These classic southern hush puppies are made with sweetened cornmeal batter, diced sweet onions, and the perfect amount of seasoning and spices. These hush puppies are crispy and golden brown on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside and will become a new family favorite!

If you are a cornbread fan, you will LOVE this hush puppy recipe! Hush puppies are a quintessential southern side dish and are served at just about every backyard fish fry.

This hush puppy recipe is a classic southern preparation and is how I've always had hushpuppies growing up in Mississippi! If you want more authentic southern recipes, check out our Southern Buttermilk Cornbread, Soul Food Candied Yams, and Southern Baked Macaroni and Cheese!

overhead shot of Southern sweet onion hush puppies on a gray plate lined with parchment paper. plate is sitting on a wooden cutting board with a sheet pan underneath. Dipping sauce in top right corner.

Jump to:

What You Need to Make This Recipe
How to Make This Recipe
What Are Hush Puppies?
How Did Hush Puppies Get Their Name?
What to Serve with Hush Puppies
Variations and Substitutions
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
Tips For Making The Best Hush Puppies
Recommended Tools For This Recipe
More Irresistible Southern Recipes You Will Love!
📖 Recipe

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Yellow cornmeal. This recipe calls for 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. Be sure you are using plain cornmeal and not cornmeal mix. You can also use white cornmeal if you prefer, but yellow cornmeal is typically used for Southern-style hush puppies. I recommend using good-quality cornmeal such as Bob's Red Mill Yellow Cornmeal.

All-purpose flour. This recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour. I've found that this ratio of cornmeal to flour gives me the best texture in a hush puppy - crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and not too dense. I recommend using good quality flour such as Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur.

Baking powder. The baking powder helps the batter puff up when fried so that the hushpuppies are not dense on the inside. You need 1 ½ teaspoons.

Granulated sugar. Southern hushpuppies are slightly sweetened to give them an almost cornmeal cake flavor that is absolutely delicious! This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons.

Salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper. These seasonings are mixed into the batter for added flavor.

1 large egg. The egg acts as a binder for the hushpuppies.

Buttermilk. Buttermilk gives the hushpuppies a delicious tanginess and helps the hushpuppies remain tender. You can use regular milk if you prefer but you will not need as much.

1 small sweet onion. Finely diced sweet onion is mixed into the hushpuppy batter and is a classic addition in Southern hushpuppies. The flavor of the onion mixed with the sweet cornmeal batter is scrumptious!

Vegetable oil. The oil is for frying the hushpuppies. You can also use any other type of neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point, such as canola or peanut oil. 4 cups should be enough to deep fry the hushpuppies in a 6-quart Dutch oven.

overhead close-up shot of Southern sweet onion hush puppies on a gray plate.

How to Make This Recipe

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and spices until combined. In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk until the egg is completely mixed in.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the bowl with the cornmeal mixture and mix together with a silicone spatula until just combined, or no more dry cornmeal and flour are visible. Lastly, fold in the chopped onions with the spatula.

Heat oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it has reached 365 degrees Fahrenheit (185°C). If you do not have a thermometer you can test the oil by sprinkling a small amount of cornmeal into the hot oil. If it sizzles as soon as it touches the oil, the oil is ready for frying.

Using a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop or two tablespoons, drop balls of batter into the hot oil. Fry the hushpuppies in batches, about 6-7 at a time. Cook the hushpuppies until they are golden brown on all sides and float in the oil. This only takes about 2-3 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the hush puppies from the oil to a paper towel-lined plate. Allow hushpuppies to cool enough to handle and enjoy!

What Are Hush Puppies?

Hushpuppies are deep-fried fritters made of a cornmeal-based batter. Hushpuppies are very popular in the South and are typically served with fried fish or barbecue. You will sometimes see different ingredients added to the batter such as chopped jalapenos or corn kernels.

side angle shot of Southern sweet onion hush puppies on a gray plate.

How Did Hush Puppies Get Their Name?

While there are several conflicting stories floating around about how hush puppies originally got their name, according to an article by Serious Eats, hush puppies were originally known as "red horse bread" by South Carolinians.

Red Horse was a common type of fish that was caught in the South Carolina rivers. Cornmeal batter balls were dropped into the fish cooking oil and fried up and served alongside the red horse and other varieties of fish.

Now, how the cornmeal fritters came to be known as hush puppies is a hotly debated topic and I cannot tell you which story is true. What I do know is that my family and countless others in the South have been enjoying hushpuppies alongside fried fish and other Southern recipes for decades.

Hushpuppies are a Southern staple and I've been making them just like this recipe for years! Another thing to note is that "hushpuppy and hushpuppies" are also spelled "hush puppy and hush puppies" and can be used interchangeably just as I have done in this blog post.

side angle close-up shot of Southern sweet onion hush puppies on a gray plate.

What to Serve with Hush Puppies

Hushpuppies can be served with any meal that you typically serve cornbread with. One of the most popular meal parings in the South is serving hushpuppies with fried fish such as catfish, bream, or crappy!

You can also serve hushpuppies with these recipes:

Variations and Substitutions

You can add a number of different ingredients to hush puppies. Feel free to try these hushpuppies with some of these fun additions:

Hush puppies with crab meat
Chopped crawfish tails
Chopped shrimp
Hush puppies with corn kernels
Blackeye peas
Okra
Celery
Hush puppies with jalapenos

These hush puppies are made with buttermilk to give them a subtle tanginess and make them extra tender and fluffy on the inside. You can also use whole milk but you will not need as much since it is thinner than buttermilk.

Southern sweet onion hush puppies on a gray plate.

Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions

The hush puppy batter can be made up to two days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.

Leftover hushpuppies can be stored in a ziptop bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat hushpuppies in the microwave or, for the crispiest texture, reheat them in the oven.

Tips For Making The Best Hush Puppies

Do not substitute cornmeal mix or self-rising flour in this recipe. We add our leavening agent, baking powder, to the batter seperately so there is no need for added leavening agents, which are found in the self-rising varieties.
Make sure your oil is hot enough before frying the hushpuppies. Frying the hushpuppies in oil that is not hot enough will result in greasy hushpuppies. Use a kitchen thermometer to be sure - see my recommendation below.
I highly recommend using buttermilk in this recipe for the best flavor and texture. If you use regular milk you will need slighlty less.

Southern Hush Puppies Recipe