In less than 15 minutes, you can make your own Homemade Corn Dogs that taste way better than the fair! We’ll dip hot dogs into a delicious corn dog batter made with cornmeal and buttermilk, then quick fry to set the outside. Enjoy on its own, or dip into your favorite sauce!

Homemade Corn Dogs - In a Red Basket Dipping Into Ketchup

It’s amazing how much of a role nostalgia plays with food, isn’t it? I’ve recreated so many nostalgic favorites from my childhood on this site, including Homemade Soft Pretzels that remind me of the pretzel kiosks at the mall, or Homemade Fruit Rollups like the ones I devoured as a child, but made with better ingredients.

These corn dogs might be my favorite though. They have a delicious cornbread batter around the outside in the perfect proportion, and if you ask me, corn dogs are really about that batter. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve happily gnawed the extra little bit of batter off the bottom of the stick, because it’s the best part.

What’s Great About This Recipe

Less than 15 minutes to make – If you’ve never made a corn dog before, you’ll be surprised by how easy it is. The cornbread batter takes less than 5 minutes to mix together, and then you just have to dip some hot dogs in the batter and fry for a few minutes until golden.

Great flavor – The exterior batter is full of great flavor, thanks to cornmeal, buttermilk, and a touch of nutmeg.

It works with any size hot dog – Feel free to thread a full hot dog on the stick, or cut them into pieces for mini corn dogs.

Freezer friendly – I’ll share below how you can freeze these and reheat them, in case you want to make extra for another day.

Interior View of Corn Dog Showing Thick Batter

How to Make Them Step by Step:

Here are the basic steps for making homemade corn dogs:

  1. Insert sticks into hot dogs.
  2. Roll them in flour.
  3. Dip the hot dogs into a simple cornmeal batter.
  4. Deep fry until golden.

Let’s break it down:

Make the batter

In a large bowl, mix together cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and a little nutmeg:

Flour, Leavening, and Spices in Glass Bowl

The nutmeg is subtle, but really enhances the flavor of the batter.

Whisk to combine all the dry ingredients and evenly distribute them:

Whisked Dry Ingredients in Bowl

Mix the dry ingredients with buttermilk and eggs, and stir until the flour disappears.

It’s okay to leave some lumps in there, as you want to keep from overmixing.

Corn Dog Batter - In Glass Bowl with Whisk

Coat the outside in flour

Skewer hot dogs on wooden sticks and roll the hot dogs in all-purpose flour. This helps the batter stick better to the meat. If you tried to dip the hot dogs without any flour, the batter would just slide right off!

Make sure to shake off any excess.

Hot Dogs on Sticks Rolled In Flour

Dip into the batter

Transfer the corn dog batter to a tall glass and dip the floured hot dogs in, coating it all over.

Dipping Corn Dog Into Batter In Glass

Deep fry for 3 minutes, until golden

Deep fry the corn dogs at 350F for 3 minutes, until golden. You can do this either in a dedicated deep fryer, or in any kind of saucepan or pot filled with a few inches of your frying fat of choice.

What kind of frying oil to use

You can see in the recipe video that I used to use vegetable oil, which is commonly used for frying. However, since learning how unhealthy these oils are, I now use beef tallow, which is an extremely stable fat that tolerates high heat frying very well (I discuss this at length in my podcast). Use whatever high heat frying oil you prefer.

Corndogs - In Basket Dipping Into Ketchup

Serve the corn dogs alongside some ketchup, mustard, Mayonnaise, or your favorite condiment!

What to do with leftover cooking oil

One benefit of using tallow instead of fats like soybean oil or peanut oil, is it’s stable enough that it can be reused again and again. I simply filter it to remove any crumbs or sediment, then use it for another deep fried recipe, such as Homemade French Fries, Fried Calamari or Fried Chicken. 

Recipe FAQ and Tips

Can you freeze homemade corn dogs?

Yes. Let them cool completely after cooking, then store in an airtight bag or container for up to two months.

How do you reheat corn dogs?

Bake in a 300F oven to re-warm, about 15 minutes from a frozen state, or 10 minutes if they’ve been thawed. Or, you can microwave a single corn dog for about 60 seconds from frozen, or 30 seconds for thawed. Since they are already cooked, you really just need to warm it through.

How long do leftover corndogs keep in the fridge?

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want to keep them longer, I recommend freezing instead.

More Fun Recipes for Game Day

This recipe is perfect for game day and parties. Other great options are:

Enjoy!

 

Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!

Homemade Corn Dogs In a Red Basket Dipping Into Ketchup

Homemade Corn Dogs

Servings: 4 full corndogs
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 3 mins
Total Time: 13 mins
This is a classic fair treat that you can easily make at home! Mix together a quick cornmeal batter, dip the hot dogs, and fry.
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Ingredients

For the Corn Dog Batter:

  • 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs

For the Corn Dogs:

  • 4 hot dogs
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour for rolling
  • tallow* for frying

Instructions 

  • Preheat the fryer to 350F.
  • To make the batter, whisk to combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, and nutmeg.
  • In another small bowl, whisk to combine the buttermilk and eggs, and mix this into the dry ingredients until there are no more streaks of flour, but be sure to leave lumps in the batter (do not stir those out, as you may overmix). Transfer the batter to a tall glass.
  • Skewer the hot dogs onto wooden sticks and roll the hot dogs in enough flour to coat, then shake the excess off.
  • Dip the floured hot dogs into the tall cup of batter and put them straight into the fryer for about 3 minutes, but be sure not to overcrowd your fryer. Depending on size, you might need to make two or three batches. The corn dogs are ready when the exterior is golden brown.
  • Serve promptly with ketchup and mustard if desired, and enjoy!

Notes

 Recipe adapted from Cook’s Country.
*In whatever vessel you cook in, you will want the fat to come up a few inches in the pan. You will likely need about 6 cups of tallow or oil.
Leftovers: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezing: You may freeze fully cooked corn dogs by placing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Reheating: If reheating from frozen, either microwave for 60 seconds until warmed through, or warm in a 300F oven for 15 minutes. If reheating from thawed, microwave for 30 seconds, or warm in a 300F oven for 10 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 118mg, Sodium: 821mg, Potassium: 409mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 209IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 144mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Author: Joanne Ozug

Updated with new photos and writing in June 2018. Originally published in 2013.