Southern Hush Puppies Recipe
These Southern hush puppies come out crispy outside and soft and oniony inside, ready in under 30 minutes for the ultimate classic fried side dish.
Every version of the hush puppy story starts the same way: someone frying up fish or catfish over an open fire, tossing a scrap of cornmeal batter to a hollering dog to quiet it down while supper finished cooking. Whether or not that’s exactly how it happened, one thing is certain — hush puppies have been showing up next to fried fish at Southern tables for generations, and nobody’s ever needed convincing to eat them.
They’re humble by nature: cornmeal, a little flour, a grated bit of onion, and buttermilk, dropped by the spoonful into hot oil until they puff up golden and crackling on the outside. There’s no fancy technique here, just a hot pot of oil and a good hand with the batter.
What keeps people coming back to this recipe is how little it asks for and how much it delivers. A handful of ingredients most kitchens already have, ten minutes of frying, and you’ve got a side dish that steals the show from whatever it’s served next to.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Made from simple, inexpensive pantry ingredients
- Crispy golden crust with a soft, savory center
- Ready in well under 30 minutes, start to finish
- A classic Southern side for fish fries, barbecue, or soup night
- Easy to double for a crowd
Tips and Variations
A cast-iron pot holds heat especially well and helps keep the oil temperature steady batch after batch, which makes for more evenly fried hush puppies. If you like a little heat, stir a pinch of cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce into the batter. For a slightly sweeter, corn-forward version, fold in a half cup of thawed frozen corn kernels along with the onion.
Keep a close eye on the oil temperature with a thermometer if you have one — oil that’s too hot browns the outside before the inside cooks through, while oil that’s too cool leaves the hush puppies greasy instead of crisp.
Hush puppies are traditionally served alongside fried catfish or shrimp, but they’re just as welcome next to a pot of chili, a plate of barbecue, or a simple bowl of vegetable soup on a cold evening. Some cooks like to serve them with a small dish of honey butter or remoulade sauce for dipping, though most folks are happy eating them plain, straight off the paper towel while they’re still too hot to properly hold.
If you’re frying for a crowd, keep finished batches warm on a wire rack set over a baking sheet in a low oven, around 200°F, rather than stacking them in a covered dish, which traps steam and softens that crisp crust you worked for.
Storage
Hush puppies are best enjoyed fresh and hot, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat them in a 375°F oven or air fryer for about 8 minutes to bring back some of the crispness; microwaving will leave them soft. They don’t freeze especially well once fried, since the texture suffers on thawing, so it’s best to fry only what you plan to eat within a day or two.
Pull up a chair, fry a batch, and pass the basket around — some things really are better shared straight out of the fryer.
Southern Hush Puppies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup grated onion
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Instructions
- Heat 2-3 inches of vegetable oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and grated onion.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined; the batter will be thick.
- Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil, frying in batches so as not to crowd the pot.
- Fry 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
- Serve hot.
