Southern Style Hushpuppies Recipe – A Fish Fry Must Have

Deep-fried little sweet and savory balls of cornbread. I mean, how can you go wrong with our fried-and-true Southern Style Hushpuppies recipe? Hushpuppies are a must have food at any good fish fry. Crispy on the outside, soft and crumbly on the inside. I almost love southern style hushpuppies more than fried crappie.

Well….almost.

Southern Style Hushpuppies Recipe – one of my favorite recipes of all time!

Hushpuppies are kind of like cornbread. There are hundreds of recipes and variations. This southern style hushpuppies recipe is my favorite. A little sweet, a little savory, with caramelized onions…deep fried until crispy and golden.

Southern Style Hushpuppies Recipe : The Flavor

Before you get started with the cornbread mix, cook your chopped onions in butter in a hot skillet. Cook them slowly to get a  nice brown color and sweet caramelized flavor. Once they are cooked through and soft, set them aside and let them cool.

Southern Style Hushpuppies Recipe : The Batter

Combine all of your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.  I am in love with my hand-me-down jadeite bowl. It is one of my favorites.

You can use yellow cornmeal or white. I prefer self-rising white cornmeal because it makes a more tender hushpuppy.

Add your egg and buttermilk, and stir until just combined.

You could use regular milk, but you will miss out on flavor!! Buttermilk will make your hushpuppies moist.

Do not over stir your batter. Fold in the onions gently, then let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Letting the batter rest gives the baking soda and baking powder time to do their thing and will make your hushpuppies light and fluffy inside.

(Sorry, my picture of this step was super blurry!!! Just use your imagination of batter in a bowl.)

Southern Style Hushpuppies Recipe : The Action

In a deep fryer or deep skillet, heat your FRESH, PREVIOUSLY UN-USED vegetable or canola oil to 356 degrees. Not 355. Not 357. (But seriously, get as close as you can.)

Your deep fryer may cook differently than mine, but I have found for cooking southern style hushpuppies and fish, this is the best temperature to get a perfectly brown outside and well-cooked inside.

Drop your Southern Style hushpuppies in tablespoon sized spoonfuls into the hot grease. They will bubble and quickly start to brown. When they float to the top, gently flip them to brown the other side.

When they are nicely browned, scoop the hushpuppies out and place them on layers of newspaper or brown bags to drain. (If you use paper towels, they will get soggy.)

Serve with your favorite fried fish, cole slaw, beans…and my favorite…ketchup! Love me some hushpuppies dipped in ketchup. I would love to tell you how many hushpuppies this recipe makes, but they were mysteriously disappearing as I was cooking them.  🙂

Do you have a favorite hushpuppy recipe?

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4.29 from 7 votes

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Southern Style Hushpuppies

A fried and true classic hushpuppy recipe for your next fish fry. Made from deep fried cornbread with caramelized onions.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 255 kcal

Author Buy This Cook That

Buy This

• 1 1/2 cups self rising cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 onion diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup Vegetable or canola oil for cooking or more

Cook That

1. In a skillet, cook onion in the butter until golden brown and caramelized. Set aside and let cool.
2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Stir to incorporate all ingredients.
3. Add the beaten egg and buttermilk, and stir until just combined. Fold in the cooked onions. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
4. In a deep fryer heat oil to 356 degrees. Drop the hushpuppy batter into the hot oil in tablespoon sized spoonfuls. When the hushpuppies are golden brown on the bottom and float to the top, gently turn them. Cook until the other side is brown.
5. Remove from oil, and drain on layers of newspaper or brown paper bags.

Nutrition Facts

Southern Style Hushpuppies

Amount Per Serving (1 g)

Calories 255 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9g 14%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Cholesterol 32mg 11%

Sodium 288mg 12%

Potassium 237mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates 37g 12%

Dietary Fiber 3g 12%

Sugars 5g

Protein 6g 12%

Vitamin A 3.6%

Vitamin C 1.2%

Calcium 7.5%

Iron 8.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.