Zeppole Italian Doughnuts

Name: Zeppole Italian Doughnuts
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces; 2 tsp granulated sugar; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 4 large eggs, room temperature; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 4 cups neutral oil (vegetable or canola); 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Light, airy Italian fried doughnuts made from a simple choux-style dough that puffs up beautifully in hot oil, then gets dusted with powdered sugar. A beloved street food served at Italian festivals and holidays.

55 minMediumServes 6290 cal/serving

ItalianDessertStovetopVegetarianLow-SodiumPork-FreeNightshade-Free

Ingredients

1 cup water
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
1/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 4 tbsp cut into pieces unsalted butter, 2 tsp granulated sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2

Add 1 cup all-purpose flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a smooth ball, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
3

Beat 4 room temperature large eggs into the dough one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition until fully incorporated. The dough should be smooth, shiny, and fall from the spoon in thick ribbons. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract.
4

Pour 4 cups neutral oil (vegetable or canola) into a deep heavy pot and heat to 375°F (190°C). Set a wire rack over paper towels.
5

Using a small cookie scoop or two spoons, carefully drop rounded tablespoons of dough into the hot oil in batches of 6-8. Do not crowd the pot. Fry until deep golden brown, turning occasionally, about 4-5 minutes per batch.
6

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the prepared rack. Let cool for 2 minutes.
7

Dust generously with 1/4 cup powdered sugar and serve warm.

Questions

Can I make Zeppole Italian Doughnuts dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces. Swap the butter for olive oil where it melts, or a plant-based block butter where it is creamed. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Zeppole Italian Doughnuts gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 1 cup all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Zeppole Italian Doughnuts keep?

Keep it covered in the refrigerator and eat it within three days.

Can I halve or double Zeppole Italian Doughnuts?

Yes. As written it serves 6. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,504 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.