This churros recipe is astonishingly easy, and makes a truly great churros that’s hot and crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside. The molten chocolate dipping sauce is mandatory, and you’ll have an entire batch on the table in a mere 20 minutes!
BONUS: Churros are great for making ahead, making it a great party dessert.
Churros recipe
Up until several years ago, this churros obsessed food blogger thought Churros was native to Mexico. Thus on her first (but certianly not last) trip to Mexico, she was expecting to be in churro heaven. Churros, churros, churros everywhere.
But no. I barely saw churro at all.
Duh. Churro isn’t native to Mexico. It’s Spanish!🤦🏻♀️
So just as tourists here in Australia wonder why there aren’t kangaroos bounding around on the streets of Sydney and koalas snuggled in trees everywhere, I guess I totally missed the Churro memo.
Having said that though, it is actually very popular in the touristy areas of Mexico!!
We don’t break out the deep fryer very often around here. But with the promise of hot crispy churros waiting on the other side, and also because we only need to shallow fry rather than deep fry like when making things like Fried Chicken, we deem churros to be Fry-Worthy.
Also, it’s FRY-day today.😂 (FRIday) Admit it, you laughed!!
What goes in churros
All you need is flour, baking powder, oil and boiling water to make the batter, then cinnamon and sugar for coating.
Boiling water is key here – it makes the batter a unique “gummy” texture so when piped and cooked, it retains the signature ridges. There’s no sugar in the batter – with the cinnamon sugar coating plus mandatory dipping sauce, you absolutely don’t need it.
What does churros taste like?
They taste like cinnamon doughnuts – but BETTER because you’ve got crispy ridges. The inside is fluffy like a doughnut and they are at their prime freshly made, but they reheat exceptionally well too making them a great make ahead for parties!
How to make churros
The batter is a mere dump-and-mix job, and it’s got a unique thick “gummy” texture so the churros holds its form when it’s piped, even before it hits the oil.
The safest and easiest way to cook churros is to use scissors. Because the batter is so thick, you can pipe the batter out and it will hang from the piping bag as you lower it into the oil (as opposed to dropping out, causing the oil to splash), then just snip with scissors.
How long to make them
They come in varying lengths, with longer ones (ie 30cm / 1 foot) being more of a novelty type at carnivals and tourist hot spots. Around 15cm / 6″ is a more practical length – still long enough to look impressive, but short enough to cook in a standard size household pot.
You could also make shorter ones for small bite size options, and if you don’t have a piping bag, just drop balls of dough into the oil and make churros doughnuts!
How to serve churros
I know this might sound like an odd section to include for those of you with extensive churros eating experience – but actually, churros is not so common here in Australia so let me describe how to eat it!
It’s traditionally a street snack, so you buy one long one or a little paper cup with a few shorter ones in it, then eat it while walking around on the street. Managing a dipping sauce while on the move can become a bit tricky, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.
At home, I just pile them up on a platter with a little cup of the dipping sauce, then you just dunk and eat!
Don’t count the churros and compare to what the recipe says it will make. I’ll just tell you now – there’s two missing!
How to REHEAT Churros!
As with anything deep fried, churros are at their prime when they’re freshly made. They stay warm and crisp for around 20 minutes once they come out of the oil, which is ample time to cook a whole batch, coat in cinnamon sugar then serve.
After 30 minutes or so, they soften. And though, like doughnuts, they are still delicious when cold and soft, it’s definitely worth popping them in the oven to reheat and more importantly, crisp up again.
And if you are making these ahead intentionally (as opposed to just reheating leftovers), store the churros WITHOUT the sugar coating – this will make them reheat to near freshly cooked perfection, then just roll in the cinnamon sugar and serve! – Nagi x
PS BONUS: Churros impresses people. “You MADE these??!” *She beams with pride, making a weak attempt to hide her glee*😂
Watch how to make it
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Churros Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- 1/4 cup caster / superfine sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Churros
- 1 cup flour, plain / all purpose (Note 1)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp vegetable, canola or olive oil (not extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 cups+ vegetable or canola oil , for frying
Chocolate Sauce
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup thickened / heavy cream (heavy cream)
Instructions
- Cinnamon sugar coating: Combine sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, set aside.
- Batter: Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add oil and water and mix until just combined - it should be a thick, gummy batter, like a wet sticky dough, not thin and watery.
- Piping bag: Transfer dough into a piping bag with a 8mm / 1/3" star tip nozzle. Set aside while oil heats.
- Heat oil: Heat 5cm / 2" oil over medium high in a small pot, wok or small but deep skillet (Note 3) to 170°C/340°F, or until it takes 20 seconds for a small cube of bread to turn golden.
- Pipe & snip: Pipe 15cm / 6" lengths of dough into the oil, snipping with scissors (snip close to oil surface to avoid splash). Do 3 to 4 per batch, makes 10 to 12 in total.
- Cook: Cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden and crisp, rolling occasionally.
- Drain: Remove onto paper towel lined plate to drain. Then roll in sugar. Serve hot with Chocolate Sauce!
Chocolate Sauce:
- Place in a heatproof bowl and microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool and thicken slightly.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published 2016. Long overdue for fresh new photos, brand new process steps and video!
More recipes that are easier than you think
A few more recipes people assume are too hard, but are much easier than you think!
Life of Dozer
He’s not allowed in the shoot room when I deep fry – and he ain’t happy about it!
And from the original publication date in 2016:
Caved. ☺️
Korina says
Can I use sunflower oil instead of vegetable/canola oil?
Juelcia Felgueiras says
yep
Claire says
Fab recipe and delicious churros, went down an absolute treat in our house!!
Loved the simpleness of the recipe lots of others add eggs and butter this was quick and easy!
Jo says
A huge hit and so easy to make! The first time I made them I burst my piping bag so now I just do little churro balls – so quick and delicious 🥰 Love the chocolate sauce too and I serve with fresh strawberries. Beautiful!
Gabby says
Can I just use granulated sugar instead of caster sugar for the cinnamon-sugar topping??
Gabby says
Can I just use regular granulated sugar instead of caster sugar for the cinnamon-sugar coating??
Jenna says
Looking to make these, can you make the dough and pipe onto a baking tray and pop in the fridge ahead of time then fry when ready?
Nagi says
No but you can fry them then reheat as per my instructions in the recipe and they are yummy!! N x
Kirsten says
I know you commented that you can leave in the fridge piped on a tray, but can you leave it in the piping bag in the fridge until ready?
Victoria says
These turned out delicious and the chocolate sauce was sooo good! I also burst a piping bag or two, lol. Should’ve read those comments first, but taking some of the dough out of the piping bag helped. My only concern was that I had to double the batch to get the right yield 🤔
Nagi says
Maybe you were piping yours a bit thicker Victoria? That can affect the yield! N x
Joely says
Would this work using GF flour ??
Nagi says
I haven’t tried that Joely! N x
Jan says
My piping bag burst too, lol, Tried the little ball and rolled the dough too.. worked out great.
Unknown says
Amazing! Turned out great but wished I had a bigger nozzle!
Helena Flanagan says
Hi.. I made these, or should I say attempted, and I burst four piping bags 😭 I thinned out the dough but it still made no difference. Any suggestions? Besides get a better piping bag 😁
Nagi says
I think maybe a better piping bag and don’t overfill it! N x
Rutendo says
Is there anything I can substitute cinnamon with.
Denise K. says
Cinnamon is traditional, but cardamom might be nice.
Helena Flanagan says
Thanks, will do! I forgot to mention that the few I was able to make were fabulous, they were little bites of heaven. Great recipe!
Sandra says
Great recipe! Just bear in mind that the word “churros” is plural not singular.
Helle says
Super easy! First attempt and nailed it.
emilyn says
I tried this recipe and it is great. Thank you so much. Keep safe.
Ally says
These look fantastic, would they work in a churros maker or only on the fry?
Nagi says
Hi…I haven’t tested a churros maker but if it is specifically designed to cook churros and you have used it before then maybe…let me know how you go!
Juju says
I just made these using my churro maker and they turned out great!
Jolie says
Love these churros. I made them several weeks ago and my family devoured them. Tried to make them again just now but am in my second home and didn’t have my piping bag so I did round balls. They exploded while in the hot oil! I’m so bummed not to have them for my Mexican dinner/dessert tonight.
Nadine says
Absolutely the best churros recipe ive ever tried a family favourite forever.
Sharmin says
Amazing! I’ve been looking for a churro recipe that tastes like the shops for a long time and this is it! Thanks Nagi!
Catherine says
Absolutely fantastic recipe, thank you so much! It worked like a charm! My son is now 19 and I can’t tell you how many trips I’ve made to buy store-made churros – if only I’d known! But, now we can make up for it!
Kelly says
Okay, so I have chosen to make these for a school assignment but I have some questions. Are they gluten free? And what are certain dietary requirements this recipe doesn’t meet? Thanks.
Nagi says
Hi Kelly, not gluten free as the recipe contains flour made from wheat. Sounds like they wouldn’t meet many dietary requirements – I’ll leave this one for you to research! N x
Kelly says
Thanks a lot! xxk