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. ☺️
Though the internet has a zillion churros recipes, I havent found the guts to try out any thinking I will fail. But knowing how foolproof your recipes are, I am defintiely going to give this a shot this school hols. Thanks so much
You MUST you MUST! I promise, it is so easy 🙂 And I promise this recipe works, watch the video to see what the batter should look like and do tiny water / flour tweaks if you don’t have that consistency because climate can affect it. This is Nigella’s recipe and it has never failed me!
What do you mean there aren’t kangaroos bounding around on the streets of Sydney and koalas snuggled in trees everywhere in Australia!!!!
The churros look amazing. I love that you made it look so easy to make on your video–it makes me want to try making them myself! Thanks so much!
Sorry to bust your visions Rose! 😉 I will never forget when we had some Nigerian exchange students when I was in high school, and they told me they rode elephants to school…..I BELIEVED THEM!!!
Hi Nagi, I stumbled upon your blog a month ago. Since then I have tried your pork carnitas (a huge hit!!), Turmeric chicken and Gai Yang which were all delicious. I really appreciate your detailed notes. The first time I read one of your recipes, questions about it started to pop into my head, by the time I got to the bottom of it I realised that you had answered every question I had. You have no idea what a huge help your notes and hints are. So many recipes get posted on blogs that are American, which makes it difficult for us that live here in beautiful Australia. I too love to indulge in a churro (or two) so could you kindly suggest another dipping sauce? I can’t really eat dark chocolate so I am hoping you could post some other suggestions. I think I have had them with a vanilla custard style dipping sauce that is similar to the filling in a Vanilla Slice only thinner of course. You have a very personalised way of writing which makes me feel like you are in my kitchen with me. Regards from Brisbane.
I know what you mean Ann! I still remember when I first started using recipes from food blogs, I had some epic disasters because I’d say 98% of American food bloggers do not know how to ensure that recipes work for people in different countries. So I’m glad you find my recipes useful! I love the idea of Churro with vanilla custard-style dipping sauce. Double YUM!
Thank you for your reply Nagi. Do you have any recipes for other dipping sauces for churros besides chocolate?
Hi Ann! Salted Caramel is fab too -> https://salesdock.info/salted-caramel-sauce/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Good grief, another craving. I haven’t made these for quite a while. Try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the chocolate sauce. Ethnic dinners are very popular with our large family. I feel a Spanish one coming on.
That’s a fab tip Jan!! I can just imagine that little hint of heat in the chocolate….
Yay!! The Churros recipe – woohooooo! I’ll be making these this weekend for my friend who is just going to faint as they are her fave. Awww, Dozer’s sweet little mouth – looks so happy he got one!
He normally doesn’t get treats like Churro!!! He caught me on a weak moment 😉
For the longest time, I thought churros are a Disney thing. Because it seems like that was the only place that you can get it. Nowadays, churros are little easy to get to. But forget about the ones from stores, yours look absolutely stunning! So crispy and scrumptious with that chocolate sauce. That picture of Dozer is cute! Now, I have to learn to make some. Have a good weekend!
I was a crepe girl at Disneyland!!!
Nagi-
Heaven!!! Thank you. So excited to have a Spanish night at our house and finish with Golden Churros!!!
I’m excited that you are thinking of having your own Spanish Fiesta!!! Love to hear about it if you do! N x
Love churros! Don’t love deep frying. But at some point I might just have to try these. Spanish lesson for the day: ” churros” is plural; “churro” is singular. (I got a bit tangled up in your grammar because of that – I was trained to be a bug about grammar.) Thought you might like to know the correct forms of the word. I hadn’t realized that churros were actually from Spain. It seems to me that the one time I’ve seen churros on the menu (and ordered them) it was somewhere in Orange County, California. Haven’t looked for them on Texas menus because I’ve been trying to behave myself – but I will look when we get home. And I’ll check in Spain when we are there next spring, if I can remember that long…
Thanks Susan! I must admit I get muddled between churros and churro 🙂 I’m going in to fix it now!
In the little cafes in Spain, you can see them making the churros in big, wide vats. The place was packed with folks dipping and enjoying their churros. I can almost say it was the best part of my trip to Spain! Can’t wait to try them at home!
Hope you do Lisa!! These really are absolutely incredible! N x
Yes, churros went from the Iberian peninsula to Latin America and are sold all over Mexico City. The oldest and best churros place has been in the heart of the old city for more than 50 years, always with a waiting line. You must have been in the touristy area if you couldn’t find a vendor.
BTW the word “churros” is plural and can’t be used in a singular sense. It should be churros ARE.
Woah – really?? We really tried to get out of the touristy areas, we travelled a lot around Mexico City and I honestly do not recall seeing Churro very much. In fact, the few times I found it in Mexico City were in touristy places. Never found them in the markets. PS Thank you re: churro vs churros. I must admit I get muddled on that, as do many people I think! N x
Love, Love, Love your idea of “feasts”. I really hope you do this again! There are a LOT of food bloggers out there, but you’re my favorite (we’re both savory hounds). I’ve noticed lately that you’re being noticed by the press – good for you – you deserve it! I also want to compliment you on how you included your wine sponsor in this post; I think it’s a total turn-off when a blogger appears to be “owned” by the sponsor of their post.
As always, you GO girl!
Dozer doesn’t need a kiss this time ’cause he got a churro!
BA HA HA! I am pretty sure he’d take YOU over Churro! 😉 Thank you for the compliments Heather. I’m really picky about companies I work with – I’m very protective about what I put on my site. It has to be real! If I hadn’t enjoyed the wine myself (and my mother and my friends too!), I definitely would not have shared it on my site! N xx
They look delicious!!! 😀
Thank you Ana Maria! Hope you had a fab weekend! N x
NICE! Who knew these were seemingly so DO-able?! Made some cinnamon muffins that I called Churro cupcakes last year for kids to take to school for Cinco de Mayo party since I had NO idea how to do these. Kids will be SO impressed this year!! Actually, they will be impressed immediately, when I do these TONIGHT! THANKS!
I know, right??? I was amazed when I first discovered how easy Churros are!!!
Hi Nagi,
I am so excited to try this Spanish Feast. I will be trying it this weekend since I had to order some of the more difficult items online like the rice for the paella. Wish me luck and I will update with my successful dinner next week! Thank you for making my life so much easier with your delicious and inspiring recipes.
Oooh! I am so excited to hear how your Spanish Feast goes! N x
Hi Nagi! I love churros and with that decadent chocolate sauce who in their right mind would say no?? Not me!! Love your recipes and your dog is adorable too! Thanks for all you do
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Thanks Edward! Hope you had a fab weekend! N x
Hi Nagi! What a perfect finale for your Spanish feast week! I thought they were of Mexican origin too. I didn’t realize that they took such minimal ingredients (all of which I have)! As always you’ve done a superb job my friend!
Thank you Dorothy! I remember the first time I found a churros recipe and was so amazed how easy it was, I made it straight away!!! 🙂 N x
I always associate churros with Disneyland. Yours look especially delicious with the chocolate sauce.
Oooooh yes!! Disneyland too!
Can’t believe you just make these with a piping bag. And how come I didn’t know this? I thought you needed some kind of special ‘machine’ (churro-making machine ….ha!)
So excited that I can make these at home – and so easily. Can’t believe they’re basically just flour, water, sugar. I had some of the BEST churros in Spain. The hot chocolate is just to die for!
Well done, Nagi – love your Spanish feast!
I know!! I remember the first time I found Nigella’s recipe, I made it that night!
Right, in your other post I wrote that all I needed was marinated olives and bread. Well, I change my mind. All I need is these. Weekend, sorted. Thanks for the recipe Nagi!
BA HA HA!!! So these Churros…..they complete you? 🙂
You’re not far off, they were absolutely $%*^#* amazing! Never in my life did I think I could pull off making churros at home, but they bloody worked. Thanks again for sharing, you evil, evil woman (I love you).
I know it’s EVIL!!!! I almost wish myself I had never discovered how easy churro is to make…. Glad you loved them!!! N x