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
Tried your Zeppole recipe..
First time ever and it was HIT…!!!!
Simply delicious, tasty…airy and “melt in the mouth gorgeous”… I added a teaspoon of cinnamon to the icing sugar…..
They were literally gone in minutes!!!!!
That’s great to hear! Thanks a lot for sharing that with us.
Zeppole are not made with egg. It is fried pizza dough. No egg needed!
go girl you are correct mom made them in the old days back in the 40s 50s 60s 70s
are you italian? we need to know! luv this recipie btw girlie 💗💗
No, Ukrainian. 🙂 So glad you enjoy this recipe.
THANK YOU
we use to have this at school and i looked everywhere and after years i found the recipe by you…. it was absolutely delicious
I’m so glad you found this recipe!
I don’t do well with piping bags could you use a small ice cream/cookie scoop to put the dough in the hot oil???
HI Dianna, it may get stuck in the scoop since it’s a pretty moist dough. The bag and scissors method seems the most efficient in our testing.
Is Zappole crunchy? Mine came out soft. But it tasted delicious.
Hi Yolanda, zeppole are soft, a little like donuts inside.
thanks for the recipe, I shall be doing them next week for the feast of St Joseph (19th March). In Malta once the zeppole are ready, we cut them in half and fill with sweetened ricotta and then drizzle some honey on top
Sounds good, Katya. I hope it becomes a hit!
Nutritional data is per serving. How many is considered a serving. Sorry if I missed it somewhere.
Hi Kenna, that info is towards the top of the recipe card. For this recipe: Servings: 8 people (makes 65-75 zeppole)
Hello, Natasha — My grandmother used to make these and I’m excited to try your recipe! But what does “correctly measured” flour mean? What do you consider “correct” procedure? I’ve been cooking for decades and assume I’m doing it correctly. What is your method, please?
Hi RW, 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. You can see in our post on measuring HERE.
Weighing flour is also highly accurate. Per King Arthur Baking Company, a cup of all-purpose flour weighs 4 1/4 ounces or 120 grams.
Hi there. Would I be able to make the choux a few hours in advance, leave in bag in refrigerator and then pipe?
Hi Vicki, You can make the Choux Pastry Dough ahead, just cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. You can also freeze up to 3 months.
I made my Zeppole dough and plan on freezing. I plan on making balls of dough to freeze. What is the best way to defrost? Room temp for how long?
Love your recipe for Zeppoles, made a few times now, grandkids love them & me too!
Hi Joan, I haven’t tested freezing the dough balls so I can’t speak to that. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes. I’m so happy you and your family loves the zeppole recipe.
Just made these and they turned out great! Next time I might add some vanilla to the dough to add a little extra flavor. Thank you for sharing!!
Hello McKayla, that sounds like a good plan. Please share with us how you liked that version if you try that next time. Thank you for the good review!
Hello Natasha, could you use gluten free flour for this recipe?
Hi Adriana, I haven’t tested this recipe with gluten-free flour. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Une magnifique recette ! Délicieux ! J’ai fais cette recette avec ma maman pour Noël. Merci Natasha! Miam ! Bisous du Québec !
Rachel Bolduc
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Rachel! Merry Christmas!
Im so glad I found you just love you and recipes now to get some of the things you use tool wise I mean
Sounds like a great plan, Karen. The tools really make things a lot easier. Hope you enjoy!
Natasha,
Prevyet. Wow, my family loves your recipes, we have tried so many. we have many favorites and honestly they always come out so good. My wife is Russian, and againin all honest this is our go to site when we want something very good. As a stay at home Dad, I am the family cook and its such a pleasure to see the kids enjoy all that we have cooked from your recipes.
this is next, I am sure it will be a hit !!!! Maybe this weekend, good time for it, weather is cooler, some hot tea and these Zeppole.
Thanks again.
Das Va Danya. :):)
I hope you love my recipes and site, Eddie! This comment made my day! I hope you all love this recipe, and it’s perfect for this cooler weather with a nice warm cup of tea, like you said!
Easy and tasty. Very nice for tea 👌🏻 Nice to eat during rainy days.
Thank you for your review, Vara!
When I piped the zeppole into the oil, they turned out like long strips.
Hi Georgia, it could be what you used for piping. Make sure to cut them at 1″ lengths and no longer.
I did a practice try out & had all ingredients & followed directions, they came out like small sizes..
Next time I did & followed directions, still came out small, so I put on a very full tablespoon of dough & that worked, which used up most of my dough.?? Don’t know what I am not doing right? They were Delicious! Help me out.
Hi Joan, they will be proportional to whatever size you put them into the oil. I put mine in a pastry bag with a 1/2″ opening and cut 1″ lengths for them to puff the way it’s shown in the video. You can also use a large zip bag and cut a 1/2″ opening at the tip.
These were so simple to make and my kids and I loved them! We watched your video before making them, and while eating, my daughter agreed with you and said, “These really DO melt in your mouth!” She’s 6. Haha. We only halved it this time since this was just a fun morning cooking activity, but next time we will definitely do the full recipe!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Nicole!!