Zeppole are easy Italian donuts that are rolled in sugar with a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth center. These Italian donut holes are simple to make and always disappear fast. Watch the easy video tutorial.
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Zeppole Recipe
Zeppole (pronounced “zeh-po-ley”) is an Italian pastry similar to Bomboloni and are basically fried donut balls made out of Choux Pastry dough. It’s the same dough as for Cream Puffs, Chocolate Eclairs and Churros. Once you master this easy dough, you will be making bakery-quality pastries like a pro. They are very popular during St. Josephs Day in Italy which is also Italian Father’s Day. These fried pastries are traditionally served at Italian carnivals or festivals in simple paper bags dusted with powdered sugar.
Zeppole Video Tutorial
I’ll show you just how easy it is to make Zeppole in your own kitchen. I love these so much, I also have a cinnamon sugar donut recipe that I developed using the same dough in my cookbook! These donuts always make my kids happy, and they disappear so quickly.
Helpful Reader Review
“Our 4-H Bake Day making your zeppole recipe was a huge success. The parchment squares worked well instead of cutting the zeppole dough over the hot oil. The kids loved the recipe, making and especially eating them. As an added touch we made chocolate whipped cream and piped some into each zeppole. Yummy!..” – Kathy ★★★★★
Ingredients for Homemade Zeppole
- Milk – we use whole milk, but 2% will work
- Water – we use filtered water
- Unsalted butter – If using salted, omit the extra salt.
- Sugar – you just need 1 tsp for the dough
- Salt – to balance the sweetness
- All-purpose flour – measured correctly (for Gluten Free, see the helpful reader review below on replacing AP flour with GF flour).
- Eggs – use large eggs that are at room temperature
- Oil – Use neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, peanut oil, or canola oil. We use peanut oil in our deep fryer.
Helpful Reader Review
“I made these with 1for1 Bobs Red Mill gluten free flour and they came out AMAZING. No changes at all to the recipe except using the gf flour. Irresistibly light and puffy. So happy to make gluten free treats for my little boy who can’t handle gluten! Deep fried them in coconut oil. Perfection. Natasha, your recipes are always golden! I’ve made a ton of them gluten free and they still come out perfect.” – Eileen ★★★★★
The Best Toppings for Zeppole
You can cover Zeppole in a variety of coatings. Our favorites are:
- Powdered Sugar – dust over the top of fried donuts
- Granulated Sugar – fill a bowl with sugar and roll the hot Zeppole to coat
- Cinnamon Sugar – Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl to roll the warm Zeppole.
- Pastry Cream – you can cut the zeppole in half and pipe pastry cream inside.
- Whipped Cream – pipe homemade whipped cream between two halves of a Zeppole donut.
- Chocolate Sauce – try dipping in Ganache
- Caramel Sauce – for drizzling or dipping
How to Fry Zeppole
A Pot or Dutch Oven for frying Zeppole: You can deep fry in a regular pot, just be sure to use a clip-on thermometer to gauge temperature and a wire strainer or slotted spoon helps with quickly straining and removing the fried zeppole.
To Cook Zeppole in a Deep Fryer: This is our favorite method, and we love our deep fryer because it automatically adjusts to the correct temperature, drains and filters the oil for you, and has a wire basket for easy transferring of the fried donuts. Also, nearly everything that needs cleaning is dishwasher-friendly.
3 Ways to Form Zeppole
There are a few ways to get the batter into the hot oil.
- Pastry Bag –You can put the batter into a pastry bag, cut off the end, and snip off pieces of dough as you drop it into the oil,
- Use 2 tablespoons to portion bits of dough and carefully drop it into the hot oil.
- On Parchment Paper – Pipe the batter onto a 4×4 sheet of parchment paper and lower the donuts, paper-side-up into the hot oil. Once submerged, it releases from the paper and you can remove the paper with tongs. You can even pipe pretty patterns this way.
Once the Donuts are golden brown and out of the oil, transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and any extra oil before dusting them with powdered sugar or rolling them into your favorite coatings.
Can I bake zeppole?
If you wish to bake the pastry, we suggest following our cream puff tutorial for piping and baking the dough. You can fill the baked pastry if desired like we did our Baked Donuts, or simply dust the top with powdered sugar.
Can Zeppole be made ahead?
Once Zeppole are fried, they are best enjoyed fresh the day they are made. You can make the Choux Pastry Dough ahead, just cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. You can also freeze up to 3 months.
Homemade Zeppole are irresistibly good. Walk into a room of kiddos with a bowl of these sweet treats and watch everyone’s eyes light up. I hope this Zeppole recipe becomes a favorite for you and your loved ones.
Zeppole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- oil for frying, such as peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup confectioners sugar, to dust
Instructions
- In a large 3-quart saucepan, combine water, milk, butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour all at once using a wooden spoon. Once incorporated, place the saucepan back over medium heat and stir constantly for another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to release extra moisture and partially cook the flour. The dough will look smooth and a thin film will form on the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl and use an electric mixer to beat on medium speed for 1 minute to cool the mixture slightly. Add 4 eggs, adding them 1 at a time and allowing eggs to fully incorporate between each addition. Once all eggs are incorporated, beat another minute until the dough is smooth and forms a thick ribbon when you pull up on the whisk.
- Transfer dough to a piping bag with a 1/2-inch opening, or use a large zip bag and cut a 1/2-inch opening at the tip.*
- Heat oil to 375˚F in a dutch oven with a thermometer attached, or in a deep fryer. Once oil is hot, pipe 1-inch lengths into the hot oil, swiftly cutting the dough as you pipe into the oil. Pipe closer to the surface of the oil to avoid oil splashes.
- Fry 4-5 minutes total, turning them over halfway if they don't turn on their own then transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to soak up extra oil then dust with powdered sugar to serve.
Notes
*Nutrition label is an estimate only as oil content is difficult to gauge.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I tried on Sunday it turned out so good.Thank you so much for amazing recipes I have tried out so many recipes of yours love all of them. You are one of the few youtubers I trust for recipes.
Love from Pakistan,
Aisha
Thank you for your trust, Aisha. I hope you’ll love every recipe that you will try!
This is my absolute favorite recipe!
My kids will love this
Do you have any other Italian desserts?
Glad to hear that, Michelle! I hope this becomes their new favorite. You can check out some of my other dessert recipes here.
WOW this is my new favorite dessert!
Absolutely Delicious!
Do you have any more donut recipes?
Perfect and glad to hear that! You can also check out these other donut recipes.
On the nutrition label, what is the serving size for the data? 1 Zepole, 2,3,4?
Hi Linda, it depends on how large you pipe them. The nutrition label is per serving and here is the serving size: Servings: 8 people (makes 65-75 zeppole)
Hello Natasha, I check your recipes all the time, some to see if I make things as you do, and other times to learn something different. The Zeppole was usually made in March on St Joseph’s day, (on a Catholic calendar). All the Italian bakeries usually have them, but now I can make them and they shall be even better. I don’t care for bakery desserts, not even in New Haven, Ct. where pastry is supposed to be the best second to New York city. Thank you Natasha for this awesome recipe.
You’re very welcome, Maria. Homemade is always the best as you can make your favorites anytime you want to and it’s cheaper too! I hope you love the recipe.
tried it so so yummy and i think i ate more than i desserve lol and thanks for the recipe
You’re welcome, Jana! Thank you for that great review.
can you make wool roll bread the trending bread
Thanks for your suggestion, Jana.
Hola Natasha, los buñuelos me encantan, son un postre que se hace para la Semana Santa aquí en España, los haré como tú has enseñado, me parece perfecto. Gracias y un beso
Hi Maribel, thank you so much for sharing that with me. That’s wonderful that it is an Easter tradition in Spain.
Do you make yours the same way or add fillings or toppings? We are excited about Easter!
I just read the recipe. Is it correct that the dough should be cut into 1/2” pieces? That just sounds so small! My mother used to make these – we call them sfingi – on New Years Eve, and she added cognac to the recipe. She never measured anything and I never thought to get her recipe. I can’t wait to make these!
Hi, that was supposed to be 1″ pieces, but not longer than that or they start to get longer instead of round once fried. I hope you love the zeppole. I love the idea of adding cognac to the recipe.
We call them sfingi too where we are from in Sicily, but we add a grated potato to them. For us zeppole are a dessert made from cream puff dough shaped like a bagel baked then cut in half and filled with cream and cherries on top.
Tried tonight….right away I saw it was too much butter. 8 tbsp translated in 1/2 cup when I googled it but when I watched the video looked like half of what I used. Can you tell me how much butter in ml should be used to get it to the right consistency? I really want to try it but it wasn’t turning well for me tonight.
Hi Olena, 8 Tbsp is correct and it does translate to 1/2 cup or 113 grams. If you click “metric” in the recipe card, you will see the metric measurements.
I use grape seed oil for all my fried food. Can I use it for zeppole?
Hi Di, I haven’t tested that, but I imagine that should work. I hope you love this recipe.
Hi Natasha! i made these And they were awesome when hot but just after they cooled there was egg smell and they were not.
crispy…….please tell me what was wrong with my donuts…..I tried a lot of your recipes and they were all huge hit…we trust you and your recipes…I must have done any mistake…..and Thankyou so much for the recipe…..my family ate it though it was smelly:)
Hi Maryam, I haven’t noticed an eggy smell, could one of your eggs have gone bad? Also, if you pipe them larger, they do need a little more time to fry and lastly, I would avoid any outdoor draft whenever making any egg-based baked goods which tend to amplify egg smells.
Hello Natasha!
These look like a smaller version of Italian sphinges that my mom used to make.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Can this zeppole be baked instead of fry cause I don’t like frying in too much oil. Thank you
Hi Ann, we have that answer in the Common Questions section above for how to bake zeppole. I hope you love the recipe!
Can you substitute with almond or coconut flour? And heavy cream instead of milk?
Hi Ashleigh, I haven’t tested those substitutions so you would have to experiment. I would try to reduce heavy cream down with 1% milk or water since that increased fat content might change the consistency of the dough.
Hi Natasha, my husband and I love your recipes, but is very difficult to convert the weight of ingredients. You would like to put the weight in grams and mililiters, it will be much easier for us. Congratulations on what you do! Thank you very much!🤩👌
Hi Ione, thank you for asking. I had forgotten to add the conversion on this recipe. I just updated it so now when you scroll down to the recipe card and click “metric” you will see the conversion. I hope you enjoy the zeppole
Thank you very much! ❤️😇🙏
Can I use a spoon not a piping tip
Hi Salma, yes that would work, or you could use a large zip-loc bag and cut off a 1/2″ corner and pipe with that.
Yummy – I knew I needed to make these as soon as I saw your recipe. They were hit with the family!
I am so happy to hear your family loved the zeppole recipe.
We just love this recipe. Super easy and perfect every time!
I’m so glad you love the recipe. Thank you for sharing your great review.
These are so fun and easy to make! My whole family love them!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review