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Calas are an Old New Orleans sweet rice fritter recipe. They're a perfect mildly sweet bite with a kiss of warm nutmeg and dusted with powdered sugar or rolled in cinnamon sugar. They're an ideal addition to breakfast!
Here are more mouthwatering New Orleans breakfast options: Bananas Foster, New Orleans Beignets, Pain Perdu, Cajun Fish and Parmesan Grits, Cheesy Fried Grits, Brandy Milk Punch, and Ramos Gin Fizz.
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Even though I grew up in New Orleans all my life, I never heard of calas until I got my hands on an Old Creole cookbook from the nineteenth century. After reading the description of making a sweet fritter from a cooled rice mixture, I knew I had to make them!
I went into a semi-deep dive on reading as many old Creole cookbooks as possible to make sure I was clear on the right way to make these perfect every time.
It only took me two times to get my cala recipe right after tweaking a few ingredients.
The tradition of serving them on Mardi Gras morning or first communions had totally faded away to the point when I told my mom I was making this recipe. She said, "What's that?"
It's sad because this was a way that women of color used to buy their way to freedom by selling these in the streets of Old New Orleans (The French Quarter).
You won't find these in several restaurants or the usual tourist traps when visiting the city, but that shouldn't stop you from trying them.
What is Calas?
"Belles Calas! Tout Chaud!" Beautiful calas! All hot!
This is the chant you would hear in the early morning in the French Quarter from the Creole negro women. Calas are a delicious rice cake eaten in the morning with Café au lait.
The Cala woman was a daily fixture in Old New Orleans. Walking down the streets in a bandana, dress, and apron while carrying a covered bowl on her head, she would cry out, "Belle Calas! Tout Chaud! Creole cooks would run outside to get them nice and hot and serve them to their mistresses and masters in the morning.
These sweet calas are made with cooked rice, eggs, sugar, yeast, and nutmeg and fried to a beautiful golden brown. They're served warm with powdered sugar or cane syrup.
Sometimes the Calas women would pound the rice with a mortar turning it into rice flour for their version of the recipe.
Rice fritters were not created in Louisiana but were introduced by the enslaved people from West Africa; since Louisiana produces large amounts of rice, this recipe was an excellent way for large families to use leftover cooked rice.
Unfortunately, the tradition and recipe have died out over the last few generations.
Key Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for these delicious rice fritters.
Long Grain Rice
If you struggle with cooking rice, this recipe will show you how to boil rice correctly. I find it best to boil the rice the day before. However, you could buy white rice from your favorite Chinese restaurant.
Yeast
The old recipes I learned from all called for compressed yeast. Active dry yeast or instant yeast is readily available, which I used.
Eggs
You'll need a few large eggs to give these fritters the perfect texture.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg is the classic spice used in these delicious Creole rice fritters. Try using freshly grated nutmeg for more flavor!
Flour
I always use unbleached all-purpose flour whenever I bake. It gives me peace of mind knowing there's no bleach in my food.
Peanut Oil
This is my go-to oil for frying any and everything. I know it can be pricey, so use canola or vegetable oil.
Powdered Sugar
You have to dust them the same way you would beignets. I like to add cinnamon to mine for that extra taste of warm spice.
How To Make New Orleans Calas Recipe
Making sweet calas is easier than you may think. Regardless, if you make them with yeast, baking powder, or self-rising flour, there sure to be a hit when you serve them.
The night before you make the calas, cook the rice. Bring water, salt, and butter to a boil, stir in rice, and cook for 17 minutes until rice is slightly overcooked but not mushy. Rinse under cold water until cooled. Add cooled rice to a large bowl.
In a small bowl, combine water and yeast until dissolved, stir and lightly smash into the cooked rice, cover, and set out overnight.
In a bowl, combine eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour until a thick batter forms.
Then stir into the rice until light and creamy; set aside for 10 minutes
Fill a large skillet halfway with peanut oil over medium heat, heat oil to 350-365°F. Use an ice cream scoop to add fritters one at a time, don't overcrowd the pot; fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Drain on a cooling rack over a baking sheet with paper towels.
Add cinnamon and powdered sugar to a mesh strainer and dust with a generous amount of powdered sugar before serving. Serve immediately with a cup of coffee or cafe au lait.
How To Store Calas
Calas are best eaten immediately hot from the oil; they become greasy and tough once they cool off.
Pro Recipe Tips & Tricks
Here are a few notes on techniques, substitutes, and flavor builders I had from making these Creole rice fritters.
- It's important to let the rice and yeast set aside for a while to have the correct "puff" to your sweet calas. Even if you add the yeast on the same day you combine the batter, you'll still need to wait an hour or two for the yeast to bloom the rice.
- The rice is cooked perfectly when you can see the grain is split. It should be soft enough to smash with your fingers but not mushy.
- You can use minute rice or any leftover rice instead of cooking your own rice.
- If you don't have any yeast use the same amount of baking powder.
- Use self-rising flour as a substitute for the yeast and flour. If you decide to make these on the fly.
- You can use gluten-free flour to make these a gluten-free treat.
- Try using freshly grated nutmeg for more flavor!
- If you don't have an ice cream scoop, use two tablespoons to shape your calas.
- Calas are deep-fried, so add enough oil to your pot so they float as they fry. You'll make rice cakes instead of rice fritters using only a little oil.
More New Orleans Recipes
If you love Cajun-Creole cuisine, you'll want to add these recipes to your weekly rotation.
- Red Beans and Rice
- Grillades and Grits
- Barbecue Shrimp and Grits
- New Orleans Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
- Corn Maque Choux
- Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya
- Chocolate Pralines
Before You Begin
Here are my steps for getting organized and moving fast in the kitchen.
Step 1: Cook, cool the rice, and blend the yeast with the rice either the night before or several hours before using.
Step 2: Measure everything out.
Step 3: Start following the recipe and get ready for some tasty calas!
The next time your looking for something to do with leftover rice, remember my recipe. Sweet calas are the perfect treat in the morning. They're great for breakfast, dessert, or a brunch appetizer.
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📖 Recipe
New Orleans Calas (Rice Fritters)
Ingredients
Rice:
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup long white grain rice
- ½ cup tap warm water
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon active dry yeast 4 g or .15 oz.
Batter:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2-3 cups peanut oil for frying
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Rice:
- The night before you make the calas cook the rice. Bring water, salt and butter to a boil, stir in rice and cook for 17 minutes until rice is slightly overcooked but not mushy. Rinse under cold water until cooled.
- In a medium bowl, combine water and yeast until dissolved, stir and lightly smash into rice, cover and set out on the counter overnight.
Batter:
- Stir in eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour to the rice until a thick batter form, set aside for 10 minutes.
- Fill a large skillet with peanut oil over medium heat, heat to 375°F. Use an ice cream scoop to add fritters one at a time, don’t overcrowd the pot, cook for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Drain on a paper toweled lined plate.
- Add cinnamon and powdered sugar to a mesh strainer and dust with a generous amount of powdered sugar before serving. Serve immediately.
Notes
- It's important to let the rice and yeast set aside for a while to have the correct "puff" to your sweet calas. Even if you add the yeast on the same day you combine the batter, you'll still need to wait an hour or two for the yeast to bloom the rice.
- The rice is cooked perfectly when you can see the grain is split. It should be soft enough to smash with your fingers but not mushy.
- You can use minute rice or any leftover rice instead of cooking your own rice.
- If you don't have any yeast use the same amount of baking powder.
- Use self-rising flour as a substitute for the yeast and flour. If you decide to make these on the fly.
- You can use gluten-free flour to make these a gluten-free treat.
- Try using freshly grated nutmeg for more flavor!
- If you don't have an ice cream scoop, use two tablespoons to shape your calas.
- Calas are deep-fried, so add enough oil to your pot so they float as they fry. You'll make rice cakes instead of rice fritters using only a little oil.
Wendy says
The yeast flavor was faint by my standards, BUT instead of frying these treasures, I deposited batter into muffin tins, topped each with a few sprinkles of turbinado sugar and baked. The muffins were slightly sweet, slightly yeasty and not your run-of-the-mill bacon and egg breakfast. I like different and they were terrific to satisfy that.
Sunshine says
I absolutely love this recipe. I made Calas today for the first time and they were a major success, my whole family enjoyed them and there is only a small portion left on the stove 😅. As someone who has roots in Louisiana but has been disconnected from our traditions I am grateful to be able to reconnect my ancestral roots through these foods. Happy Black History Month!
Carla D Freeman says
I want to try this recipe but need to omit the eggs. Which do you think would be a better replacement applesauce or flax seed and how much??
Kenneth Temple says
Hey! I've never tested either, but I have a suggestion that might work well for you. Try a flax egg because it binds better than apple sauce. Use 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal with 3 tablespoons of water per egg, let it sit for 5–10 minutes to gel before adding it to the calas. I can't wait to hear how it goes!