Homemade Corn Dogs

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 Homemade Corn Dogs are honey-battered, hand-dipped and fried to perfection. Bring back all those good childhood memories with this homemade favorite.

Corn Dogs

There is a little town in Southern Utah nestled in the shadow of a dormant volcano named Veyo. This unassuming town has some of the most prized possessions and crown jewels in the area. There is a pie shop that is world renowned, and a pool that is hidden away in the lava rock. Veyo pool serves one of the best corn dogs you’ll ever eat in your life! That is, until you make my Homemade Corn Dogs. This recipe pays homage to the Southern Utah staple!

THE BEST HOMEMADE CORN DOGS

This recipe is what memories are made of! I can’t think of a state fair, county fair, or trip to Disneyland that I’ve ever had without a delicious corn dog in my hand. This recipe consists of a cornmeal batter that is unlike anything else. A juicy hot dog is skewered and then dunked into this batter and then deep fried until golden brown. The result is crispy, juicy, and totally irresistible. 

Corn Dogs

INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE CORN DOGS

  • 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cups low fat buttermilk
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 12 hot dogs
  • 12 corn dog sticks or wooden skewers
  • 1/4 cup corn starch (for coating hot dogs with)
  • Vegetable Oil (for frying)

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CORN DOGS

Add oil to a large pot. Turn heat to medium and heat oil to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Then add the beaten egg, buttermilk, oil and honey. Whisk until combined. (Batter should be a little thicker than the pancake batter.)

Remove hot dogs from the package. Wipe them all dry with a paper towel (this will help the batter stick to them better) Insert one skewer into each hot dog. Rub each hot dog lightly with a little cornstarch. (This will help hold the batter on to the hot dog while frying.) Pour the batter into a tall drinking glass.

Holding by the skewer, take one hot dog and dunk it into the batter, coating all the hot dogs. Slowly remove from batter and let a little excess batter drip back into the cup. Immediately place it into the hot oil. Using a tong, turn the corn dog as necessary to brown all sides.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until all sides are a deep golden brown. Remove from hot oil and place on paper towels to drain grease.

Corn Dogs

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH HOMEMADE HOT DOGS?

I believe it to be crucial to serve these golden brown hot dogs with the classics of ketchup and mustard. Mix these two together for an incredible concoction known here in Southern Utah as Pronto Pup Sauce.

Try serving with Utah Fry Sauce as well. If you feel like making a whole meal of these, whip up a batch of my Garlic Parmesan French Fries or Baked Onion Rings. Your summer days will be some of the best yet!

HOW MANY SERVINGS DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE?

This recipe yields 10 corn dogs. If you are hosting a crowd then it’s very easy to double the batch so that everyone gets a crispy and juicy corn dog.

ENJOY THIS RECIPE? HERE ARE A FEW MORE OF MY HOMEMADE FAVORITES!

Easy Blender Salsa – Freshly made salsa that is the perfect companion for any tortilla chip, taco, or burrito!

Oreo Cookies – These are whoopie pie inspired with dense and soft chocolate cookies and a sweet cream cheese filling.

Biscoff Ice Cream – This homemade vanilla ice cream is infused with everyone’s favorite ginger/caramel cookie.

Hamburger Buns – You’ll never eat a cheeseburger the same ever again once you try them with these dense homemade buns.

Corn Dogs
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5 from 1 vote

Homemade Corn Dogs

Delicious homemade corn dogs! They taste just like the ones from the fair. These are a family-favorite!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 347kcal
Author Holly

Ingredients

For the Batter

  • 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 cups buttermilk (whole milk works too)
  • 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 Tablespoons honey

For Corn Dogs

  • 12 hot dogs
  • 12 corn dog sticks or wooden skewers
  • 1/4 cup corn starch (for coating hot dogs with)
  • vegetable Oil (for frying)

Instructions

  • Add 3 to 4 inches of oil to a large pot. Turn heat to medium and heat oil to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir together. Then add the beaten egg, buttermilk, oil and honey. Stir until combined. (Batter should be a little thicker than pancake batter)
  • Remove hot dogs from package. Wipe them all dry with a paper towel (this will help the batter stick to them better) Insert one skewer or wooden stick into each hot dog. Rub each hot dog lightly with a little cornstarch. (This will help hold the batter on to the hot dog while frying.)
  • Pour the batter into a tall drinking glass. Holding by the skewer, take one hot dog and dunk it into the batter, coating all of the hot dog. Slowly remove from batter and let a little excess batter drip back into the cup. Immediately place it into the hot oil, while still holding the stick. Turn as necessary to brown all sides. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until all sides are a deep golden brown. Remove from hot oil and place on paper towels to drain grease. Repeat with all hot dogs.

Notes

*Nutrition info is an estimate. 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil is calculated per corn dog. Calories may also vary depending on brand of hot dogs used.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 corn dog | Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 19g

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Corn Dogs
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114 thoughts on “Homemade Corn Dogs

    1. These were. AMAZING! My Mom mad me make the meals for a couple days and WOW I tried these and they were perfect! I hadn’t had corn dogs since I was in grade 5. I loved them so much.
      I am differently going to be trying more of your recipes!!
      I would give them perfect 5 star review.
      Thank you so much for uploading!!

  1. I’ve been craving corn dogs lately too and thought they would be fun summer dinner! Thanks so much for posting another fab recipe!

  2. Those look amazing! I love corn dogs, but have never had a homemade one. I cannot even imagine how much better homemade corn dogs are than from a store or Sonic. They look so easy, too! Great post!

  3. Cool recipe, these look professional!

    Hey Mrs Lofthouse, are you okay with people Pinning a link to your recipes as long as they give credit to where it came from? Or no? I like to save recipes I like in one place but since Pins are public I figure it’s good etiquette to ask first. Thanks!

  4. My daughter wanted corn dogs immediately after seeing this posted on Pinterest. We gathered all the ingredients and began making them. I had to add extra flour and meal, by the tablespoon, until I got it to the consistency is should be. After trail and error of 4-5 hotdogs loosing their coats, it finally worked. I am not sure what we did wrong.

    1. Ashlynn, sorry you had trouble with yours. I’ve made these twice since posting them (cause we love em’ so much! Lol) and they always turn out awesome! Just make sure you’re drying the hot dogs really well before you try coating them with the batter. That’s what helps make the batter stick.

  5. These look awesome! Haven’t had a corn dog in years! I know the recipe makes enough batter to coat 10 hot dogs so I wanted to find out if it can be stored in the fridge and used later? As a singleton with no kids, there’s no way I will eat 10 corn dogs on my own:-) Thanks!

  6. As soon as I put them in the hot oil, the corn batter came off, they looked nothing like the picture you posted, and I followed the recipe to a T. What happened?

    1. Just Me- I honestly am not sure. Was your oil not hot enough? If its at the right temp it should fry immediately. Like I said above I’ve made these a few times now and have never had that problem.

  7. Hi! I just stumbled upon your recipe and those corn dogs look really delicious. There’s just something I would like to ask.
    I have a gluten intolerance, so would it be possible to leave the all purpose flour out of the mix? Do you know if the result will be the same?

  8. I never had a corndog in my life because I’m a vegetarian but there are tofu-dogs and this would be perfect for me and my brothers who have never tried corndogs. Thanks so much. Can’t wait to make these for my brothers. Thank you, Thank You, Thank you!!! 🙂 😀

  9. I made these. Some substitutions because of allergies but they tasted great! Gluten free flour instead of regular flour and soy milk instead of buttermilk. They didn’t look as pretty as yours but tasted awesome! I miss food like this so thanks for sharing!

  10. I haven’t tried the corn dogs yet but THE VEYO POOL??!!! I spent my summers in that pool! I too remember the yummy food and can hear in my memory the sounds of kids jumping of the diving board, splashing in the pool, and the slam of the doors on the changing rooms! That pool was the greatest! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the fun memory.
    LP

  11. I haven’t tried the corn dogs yet but THE VEYO POOL??!!! I spent my summers in that pool! I too remember the yummy food and can hear in my memory the sounds of kids jumping of the diving board, splashing in the pool, and the slam of the doors on the changing rooms! That pool was the greatest! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the fun memory.
    LP

  12. I just now made these, and while they do taste good, the batter did not stick as well. As soon as I pulled them out of the batter it would slide off and I followed the directions to the T. Dried them and all. The batter was too thin and when fried there coating was too thin. 🙁

  13. My husband and I tried these yesterday and while the batter tasted good, we had the same problem others have posted. We dried off the hot dogs but the batter just kept coming off as soon as we put them in the fryer. Might try the cornstarch idea and/or adding more flour and corn meal. While these didn’t work as corn dogs well out of frustration we just cut our dogs into three pieces, coated them with batter and dropped them in to make corn dog bites instead with much better success:)

  14. Would love to make these but my daughter is allergic to colours,flavours and preservatives so we can’t use hot-dogs(or frankfurters as we call them in Australia) Does anyone know of a substitute? Someone mentioned tofu-dogs?

  15. I grew up going to Veyo. Best swimming and snack bar ever!! Loved their corn dogs, fries and hamburgers. Can’t to try and make these at home.

  16. Just made these and were perfect, I did have to add about a half cup more flour because it wasnt thick enough but after the adjustment they came out just perfect, beautiful color awesome crispiness!! Excellent!!

  17. Definitely recommend adding an extra 1/2 cup of yellow corn meal and an extra 1/2 cup of flour to the mix. I followed the recipe to a “T” & the batter slid off the first one as soon as it hit the frying oil BUT they fried up perfectly after I added the extra flour & corn meal. Wonderful recipe, thanks!

  18. I made this tonight and it was great! This is the second time I’ve tried a recipe from your site and they’ve both been amazing (the first one was sweet and sour chicken)!! Thanks for this recipe!

  19. We make quite a few corn dogs at our house. I decided to try this recipe in lieu of my old one, with some minor changes.

    I omitted the sugar (we don’t like johnny cake-my husband’s too southern for it). I also used Crisco instead of oil (it made the dough crispier).

    If you’re having trouble with the dough sticking to the dog (and you’ve patted it dry with a paper towel), try plunging the dog in and out while slowly going up. It might take a few tries to get the hang of it.

    Also, we always boil the hotdogs before frying them to ensure they’re hot. Use a few paper towels in your hand to spear it so you don’t burn your hand (simultaneously drying the dogs).

    My kids love corn dogs!

    1. I always cooked mine tooyrs ago for my kids. Also for those adding more flour & cornmeal of course you will need to add more HONEY the f & cm absorb the sweetness

    1. I just place them on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up the grease. You can even wrap the paper towels around them and gently press to get rid of that excess grease, too 🙂

  20. My boyfriend and I just made these, and wow they taste good. I didn’t have any problems with my batter like the others on here. I made sure hot dogs were dry, and when I put them in the cup of batter, I swirled it so that the batter would cover the end by the stick. I then left it in for about 2 minutes. As soon as I started frying 1 dog, I put another in the batter and let it set until the pan was empty again. We only ate about 3 of them, very filling, so I am going to put them in a bag and freeze them. I will tell you if they turn out alright after freezing

    1. Just to let you know…we froze them. When we wanted one, I rolled it in a paper towel and put in microwave for 30 seconds then rolled it halfway and put it back in for another 30 seconds…came out perfect!

      1. I am so glad you posted this. I made these for my daughters birthday party and froze the leftovers. We’re having them tonight, but I wasn’t sure how long to re-cook them for.

  21. Just made these tonight and they came out wonderful! For some odd reason the batter kept falling off when I used the whole hot dog, so I cut them in half so they were smaller and then they turned out just great (also cuter, because mini food is just the best). My brother, who is a very picky eater, said they were the best corn dogs he’s eaten. Everyone was eating them as fast as I could make ’em. I followed the recipe to a T and used low fat milk. Thanks, Holly L!

  22. One night I was looking for something different to make for dinner, and I thought ohhh I wonder how hard it would be to make corn dogs, so I looked at several recipes and came across this one. I held my breath and mixed the batter cut the hot dogs into bite size pieces, and made the corn dogs, well THEY WERE A BIG HIT!!! I have been asked to make them twice a month,
    My husband says these are the best!!!

  23. Just made these tonight and they turned out great. I had to let the batter sit for about 10 minutes waiting for the oil to heat up and that helped thicken it up. I also made sure to let the oil get to exactly 350 degrees before I started frying the corn dogs. I think that and letting the batter thicken on its own kept the batter from sliding off.

    I only made 5 corn dogs because it was getting late and my family was hungry. I used the rest of the batter to make muffins and decided to experiment and fried a little bit of the batter by itself just by dropping a spoonfull into the oil. Very yummy! With some adjustments to seasonings, this batter would make some delicious hush puppie, but that will be an experiment for another day. 🙂

    1. Lindsey, So glad they turned out for you! we love making these corn dogs, and I think all your tips are very helpful. 🙂

  24. I don’t have a pot deep enough, so I cut the franks into fourths and fry them in my fry daddy for mini corn dogs. My family won’t let me buy store bought corn dogs anymore. I am about to make a few batches to freeze so that my kids have something they can just grab and warm up for a snack this summer.

  25. What caught my eye on pinterest was the “lofthouse” at the bottom. Familiar family name that you don’t always see alot. 🙂 Corn dogs look good too!

  26. This recipe worked great! I didn’t have honey so I substituted with an extra spoonful of sugar and I used closer to 1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk to get to the thickness I wanted. Recommend cutting the hot dogs in half, drying the hot dogs with a paper towel and dusting with flour before you dip them in the batter. I used an at home fryer with peanut oil (2L), they were the best corn dogs I’ve had in years. Very authentic fair food but more sanitary lol

  27. I have been having the best time planning my weekly meals using your website. The corn dogs brought me here a year or so ago and now i have tried and loved many of your recipes. I revisited this one today for a 4th of July dinner…this time my now 3 year old ate and loved both the corn AND the dog I made mini corn dogs and hush puppies out of the leftover batter. Delish! Thanks for all the great recipes!

    1. Thanks for your sweet comment, Emily! I’m so happy my blog is helping with your meal plans, and glad the corn dogs were a hit 🙂 We love those too!

  28. Hi! I have 2 questions, if I use self-rising cornmeal do I still need to use baking powder? And can these be frozen & then microwaved later? 🙂

  29. Hi . Im jewish & we cant eat Dairy & meet , so i was wondering if there’s a substitute for buttermilk in the recipe?
    Thank you , jenny .

  30. Hi . Can you give me a substitute for the milk , since i cant eat it with dairy ( im jewish and its forbidden to eat dairy with meat) .
    Thanks ,
    Jenny

  31. It helped to first dip the very top for a minute so that if you accidently hit the bottom of pot, the top didn’t get damaged.
    It took a lot of oil –
    My suggestion is make mini size that you can easily dip with a cocktail sausage.
    They were fun! Make sure oil is very hot. Almost max to get brown color. My fan loved them

  32. I would suggest making minis – much easier to dip. Don’t need so much oil then .
    Receipe was yummy!
    I double dipped them after they cooled.

  33. I just was watching the cooking channel. Dinner at Tiffany’s. She Coates the hot dog into cornstarch before she dunked the dog into her batter. She said it helped the batter stay on better.
    Think I’m going to give it a try.
    Going to make these for my grandkids, they will love to do the dipping part.

  34. I have made these about a dzn times and always delicious. My hot dogs I use are Nathan’s and they get juicy and yummy and definitely hot! I have had a few misses where the batter immediately fell off’ but 99% of the time’ they turn out amazing. Also’ if the fryer is too hot’ the outside will cook brown but the hot dogs aren’t done.

  35. Made these last night, replacing the buttermilk with cashew milk/lemon juice, and they turned out wonderfully. Thanks for sharing!

  36. These look amazing! Although, I live by myself so I’d only want about two at a time. Have you tried freezing them then throwing them in the oven or something later?

    1. There was a comment above where they froze them at it was perfect. Wrap the frozen corn dog in a paper towel and microwave for one minute, turning half way.

  37. I made this for the kids tonight but I made the corn dog bites instead putting the stick in the dog and they were a hit…. I don’t eat hot dogs so I made myself the breading bites… sooo good.. I took two spoons and scooped into balls and dropped them into the oil.. wish I had a small ice cream scooper.

  38. It was a cold and rainy April Monday yesterday. And after a long day at work and school I thought comfort food would help brighten my loved ones day, and corn dogs came to mind, so I browsed the internet for local restaurants for Baltimore’s best corn dogs and found a few spots, but I stumbled on a recipe and decided to try my hand at making them. I sought after recipes and narrowed down three: Martha Stewart, All Recipes, and yours…Life in the Loft House. Your recipe deviated from the other two by using buttermilk & a spoonful of honey. You suggested wiping the hot dogs dry before dipping into the tall glass filled with the batter and using oil at 350*F: your recipe and hints are SPOT ON! To my surprise and my families joy the corn dogs came out PERFECT! I served the corn dogs with a dollop of yellow mustard, macaroni & cheese(s), and a spring salad. A perfect easy remedy to brighten the day of my loved ones! Thank you!!

  39. I’m from Ecuador and I made this last night for my kids, I had to add more milk to get the proper consistency because I used pre-cooked corn meal that is more common in my country and that absorb more liquid than regular corn meal! The corn dogs turn out perfect and delicious! My kids love them (they haven’t tried them before) and so do I (I’ve tried corn dogs when I was a child when I traveled to U.S. but I wanted to do it from scratch)! Thanks for share this recipe!

  40. No way! I live in Cedar City. It really is a small world. I found this recipe randomly on the internet. It is by far the best corn dog recipe I have found!

  41. Made these tonight, yum!! Looking back, I would add a smidgen more sugar or honey, and I only had a coarse corn meal, I think they would have been better with a finer grind. I also used w/w pastry flour, just had to let it sit about 20 minutes to let all the dry parts absorb the wet. I dried the dogs really well before dipping in the batter. No prob with any batter coming off. Made my own buttermilk with apple cider vinegar and whole milk, batter was very thick. I even had to thin it a little bit, used my almond milk then. I started the frying at 350* but it soon had accidentally rose to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit), and it really wasn’t a problem. With the leftover batter I made onion rings and they were equally delicious!! Thanks for a great recipe HUGS!

  42. GOTTA LOVE EM!!! I like to add a bit of Coleman’s dry mustard to the batter. Get creative and try this with some of the interesting fully cooked sausages out there. Cut dogs in half or bite size pieces to use less oil for frying.

  43. GOTTA LOVE EM!!! I like to add a bit of Coleman’s dry mustard to the batter. Get creative and try this with some of the interesting fully cooked sausages out there. Cut dogs in half or bite size pieces to use less oil for frying.

    1. Yes you can freeze them! They should stay good frozen for about 2 months. Make sure they are covered/wrapped tightly before freezing. 🙂
      To reheat- cook in microwave for a couple of minutes.

  44. Is it possible to do these “make ahead”? I mean to say, fry them up and freeze them a few days out to reheat Later, or is that a horrible idea for a recipE Like this?

  45. 5 stars
    Tried your recipe and they were delicious. They browned beautiful!!! This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing.

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