The best beignets in New Orleans are found throughout the French Quarter and beyond. Traditional beignets (pronounced "ben-yays") are fluffy squares of fried dough blanketed with enough powdered sugar to guarantee a mess. They're the official state doughnut of Louisiana.
In recent years, savory beignets based on French-inspired doughnuts have entered the conversation, often taking the form of small deep-fried spheres. Are you wondering where to find the best beignets in New Orleans? You're not alone. My girlfriend Kel was keen to find out, so we made it our mission on a recent visit.
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Where To Eat Beignets
The search for New Orleans' best beignets began the moment after we checked into our Airbnb in the French Quarter. Overcast skies and a tornado warning meant empty streets and businesses closing earlier than usual.
The famous Café du Monde off Jackson Square was not one of them, though the lines were much shorter than usual at this historic French Market coffee stand.
1. Café du Monde
Café du Monde is synonymous with beignets for a good reason. The coffee stand opened in 1862 and has served hot drinks and traditional beignets for 160 years.
I first tried beignets at Café du Monde with my parents and brother. The place was packed, and powdered sugar was everywhere. My Dad ordered four servings, and we received two towering plates of sweet fried dough, totaling a dozen beignets (three to an order).
I also tried my first café au lait at Café du Monde, a traditional dark roast coffee with chicory and equal parts hot milk. Chicory coffee is made from chicory root, a caffeine-free alternative to coffee beans.
Digging into the sweet beignets with Kel brought back memories of the time I ate them at Café du Monde's City Park location during a solo trip.
2. Café Beignet
Kel and I had been to Café du Monde before, so we knew what to expect. However, Café Beignet and the rest of the spots on this list were new to us.
We stopped by Café Beignet on Royal Street on our first afternoon, but they'd closed early due to the weather, as did their location on Bourbon Street. The following day, we were up early to try again. We arrived at the Royal Street cafe a little before 8 a.m. to find a line nearly out the front door.
The cafe is inside a converted carriage house from the 1800s, explaining the uniquely shaped ceiling and space. While they serve a full breakfast and lunch menu, including pecan waffles, crawfish and grits, and jambalaya, we were focused on the fresh, handmade beignets.
See also: Bakeries in New Orleans
Like Café du Monde, they were served three to an order and covered with powdered sugar. I got an iced café au lait to wash them down this time. Kel and I agreed that Café Beignets' fried dough was better than Café du Monde's the day before, though I think the latter suffered from being served in a to-go bag.
In addition to serving some of the best beignets in New Orleans, the Royal Street location has a charming ambiance. Beyond Royal and Bourbon Street, Café Beignet has cafes on Decatur Street and Canal Street.
3. Loretta's Authentic Pralines
Next on our list of the best beignets in New Orleans is Loretta's Authentic Pralines, founded over 35 years ago by Loretta Harrison. Loretta was the first African American woman to own a praline company in the Big Easy and became known as "the Praline Queen."
We dropped by Loretta's North Rampart Street shop to try her praline beignets, served three to an order. As Kel noticed, they benefit from a praline filling and a praline icing on top, which is dusted with powdered sugar per tradition.
I almost always prefer a filled doughnut to one without filling, and the same now goes for beignets. Loretta took traditional beignets to the next level. Additional menu options include chocolate beignets, crab beignets, and burger beignets.
Sadly, Loretta passed away in February 2022. Her family continues to operate the business in her honor.
Related: Fika, a Swedish Coffee Tradition
4. Criollo Restaurant
When Kel and I arrived early at The Carousel Bar & Lounge at the Hotel Monteleone, a mission within a mission played out. I'd wanted to see and sit at the rotating bar for years, while Kel had discovered that the adjacent restaurant's beignets were on the menu.
As we slowly spun around the room, we got drinks from the Carousel Bar and placed an order of beignets from Criollo Restaurant:
- Traditional French Market beignets with praline dipping sauce
- Blue crab and corn beignets with Cajun brown butter and Remoulade sauce
The traditional beignets were on par with Café du Monde and Café Beignet, though the praline sauce for dipping was a fun touch.
The hot beignets filled with crab and corn were nicely presented and rather decadent. I felt high on the hog, sipping a cold brew with Irish coffee while snacking on some of New Orleans' best beignets.
If you can get a seat at the Carousel Bar, I highly recommend taking it for a spin or two (I clocked it at about one rotation every 30 minutes). While you're there, try the beignets!
Related: Must-Visit Restaurants in New Orleans
5. The Vintage Restaurant
We're leaving the French Quarter for a Parisian-style cafe, beignets, bubbles, and bites. Located at the southern edge of the Garden District, this Magazine Street coffee shop exudes cool. The large street-facing windows let in lots of morning light, illuminating the funky decor (I especially liked the piano-shaped ottoman).
Simple New Orleans-style beignets are available individually, in three packs, or a bag of ten. They also offer Beignet Bites (similar to donut holes) with powdered or cinnamon sugar.
But I was there to taste-test their fancy beignets, of which there were five. I chose s'mores and one with a raspberry filling, plus a Vietnamese iced coffee to further my impending sugar rush.
The s'mores pastry was a bit crunchier than expected, which appears to be by design. I liked the chocolate frosting and Graham cracker crumbles on top, but I am still not sure what the white liquid filling was made of. Marshmallow?
I liked the raspberry-filled, powdered-sugar-topped beignet more as it was closer to the traditional version.
6. La Petite Grocery
Last but certainly not least, there's La Petite Grocery on Magazine Street, home to 2016 James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Devillier. Chef Devillier is known for taking classic Louisiana dishes and adding a twist. One of the restaurant's signature dishes is blue crab beignets with malt vinegar aioli.
Served three to an order, these crispy golden balls of joy are sprinkled with sea salt and served with a wedge of lemon. The fancy beignets have a light and delicate crust, which gives way to a warm blue crab filling, which is too delicious not to mention here.
Conclusion
Wrapping up our beignet bounty hunt, it's clear that New Orleans' sweet treats go far beyond the powdered sugar clouds of Café du Monde's beignets, though they remain a timeless classic. Our adventure introduced us to the best places for these fluffy pillows of joy, each with a unique spin on the iconic French Quarter favorite.
Whether it was the crunch of The Vintage's s'mores creation or the savoriness in La Petite Grocery's blue crab delights, New Orleans proves it's a city where the traditional and the innovative collide, producing delicious results.
There are certainly more places than the ones I've outlined to find beignets in New Orleans; however, I hope this list of top spots gets you started. One thing's sure: a trip to the Crescent City isn't complete without indulging in its signature doughy confections.
