Honey-battered, hand-dipped Corn Dogs are a real treat. Watch the video tutorial and see how easy it is to make homemade corn dogs from scratch.
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We love hand-dipped corn dogs at fairs, carnivals, and of course Disney, but some of our favorite carnival foods like Churros, sweet Corn on the Cob and of course these corn dogs, are so easy to re-create at home. If you’re looking for fun, family-friendly recipes, these Corn Dogs are a must-try!
Corn Dog Video Tutorial:
Corn dogs are essentially cornbread batter + hot dogs. This homemade Corn Dog Recipe has the best honey batter. They are fried to perfection with a crisp exterior and a soft cornbread inside that keeps the sausage juicy.
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Why You will Love These Corn Dogs:
- Simple batter – no waiting for the batter to chill. You can use it right away.
- Make-ahead option – you can make the batter 1 to 2 days ahead if you want to. You can also store extra batter to fry something fresh the next day.
- Skip the corn starch – dipping the hot dogs in corn starch is an unnecessary step. Drying the corn dogs with paper towels is enough to make the batter stick.
- Freezer friendly – you can make these, cool to room temperature then freeze in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag.
- Reheats well – You can defrost in the refrigerator or for 30 seconds in the microwave then pop them in the air fryer or sautee on a skillet until crisp on the outside.
Ingredients for Homemade Corndogs:
Since this recipe doesn’t have many ingredients, so buy the best quality hot dogs (get your favorites).
- Hot Dogs – We highly recommend using simple hot dogs – either beef, chicken or turkey hot dogs will do. If using longer-sized hot dogs, keep in mind they will need to fit the diameter of your pot to fry once your stick is on. Also, very thick hot dogs won’t heat through as well.
- Corn Meal – get “finely ground”
- Flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt – pantry basics that help form the batter and make it fluffy.
- Buttermilk and oil – adds flavor and moisture to the batter
- Egg – helps batter hold together.
- Honey – adds sweetness to create a honey batter
How to Make Corn Dogs:
Making corn dogs is easier and takes less time than you think! Here is a visual reference for the process. Watch the video recipe above and you’ll have this recipe memorized in no time.
- Pat Dry Hot Dogs with paper towels to help the batter to stick better.
- Insert Sticks – skewer hot dogs make sure the length fits your pot)
- Dry Ingredients – whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Wet Ingredients – whisk together buttermilk, egg, olive oil, and honey.
- Combine Batter – pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until blended.
- Dip Hot Dogs and Fry – Batter the corn dogs to completely cover the hot dog, let excess drip off at the edge then Fry 2-3 at a time at 350˚F for 3 minutes until golden brown.
Pro Tip: Use a tall drinking glass and a funnel to keep things tidy while filling with batter. Fill it almost full, leaving enough room to dip the corn dog without overflowing the cup.
The Best Sticks for Corn Dogs:
You can use a variety of sticks (even popsicle sticks). The most important thing is to make sure the skewered corn dog will fit easily into your frying pot. Avoid sticks that have sharp points or are too long. You can use:
- Multi-Use Skewers 6.5″ (the ones we used, pictured in the center)
- Corn Dog Sticks 8″-8.75″ (pictured on the right)
- Candy Apple Sticks 5″ to 5.5″ (pictured on the left)
How to Keep Corn Dogs from Cracking:
Air bubbles cause corn dogs to crack and burst. The right technique is important. Dip straight down until hot dog is fully coated. Twirl in the glass and swirl as you pull up. If you see gaps in the dough or big bubbles then re-dip. Also, make sure to maintain the right oil temperature at 350˚F.
Common Questions:
Look for fine yellow corn meal. Avoid “coarse” or “medium” ground cornmeal as that will be too large of granules and won’t work. I have found that if the cornmeal packaging doesn’t say what texture it is, most often it is finely ground.
A deep fryer can be tricky because the corn dogs are more likely to stick to the fryer basket. Make sure you carefully hold the corn dog in the oil at an angle for 5-7 seconds to seal the exterior before dropping them into the basket. Watch the video to see this in action.
Nope. Coating in starch is an unnecessary and messy step. Patting the hot dogs thoroughly is enough to help the batter stick to the hot dogs.
We heat the oil to 350˚F and use a clip-on thermometer to maintain a steady temperature. You want to keep the oil between 340˚-360˚ while frying.
Our favorite oil for frying is peanut oil. Canola oil is also a great option.
Serve as a main course or snack with the classic dipping sauces of ketchup and mustard.
Have Extra Batter Left Over?
Use the extra batter to dip mini sausages, little smokies or cocktail sausages to make mini corndogs. Use a toothpick to dip and fry then remove the toothpicks before serving.
Hand dipped corn dogs satisfy the craving for carnival food when you aren’t able to get to the carnival or state fair to enjoy it. They are also really fun to make!
More Kid-Friendly Recipes to try:
If you love this Corn Dog Recipe, then you won’t want to miss these family-friendly recipes.
- Pizza – try our pizza dough for any pizza
- Cheeseburger Sliders – easy and great for parties
- Chicken Sandwiches – crispy with the best sauce
- Chicken Nuggets – a copycat recipe
- Brownies – fudgy and decadent
Homemade Corn Dogs Recipe
Ingredients
For the Corn Dogs:
- 12 hot dogs, we used turkey hot dogs
- 12 sticks
- Peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil for frying
- Ketchup and mustard to serve
Batter Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups fine yellow corn meal
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp honey
Instructions
- Pour 2-3” of oil in a large pot or dutch oven and heat to 350˚F over medium heat.
- Pat dry with paper towels. Insert sticks into hot dogs.
- Whisk together dry ingredients (corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt). Whisk together wet ingredients (buttermilk, egg, 1 Tbsp oil and honey). Combine wet and dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
- Pour batter into a drinking glass almost to the top and dip hot dogs. Put corndog straight down into batter and give it a little twirl to fully coat the hot dogs then swirl as you lift up. Let excess drip off.
- Hold corn dog at an angle in the hot oil for 5-7 seconds to let it seal then drop into oil (this keeps them from sticking to the bottom of the pot).
- Fry 3 minutes or until golden brown. Fry up to 2-3 at a time (so you don’t drop the temperature), turning them as needed to brown evenly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Could these be made using a honey cornbread mix, like Famous Dave’s or Krusteaz?
Hi Kaye, I haven’t tried that, but I imagine that will work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This recipe is amazing! They turned out perfect and it was so easy! Next time, I’m going to use jalapeno cheddar sausages. I think the sweet of the breading with the spicy savory sausage will be amazing!
That sounds amazing!
Another note: the only yellow cornmeal found was self-rising. That’s what I used and omitted baking powder.
Natasha, your corn dogs were perfectly shaped. After I put one in oil at 350 degrees, the batter would flatten. After I turned it, I used tongs to press it into shape. What was I doing wrong?
I love trying your recipes. You are an excellent cook!!
Hi Shirley, it sounds like the issue is either in step 4 or 5 – I find it helps to use a glass for an even coating of batter and also its important to hold the corndog at an angle initially to set the batter. If you haven’t already, I suggest watching the video tutorial in those moments to see if your method was different.
I swear, I can NOT make a corn dog. This is the 5th recipe I’ve tried. I was really hoping on this one, because the batter looked thicker. The first one dropped in the oil, and puffed out twice the size it should be, and all lacy. The second one looked better, but ended up with the same thin crust as all the other recipes I’v tried. Taste is great, but it is not a corn dog like the ones I get at the fair.
I converted all the cups to grams and weighed everthing, so it should have been right. I guess I have to wait until fair time 🙁
Did you by any chance use any substitutions with the recipes? I haven’t had that experience and it sounds like there may have been too much flour used. Be sure to measure by fluffing the flour first with a spoon then spoon it into a dry ingredient measuring cup and scrape off the top. If you push your measuring cup into a flour bin, you will get up to 25% too much flour. Also, do not tap the flour down in the measuring cup.
Natasha!
I had been wanting to try this recipe for a month now and finally had a chance to over this holiday weekend.
These turned out so well, and my family were delighted with the airy, flavourful corndogs your recipe produces!
Thank you for the recipe!
You’re very welcome, Samuel! Thank you for sharing that with us.
I’ve made this recipe a couple times before, and today I was just prepping my ingredients to make them for my kids afterschool. I thought it was only fair that I leave a review! These are awesome, enjoyed by everyone in my family! Crunchy and nutty from the cornmeal, with a touch of sweetness-perfection! This recipe made me enjoy corndogs. Thanks Natasha!
Thank you so much for sharing, Char!
Can you make these gluten free/dairy free by replacing the flour with 1 to 1 gluten free flour and substitute buttermilk with dairy free buttermilk?
Hi Kathy! I have not tested those substitutes to advise.
Can you freeze these corn dogs. I have grand kids that live these as afternoon snacks and they don’t always announce when they are coming over. So would be nice to be able to freeze. Thank you in advance
Hi Randall! One of my readers mentioned freezing these and then air-frying them a couple of days later and they were perfect.
Hi,
These look delicious! Can you halve the recipe? Also, can you use substitute buttermilk (made with milk and vinegar) Thank you!
Hi Linda, if you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing milk and lemon. Here’s an example for reference, 1 cup buttermilk = 1 Tablespoon lemon juice + enough milk to measure 1 cup.You can definitly cut the recipe in half. I recommend clicking “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post, it will take you to our printable recipe where you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
Thank you, there are only two of us and we don’t drink buttermilk, hate to be wasteful. I really like the option to change the quantity, have never noticed it before. Thanks again can’t wait to try these.
I think screwed up, made 1/2 the batter with substitute buttermilk using lemon, dried hot dogs well, but two things, I used all beef, not turkey dogs. My oil was at 350 when I put in the first 3 but got hotter quickly. They browned very fast, the batter looked like it was supposed to in the video, but did not “rise” on the dogs, was very thin, I am thinking the beef dogs were the problem, to oily…any thoughts? Thank you
Hi Linda, it’s hard to say without being there, but substitutions usually are the culprits.
I wondered about the buttermilk, have used substitute buttermilk without a problem, bit will have to try it..
Yes it was the buttermilk, the consistency of the substitute is much thinner…corn dogs came out great!
Wish I had double checked the ratios before mixing wet and dry together. Could have used another 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Original came out like dough and had to add more wet.
Sounds like you could have used too much flour. Be sure to either weight it in grams or measure it according to my instructions in my tutorial on How to measure ingredients .
Just made this for my kids and my mom — it was a hit!!!! Best recipe ever for these and I love that it’s simple ingredients so I know exactly what’s in it. Thank you thank you!
You’re very welcome, Dianna. That’s awesome to hear that your family loved it!
Any chance you can freeze the batter for reuse?
I have made these several times. Amazing! Our connoisseur of corn dogs has requested these for Thanksgiving!
Hi Carmel! I’m glad you love the recipe. To be honest, I haven’t tried freezing the batter to advise. Let us know if you experiment.
Some of my readers have used the leftover batter to dip and fry veggies. One other reader states she added half a can of kernel corn and it made delicous corn fritters!
Hi Natasha, bought white corn meal instead of yellow, will this work?
Hi David, while I haven’t tried this with white corn meal, I’m reading up online that white works just fine! I hope you love it!
Best recipe I’ve found for homemade corn dogs! They were a big hit with the family. The batter was perfect and the touch of honey was a delicious addition. The method for putting the batter on the dogs worked great and I’ll definitely make these again.
Hi Carolyn! Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Had 6 dogs left over so I cut the recipe in half and made 12 mini corn dogs. Excellent recipe.
I used yogurt in place of buttermilk which made the batter thick, next time if I use yogurt I will add a touch of liquid.
Thank you
Thank you for sharing that with us!