This easy Churros recipe will give you a crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside treat. Toss them in cinnamon sugar (or plain sugar for an authentic version) and serve them hot – simply the best!
Recipe for Churros
- This recipe has a short ingredient list and the pastry comes together quickly. The deep frying does take a little while as it needs to be done in batches – but the wait is worth it!
- You’ll be making a choux pastry, which may sound scary to attempt – but I’ll walk you through it with photos of every step, and it really isn’t that tricky to pull off.
- Serve your Churros with homemade chocolate sauce – such a treat!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is an ingredients many of us love in the sugar coating of churros. But after having vacationed in Spain every year throughout my childhood, it is my understanding that it’s not authentic to the original Spanish (or Portuguese) recipe. I love it though, so I do personally add it. Feel free to skip to stick to a more authentic result.
- Vegetable oil: Make sure to use an oil suitable for frying, with a high smoking point (the label on the bottle should indicate that the oil can be used for deep frying).
- Butter: If you need to use margarine for any reason, I recommend using stick margarine intended for cooking and baking. A spread can be harder to melt, depending on the additives used to keep it stable at room temperature.
How to make churros
1. Place the water, butter, sugar and salt into a saucepan and bring to a boil. This should fully melt the butter and also mostly melt the sugar.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and the flour all at once. Immediately stir to fully incorporate the flour into the liquid ingredients, then keep stirring over medium heat until the pastry gathers into a ball and cleanly pulls away from the sides.
This is what the texture of the pastry should look like at this point:
3. Place the pastry into a mixing bowl and allow to cool for 5 minutes – but only 5 minutes, not any longer! Once the 5 minutes are up, use a hand mixer to beat in the eggs, one at a time.
The pastry will appear split/in crumbs after the first egg is added, but the second egg will make it come together.
This is what the texture of the finished choux pastry should look like – it’s pretty sticky and pulls like this:
4. Immediately place the pastry in a sturdy piping bag, fitted with an M1 star tip. Here is how you can transfer the pastry easily and with minimum mess:
Twist the end of the pastry bag over the tip, to keep the pastry from oozing out too early. Place the bag into a small-medium measuring jug or similar jar, pulling the bag’s open side over the measuring jug (this helps to keep the bag’s end clean). Scrape the pastry into the bag.
Remove the piping bag from the measuring jug (keep the end twisted still). Gently push the pastry down – do not push too hard and do not twist the end over the tip too much at this point, the thick pastry will split the bag otherwise. Now you are ready to pipe!
5. With your oil heated to 380 – 400°F, pipe 5 to 6 inch churros into the hot oil (be VERY careful!). Snip off the end, the pastry will not break off on its own.
6. Do not overcrowd your pot or deep fat fryer – depending on the size, do 3-5 churros per batch, max. Fry for about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown and puffy.
7. Allow to drain on paper towels for 1-2 minutes, then immediately toss in the sugar or cinnamon-sugar.
8. I highly recommend eating these hot or at least warm. If you want to keep the ones you already made until the entire batch is done, place them on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet to make sure they stay crispy.
Recipe tips
- Please measure your flour correctly – spoon the flour into the cup, then level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup yields too much flour, which results in a pastry that is too thick.
- Make sure to cook the pastry until it seizes up into a ball and cleanly pulls away from the sides – this doesn’t take too long, but you must reach the stage where it pulls into a ball. Otherwise there is too much moisture left and you will end up with a pastry that is too soft.
- The finished choux pastry should be soft/sticky and cling to a wooden spoon or the beaters of your mixer (mine usually wraps entirely around the beaters when it’s finished and I have to scrape it off). If your pastry is very thick from adding too much flour, you can beat an extra egg in a separate bowl, then gradually add the egg, one tablespoon at a time, until your pastry comes together.
- Be very careful when piping the pastry – it is thick and easily breaks thinner pastry bags if you don’t pay attention. I always hold the pastry bag with two hands until I have used about half of the pastry, one hand to push down the pastry and the other hand to hold around where the tip is inside the bag, to support the bag where it would split first.
- Do not over-crowd your deep fryer or pot (I always use a Dutch oven), this could lead to chewy churros instead of crunchy ones.
Recipe FAQs
Are churros always with cinnamon?
No, churros are made with just sugar as their coating in Spain. Most of us know Mexican churros, which are coated in cinnamon sugar, but you can skip the cinnamon if you prefer.
Why are my churros raw inside?
This means your oil is too hot, so the outside cooks too fast while the inside stays raw. Adjust the temperature of your oil down a little.
Why are my churros not crunchy?
This could mean your oil is not hot enough, so the churros cannot crisp up properly. Try adjusting your heat up a little. You also have to be mindful to not overcrowd your pot or fryer.
Can you reheat churros?
Churros are best eaten right after they’ve been made. They turn soft over time. If you have leftovers you want to reheat, keep them covered with paper towels or with a clean kitchen towel at room temperature for up to a day (never pack in an airtight container, they soften even more). Reheat them in the oven on a rack at 400°F for 5-7 minutes, then re-roll in cinnamon sugar and serve.
Can you make churros the night before?
You can refrigerate the finished pastry for up to 1 day before deep frying your churros. Allow the pastry to sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes before frying, to allow it to come back to room temperature.
Serving ideas
My children love their churros with a homemade chocolate sauce – I gently simmer it for a few extra minutes to make it very thick, which is perfect for churros.
You can also serve your churros with Dulce de Leche or whipped cream, which is what I hear is custom in Mexico? Please correct me if I’m wrong!
In all honesty, I probably like them best plain, without any dip at all. If I had to pick, I would go for the Dulce de Leche. Or possibly vanilla pudding, because I’m a vanilla kind of girl ??♀️
PSIf you try this recipe, please leavea review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along onPinterest,FacebookorInstagram.
Printable recipe
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Easy Homemade Churros
This easy Churros recipe will give you a crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside treat. Toss them in cinnamon sugar, or plain sugar for the Spanish version.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating! 5 from 3 votes
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Recipe details
Prep 15 minutes mins
Cook 30 minutes mins
Total 45 minutes mins
Servings 8 servings
Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
Cinnamon sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
For the churro pastry
- 1 cup water
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
For frying
- 1 quart vegetable oil suitable for deep frying; if deep fryer is large you may need 2 quarts of oil
Instructions
Make cinnamon sugar
Combine ⅓ cup granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in shallow dish. Set aside.
Make churro pastry
Place water, butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and salt in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium, then add flour all at once. Immediately stir over medium heat to fully incorporate flour, then keep stirring over medium heat to cook pastry until it seizes into a ball and cleanly pulls away from sides of saucepan.
Take pan off the heat and transfer pastry to a medium-large mixing bowl. Cool for 5 minutes.
Once 5 minutes are up, use a hand mixer with beater attachments to beat in eggs, one at a time, until pastry is glossy and sticky-smooth (pastry will appear split after first egg is added, the second egg will make it come together).
Immediately transfer pastry to a sturdy pastry bag fitted with an M1 star tip (or rounded star tip in similar size (⅓ inch or around 9mm)).
Deep fry
Heat vegetable oil in heavy-bottomed pot or deep fat fryer to 380-400°F. (Oil should be at least 2 inches deep, pot at least 8 inches in diameter for good-sized churros.)
Pipe pastry directly into oil (careful, very hot!), about 5-6 inches long. Snip pastry with clean scissors, it will not break off on its own. Do not overcrowd pot or fryer, only fry 3-5 churros at a time.
Deep fry churros, about 2 minutes per side, until golden brown, crispy and puffy. Check inside of first batch – adjust heat down a little if inside is still raw with a golden outside, adjust heat up a little if churro isn’t crispy.
Allow deep fried churros to drain on a plate lined with paper towels for 1-2 minutes, then immediately coat with cinnamon sugar.
Serve hot or warm, with thick chocolate sauce, Dulce de Leche and/or whipped cream.
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Notes
Ingredient notes
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is an ingredients many of us love in the sugar coating of churros. But after having vacationed in Spain every year throughout my childhood, it is my understanding that it’s not authentic to the original Spanish (or Portuguese) recipe. I love it though, so I do personally add it. Feel free to skip to stick to a more authentic result.
- Vegetable oil: Make sure to use an oil suitable for frying, with a high smoking point (the label on the bottle should indicate that the oil can be used for deep frying).
- Butter: If you need to use margarine for any reason, I recommend using stick margarine intended for cooking and baking. A spread can be harder to melt, depending on the additives used to keep it stable at room temperature.
Recipe tips
- Please measure your flour correctly – spoon the flour into the cup, then level it off with the back of a knife. Scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup yields too much flour, which results in a pastry that is too thick.
- Make sure to cook the pastry until it seizes up into a ball and cleanly pulls away from the sides – this doesn’t take too long, but you must reach the stage where it pulls into a ball. Otherwise there is too much moisture left and you will end up with a pastry that is too soft.
- The finished choux pastry should be soft/sticky and cling to a wooden spoon or the beaters of your mixer (mine usually wraps entirely around the beaters when it’s finished and I have to scrape it off). If your pastry is very thick from adding too much flour, you can beat an extra egg in a separate bowl, then gradually add the egg, one tablespoon at a time, until your pastry comes together.
- Be very careful when piping the pastry – it is thick and easily breaks thinner pastry bags if you don’t pay attention. I always hold the pastry bag with two hands until I have used about half of the pastry, one hand to push down the pastry and the other hand to hold around where the tip is inside the bag, to support the bag where it would split first.
- Do not over-crowd your deep fryer or pot (I always use a Dutch oven), this could lead to chewy churros instead of crunchy ones.
Nutrition is an estimate.
More recipe information
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Mexican, Spanish
Recipe first published on 04/29/2016. Updated with a better recipe, new photos and better text on 04/24/2021. Removed Nutella sauce because it wasn’t working for many readers and linked to chocolate sauce instead.
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