This easy churros recipe creates churros that are sweet and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! Dip these fried cinnamon sugar sticks in chocolate sauce or dulce de leche for the sweetest experience possible. All you need are simple ingredients and no fancy equipment!
These homemade churros are seriously addicting! Easy to make using a simple choux pastry, coat the churros in cinnamon sugar once they’re fried and then dip in homemade chocolate sauce. It’ll be a miracle if you end up with leftovers!
No deep fryer or fancy equipment required. All you need is a large pot for the oil, a sturdy piping bag, and a star tip. Once the dough is ready, just pipe the churros right into the oil and fry away.
Make sure you enjoy the churros hot and fresh next to a mug of Champurrado or Café de Olla for the sweetest experience. As a bonus, I’ve included a recipe for homemade chocolate sauce. It’s definitely the best dessert dip around!
What are churros?
Churros are a popular fried Mexican dessert made from a fried dough that’s then covered in cinnamon sugar! They’re crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Because they have a long and thin shape, they’re perfect for dipping in caramel and chocolate sauces!
There are two types of churros: Mexican and Spanish. Mexican churros have a cinnamon sugar coating, whereas Spanish churros are only coated in granulated sugar.
Churros Ingredients
- Oil for frying – A neutral oil like vegetable, canola, or corn oil is great for frying and won’t overpower the sweet flavors in the churros.
- Water, flour, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla – These are used to make the choux pastry. This easy dough comes together on the stove and has the same flavor and texture as a cream puff or eclair.
- Eggs – Some churro recipes don’t use eggs, but I think they’re necessary for rich and fluffy churros.
- Cinnamon sugar – Because they aren’t Mexican churros without the cinnamon sugar coating!
- Chocolate sauce – A homemade chocolate sauce is one of the best dips you can serve with churros. Make your own using the recipe I’ve given you below or use Nutella instead.
How to make churros
Step 1: Heat the oil. Do this first to save time. Fill a large pan or pot with your frying oil and heat it to 365-375°F. (I like to use a dutch oven or a saute pan with high sides when frying churros.)
Step 2: Make the dough. Heat the water, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture until it boils. Turn down the heat and add in the flour. Once a dough ball forms, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool.
Step 3: Add the eggs. Once the dough is cool, stir in 1 egg at a time using a wooden spatula. After it’s combined, add the other egg.
Mixing the eggs in with the dough will be difficult at first and the mixture won’t seem to come together, but use a spatula or wooden spoon to continue to stir until the egg is combined. Mixing in the second egg will be harder than the first one, but use those muscles and keep going! When the dough is fully mixed, it will look like thick gluey mashed potatoes.
Then, transfer the dough into your piping bag with the star tip attached. Try your best to get rid of any air pockets in the piping bag to help the dough come out smoother.
Step 4: Fry the churros. Carefully pipe a line of dough into the hot oil. Use scissors to cut the dough free from the piping bag. Fry until golden brown, then transfer the finished churros to a plate lined with paper towels.
Step 5: Coat and serve. Roll the hot churros in the cinnamon sugar until they’re fully coated. Serve with your homemade chocolate sauce or your dip of choice.
Helpful tips and tricks
- Measure the temperature of the oil using a candy/deep fry thermometer. This will help ensure that the oil is at the right temperature so you don’t accidentally burn the outside or undercook the middle of the churros.
- Using a large star tip, like the Wilton #6b or an Ateco 845, will give you a thick and fluffy churro with defined edges.
- Make sure to use a very sturdy piping bag. The dough is very thick and if the piping bag isn’t strong enough, it may burst open at the seams when piping. Grab a professional-grade piping bag like this or this.
- Leaving the batter to cool down before adding the eggs is very important. This time allows the churro dough to cool down so that the eggs don’t accidentally cook when you’re mixing them in one by one.
- Only fry 3 churros at a time. This will help the oil stay hot throughout the frying process.
- This recipe moves fast. Before making the dough, get your plate with paper towels ready as well as your cinnamon sugar.
How to serve homemade churros
Hot and fresh churros are best served with a variety of dipping sauces! These options pair perfectly with the sweet dough and cinnamon sugar coating:
- Chocolate sauce – Learn how to make your own using the instructions in the recipe card.
- Dulce de Leche – This rich sauce goes with almost anything, but especially churros!
- Cajeta (Mexican Caramel) – Drizzle this gooey sauce all over the churros.
Can you bake churros?
Fried foods not for you? No problem! Try my recipe for Baked Pumpkin Churros. The texture and flavor aren’t totally the same as fried, but it’s a good alternative if you don’t want to fry them.
I haven’t tested out this specific recipe for baking, so try at your own risk. If you do bake them, leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!
Storing, freezing, and reheating
Homemade churros are best enjoyed fresh, but they can be frozen for later.
To freeze, place the finished churros on a baking sheet and place it in the freezer. You can also do this with the uncooked dough. Once frozen, transfer the churros to a sealed bag. They should stay fresh for up to 3 months.
To reheat, warm the pre-cooked churros in a 400ºF oven for about 10 minutes. The uncooked dough should thaw completely before either being baked or fried.
More Mexican desserts
Churros Recipe
Ingredients
For the churros
- oil, for frying (vegetable, canola, or corn oil work great)
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, room temperature preferred
For the cinnamon sugar topping
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the chocolate dipping sauce
- 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
For the churros
- Fill a large pan 2 inches deep with oil over medium heat. I like to use my Dutch oven. Heat oil to 365-375°F. While the oil is heating up, continue following the next steps.
- Line a large plate with paper towels and set aside. Make the cinnamon sugar topping by combining the sugar and ground cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate saucepan over medium heat, add water, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir frequently until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low and add flour. Stir until a dough ball forms. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.
- After cooling, add one egg and stir with a wooden spatula until well until combined. This will be difficult at first and the mixture won't seem to come together, but use a spatula or wooden spoon to continue to stir until the egg is combined. (To make this easier, you can use a stand mixer if you have one.)
- Once the egg is fully mixed in, add the second egg and repeat. This will be even tougher to mix in than the first one, but keep going and the mixture will come together to form a dough.
- Transfer the dough to a large sturdy piping bag fitted with a large star tip (I used a Wilton #6b).
- Once oil has reached 365-375°F, carefully pipe a 4-5 inch line of dough into your oil. Quickly cut the dough from the tip using scissors.
- Fry for about 3 minutes until golden brown, then transfer to the plate lined with paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
- Roll the churros through cinnamon sugar topping until coated on all sides and transfer to a plate for serving.
- Serve immediately with chocolate dipping sauce if desired.
For the chocolate dipping sauce
- Add the chocolate chips in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add the heavy cream, cinnamon, and salt to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Give it a stir to mix everything together and heat it up until almost boiling (don’t let it boil!).
- Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate chips. Stir everything together until the chocolate has melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Measure the temperature of the oil using a candy/deep fry thermometer. This will help ensure that the oil is at the right temperature so you don’t accidentally burn the outside or undercook the middle of the churros.
- Use a large star tip like the Wilton #6b or an Ateco 845. It will give you thick and fluffy churros with defined edges.
- Make sure to use a very sturdy piping bag. The dough is very thick and if the piping bag isn’t strong enough, it may burst open at the seams when piping. Grab a professional-grade piping bag like this or this.
- I recommend frying only 3 churros at a time so that the oil doesn’t drop in temperature too much.
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