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. ☺️
They are delicious and so easy to make. My work friends asked me for the recipe.
Thanks Nagi!!! I tried a couple of your recipes and they haven’t disappoint me yet. They are so easy to follow specially when there’s a video to watch too.
Thanks Nagi ! These were delicious
So great to hear Andrea!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
Your recipe calls for “olive oil”. There are different kinds of olive oil. I made the mistake of using EVOO to make mayonnaise. I would suggest you clarify and recommend a flavorless oil, such as light olive oil, so it doesn’t overpower the churros. Other flavorless oils that could be used include peanut oil, sunflower oil, and corn oil.
Hi Bill! Thanks for the suggestion to add other flavourless oils 🙂 I write “extra virgin olive oil” for recipes where EVOO is called for 🙂
Can tu put the receta in Espanol?
Can you put the recipe in spanish?
Hi Nagi! I just made these and they are dangerously delicious! I misread the recipe and put in 1 tsp of salt instead of a pinch but covering it in the cinnamon sugar and dipping it in chocolate masked the saltiness. It will be better next time when I reduce the salt 😉
They were very good, seriously.
Been there, done that plenty of times myself in the past – but you’re so lucky it was for a recipe where you could disguise it!!! So glad you enjoyed it Raufikat 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi, we tried making the churros according to this recipe but they consistently end up a little doughy (like it’s still raw) on the inside. Do you have any tips?
Hi Kumo! Sounds like the oil temp is too high, try a bit lower! 🙂 N x
how many churros does the recipe make aproximately?
8 – 10 🙂
how long do you think these will stay fresh? i need to make them for school for a tuesday, can i make them on sunday?
They will be fine! Really recommend reheating and rolling hot in sugar!
Hello Nagi! It is me again, Antoinette. I just want to tell you how much this helped me get an A+ on my exam. Thank you so much again! Lots of love <3
Love love love !!! Added vanilla to the recipe that’s it. This is soooooo good love this I never seen a recipe like this one Most say add an egg but TRUST ME this one is good
So glad you enjoyed this Tia! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Can I make the dough ahead of time?? Like few hours.
Nagi, this recipe is very helpful for me to ace my Spanish exam. Thank you so much, but I have a question. What kind of piping bag did you use? What brand is it? And what size is it? Please reply as soon as possible, and again, thank you so much.
Hi Antoinette! Please see step 3! 🙂 N x
Thank you so much. I can’t believe I didn’t see step three before. I guess I was just skimming the instructions. You have no idea how much this will help me! And again, I am sincerely thankful :)))
Also, when I said brand, I was just asking if it was Ateco or Wilton. Thanks! (:
Wilton!
Thank you so much. I can’t believe I didn’t see step three before. I guess I was just skimming the instructions. You have no idea how much this will help me! And again, I am sincerely thankful :)))
Delicious
🙌🏻
how many churros does the recipe make aproximately?
Hi Nagi,
The boiled water is added while boiling hot? Also, sorry if someone else asked that already; can I freeze them?
Can’t wait to make them!!
Hi Dominique! Yes freshly boiled water, so piping hot 🙂 See Note 4 for make ahead, it will be ok if you freeze them. Hope you love!
Thank you!! I will try them soon!!
Hello
I want to make churros using 1.5kg bag of flour could you please tell me what quantities of other Ingredients that I would need
Do you hot water ?
I’m make a big quantity of Churro for a wedding
Wow that’s alot! Hover your cursor over the Servings and slide it until the flour becomes 1.5 kg and it will change all the ingredients for you. 🙂 N x
Sorry I don’t understand your comment.
Could you please give more information
Thank you
Thank you. I understand now sorry.
Do you need to need the dough & should you leave it to rest ?
Thank you. I understand now sorry.
Do you need to need the dough & should you leave it to rest ?
Sorry I don’t understand your comment.
Could you please give more information
Thank you
Hi Mary! You see how next to Servings there is a “4” in orange? If you put your cursor on that or tap it with your finger if you are on a iPhone or tablet, then a slider will appear. Move it until the flour becomes the amount you want to use!
Nagi, thank you for the recipe… Like others have stated, you make it look like a mere mortal can do it!
My question for you is do you think the dough can keep a day or so prior to frying? Mix the dough ahead and pipe into the oil the day of? Stay with me here, for Thanksgiving at my sister’s house I will be frying a turkey. Last year after we pulled the turkey out, we made plantain chips and potato chips in the oil. They were a hit, fun and tasty! I was thinking of expanding the experiments and thought of churros… I can likely use the microwave for sauce, but I want to minimize my presence in the kitchen on that day.
Hi Tony! Sorry to say I don’t recommend that because it has baking powder in it which is activated the moment it is mixed. 🙂 FRIED TURKEY?? Oh my oh my …. *she says faintly, with envy * Why not measure out the dry ingredients, put in a bowl then you just need to add water and oil on the day of? OR cook them in advance then flash fry just to reheat them? They will be as good as freshly made, I’m betting!
Hi Nagi,
I was wondering if you think adding an egg to the churro dough would benefit the recipe at all? I am making this for a Spanish project and was curious for your opinion and experience!
Hi Delia! It’s not required, this dough holds together wonderfully, have you seen the video? 🙂 N x
Nagi, could I make these one or 2 days ahead and then reheat them in the oven ? Also can I leave the sauce on a very very low heat to stay warm ? Thanks
Hi Tracey! Should be ok, see Note 4. Yes to keeping sauce warm on super low!
Just made these, great recipe and very easy to do. I used a Wilton 1m star nozzle which worked perfectly. I’m not a fan of dark chocolate so used half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate, churros were delicious as was dipping sauce. Thanks for the great recipe Nagi!
I’m so pleased to hear that Sarb! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
Just delicious !!
My kids just loved them ! My 14 year old son said :” they actually test like churros” !!! 🙂
Everyone liked them
Thank you
I’m so pleased to hear that Chrystel! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x 😊
Hi Nagi!
What oil did you use for deep frying? Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi Nicole! I like to use vegetable or canola oil 🙂 N x