These Homemade Beaver Tails are an easy twist on the Canadian delicacy – they're made with pizza dough and require no deep frying either!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sunflower oil – vegetable oil, canola oil or coconut oil would all be good substitutes here.
Dough
- Pizza dough – make your own homemade pizza dough or buy a bag of pre-made dough from the grocery store.
- Brown sugar – cinnamon sugar or white sugar would also work here.
- Vanilla extract – there’s no exact substitute for this so if you don’t have any, leave it out entirely or substitute for another extract of your choice for a different flavour.
- Cinnamon – leave this off if you don’t have any on hand.
- Flour – cornstarch or pastry flour would also work.
Dipping mixture
- White sugar – swap out for some cinnamon sugar or brown sugar.
- Cinnamon – nutmeg would also be good or you can leave this off entirely.
How to make beaver tails
Step 1: Assemble your ingredients.
Step 2: Make the dough.
Mix together the pizza dough, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, water and flour in a large mixing bowl. Tear it apart and do your best to mix everything together.
Step 3: Roll and cut the dough.
Roll out the dough on a floured clean working service, then cut it into pieces. Form the dough into the shape of a long thin oval.
Step 4: Fry the dough pieces.
Pour the sunflower oil into a deep frying pan. Fry the dough in the pan for 2 mins per side until golden brown. When done, remove and let it dry on a paper-towel lined plate. You'll likely need to cook them in batches.
Step 5: Coat the dough.
Transfer the beavertails to a plate covered in sugar, and coat the beaver tail on all sides.
Step 6: Add your favourite toppings and serve!
Beaver tail variations
The best part about making your own Beaver Tail pastry is being able to mix and match the toppings to your liking! Not sure where to start? Here's some delicious variation options inspired by the classics from the chain in Canada:
- Classic: Enjoy your beaver tail just with the sugar and cinnamon coating, with no toppings.
- Killaloe Sunrise: Squeeze a slice of lemon over your sugar and cinnamon covered tail.
- Bananarama: Spread Nutella over the dough and top with banana slices.
- Triple Trip: Spread Nutella over the dough, drizzle with peanut butter and top with Reese's Pieces candy.
- Brownie: Spread Nutella over the dough, then top with pieces of homemade brown and white chocolate chips.
- Garlic Butter & Cheese: Skip covering the beaver tail in sugar and cinnamon. Microwave 1/2 cup butter with some minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, then drizzle it over the dough and top with freshly grated parmesan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Beaver tails are essentially a stretched dough that is deep fried and covered with cinnamon sugar. You can enjoy it as is or add just about any topping that you can think of on top! The most popular one available at the Beaver Tails chain is the Killaloe Sunrise, which is cinnamon sugar and fresh lemon juice. Another favourite is the Chocolate Hazelnut, which is a Beaver Tail covered with a chocolate hazelnut spread.
The beaver tail pastry was first made in the town of Killaloe, Ontario, by Pam and Grant Hooker, and now they’re a Canadian delicacy! They’re the go-to dessert paired with a hot chocolate after a day of skiing or skating.
A beaver tail is essentially a flat and oval-shaped donut! It’s fried dough that’s stretched out and topped with sugar and other toppings. This beaver tails recipe is a bit healthier than your traditional version because it’s fried in a pan in sunflower oil as opposed to being deep fried.
I find it easiest to use store-bought pizza dough, but you can make your own homemade dough if you'd like. All you need is warm water, yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt and all-purpose flour.
Storing and reheating
If you have any leftovers of this beaver tail recipe, which is doubtful, or you've made a few extras for a later date, store them in the fridge in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 5 days. Store them with no toppings so they stay fresh and are easy to reheat the next day. You can reheat them in the microwave, but I’d recommend sticking them in the oven so they don’t get too soggy. Add on your favourite toppings then dig in!
Freezing this recipe
You can freeze any pizza dough you’re not using for later. Store the pizza dough in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the fridge overnight then use it to make your fresh beaver tail pastry!
You can also freeze any extra beaver tails that you've made for a later date! Once they've cooled to room temperature, store them without toppings in the freezer in an airtight container or a freezer bag (make sure there's no extra air in the bag). When ready to enjoy, bake them in the oven until warmed all the way through and then add your desired toppings
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to store leftovers.
- This almond butter would make a great topping to these Beaver Tails.
- Pizza dough can be stored in Ziploc bags for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Easy Homemade Beaver Tails
Ingredients
- 1 cup sunflower oil
Dough
- 1 bag pizza dough
- 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp flour
Dipping Mixture
- Plate filled with white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Topping Ideas
- Strawberries
- Shredded coconut
- Sliced bananas
- Nutella
- Brown sugar
- Chocolate/butterscotch chips
- Reese's pieces
- Mini marshmallows
- Any other candy you desire!
Instructions
- Add ingredients to pizza dough then tear apart and mix together in a large bowl. This will probably take a while, but just do your best to get it all mixed together.
- On a heavily floured surface, roll out your dough so that it is about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Using a knife, cut dough into 6 pieces and then use the knife to cut the dough (this step is optional and only for aesthetic reasons) so that the dough forms the shape of a beaver tail (basically a long, oval shape).
- In a large, deep frying pan, pour in sunflower oil.
- Take a small piece of flattened dough and put it in the oil. You'll know when the oil is hot enough when the dough floats to the surface and starts to cook. Remove the piece of dough at this point and add a larger piece of dough, cooking for 2 minutes each side. Set your stopwatch on your phone to ensure precise cooking times, and only cook one to two beaver tails at a time in the oil. Of course, be careful when cooking around hot oil as well.
- Meanwhile, combine a plate full of sugar with cinnamon and stir to combine.
- When the first beaver tail is done, use a large slotted serving spoon to remove it from the pan and let it drain on a paper towel lined plate for about a minute.
- Transfer to sugar plate, coating on all sides.
- Decorate with your fave toppings (mine is Nutella, coconut and strawberries!)
Comments & Reviews
Mary Kate says
I made pizza dough and might have some left over, but I’m not sure what “a bag” of pizza dough is, weight/measurement-wise. Is it a pound, roughly?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Mary Kate – so sorry for the delay in response. I’m honestly not sure what the weight is, sorry about that! You can use up whatever pizza dough you have on hand though, you just break off little bits to make the fried dough circles so you have some flexibility!
Jan says
I know these as elephant ears.
I have not had them since as a child. Thank you for the recipe.
A comedian jon something
cracked jokes about wanting them so bad. Thnx again
Gail says
I made these last night 🙂 I’ve never tried a beavertail but it looked pretty simple and I’ve heard they’re amazing. I made my own dough and as a result, got 20 of them. They came out absolutely amazing 🙂 All the girls at work are asking for the recipe now so I’m sending your link around 🙂 My husband was looking for a sugary snack to have at his morning break to get him through to his lunch. He works at a concrete manufacturer so yeah, very physically intensive. He’s loving these now too! I’m going to pop the balance into the freezer tonight so they stay fresh, if there’s any left…lol. He can pull them out in the morning and they’ll be well thawed by break
Taylor Stinson says
I’m SO happy these turned out so well for you Gail!!! They are admittedly quite addictive – I always make a batch around the holidays. Thanks so much for letting me know that you made these. You’ve made my day! 🙂
Hannah says
I’ve never in my life heard of a beaver tail, but this looks ahmayzing!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Hannah! 🙂
Isabela Xela says
Beaver Tails??? OMG I’d never believed it:) Thanks for that:)
Alison says
I have never even heard of Beaver Tails but these look delicious! Can’t wait to try them!
Taylor Stinson says
They are so simple! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
Jane says
Um..I try not to eat gluten but I would cheat just to eat these!! YUM!! My fiancee is from Toronto and introduced me to these delicious things. Thanks for the recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
Hahaha they are soooo worth the cheat I’m telling you!! The occasional treat doesn’t hurt 😉