Easy Mandazi Without Yeast – Immaculate Bites

Easy Mandazi Without Yeast is a time-saving take on the classic East African beignet. Enjoy the warm spices and fluffy texture you’d expect from regular mandazi. However, it comes together much quicker and easier with self-rising flour or baking powder. 

What excites me about this easy mandazi recipe is freshly grated coconut, cardamom, and nutmeg. I was never a fan of cardamom until I tried this recipe. Now, it’s a pantry staple, and, in the right recipe, it’s delicious.

Mandazi might not be figure-friendly, but boy is it a delightful indulgence. That’s why I have three (now four) recipes: OG mandazi, soft mini mandazi, and baked mandazi.

This easy mandazi is the super quick yeast-free version with self-rising flour or baking powder and is ready in no time. Can I get a thumbs-up? Thank you. 😜

What Is Mandazi?

Mandazi is a popular East African street food somewhere between a doughnut and a beignet. The warmly spiced and traditionally yeasted dough with coconut milk and fresh coconut delivers a beautifully soft texture. They’re highly addictive, so be warned!

Recipe Ingredients

1. Flour – Get out that pantry staple: all-purpose flour. A touch of baking powder is a fast leavening agent for this low-maintenance dough. If you have self-rising flour, you can use that instead. Just skip the baking powder.  
2. Sugar and Spice – Mandazi isn’t super sweet, so just a touch of sugar will do to sweeten up the dough. Crushed cardamom and grated nutmeg or cinnamon complement the coconut flavor for a warm, cozy taste.
3. Coconut – Coconut milk moistens the dough, while coconut flakes throughout make it decadent.
4. Butter adds richness to the overall flavor of these pastries.  
5. Egg – Add one egg to the mandazi dough for soft and fluffy results. 
6. Oil – You’ll need a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point to fry the mandazi.

How to Make Easy Mandazi Without Yeast

Make the Dough

• Dry Ingredients – Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, sugar, cardamom, and nutmeg in a large bowl. (Photo 1)
• Wet Ingredients – Gently add the liquid ingredients: eggs, butter, and milk. Combine until the mixture comes together and the dough is smooth. (Photos 2-3)
• Roll out the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Cut into bite-sized pieces or triangles like in the picture. (Photos 4-5)

Fry the Mandazi

• Heat Oil – Add vegetable oil to a large saucepan until it’s at least three inches deep (about 5 centimeters). Too little oil will result in flatter mandazi. Heat over medium until it’s 350℉ (180℃).
• Fry the mandazi until golden brown, 3-5 minutes, depending on the size. (Photo 6)
• Serve – Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Serve warm.

Recipe Variations

1. Use yeast. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can certainly use yeast instead of baking powder. I’m using baking powder in this recipe as a time saver.
2. Customize the spices. Feel free to spice these up however you want to. Warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are great for sweet mandazi. Or leave out the sugar and use savory spices for a savory snack.
3. Easy mandazi without frying. To avoid fried foods, arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with a little cooking oil. Bake them for 10-12 minutes until they turn golden brown. Or you can spray them lightly with oil and air fry them at 350℉ (180℃) for about 10 minutes.

Tips and Tricks

1. An electric coffee grinder crushes the cardamom seeds with minimal effort. Or you can use mortar and pestle, which is effective but requires a little more energy. 💪
2. If the mandazi dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. If it’s too hard, add a little bit of water. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky when touched, but it’s better to err on the side of less flour than more flour.
3. If you think three inches of oil sounds like overkill, it isn’t. Too little oil will result in flatter mandazi. We want them nice and tall and fluffy.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Like most fried foods, these mandazis taste best fresh out of the frying pan. To save time, make the dough the night before, cover it, and keep it in the fridge. Then bring it to room temperature before you fry it the next day.

Serving and Storage Instructions 

Serve mandazi warm, dusted with cinnamon sugar, or drizzled with caramel sauce.

Refrigerate leftover mandazis in a sealed container for up to 3 days. For best results, reheat them a bit before finishing them off. I like using the toaster oven or air fryer, but a few seconds in the microwave would also work. 

What Goes With Easy Mandazi

This African snack goes beautifully with a chai latte, but you could also serve it with cold drinks, like a blended Thai iced coffee. Dipping them in caramel sauce or drizzling them with luscious rum sauce is heavenly. 😇

More Addictive African Pastry Recipes to Try

1. Puff Puffs
2. Sambusas
3. Koeksisters
4. Chin Chin
5. Accra Cassava

This blog post was originally published in February 2015 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos