Are you looking for the best churros recipe of all time? If the answer is yes, then THIS Churros recipe is just what you’ve been waiting for!
Learn how to make churros at home, entirely from scratch, right in the comfort of your very own kitchen. Crispy on the outside and irresistibly buttery soft on the inside, you’ll struggle to put them down! As if regular churros aren’t enough, we also turned your favourite recipe into Churro Ice Cream Bowls, creating the best churros recipe hybrid you’ve ever tried.
WHAT ARE CHURROS MADE OF?
Churros are made out of water, flour, salt and sometimes a little sugar in the dough. They are fairly simple to make and worth all the effort. It may feel somewhat daunting or incredibly intimidating to make these buttery strips of heaven, but with our helpful tricks and tips, you’ll be an expert in no time.
Once you’ve perfected the art of the O.G. churros recipe, you can then add, stuff or coat your churros in some of your favourite sweet treats like our Dulce De Leche Empanadas or our Nutella stuffed deep dish churro skillet cookie.
HOW TO AVOID THE EGG TASTE?
What makes churros so good? Our recipe focuses on the flavour and texture of the dough. Most recipes call for three or four eggs, which we find puffs them up too much and creates softer churros with an ‘eggy’ taste. We prefer ours to be exactly like — if not better — than those you find at street carts or cafés. The best churros have CRISPY outer edges with soft, tender, buttery centres when biting into them. A hint of sweetness in the dough as well as the coating will result in perfect texture every time.
WHERE ARE CHURROS FROM?
Churros originated in Spain where they are often served for breakfast with a hot chocolate or café con leche. They were likely created from different cultures and influenced by similar fried pastries from other countries like our churro fried donut holes. Churros were introduced to Mexico by Spaniards where they became a popular snack often coated in cinnamon sugar. Both Spaniards and Mexicans have embraced them, now making the sugary pastries popular treats for people all around the world.
The mouth-watering desserts have since been adapted into hundreds of tasty variations such as our red velvet churros, Churro French toast ice cream sandwich, and our churro apple pie bowls.
HOW TO MAKE CHURROS AT HOME
Get everything ready before you start! Heat butter in a medium-sized saucepan, then add in water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes while mixing occasionally. Add in flour, stirring with a large wooden spoon until well blended and the contents form a ball.
Take off heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, or until warm to the touch.
Once the dough has cooled, add one egg, quickly beating until completely incorporated (it will look like it’s not coming together, but keep beating)! Add in the second egg and repeat the process until a dough forms. It should be quite stiff, but soft enough to scoop. If it’s too stiff, simply mix in a couple of extra tablespoons of water.
You don’t want it too runny or it won’t pipe into the oil properly and they won’t hold their shape.
Scoop dough into a strong double lined pastry bag with a large open star tip nozzle. (I suggest using Wilton 1M or Ateco 845 or 846.) To make it easy, put the bag into a tall cup and fold edges around the top of the glass. Scoop dough into the bag until half full for easier piping.
Carefully pipe 5-6-inch long strips of dough into the hot oil, cutting the ends with oiled scissors. Only fry 4-5 churros at a time to avoid over-crowding your pot.
WHAT MAKES CHURROS SO GOOD?
The best way to get THE most incredible flavour is deep frying and rolling them in cinnamon sugar while they’re still tacky from the oil.
The best way to get perfect straight cuts or edges is to lightly oil the blade end of your scissors. You can do this by either dipping the blade ends into the hot oil CAREFULLY, or grease with an oil-soaked paper towel. We find trying to cut the dough with dry blades results in the dough sticking to the blades after the second or third one, which stretches the dough causing deformed pastries.
Fry until golden then transfer to a paper towel lined plate for a few seconds before rolling in the cinnamon sugar. You don’t want to soak them on the paper towel for too long or the cinnamon sugar won’t stick.
If you’ve accidentally dried them out too long, just spray them with cooking oil spray and roll them immediately in the sugar!
WHAT ARE CHURROS TRADITIONALLY SERVED WITH
Churros are served with a thick cup of hot melted chocolate sauce (similar to our chocolate lava cakes) in Spain which is used for dipping. In Mexico, they are coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a variety of dips such as chocolate, caramel, or sweetened condensed milk. You can also serve them with a side of fresh fruit and berries or ice cream.
MORE CHURRO INSPIRED RECIPES
I don’t know about you, but I’d pretty much do anything for a Churro… possibly even sell my soul:
Churro French Toasts
Red Velvet Churros
Nutella Churro Donut Holes
Churro Lava Cakes
Churro Nutella Christmas Tree
Churros Recipe
Ingredients
COATING
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
CHURROS
- 4 ounces butter
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose or plain flour
- 2 eggs at room temperature
Instructions
PREPARE YOUR WORK STATION
- Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon together in a shallow bowl for your cinnamon sugar coating.
- Line a large plate with a double layer of paper towel ready for your cooked churros.
- Fill a large pot or deep skillet with 1 ½ - 2 cups of oil.
MAKE THE BEST CHURRO DOUGH
- Heat the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add in the water, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes while mixing occasionally. Add in the flour, stirring with a large wooden spoon until well blended and forms a ball.
- Take off heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, or until just warm to the touch.
- While dough is cooling, heat oil over medium-high heat to 360°F (180°C).
- Once dough has cooled, add one egg, quickly beating until completely incorporated (it will look like it's not coming together, but keep beating)! Add in the second egg and repeat the process until a dough forms.
- Scoop dough into a strong double lined pastry bag with a large open star tip nozzle. (I suggest using Wilton 1M or Ateco 845/846.)
COOK CHURROS
- Lightly oil the blade end of your scissors and set aside. Carefully pipe 5-6-inch long strips of dough into hot oil, cutting the ends with oiled scissors. Fry 4-5 churros at a time to avoid over-crowding your pot.
- Fry until golden browned, about 2 minutes each side. Transfer to paper towel lined plate for a few seconds, then roll in the cinnamon sugar.
- Repeat with remaining dough.
- Serve warm with melted chocolate or caramel sauce, fruit or ice cream.
Notes
- To make sure your churros turn out perfectly, make sure you prep everything before you start.
- Use oiled scissors to cut your churro dough.
Andrea Wernicki says
Can I make the dough and freeze until I’m ready to fry?
Georgia Knowles says
Hi Andrea, yes you can freeze the dough or pipe the churros on parchment paper and freeze in shape ready to go. But I will say fresh churro dough is a lot better fresh made than frozen. Hope this helps!
Lauren Kay says
Big hit with my teenagers!!! My first experience with a pastry bag. lol. Very pleased. 🙌🏼
Cheryll says
I’ve tried a few churros recipes but this one’s the winner! It was exactly what it describes to be …crispy on the outside and and soft/buttery on the inside. Just follow the instructions and you’ll never go wrong . Thank you so much.
Peggy says
Just made them. Taste really good. Need a little work on my piping, but overall a success!
Shalini says
These were excellent. Followed recipe as written. Turned out perfectly crispy on outside and light and airy on inside.
Priscilla Katuramu says
Awesome recipe and easy to follow! They didn’t look as pretty as yours as I used a homemade piping bag 😂 but they tasted delicious!!
Thanks for a great recipe
Kate says
I just made these and thanks to your step by step instructions they were a success! Huge success. So much that they are all gone! Let me tell you I’ve tried them in the past from another site using 3 eggs I’m sure, and they tasted awful and were like eating cake. These however are so crispy and just yummy. I appreciate you so greatly thank you! You’re a gem.
Jess says
Hi,
I have just discovered your website and the recipes look amazing and since I am on low calorie diet I have found it hard finding nice desserts. Please can you tell me if the calories in your review are per serving or for the entire batch? Interested in churros and chocolate cake and chocolate cookies. Thanks