Zeppole are easy Italian donuts that are rolled in sugar with a fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth center. These Italian donut holes are simple to make and always disappear fast. Watch the easy video tutorial.
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Zeppole RecipeZeppole (pronounced “zeh-po-ley”) is an Italian pastry similar to Bomboloni and are basically fried donut balls made out of Choux Pastry dough. It’s the same dough as for Cream Puffs, Chocolate Eclairs and Churros. Once you master this easy dough, you will be making bakery-quality pastries like a pro. They are very popular during St. Josephs Day in Italy which is also Italian Father’s Day. These fried pastries are traditionally served at Italian carnivals or festivals in simple paper bags dusted with powdered sugar.
Zeppole Video Tutorial
I’ll show you just how easy it is to make Zeppole in your own kitchen. I love these so much, I also have a cinnamon sugar donut recipe that I developed using the same dough in my cookbook! These donuts always make my kids happy, and they disappear so quickly.
Helpful Reader Review“Our 4-H Bake Day making your zeppole recipe was a huge success. The parchment squares worked well instead of cutting the zeppole dough over the hot oil. The kids loved the recipe, making and especially eating them. As an added touch we made chocolate whipped cream and piped some into each zeppole. Yummy!..” – Kathy ★★★★★
Ingredients for Homemade Zeppole

Milk – we use whole milk, but 2% will work

Water – we use filtered water

Unsalted butter – If using salted, omit the extra salt.

Sugar – you just need 1 tsp for the dough

Salt – to balance the sweetness

All-purpose flour – measured correctly (for Gluten Free, see the helpful reader review below on replacing AP flour with GF flour).

Eggs – use large eggs that are at room temperature

Oil – Use neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, peanut oil, or canola oil. We use peanut oil in our deep fryer. Helpful Reader Review“I made these with 1for1 Bobs Red Mill gluten free flour and they came out AMAZING. No changes at all to the recipe except using the gf flour. Irresistibly light and puffy. So happy to make gluten free treats for my little boy who can’t handle gluten! Deep fried them in coconut oil. Perfection. Natasha, your recipes are always golden! I’ve made a ton of them gluten free and they still come out perfect.” – Eileen ★★★★★

The Best Toppings for Zeppole You can cover Zeppole in a variety of coatings. Our favorites are:

Powdered Sugar – dust over the top of fried donuts

Granulated Sugar – fill a bowl with sugar and roll the hot Zeppole to coat

Cinnamon Sugar – Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl to roll the warm Zeppole.

Pastry Cream – you can cut the zeppole in half and pipe pastry cream inside.

Whipped Cream – pipe homemade whipped cream between two halves of a Zeppole donut.

Chocolate Sauce – try dipping in Ganache

Caramel Sauce – for drizzling or dippingHow to Fry ZeppoleA Pot or Dutch Oven for frying Zeppole: You can deep fry in a regular pot, just be sure to use a clip-on thermometer to gauge temperature and a wire strainer or slotted spoon helps with quickly straining and removing the fried zeppole.

To Cook Zeppole in a Deep Fryer: This is our favorite method, and we love our deep fryer because it automatically adjusts to the correct temperature, drains and filters the oil for you, and has a wire basket for easy transferring of the fried donuts. Also, nearly everything that needs cleaning is dishwasher-friendly.
3 Ways to Form ZeppoleThere are a few ways to get the batter into the hot oil.

Pastry Bag –You can put the batter into a pastry bag, cut off the end, and snip off pieces of dough as you drop it into the oil,

Use 2 tablespoons to portion bits of dough and carefully drop it into the hot oil.

On Parchment Paper – Pipe the batter onto a 4×4 sheet of parchment paper and lower the donuts, paper-side-up into the hot oil. Once submerged, it releases from the paper and you can remove the paper with tongs. You can even pipe pretty patterns this way. Once the Donuts are golden brown and out of the oil, transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and any extra oil before dusting them with powdered sugar or rolling them into your favorite coatings.

Can I bake zeppole?If you wish to bake the pastry, we suggest following our cream puff tutorial for piping and baking the dough. You can fill the baked pastry if desired like we did our Baked Donuts, or simply dust the top with powdered sugar.
Can Zeppole be made ahead?Once Zeppole are fried, they are best enjoyed fresh the day they are made. You can make the Choux Pastry Dough ahead, just cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. You can also freeze up to 3 months.
Homemade Zeppole are irresistibly good. Walk into a room of kiddos with a bowl of these sweet treats and watch everyone’s eyes light up. I hope this Zeppole recipe becomes a favorite for you and your loved ones.

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