Square French Creole doughnuts, fried in oil until puffed and golden, served piled three to a plate under a heavy dusting of powdered sugar, with chicory cafe au lait alongside.

Beignets are the French Creole take on the choux pastry doughnut, brought to New Orleans by French colonists in the 18th century. Cafe du Monde opened as a coffee stand in the French Market in 1862 and built the beignet-and-cafe-au-lait tradition that the city still runs on. After the Civil War cut off coffee imports, New Orleanians stretched their grounds with chicory root, and the chicory-coffee-plus-beignet pairing became canonical. Cafe du Monde's recipe has not changed since 1862. Cafe Beignet on Royal opened in 1990 as the sit-down alternative. The beignet was named Louisiana's official state doughnut in 1986.

2 editor picks for Beignets in New Orleans, ranked by editorial score. All New Orleans signature dishes · Beignets across every city.