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This delicious restaurant style Sopapilla Recipe is easy to make at home with pantry ingredients and everyone loves them too. Top these easy sopapillas with honey or powdered sugar. This is an easy and delicious fried dessert.
Easy Sopapilla Recipe:
We love Mexican food. But we really look forward to the Sopapilla at the end of our meal. I always seem to have room for this delicious fried dessert. I top mine with butter and honey.
Anytime we find a menu item we love at a restaurant, I try and recreate it at home. I have a big family so I always find ways to keep my food budget low. I was surprised how easy these sopapilla were to make.
Not only were they easy to make, I already had all the ingredients. Sopapilla’s are a crowd pleaser and are a must anytime I make a big Mexican dinner. You might also like Mexican Sweet Bread.
What is a Sopapilla?
Sopapilla is that sweet puffy, hollow center treat that you enjoy after a big Mexican dinner at a restaurant. They usually in a square or triangle shaped and served with honey or dusted with powdered sugar.
A Sopapilla is usually served as a dessert but can be enjoyed really anytime.
Before we starting making these homemade sopapillas, we would warm up a flour tortilla and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. My family is very happy when I started making the real thing.
Ingredients:
- Flour – We use all-purpose flour. We haven’t tried any other type of flour.
- Sugar – White sugar is what we used for sprinkling on the sopapillas.
- Baking Powder – This helps to make sure the sopapilla puff properly.
- Salt
- Vegetable Shortening
- Warm Water – Make sure it is warm. It helps to bring the dough together.
- Vegetable Oil for Frying – Any high-heat oil is preferred for frying.
- Honey – For dipping or drizzling on top of the sopapillas.
How to make Sopapillas:
- Mix Dry Ingredients – In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Â
- Add in Shortening – Mix in the shortening and use your hands to mix the shortening into the flour mixture.
- Slowly add in water – Then gradually pour the warm water into the bowl. Work the dough with your hands until all the water has been added.Â
- Let the dough rest – Cover the dough and let the dough rest for at least 20 minutes.Â
- Hot oil – While the dough is resting, heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot. The temperature of the oil needs to be approximately 350 to 375 degrees F.
- Roll the dough – Then roll the dough out into approximately ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough.
- Cut the dough – Then cut the dough into approximately 3 inch squares. I find that it’s easiest to use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into smaller pieces. Â
- Fry the dough – Then place the squares into the oil (3-5 at a time depending on the size of your pot). Fry bread for 1-2 minutes per side (use tongs to flip the dough) until they are a light golden brown. Â
- Place on paper towel – After the cook time, move the sopapillas to a plate covered in a paper towel. Â
- Cook the rest – Repeat the process with all the remaining dough.
- Serve and Enjoy – Serve warm drizzled with honey and enjoy!
How to serve Sopapilla?
- Drizzle with Honey
- Dust with Powder Sugar
- Top with melted butter
- Sprinkle Cinnamon and Sugar
- Or whatever you like
Why don’t my Sopapilla’s puff up?
Getting the Sopapilla to puff can get a little tricky. It is probably because the temperature of your oil needs to be adjusted. It is important when making this fried dessert that you temperature set just right.
Once the temperature is adjusted, flip the sopapilla to the other side to cook accordingly.
Tips for the Best Sopapillas:
- Use less sugar – If you are wanting to use less sugar, you don’t have to dip you sopapilla in sugar. Just use extra honey. Honey is good for you.
- Natural Sugar – Experiment with different natural sugars in place of powdered sugar or white sugar. Coconut Sugar would be a good one to start with.
- Change the Spices – You can try using a pumpkin spice or an apple spice to bring out the fall flavors.
- Cut out different shapes – If you have some fun cookie cutters, use those to make different shapes. If you have number cookie cutters, they would be cute to make for your kids birthday.
How to store:
If you have any Sopapilla’s leftover store them in an airtight container. You can put them in the refrigerator for about 2-4 days.
I tried to make extra sopapilla’s when I am making them. So the kids can have them for a snack later in the evening.
But we do prefer them fresh out of the fry pan drizzled with honey.
How to reheat leftovers:
Sopapilla’s are best reheated in the oven. We set our oven temperature on 300 degrees. Place the Sopapilla on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes are until warm.
Be sure to not overheat as the Sopapilla’s could dry out.
If you do decide to heat them in the microwave that may not come out with that crispy texture. But it is an option, if you are not at home.
A Crowd Pleaser:
This Easy Sopapilla Recipe is a crowd pleaser. Since I always seem to have these easy pantry ingredients, my kids request them all the time. Now they can help roll the dough and cut the dough into squares.
Invite your friends over for Tuesday Night Taco night and make these Easy Sopapillas. They will be so impressed and they will think you spent all day on them.
Print Recipe here for Easy Sopapilla:
Sopapilla Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups Flour
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3 Tbsp Vegetable Shortening
- 1 cup Warm Water
- Vegetable Oil for Frying
- Honey for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Then add in the shortening and use your hands to mix the shortening into the flour mixture.
- Then gradually pour the warm water into the bowl and work the dough with your hands until all the water has been added.
- Cover the dough and let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot to approximately 350 degrees F.
- Then roll the dough out into approximately ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Then cut the dough into approximately 3 inch squares. I find that it’s easiest to use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into smaller pieces.
- Then place the squares into the oil (3-5 at a time depending on the size of your pot). Fry for 1-2 minutes per side (use tongs to flip the dough) until they are a light golden brown.
- After the cook time, move the sopapillas to a plate covered in a paper towel.
- Repeat the process with all the remaining dough.
- Serve warm drizzled with honey and enjoy!
