Gougères (French Cheese Puffs)
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Gougères are savory French cheese puffs—the perfect appetizer to enjoy with sparkling wine or cocktails.
Oh so French, gougères are savory cheese puffs made from pâte à choux, or cream-puff dough, with a generous amount of cheese folded in. Slightly warm with a crisp shell and a cheesy, pillowy interior, they’re the perfect little bite to pop in your mouth between sips of sparkling wine or cocktails. This version comes from Everyday Dorie by Dorie Greenspan. Dorie, who lives part-time in Paris, writes that gougères have been her signature nibble for guests for 20 years: “It’s a testament to their goodness that I’m still crazy about them after all the thousands—truly, thousands of them—that I’ve baked.”
Gougères are best served warm from the oven, so Dorie suggests keeping the scooped dough in the freezer, ready to bake. You can slide them into the oven straight from the freezer before your guests arrive; just allow a few extra minutes in the oven.
What You’ll Need To Make Gougères
- Low-Fat Milk (or Whole Milk + Water): Helps create a lighter dough that puffs up beautifully in the oven.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and flavor, making each puff tender and flaky.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor and balances the richness of the cheese.
- All-Purpose Flour: Forms the structure of the dough, giving the puffs their signature texture.
- Large Eggs: Provide moisture, structure, and help the dough rise for light, airy puffs.
- Egg White: Adds extra lift to make the puffs light.
- Dijon Mustard: Adds a subtle tang that complements the cheese.
- Grated Cheese (Comté, Gruyère, or Cheddar): Gives the puffs a rich, cheesy flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat.
Add the flour all at once. 
Lower the heat to medium and start stirring energetically with a wooden spoon.
The dough will form into a ball and there will be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another two minutes or so to dry the dough: Dry dough makes puffier puffs.
Turn the dough out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and elbow grease).
Let the dough sit for a minute to cool. Then add the eggs one by one, followed by the white, beating on medium speed until each one is incorporated before adding the next.
The dough may look as though it’s separating or falling apart. Just keep going, and by the time the egg white goes in, the dough will be beautiful.
Beat in the mustard, then add the cheese. 
Mix to combine.
Give the dough a last mix-through by hand. Scoop or spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds.
Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 17 minutes.
Serve immediately — these are best directly from the oven.
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Gougères (French Cheese Puffs)
Gougères are savory French cheese puffs—the perfect appetizer to enjoy with sparkling wine or cocktails.
Ingredients
- 1 cup low-fat milk (or ½ cup whole milk + ½ cup water)
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cups coarsely grated cheese, such as Comté, Gruyère and/or sharp cheddar
Instructions
- Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the flour all at once, lower the heat to medium and, using a wooden spoon, immediately start stirring energetically. The dough will form into a ball and there will be a light film on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring for another two minutes or so to dry the dough: Dry dough will make puffier puffs.
- Turn the dough out into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and elbow grease). Let the dough sit for a minute to cool, then add the eggs one by one, followed by the white, beating on medium speed until each one is incorporated before adding the next. The dough may look as though it's separating or falling apart -- just keep going, and by the time the egg white goes in, the dough will be smooth. Beat in the mustard, followed by the cheese. Give the dough a last mix-through by hand.
- Scoop or spoon out heaping tablespoon-sized balls of dough (I use a 1.5-tablespoon cookie scoop), and drop the dough on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between the mounds. (The scooped dough can be frozen on the baking sheets.)
- Slide the baking sheets into the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 375°F. Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans from front to back and top to bottom. Continue baking until the gougères are puffed, golden, and firm enough to pick up, another 15 to 17 minutes. Serve immediately -- these are best directly from the oven. Storing: Although the puffs are best served hot out of the oven, they are still nice (although flatter) at room temperature that same day. If you want to keep baked puffs longer, freeze them and then reheat in a 350°F-oven for a few minutes.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer Instructions: Scoop the dough and freeze on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then pack them in an airtight container. You can bake them straight from the freezer; just give them a few more minutes in the oven.
- Note/Variation: Dorie adds ⅔ cup walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted and chopped, to these gougères. My family prefers them without nuts but it's a nice variation to try. Add them along with the cheese.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (30 servings)
- Serving size: 1 Gougère
- Calories: 92
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 4 g
- Sugar: 1 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 82 mg
- Cholesterol: 43 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hey Jenny,
Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
I saw that some people had troubles with the recipe, so I’d like to make some precision.
The pâte à choux has 2 very important steps : the step where you dry the dough, and then the step when you add the eggs. French pastry chefs would had the eggs, lightly beaten together, little by little, to get the exact right texture of the dough, but it’s all about ratio between the ingredients really ! And since we’re making gougères, it’s not that critical.
If you want some science about it, I found that website very useful :
https://www.seriouseats.com/choux-pastry
Also don’t worry if your gougères are a bit flat, it’s normal. We French don’t mind flat gougères, because they always taste so good anyway, and homemade doesn’t have to look perfect 🙂
Hi Jenn, About to make gougères according to your recipe. I don’t have a stand mixer with paddle, just a hand- held mixer with dough hooks or egg beaters. Will either of those work?
Hi Jan, You can use a hand mixer here – you’ll just need to increase the mixing time a bit. Enjoy!
I made these, and I thought I followed the recipe to the letter. I know it’s important with baking. My “dough” was more like a “batter”. Somehow they still came out great. Not sure where I went wrong. So light and fluffy. My wife loved them and now I’m stuck making them for every holiday for the rest of my life. Thanks lol.
I made these last night for a friend’s birthday. I followed the recipe exactly (only reducing the salt to 3/4 t.) THEY WERE PERFECT. So happy there are some in the freezer. THANKS!
Hello, Jenn,
I always appreciate the precision and clear instructions you include with your recipes! My question today, is why is the extra egg white needed? Wouldn’t that tend to make the dough a bit too wet? I have made gougeres with just the 4 whole eggs and perhaps an application of an egg yolk wash on top before baking to provide extra shine and browning. I suppose that if I did use the extra white in the batter, then I would not have to waste the egg yolk, but use it for the egg wash! 👍😊
Hi Karen, This recipe is actually Dorie Greenspan’s so I’m not sure what motivated her to use the extra egg white. I see your point though and have seen versions of this without that additional egg white. Hope that clarifies!
Gotta love a cheesy appetizer with make ahead /freezer instructions! I used the whole milk/water and Gruyere cheese. I pop a couple in the oven for my husband and I to have a special cocktail treat. My oven baked them in 25 minutes. Thank you Jenn again!
These are a delicious treat! I made a batch for our New Year’s Eve celebration, trying to make our low key evening a little more special. While pâte à choux sounds a little intimidating, it came together just as promised. I made smaller puffs and froze them to be pulled out as we want them. I think these would be super good as an accompaniment to tomato soup or maybe even baked off and filled.
Oh my goodness!!! I have made gougères for many years, but Jenn, your recipe and techniques make the most delicious, perfectly puffy and light gougères we’ve ever had! I always follow Jenn’s recipes exactly, and everything always turns out perfectly – and these definitely do. We used mostly gruyère and added a a couple of tablespoons of sharp cheddar – yummy! And they do freeze beautifully. Thanks again, Jenn, for your recipe and clear instructions!
I gave this recipe 5 stars, they were great. I found a recipe by Alain Ducasse, a French pastry chef, and his recipe calls for sprinkling cheese on top prior to baking. My daughter who has had gougeres in France said that this is more traditional. So the next time I make them I will try deducting 1/3 cup and using it for sprinkling.
Hi Jen, I would love to try these. When you say low fat milk, do you suggest 1%, 2%? I keep fat free in the house and want to know what will work best. Also I have White Lily flour and their label says to add 2 Tbsp. of flour to a recipe that calls for one cup. Would you recommend this conversation?
Hi Noreen, either 1 or 2% milk will work here. I’d recommend sticking to the all-purpose flour as opposed to the white lily flour for the most reliable results — but if that’s all you have, adding 2 tablespoons is the correct conversion. Hope that helps and that you enjoy!
Looks amazing. I have never noticed them in France, but will try them next time and try your recipe. Do you have any suggestions for crepes? I have added a touch orange blossom water to give an amazing taste.
Hi Jessica, I don’t have a recipe of my own for crepes — I’ll have to add that to my list of recipes to potentially develop! 🙂
Do you have any nutritional information on this recipe? Calories?
Hi Deb, I just added nutritional info to the recipe. Hope you enjoy if you make them!