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.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
That was sooo good – I recommend a little more salt and to use more flour than cornmeal, rather than the other way around, but it’s just a personal preference (:
Hi Martina! Thank you for sharing. I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.
We have been wanting to make homemade corn dogs for YEARS! We got lucky finding this recipe because they came out perfect! Thank you so much! We loved them!
Hi Debbie! That’s awesome. I’m so glad you came across this recipe. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I made corn dogs for the first time by following this recipe, the only difference is I fried the batch in beef tallow instead of oil. They turned out so well that I have no need to look for another recipe. Bookmarked this for sure!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Rachel!
The reason why I’m making this comment with 1 star is because I was going to end up making this for dinner today. I got every measurement correct, only thing is that the batter was not thick at all like how it was in the video. I am a little disappointed on how it turned out. 😕 hopefully this video will be recreated with the appropriate measurements
HI Des, did you get the correct type of cornmeal? Finely ground is important, otherwise the consistency won’t be right. Also, check out our post on how to measure ingredients (liquid and dry) which may help. The measurements in the recipe and video are accurate.
Another great recipe find! My family loves these corn digs. Not as pretty as yours but absolutely delightful! Do you have a corn dog cornbread muffin recipe? I don’t know where to begin to change the batter to a muffin recipe with cut up hot dogs in it.
Hi Jocelyn! I’m so glad to hear that they were a hit! I don’t not have a recipe for that, but thank you for the suggestion.
Let me start out by saying I use Nashaskitchen a lot and normally everything is pretty good. But VERY disappointed in this recipe. Was looking for that nostalgic corndog, with the “sweetish” corn batter. Well….not so much, batter didn’t want to stick to dogs and just was so good.
Hi Yvonne, I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you and I am always willing to help troubleshoot. Make sure to pat the hot dogs dry before dipping and also check the common questions section to see if that helps with troubleshooting. For example, the wrong kind of corn meal such as coarse corn meal can be disastrous. Make sure to use a fine corn meal as directed in this recipe. Lastly, make sure to watch the video to see where things looked different. It may also be that the proportions in the batter might be off. See our post on how to measure ingredients.
Great recipe! My kids loved them. Do you have a corn dog muffin recipe as well?
Hi Jocelyn! No, I’m sorry, I do not. But thank you for the recipe suggestion and I’m glad your kids loved this one!
This corn dog recipe is amazing! I didn’t change a thing. I have a couple tips for anyone trying this for the first time.. 1. Make sure you completely dry the weiner first. 2. Re-wisk the batter before each new batch to remove the developed air bubbles, otherwise it will seem too thick to coat the weiner. Once I did these two things, they turned out perfectly.
I did have leftover batter, I added half a can of kernel corn and it made delishous corn fritters!
Thank you for sharing, Charity! I’m so glad you love this recipe.
Was worried to try this. But it turned out amazing. I cut the recipe in half since we are a small family. It was a super easy adjustment. We had some xtra batter I just dropped it in the oil and they made the best hush puppies. I can see so many options with this recipe! The only difference I want to make is add more honey. But I love honey .
Sounds good, feel free to add more honey next time. I’m glad that you enjoyed this recipe a lot!
YIKES! This recipe turned out so thick there was no coating the hot dogs in a nice even coating. Unfortunately left me scrambling for what to make for dinner. Will try a different recipe. Pretty bummed because it looked like a great recipe 🙁
Hi Kandice, 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.
So, I was going to come here and say this recipe has no flavor. And then, as soon as I realized I still had a 4 lb bag of sugar sitting in a grocery bag untouched I said “you idiot” so. I don’t have a real review except, make sure you add the sugar!
Oh what a bummer! I hope you give it another try with the sugar.
This is the BEST corndog batter I have ever found. I tried it with less sugar the first time. It was better following the exact proportions of this recipe. The trick is the buttermilk. Note: did you know you can freeze buttermilk to use later? That’s what I do.
PS I make a batch and freeze them for later then zap in microwave for lunch at work. So easy and good.
Hi Betty! I’m so glad you love it! Thank you for sharing with us.
We loved these and froze and air-fried them a couple days later and they were perfect. Do you think we could use the oven to reheat them frozen so we could do a large batch for my sons birthday?? How hot and long do you think? Would they stay crispy?
Hi Jade! I think so but don’t think they will be as crisp. We’ve also sautéed them on a skillet until crisp on the outside.
They tasted great. Just the right amount of crunch. The only trouble I had was getting them to cook on both sides. After setting them in the oil the side up usually wouldnt stay rolled over. Perhaps I was getting to much bubbles in batter? I did burn my finger when trying to do that. Clumsy me!
I ended up with enough batter for allot more dogs. How long could it be stored?
Hi Alicia, we like to submerge the full corn dog at once; YOu may need a deeper pot and more oil to allow it to cook evenly.
I don’t know if this will help, but I use a deep fryer and in order to not lose the stick in the corn dog, and make it easier to turn, I attach a binder clip to the end haha 🤣 Maybe that will help with the turning and the burnt fingers!!
Thank you for this! I followed your recipe and directions to a T and the corn dogs were the best I’ve ever had! My husband and son gobbled them up and I’m going to freeze the rest to airfry another day.
That’s great to hear, Amber. I’m so glad they were a hit.
Ours came out soggy and not crispy. What did we do wrong? Oil was even at 350 degrees.
Hi Stephanie, I haven’t had that experience, I recommend retracing your steps to ensure there were no substitutions to your process or ingredients. I wish I could be more helpful!
Not “corn” enough. Rather bland. Tried adding more honey to sweeten it up a bit. That did not make it any better.
Edible
Hi Patrick, I wonder if it has to do with the type of corn meal used? I recommend fine cornmeal – the course one doesn’t work properly.
Made these yummy corn dogs last night EXACTLY as written. They are as good if not better than the ones they serve at the fair. People have to remember to follow the recipe and all the tips you give, Love all your recipes, Thank you for sharing them with us.
I’m so glad to hear these were a hit, Dave! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
This was the first time I had corn dogs and actually I had to look it up in a dictionary when “corn dogs” were mentioned in a TV-show (Modern Family) I was watching.
Then I googled and found your brilliant website (and YouTube channel).
After watching your video (ps. your son is adorable like you!) I had to try making this “strange” food.
To say no more; it was so brilliant that you just made my day!
Thank you so much!
I’m so glad you discovered my blog and recipes, Malín! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I hope you get to try and love more of my recipes soon!
Off topic, but I would love to know where you get your tops. Super cute shirts!
Thanks, Beth. Many of my clothes are ordered through stitch fix.