Baked Corn Dogs are a crispy thin layer of sweetened cornmeal crust surrounding a juicy hot dog that can be dipped in a little mustard or ketchup for a healthy take on a State Fair classic.
A Healthy Take on a Kids’ Favorite
It’s state fair time and all I can think about are corn dogs! We go to the state fair here in Texas every year for a big football game between our favorite team and one of our biggest rivals. Whether the game starts in the morning or evening, we are there several hours early to get our pre-game corn dog. It’s a tradition that we will continue as long as the corn dogs are being fried. They are some of the best corn dogs and we literally wait in line for hours to get one. The crispy cornmeal batter blows me away every time!
Watch Me Make Baked Corn Dogs
Step into the kitchen with me as I make these delicious Baked Corn Dogs!
A Mom on a Corn Dog Mission
As soon as I saw the signs pop up around town advertising the state fair, I started thinking about making my own corn dogs at home. It’s something I had never made before, so I was pretty excited and on a mission to make them amazing.
I wanted to be able to serve them to Baker for lunch or dinner without any guilt, so I went with a baked version that uses white whole wheat flour and lean beef hot dogs. After a few tries to master the baked technique, I nailed it! I mean nailed it!
These baked corn dogs are surprisingly amazing! A crispy thin layer of cornmeal dough surrounds a juicy hot dog that can be dipped in a little mustard or ketchup for a healthy take on a state fair classic.
What Do I Need to Make Baked Corn Dogs?
- White whole wheat flour
- Yellow cornmeal
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ground mustard
- Butter
- Non-fat milk
- Honey
- Lean beef hot dog franks, cut in half
- Wooden sticks
- Mustard
- Ketchup
- Large baking sheet
- Parchment paper
The day I nailed these, Baker’s precious friend Audrey came over for a little lunch date and as you can see these two fell just as much in love with my baked corn dogs as they are with each other!
Every adult and kiddo at the table ate them right up! They’re perfect for mealtime, snack time, or just about anytime! Let me show you how very easy they are to bake!
How to Make Baked Corn Dogs
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and ground mustard. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and honey with a wooden spoon or your hands until well combined.
- Place dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle some more flour over the dough and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Push a wooden stick up the center of the cut end of each hot dog half. Place the dog on the dough and cut a square that is big enough to wrap around it.
- Form dough around each dog sealing both ends and any open areas.
- Place corn dogs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they start to brown.
How to Serve and Store Baked Corn Dogs
Serve hot with a dish of mustard and ketchup (or your favorite sauces) for dipping.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in the microwave. To freeze, place fully-cooled corn dogs in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
If you do make these Baked Corn Dogs, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me or tag me on Instagram @thebakermama so I can see. 
I love seeing how inspired and creative y’all get with the recipes I share. Have fun and enjoy!
xoxo,
Baked Corn Dogs
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 14
- Category: Main
Description
A crispy thin layer of sweetened cornmeal crust surrounds a juicy hot dog that can be dipped in a little mustard or ketchup for a healthy take on a State Fair classic.
Ingredients
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup non-fat milk
- 1/4 cup honey
- 7 lean beef hot dog franks, cut in half
- 14 wooden sticks
- mustard & ketchup, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and ground mustard. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and honey with a wooden spoon or your hands until well combined.
- Place dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Sprinkle some more flour over the dough and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness.
- Push a wooden stick up the center of the cut end of each hot dog half. Place the dog on the dough and cut a square that is big enough to wrap around it. Form dough around each dog sealing both ends and any open areas. Place corn dogs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they start to brown. Serve with mustard and ketchup for dipping.
I just made these last night and my husband and I thought they were delicious! We’ll definitely make them again
Hi Lindsay! That is so great to hear! I hope y’all continue to enjoy!
Can the corn dog dough be frozen?
Hi Amy! Yes, the dough can be frozen. Just form the dough around each hot dog and then wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer-safe container or baggie to freeze for up to two months. When ready to enjoy, you can just bake them from frozen increasing the baking time by about 5 minutes. I would recommend just going ahead and placing them in the oven as the oven preheats to jump-start the defrosting process. They also freeze great after baked…just let them cool completely and then wrap individually in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer-safe baggie or container. They reheat great in the microwave or oven. Hope this helps! Enjoy!
Hi,
Would this recipe work if I used a boxed corn muffin mix? Don’t have the whole wheat flour or the corn meal.
Hi Cynthia! I haven’t tested the recipe with a boxed mix so I couldn’t say for sure. If I did try them with a boxed mix, I would replace the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt with the boxed mix. Hope this helps and that they turn out just as great. Enjoy!
My dough came out like batter and was unusable. I don’t know what I did wrong!! I followed the instructions to the T 🙁
Hi Cassie! I’m so sorry to hear this. Which brands of yellow cornmeal and whole wheat flour did you use? Are you sure you measured everything correctly? Did you cut in the butter? It should definitely been a thick batter that you can roll out.
This was delicious and such a fun way to enjoy fair food without frying! Unfortunately, the dough was wet and stuck to the parchment papers even after thoroughly flouring both. Could that be because I used regular white flour instead of whole grain? Or perhaps I needed more flour? In the end I hand shaped each one.
Hi i want to try this recipe but how do you do a tablespoon of butter? Is it heaped? Flat? Is there a weight alternative?
Hi Amy! 6 tablespoons of butter is 85 grams. Hope this helps. Enjoy!
can i use almond meel with corn meel?
Hi Marie! Yes, you can substitute some of the cornmeal for almond meal, but I wouldn’t recommend substituting all of the cornmeal as the flavor and texture is key to a good corn dog. Enjoy!
I made these yesterday and feel like I’m missing something here. I have to admit, I’ve never had a corndog in my life, so I don’t have anything to compare to, nor have I used cornmeal before. So, these guys looked nice and brown and smelled delicious, but they were crunchy. Like, I bite and there’s crunchy cornmeal in the dough. Did I do something wrong? I feel maybe it needed more milk or time to soak or something?
Hi Diana! It sounds like they turned out perfect from the way you described them. A great corndog has a thin crispy coating of cornmeal cooked batter around it. Tastes like a crunchy cornbread wrapped hot dog. Hope you enjoyed!
These are delicious! I will say I had to make a few changes due to allergy and lack of ingredients. I used 2 cups of hodgkins mills gluten free cornbread mix in place of the flour and cornmeal, added a squirt of yellow mustard since my mustard powder was really old, and used almond milk with a splash of lemon juice (to make a dairy free “buttermilk”) in place of the milk.
The reviewers that said they were too dry may want to place the dogs on a greased and preheated baking pan as I did, and spray the tops with spray oil to help them have the familiar “greasy crunch” without the deep fried grossness/deliciousness (depending who you are ha ha–I love deep fried food, but I’ve never had success with deep fried corndogs. The batter always falls off as they fry, or is very lopsided.)
Did you cook the hotdogs before you rolled them into the corndog crust or let them cook while in the crust because your recipe didn’t mention that.
Hi Josilin! No need to cook the hot dogs first, they have plenty of time to heat as the corndogs bake. Enjoy!