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Authentic Italian zeppole are the easiest donuts you'll ever make! Light, fluffy, and dusted with powdered sugar, there's no kneading, rolling, or cutting. Just mix the dough, let it rise, and fry up these airy puffs of deliciousness.
In the universe of fried dough recipes, homemade American-style donuts can be quite the production. I think the Italians get it right with zeppole-no muss, no fuss, just fluffy donuts to enjoy fresh with a dusting of sugar or drizzle of chocolate. In fact, this easy recipe requires only 8 ingredients!
My family loves to eat zeppole on St. Joseph's Day, but the recipes I've made in the past were never quite right. So, I perfected my very own recipe, that took 4 rounds of testing. Don't worry, no donuts went to waste - My family was VERY happy to be taste testers during the process!
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🇮🇹 What are zeppole?
Although the word zeppole translates to donut in English, they might look a little more like donut holes to you. These deep fried dough confections originated in Italy, where they're traditionally eaten for St. Joseph's Day or Festa di San Giuseppe.
Zeppole are often sprinkled with powdered sugar or cinnamon, or they might be drizzled with chocolate. There are different variations of the recipe, especially depending on the region in Italy it comes from.
Sometimes they are filled with pastry cream, custard, or jelly too. Depending the method and ingredients to make them, they are sometimes known as bignè, sfinge or crispelli.
🍩 Ingredient notes
- Flour - After testing several types of flour, all purpose was the winner-which is nice because it's the flour we all have on hand! 00 flour made the outside crispier and the inside lighter, while zeppole made with bread flour were more dense and chewy. All-purpose flour had the perfect balance of fluffy centers with lightly crispy outsides.
- Yeast - I have used both dry active or instant yeast and either of them will work for this recipe. Instant yeast doesn't need to sit in the warm milk and sugar to activate, but can just be mixed right in with the other dough ingredients.
- Butter - As with most baking recipes, you'll want to use unsalted butter. It allows you to control the amount of salt in your recipe, since most salted butters have varying salt content. Don't forget to let it come to room temperature, along with the eggs, so they both mix into the batter easily.
- Lemon - Just a hint of fresh lemon adds some brightness without being dominating. Omit, swap for orange zest or use a mix of both lemon and orange.
- Oil - The best oil for frying zeppole or any other donuts, is a neutral, high smoke point oil like vegetable, canola, or peanut oil.
🔪 Step by step instructions
First, warm the milk in the microwave or on the stovetop. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the milk and stir. Let this sit for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy. (Skip this step if you are using instant yeast).
Pour the yeast mixture into a mixing bowl, then stir in the butter, eggs, flour, salt, and lemon zest. Once the flour is incorporated, beat until a sticky dough forms. Zeppole dough is much stickier than that of other donuts, so don't be alarmed!
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours. It should double in size, so the time may be a bit longer if it's cool inside your house.
Add about 3 to 4 inches of oil to a pot and heat to 350˚F. Use a cookie scoop or spoon to drop about 2 tablespoons of the dough per donut into the hot oil. Depending on the pot size, about 6-8 donuts at a time works, just don't overcrowd it.
Fry the zeppole for about 3-4 minutes, turning them to make sure they're golden brown on all sides.
Remove the donuts from the oil with a slotted spoon and set them on a paper towel lined plate or pan to absorb any excess oil.
Repeat with the remaining dough until all the donuts are fried and then sprinkle the zeppole with powdered sugar and serve!
If you ever don't recognize a tool or skill that is mentioned, be sure to look it up in our Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information.
⭐ Expert tips
- Use a heavy bottomed pot or a dutch oven to fry the zeppole. You want something that will heat the oil evenly. A deep fryer works as well, if you have one.
- Use a size #40 or #50 cookie scoop to drop the dough into the oil. These are both close to about 2 Tablespoons of dough. I found this MUCH easier than using spoons and it also makes sure your donuts are all roughly the same size. Here is a set of cookie scoops that I recommend that includes a size #40. I use these to easily portion meatballs or muffins as well.
- It's important to monitor the temperature of the oil, which can rise if you have the heat too high or drop as you add dough into the batter. I use this infrared thermometer to take the temperature of the oil before and during frying. If the oil is too hot, the zeppole will be cooked on the outside while the inside is raw; if it's too cool, the donuts will take too long to cook, absorb too much oil and make them super greasy.
- To test to see if they are done all the way through, take one out and cut it open, before removing all of the donuts from the oil.
🍽 How to serve zeppole Italian donuts
- My favorite way to serve zeppole is sprinkled with powdered sugar. Keep it simple!
- Another option is to roll them in granulated sugar or a mix of cinnamon and sugar.
- You can also serve zeppole with jam, Nutella, cannoli filling, or butter and honey as a spread.
- I also highly recommend dipping zeppole in Italian hot chocolate, mascarpone frosting, coffee, or espresso.
💭Frequently asked questions
Zeppole is pronounced "zeh-po-ley."
I don't recommend making them ahead of time because it's best to make and eat zeppole fresh. You can fry them earlier in the day, but as with other fried foods, they're always best eaten the day they're made.
They look similar at first glance, but zeppole are made from a sticky batter like dough that is spooned into hot oil. Beignets, on the other hand, are made from a more a traditional doughnut dough that is cut into squares and then fried.
🥡 Storage and reheating suggestions
- Zeppole are best enjoyed right after dusting with powdered sugar, or at the very least, the same day they're made.
- If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2-3 days. They will probably last longer than that, but the texture really starts to get dense and hard after a day or two.
- You can reheat them for about 3 to 5 minutes in a 350º oven to warm them up and re-crisp them.
🍰 More Italian dessert recipes
If you loved this Italian zeppole recipe, make sure to check out these other Italian desserts that I know you will love too!
Recipe
Fluffy Italian Zeppole from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast, or instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large lemon, zest only
- 3-5 cups vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 cup powdered sugar, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm or on the stovetop. The temperature of the milk should not be more than 115˚F.
- Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the milk and stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. (This step can be skipped if using instant yeast).
- Pour the yeast mixture into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the butter, eggs, flour, salt, and lemon zest. Stir the mixture together slowly with a wooden spoon until all of the flour is incorporated and then beat well to ensure everything is mixed into a thick sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours. The dough should double in size in this time frame.
- Add enough oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven so it is about 3-4 inches deep. Heat over medium heat on the stovetop to 350˚F.
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to drop about 2 Tablespoons of dough per zeppole into the hot oil. Depending on the size of the pot, about 6-8 pieces can be fried at a time; be careful not to overcrowd the pot or they won't cook properly.
- Let the zeppole fry for about 3-4 minutes, gently rolling them around so they brown on all sides. Check to see if they are done by removing one from the oil and cutting it in half to make sure it's cooked through.
- Once the zeppole are cooked through, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate to drain of excess oil.
- Repeat with the remaining dough until all the zeppole have been fried.
- Sprinkle the fresh zeppole with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Notes
- Flavor - Omit or substitute the lemon zest with orange zest or do a 50/50 mix.
- Flour - All-purpose flour gives a slightly crispy texture on the outside and a soft, fluffy texture inside. For a more dense and chewy zeppole, use bread flour. For a crispier zeppole with a lighter middle, use 00 flour.
- Oil - Use neutral-flavored, high-temperature oil like vegetable, canola, or peanut oil. Monitor the temperature with an infrared thermometer. If the oil gets too hot they will burn and the middles won't cook. If the oil cools down, they will take too long to cook and be too oily.
- Scoop - Use a size #40 or #50 cookie scoop to drop the dough into the oil. It's MUCH easier than a spoon and will give you about 2 Tablespoons of dough.
- Serving - Sprinkle with powdered sugar or roll in granulated sugar or a mix of granulated sugar and cinnamon. Zeppole can be served with jam, Nutella, cannoli filling, or butter and honey to spread on them. They are also great dipped in coffee, Italian hot chocolate, or mascarpone frosting.
- Leftovers - Best made and eaten same day. Leftovers (if any!) can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days. Zeppole can then be crisped and reheated in a 350˚ oven for 3-5 minutes.
Lisa
Hello, Can I let the dough sit overnight?
Amanda Scarlati
Hi Lisa, I haven't tried doing that, but it should be ok. I would put it in an airtight container or cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Make sure there is some room to for any expansion that happens. Let it sit in the fridge overnight, then take it out about a half hour before frying so it warms up. Let me know how it goes!
Jimmy Simone
I can't find my Nonni's recipe.😪. I've tried several; this is the closest to hers, I love them!
Amanda Scarlati
This mades me so happy to hear Jimmy - THANK YOU!