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Sopapillas are a delicious fried dough from New Mexico. They are perfectly fried puffed dough and traditionally served with a drizzle of honey or a combination of cinnamon and sugar.
I absolutely love all types of Mexican food. Everything from conchas, beef birria to carne asada tacos. New Mexico’s Mexican food is in its own category.
I went to New Mexico a few years ago and had a transcendent experience in Taos and Santa Fe–two cities that are truly magical. One of my favorite things I ate the entire trip were Sopapillas. I had them both in sweet context and savory (and I ate them alongside a plate of Chilaquiles).
Ingredients You’ll Need for a Sopapillas
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking powder. This is going to activate and make these nice and fluffy and light.
- Granulated sugar. Adding a touch of sweetness and crispness to the dough.
- Kosher salt. With everything sweet, we need a hint of savory.
- Honey. This is going to go inside the dough, as well as on the outside when serving.
- Milk. Whole milk gives this dough a super soft and delicious texture.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
How to Make Sopapillas with Honey
- Whisk together the dry ingredients. We’re using all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
- Make a well in the flour mixture.
3. Then pour in the honey and milk.
4. Stir until a dough forms.
5. Rest the dough for 20 minutes.
6. Choose your choice of fat. You can use canola oil, lard or shortening. Heat it in a cast iron skillet or medium pot until it reaches 300F.
7. Roll out the dough so that it’s 1/8-inch thick.
8. Cut the dough into squares.
9. Heat the oil further to 375 degrees F.
10. Drop the squares of dough into the hot oil.
11. Flip them after a minute.
12. Cook on the opposite side for another minute. And then transfer to the paper towels.
13. Eat with honey!
Recipe Tip
Test a single sopapilla. I always do a test to make sure the oil is the right temperature. If the first one doesn’t puff up, it means it’s not rolled thin enough. A simple fix with the rest of them!
Recipe FAQs
If you’re serving them in a sweet context, I love mixing together a few tablespoons of granulated sugar with two teaspoons ground cinnamon and dusting them with this mixture right when they come out of the oil. OR you can serve them in a savory context alongside these Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas or Beef Tacos.
This recipe most notably has zero shortening. I tried a recipe with shortening and I didn’t love it; I found that it lacked flavor and I frankly NEVER cook with shortening if I don’t have to. Instead, I swapped in milk vs. water and found that it was delicious this way.
More Latin-Inspired Desserts
If you tried this Sopapillas Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Sopapillas Recipe
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet or medium pot
- 1 spider or strainer to help remove the sopapillas from the oil
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- Canola oil, peanut oil or lard, for frying
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Next, create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the honey and whole milk.
- Using a spoon or your hands, mix the dough together until it forms a sticky mass. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest for about 20 minutes.
To Fry the Sopapillas:
- I know frying this is a bit of a bummer but I’ll say that with these it’s needed and worth it. In a cast iron skillet (or medium pot), add enough oil so it reaches 3-inches up the sides of the skillet/pot. Heat up your oil to around 300 degrees. (Right before we fry them off, we’ll heat it up even further.)
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. If the dough is at all sticky (it shouldn’t be after it rested) feel free to sprinkle it with a bit of flour so it doesn’t adhere to the surface.
- Dump the dough onto the counter and roll the dough into a thin (1/8-inch thick) square. (It doesn’t have to be a perfect square either, just do your best.) Cut the sopapillas into 4 x 3-inch rectangles. Again, the measurements don’t have to be exact, you can definitely eyeball this.
- Before you fry them up, be sure to get your honey ready. Line a baking sheet or plate with a few layers of paper towels or clean kitchen towel. Heat the oil up again to 375 degrees F.
- Drop the sopapillas in the hot oil, frying two to three at a time, for about a minute, flipping them over at the halfway point. (If they don’t puff up, they’ll still be tasty! But it may mean the dough isn’t rolled thin enough.)
- They should be lightly golden brown—not too crispy. Transfer them to the bed of paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining sopapillas.
- These taste best straight from the fryer to a plate to being consumed but if you want, you can keep the sopapillas warm in an 200 degree pre-heated oven while you fry up the rest.
- Serve them alongside some honey and apricot preserves.
Notes
- Test a single sopapilla. I always do a test to make sure the oil is the right temperature. If the first one doesn’t puff up, it means it’s not rolled thin enough. A simple fix with the rest of them!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This post was originally posted on May 13, 2015 but has since been republished with new photos and copy.
Hi! Can’t wait to try this, but one question … I watched the video you referenced at the top, and he says he heats his oil to 275, because “much past that, and you’re just going to burn everything.” But your version calls for 375 … am I reading that correctly?
These turned out wonderful! Thanks for the recipe
Hi Adrianna – even after 30 minutes my dough is impossibly sticky. Any suggestions? Is it possible to let it rest TOO much?
hi! i know this comment was a while ago but if you make it next time, i would just dust them with some flour! 🙂
Disappointed after the rave reviews. I halved the recipe (cooking for two)…I left out the sugar (because I wanted to drizzle them with honey later ;)), and had to add probably an additional 2T milk to get a dough anything close to sticky. I live in a very dry climate – maybe that’s why?
They puffed pretty well, and the texture was fine, but whoa! Way too salty! My husband couldn’t even eat them. Unless the salt is necessary for some chemical process I would leave the salt out as well as the sugar.
I’d give it a try again without salt…still searching for that perfect recipe…
Hi Stella, Unfortunately I think it’s a bit unfair to change a recipe and then have complaints about the recipe. Sugar gives moisture to doughs. So it makes sense that it came out dry. Also the sugar is there to balance out the saltiness. So again, changing it made this difference in the final product. It’s hard to help with feedback when you didn’t follow the recipe and took your own liberties.
What Adrianna said. Yeah, I bet you also used table salt instead of kosher salt as the recipe directed. That error will double the amount of salt.
No cap you need to change the color font for the website it hurts my eyes like i have been flashbanged by the Navy Seals or a S.W.A.T team please just change it to black or a color that compliments the white cuz right now this is not it im literally crying while typing this it hurts my eyes so badly but all in all great recipe i will be having my manager cook it for me for my first time
LITA – I just happened upon your comment, and I am compelled to reply, even though your comment is directed at the author of this fine recipe. I find that many sites are now using a shade of gray font. My older eyes do well with black on white, and other high contrast combinations, but gray on white is a killer for my eyes too. It looks classy, but, ouch…
When I encounter a website such as this recipe site, I can copy the text, paste it into my word processor, and then change the font to black. I received a users manual yesterday that is printed with a light gray font, plus, the font is tiny. I just can’t read that manual, even with a magnifying glass…
New Mexican who now lives in Washington here, tried to make these and they didn’t turn out like sopapillas at all, however the taste was there just not that puffiness you need for them, and so I decided to try it again but double the rising time. This cause a few of them to turn out correct but again the majority were not correct, so I tried one more time! I cut the salt in half and let them rise for 40-45 minutes and they came out absolutely perfect!! So if you live in a wetter climate just do exactly that and you will have the perfect sopapillas everytime.
As a New Mexico resident, I have been to El Paragua many times. They are truly the best sopapillas I have had here.
I just made this recipe, and I can say without a doubt that this is a phenomenal recipe, and truly tastes just like El Paragua’s. I will be making these and sharing this recipe with friends.
The tips given are key: keep an eye on oil temperature. If you roll them thin and keep the oil right at 375F, you get a perfect puff each time. They cooks in mere seconds, so be ready to put them aside. I ate three as I was cooking, they were that good.
One note is that these don’t have to be served as a dessert, but can also be used with savory dishes. Use them to sop up tasty stews, or fill them with a delicious braised meat 🙂
I cannot wait to try this recipe. I lived in NM for 7 years. If you get the chance try Sopapillas at Viola in Los Alamos or at Rancho de Chimyo. Yum
I’m from New a Mexico and these are my favorite dessert. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Best I’ve ever made !!! Loved them , Thanks
When I was young,my Mother and I went to church on Sundays, and after church everyone went to old town in Albuquerque.We ate at a Mexican restaurant,the sopapilla was just as you said.I am going to try this one.