and the frog. His favorite seems to be Ray.
My son and I loved Princess in the Frog at the Theater! Had to buy it 🙂 I need to check out the cookbook, I had not heard of it!
Becky, how did you like the cookbook? So
tempted to get it for MYSELF for Mother’s Day.
Can’t wait to try this! Got the movie, the soundtrack (love Randy Newman) & the cookbook for my twin daughters’ upcoming 6th birthday. OK. I got them all for me, PRETENDING they’re bday presents. 🙂