Green Chile Hushpuppies
Give a classic Southern side dish a Southwestern spin with a batch of these Green Chile Hushpuppies. Featuring diced green chiles and shredded Pepper Jack cheese, these hushpuppies go great alongside fried seafood or barbecue!
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It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of leftover cornmeal batter. While hushpuppies are now a legit side dish by themselves, they used to be a tasty way to use up the last bit of batter from a fish fry. The batter for basic hushpuppies is a simple combination of cornmeal, flour, eggs, salt and buttermilk.
There is no verified explanation for the name, but many folks say that leftover bits of batter from dinner would be fried and then given to their dogs as a snack. “Hush, puppy” quickly became hushpuppies. As with many regional foods, the real origin of the name is quite murky. Then again, does it really matter where the name came from? Hushpuppies are delicious!
Green Chile Hushpuppies
Hushpuppies are quite common throughout the southeastern states of America. Typically, these fried corn dumplings are served alongside fried seafood and/or barbecue. We fry our turkey every year for Thanksgiving, and the next day we use the leftover oil to have a fish fry. (As if we needed to cook more food the day after Thanksgiving!) And that fish fry always includes a batch or two of these classic Southern Hushpuppies. Delicious!
Other the years, I’ve played around with hushpuppy batter several times. I’ve made a version using extra zucchini from the garden. I made a sweet + spicy version using diced jalapenos and pineapples. And I even made a mash-up of crab cakes and hushpuppies. While the classic version will always be my favorite, it can be fun to play around with the ingredients in hushpuppy batter.
I got to thinking the other day. What if I put a southwestern spin on hushpuppies? That’s how these Green Chile Hushpuppies came to be. They feature the classic hushpuppy base, but with the addition of diced green chiles and shredded pepperjack cheese. Holy cow! So good!
Southwestern Dipping Sauce
While these Green Chile Hushpuppies are certainly tasty enough to eat by themselves, I served them up with a southwestern dipping sauce. This easy sauce is sour cream-based, and it goes quite well with all sorts of southwestern recipes. The chilled sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the spicy hushpuppies. I’m pretty sure I could’ve eaten a whole batch of these hushpuppies dunked in that sauce!
Hushpuppy Ingredients
- Cornmeal and All-Purpose Flour. A combination of cornmeal and flour is important for hushpuppies. All cornmeal will lead to a batter that falls apart while being fried. All flour will lead to a dense brick of fried dough. 2:1 or 3:1 is a good rule of thumb when it comes to the amount of cornmeal vs. flour.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda. These chemical leaveners play an important role! Once the batter hits the hot oil, the leaveners cause the batter to puff up quickly. That’s what leads to the fun crags and edges on these hushpuppies.
- Salt, Egg, Buttermilk. Classic hushpuppy ingredients. Salt adds flavor. Egg helps bind the batter. Buttermilk adds flavor and moisture.
- Grated Onion. Grating an onion is a bit of task, but it’s one of the secrets for making excellent hushpuppies. Diced onions would change the texture of the fried hushpuppy. Grating the onion into the batter gets all of the flavor without the little bits of onion.
- Diced Green Chiles and Pepper Jack Cheese. This is where the southwestern theme comes in. A can of diced green chiles and 8 oz. of shredded pepperjack cheese adds a ton of Southwestern flavor! I used Cabot’s Pepper Jack Cheese, and it worked well. For an even spicier twist, Cabot’s Habanero Cheddar would be a good substitution.
If you’re looking for a delicious side dish, then put these Green Chile Hushpuppies on the agenda. Perhaps you are planning on frying some shrimp or fish sometime soon? Grab the ingredients and make a batch of hushpuppies on the side. You’ll be glad you did! Enjoy!
Did you make this Green Chile Hushpuppies recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Green Chile Hushpuppies
Ingredients
For the Hushpuppies
- 1½ cups cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 medium white onion grated
- 1 4-oz. can diced green chiles, drained
- 2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese I used Cabot Pepperjack Cheese
- canola oil for frying
For the Southwestern Sauce
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 2 tbsp red onion finely chopped
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp buttermilk
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
Instructions
For the Hushpuppies
- Using a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, grated onion and green chiles. Pour mixture into bowl with dry ingredients and stir just until combined. (Note: Do not overmix or hush puppies will be tough.)
- Fold in shredded cheese. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Using a deep fryer or a large Dutch oven, heat the canola or vegetable oil over medium-high heat to 375°F. Oil should be ~2-3” deep. (An easy way to check the temperature is to drop a pinch of flour in the oil. If it bubbles up and turns brown quickly, then the oil is ready to go.)
- Using two spoons or a small cookie scoop, drop rounded tablespoons of batter into oil. (Tip: Fry these hush puppies in batches of 8-10 to avoid overcrowding pan.)
- Fry until golden brown (~2 minutes per side).
- Using a metal slotted spoon, remove hush puppies from the oil and let drain on baking sheets lined with paper towels or brown paper bags.
- Salt lightly and then serve with southwestern sauce.
For the Southwestern Sauce
- Using a medium mixing bowl, add all sauce ingredients and whisk until well combined. (Tip: Sauce will taste better if you make it the day before and refrigerate it overnight.)
Looking for more hushpuppy recipes? Check out these other versions, too:
I need to try this soon for me BTW cant wait to make your recipes soon for me
Hushpuppies are a unique food found often in Southern US. This is a fun flavor twist, and I hope you really enjoy these, Ramya!
I would not be able to stop eating these!
You and me both, Mimi! Haha!
these sound really good David. You know i had to laugh when i saw the title, as hush puppies are a brand of shoe here! I like the sound of the crab one especially.
cheers
sherry
The Hushpuppies shoe brand is also here in the US, but if you mention hushpuppies in the South, folks will think about the food. They’re mighty tasty for sure! Thanks, Sherry!
Yum these look and sound so good, despite the calories:) Like Sherry, my immediate thought was Hushpuppy shoes, which we find here in Australia. Can’t eat those though. Interesting you use canned green chiles, I’m sure I could use finely chopped green chiles fresh from the garden, what do you think? Just love the look of these David and it’s lunch time as I write this. So hungry. I could wolf down some deep fried food in a jiffy.
Haha – you are totally right about the calories, Pauline! We live by the ‘everything in moderation’ slogan around here, though. 🙂 I would think finely chopped green chiles from the garden would work well in this recipe. The canned version of chiles is very common here, but the fresh garden chiles would probably be even better!
Ever since I had hushpuppies in NC with Steve and his fam a couple years ago, I have absolutely LOVED them – and these with green chile – why, I could do some serious damage to a batch of these! Also, cool to know how hushpuppies got their name!
Hushpuppies are dangerous – they are SO good! Of course, like any food, there are bad versions that are dense and oily. Not these! These is so much flavor packed into each bite of these!
I’ve had Hushpuppies only once or twice (and never made myself), so I don’t really remember their taste. But I love everything cornmeal and everything cheese, so these little snacks must be delicious – at least they look like they are!
A good hushpuppy should be light and crispy…not dense and oily. They are a delicious little side dish! This version is fun with the green chiles and cheese – I recommend it!!
Love this twist on a classic! The addition of green chiles and Pepper Jack sounds like the perfect way to kick up the flavour!
These hushpuppies might not be much to look at it, but they are loaded with flavor!! Thanks, Raymund!