These sopapillas are fried to pillowy and puffed perfection and are the best Tex-Mex treat! Made with a simple and easy dough, they’re topped with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with honey.
Here in Oklahoma, most Tex-Mex restaurants offer a fresh sopapilla at the end of your meal, and it’s always my favorite part.
I love sopapillas because they’re light and airy, making them the perfect dessert to finish your meal without feeling heavy or too stuffed. This no-fuss sopapilla recipe is user-friendly and great to make at home for dessert or to serve with friends.
Here’s why I love them so much:
- Easy, no-fuss dough. Sopapillas use a very simple dough using pantry staple ingredients. It gets its light and fluffy texture from using baking powder. No yeast or rising time!
- Different toppings. I like to top mine with a cinnamon sugar mix for some extra sweetness and flavor, but you can also top it with powdered sugar, or leave it plain and drizzle honey on top.
What Are Sopapillas?
Sopapillas are a simple and delicious fry bread dessert from New Mexico. They’re made from a simple dough that’s fried and then topped with either powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, or left plain.
They’re then drizzled with honey or some even drizzle honey on the inside since they are light and airy. They’re a popular Tex-Mex and New Mexican dessert but you can also find a savory version of this recipe made with meat fillings. Both are delicious and simple to make!
Ingredients in Sopapillas
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can also use whole wheat flour, just note you will have to knead the dough for a longer period of time.
- Sugar: I added granulated sugar to the dough to give it some sweetness and extra flavor, and it’s used in the cinnamon sugar mixture. You can swap it for honey, agave, or even brown sugar instead.
- Baking powder: This is the leavening agent for the sopapillas that gives it its light and airy texture.
- Salt: A little bit of salt adds flavor to the dough.
- Oil: Using a neutral-flavored oil helps the flavors of the sopapilla really shine without making it too greasy. I used canola oil.
- Water: Warm water is used as the liquid in the dough mixture. You can also use milk or a milk alternative.
- Ground cinnamon: This is mixed with sugar for the cinnamon-sugar mixture. It adds some spice and extra flavor to the topping.
- Honey: You can’t have a sopapilla without a drizzle of honey! You can use your favorite local honey or flavored honey.
How to Make Sopapillas
Mix the dry ingredients by mixing together the flour, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork to combine.
Add the wet ingredients including the water and oil and mix until a dough forms.
Knead the dough on a well-floured surface for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should be slightly tacky, but it should not be so sticky that it sticks to your hands. If it is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour at a time into the dough until it reaches the desired consistency.
Roll the dough into a ball and transfer it into the same mixing bowl.
Cover and rest the dough for 20 minutes.
Shape the dough by cutting it in half. On a well-floured surface using a floured rolling pin, roll out each half into a square about ¼ -inch thick, then cut the dough into 9 pieces. I used a pizza cutter for this step. Each piece should roughly be a 3-inch square and you should have 18 pieces total.
Fry the sopapillas by placing 2 dough squares at a time into a Dutch oven or pot in the hot oil and frying in batches. Lightly push down each square using a spider strainer so that it is fully submerged in the oil.
The dough will begin to puff up quickly and should have a big air pocket in the middle. Once the air pocket has formed, remove the strainer and let the dough fry normally. Flip the sopapillas over after 45 seconds, and let the other side fry.
Drain the sopapillas of any excess oil and transfer to the prepared dish with the cinnamon sugar topping.
Toss the sopapillas in the cinnamon sugar mixture until both sides are evenly coated. Transfer the sopapillas to the prepared baking sheet. Continue this frying and coating process with the remaining dough squares.
Drizzle the finished sopapillas with honey and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Switch up the toppings. You can top your sopapillas with powdered sugar or leave them plain and drizzle only with honey.
- Make it sweeter. You can add more sweetness to the sopapillas by adding 1-2 tablespoons of honey or agave to the sopapilla dough.
- Cut into different shapes. Cut the sopapilla dough into small squares to make sopapilla bites. You can also cut them any shape you prefer.
- Use whole wheat flour. You can use whole wheat flour, just note you will have to knead the dough longer.
- For a creamier sopapilla, you can use equal parts milk or milk alternatives.
What to Serve With Sopapillas
Sopapillas are typically served with a drizzle of honey, but when I want something a little more indulgent, I love serving it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some fruit salsa, or some cajeta or dulce de leche. Yum!
They truly make the best dessert to enjoy after dinner or hosting. Serve them after your favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex dish like chimichangas, green chicken chili, and sheet pan chicken fajitas.
Storing and Reheating
To store, place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Sopapillas are best enjoyed fresh and hot, but if you have lots of leftovers, you can reheat them in a 350°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes or in an air fryer for 2 minutes at 350°F.
More Recipes
Sopapillas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, plus more for frying (canola, vegetable, or corn)
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for topping
- Honey, for topping
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a fork to combine.
- Add the oil and water and stir to combine until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough onto a well-floured work surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough becomes too sticky to work with during the kneading process, add in a little more flour. The final dough should be tacky, but not so much that it completely sticks to your fingers and hands.
- Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, line a baking sheet with paper towels and heat the frying oil in a medium pot or Dutch oven to 375°F.
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar topping by mixing the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar and cinnamon into a shallow dish or plate until fully combined. Set aside.
- Once fully rested, cut the dough ball in half. Roll out each half into a square about ¼ -inch thick, then cut the dough into 9 pieces (I used a pizza cutter for this). Each piece should roughly be a 3-inch square. You should have 18 pieces in total. (Some pieces may be rectangular or triangular in shape – that’s okay.)
- Working in batches, carefully add 2 sopapilla squares into the hot oil. Using a metal slotted spoon, lightly push down each square so that it is fully submerged in the oil. The dough will immediately begin to puff up quickly and should have a big air pocket in the middle.
- Once the air pocket has formed, remove the slotted spoon and let the dough fry like normal. Flip the sopapillas over after 45 seconds, and let the other side fry.
- When golden brown, remove the sopapillas with a spider strainer and allow any excess oil to drain and drip back into the frying pot. Transfer the sopapillas onto the plate with cinnamon sugar topping and roll until both sides are evenly coated. Set the coated sopapillas aside on the prepared baking sheet. Continue frying and topping the remaining sopapilla squares.
- When ready to serve, drizzle sopapillas with honey.
Notes
- Switch up the toppings. You can top your sopapillas with powdered sugar or leave them plain and drizzle only with honey.
- Make it sweeter. You can add more sweetness to the sopapillas by adding 1-2 tablespoons of honey or agave to the sopapilla dough.
- Cut into different shapes. Cut the sopapilla dough into small squares to make sopapilla bites. You can also cut them in any shape you prefer.
- Use whole wheat flour. You can use whole wheat flour, just note you will have to knead the dough longer.
- For a creamier sopapilla, you can use equal parts milk or milk alternatives.
Nutrition Information
Photography by Ashley McLaughlin.
This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated with new photos and more helpful tips.
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