No need to wait for special occasions or places when you can make your own Authentic Homemade Churros Recipe! A delicious, doughy mixture, fried to a golden crisp and rolled in cinnamon and sugar. Serve with a warm chocolate sauce and you’ll have friends and family raving over this special treat.
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Mexican food is my achilles heel and I would gladly like to drown in it. What a way to go. Ok, that sounds slightly morbid, but you get the idea.
Taco Tuesdays around this house are more like Taco Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, etc. if you know what I mean. These homemade churros fit right in on our Mexican nights, along with Mexican style corn on the cob, jalapeno cheese tamales, and some carne asada tacos. But who are we kidding? These little strips of fried dough rolled in pure sweetness are good any time!
Go get your Mexican food game on and add this churro recipe while you’re at it. You’ll be the talk of the house.
Why You'll Love This Authentic Churros Recipe
- They're fun to make! Who doesn't love a good kitchen project, and this easy churro recipe is it!
- The ingredients are simple, and you probably have everything to make them on hand right now.
- Churros are delicious served as is, but even better with a chocolate dipping sauce. Or Nutella. OMG yess!
What You Need To Make Churros
Equipment-
- Medium Saucepan and Large Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Pastry Bag
- Large Star Tip
- Candy Thermometer
- Paper Towels
- Baking Sheet or Dish
Ingredients/Shopping List
- Water
- White sugar
- Salt
- Salted butter
- Vanilla
- Flour
- Egg
- Oil
- Cinnamon
How Do You Make Churros from Scratch?
- Prep - Mix the cinnamon and sugar together and spread in a baking dish or sheet.
- Make the churro dough - Essentially you are making a simple choux pastry. To do this, bring the water, sugar, salt, and butter to a to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once boiling, and the vanilla then remove pan from heat and stir in the flour. Let cool for about 5 minutes before beating the eggs into the batter. Transfer batter to a large bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Prep the oil- While the batter is cooling, pour the oil into a large pot to use for deep frying or into your deep fryer. You want the oil to be about 2 inches deep. I highly recommend starting your oil on medium heat and using a candy thermometer to check the temperature to make sure it heats to around 350 - 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place dough into bag- Place your large tip at the edge of the pastry bag and cut the tip. Transfer mixture into the bag and twist the large edge to remove excess air. Set aside until oil has reached the right temperature.
- Fry - Place 4-5-inch ropes of batter in the hot oil. You may need to use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut the ends of the rope. Fry for about 5 minutes and until they are golden brown on all sides and floating to the top of the oil.
- Coat - Quickly dry on a paper towel and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Let cool and enjoy!
Tips and Variations
- Best when served hot - As with any churro recipe, these are best served when nice and warm. So, try to make them as close to serving time as possible. Although, they’re still yummy once they’ve cooled down.
- Use a sturdy piping bag - You need to have a sturdy piping bag for churros. I don’t recommend using a plastic baggie or thin, disposable piping bags. The batter is almost the consistency of dough, it's very thick so it will easily bust a thin piping bag when trying to push the batter through the piping tip. A reusable, silicone piping bag is best. I learned the hard way.
- Serve churros with chocolate sauce - Of course, churros are amazing by themselves, but add a bit of chocolate dipping sauce and they get even better. I always like to serve it so people have the option.
- The temperature of the oil is important - When frying your churros, it’s best to check the frying oil with a cooking thermometer because they can be tricky. If it’s too hot oil, the outside will burn before the inside cooks through. However, if it’s not warm enough, the churro will take on excess oil. Try to keep your oil temperature around 350-360 degrees for best results.
How To Make Churros in Air Fryer?
- Pipe churros dough onto a lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Carefully transfer a few churros at a time with a spatula to the Air Fryer basket, leaving about ½-inch space between each other and spray lightly with vegetable oil.
- Air fry at 375 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, then carefully roll the hot churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
How To Reheat Churros?
While these are best served straight after frying, sometimes you will have leftovers. To re-heat churros, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread churros on a lined baking sheet and bake 5-8 minutes until fully heated through. If desired, re-roll warm churros in cinnamon and sugar.
Common Questions About Homemade Churros
Are Churros Actually Mexican?
The original churro actually originated in Spain and Portugal. Originally, they were coated in sugar and served with chocolate as a dipping sauce. However, they made their way to Mexico over time, and were adjusted slightly. Now, the more modern churro is coated in cinnamon sugar and usually eaten bare, although serving sauces are a plus. I've had some fabulous churros Mexican dessert that were filled with dulce de leche and condensed milk.
Why are My Churros Raw Inside?
You simply didn’t let them cook long enough - it’s that simple. Varying sizes of churros will need different times in the fryer to be fully done. If you test it and it’s doughy, just pop it back in the fryer, and be sure to follow suit with the rest of your churros, no testing needed. On average, churros need about 5 minutes to cook through, although this can vary with size.
Please feel free to share your experience with making these Homemade Churros in the comments below or on social media!
More Dessert Recipes You’re Sure to Love:
- Churro Cupcakes
- Blackberry Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake
- Cinnamon Banana Cream Pie
- Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 cup water
- 2 Tablespoons white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 4-6 cups vegetable oil for frying
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- Caramel and chocolate sauce
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In a small bowl, whisk together the ½ cup white sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon to use as a coating. I like to set this aside in a medium size casserole dish so it is ready to roll the churros in right out of the oil.
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To make the batter, place water, white sugar, salt, and butter into a large saucepan. Use medium-high heat to bring this to a boil.
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Turn off the heat. Stir in the vanilla.
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Then stir in the flour (a wooden spoon or spatula works best). You will need to stir this for a minute or so, until it is smooth and thickened, almost playdough-like.
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Transfer the thickened batter to a large bowl and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.
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While the batter is cooling, pour the oil into a large pot to use for deep frying. You want the oil to be about 2 inches deep. I highly recommend starting your oil on medium heat and using a candy thermometer to check the temperature to make sure it heats to around 350 - 360 degrees fahrenheit. This is important because if the oil gets too hot, you will quickly fry the outside of the churro but the inside will not cook fully and you will end up with a burnt outside and gooey, undercooked middle.
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Place a paper towel on a plate next to the pot for draining the churros later.
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Now that your batter has cooled some, use a hand mixer to beat the egg into the batter until well combined. Begin beating as soon as you put the egg in so it doesn’t start to cook.
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Move the mixture into a piping bag with a star or flower tip. (Important note: You need to have a sturdy piping bag for this. I don’t recommend using a plastic baggie or thin disposable piping bags. The batter is almost the consistency of dough, it's very thick so it will easily bust a thin piping bag when trying to push the batter through the piping tip. A reusable, silicone piping bag is really best, promise, I learned the hard way.)
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Pipe churros into 4-5 inch long ropes, directly into the hot oil, using scissors to cut the batter.
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Fry a few churros at a time but do not crowd them. It should take about 5 minutes to fully cook them but they float to the top of the oil once you pipe them in so turn them at 2.5 minutes to allow both sides to become golden brown.
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As you remove each churro from the oil, roll it quickly on the paper towel. Then place it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, toss to cover, and place it on a cooling rack.
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Best when warm, so serve right away! They are delicious plain but it never hurts to dip them in chocolate sauce!
Some people like the Wilton 1M Star Tip for making churros but I found the 2D Drop Flower Tip to look more like traditional churros. Either works just fine though!
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