Churros Recipe - Isabel Eats (2024)

This easy churros recipe creates churros that are sweet and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! Dip these fried cinnamon sugar sticks in chocolate sauce or dulce de leche for the sweetest experience possible. All you need are simple ingredients and no fancy equipment!

These homemade churros are seriously addicting! Easy to make using a simple choux pastry, coat the churros in cinnamon sugar once they’re fried and then dip in homemade chocolate sauce. It’ll be a miracle if you end up with leftovers!

No deep fryer or fancy equipment required. All you need is a large pot for the oil, a sturdy piping bag, and a star tip. Once the dough is ready, just pipe the churros right into the oil and fry away.

Make sure you enjoy the churros hot and fresh next to a mug of Champurrado or Café de Olla for the sweetest experience. As a bonus, I’ve included a recipe for homemade chocolate sauce. It’s definitely the best dessert dip around!

What are churros?

Churros are a popular fried Mexican dessert made from a fried dough that’s then covered in cinnamon sugar! They’re crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Because they have a long and thin shape, they’re perfect for dipping in caramel and chocolate sauces!

There are two types of churros: Mexican and Spanish. Mexican churros have a cinnamon sugar coating, whereas Spanish churros are only coated in granulated sugar.

Churros Ingredients

• Oil for frying – A neutral oil like vegetable, canola, or corn oil is great for frying and won’t overpower the sweet flavors in the churros.
• Water, flour, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla – These are used to make the choux pastry. This easy dough comes together on the stove and has the same flavor and texture as a cream puff or eclair.
• Eggs – Some churro recipes don’t use eggs, but I think they’re necessary for rich and fluffy churros.
• Cinnamon sugar – Because they aren’t Mexican churros without the cinnamon sugar coating!
• Chocolate sauce – A homemade chocolate sauce is one of the best dips you can serve with churros. Make your own using the recipe I’ve given you below or use Nutella instead.

How to make churros

Step 1: Heat the oil. Do this first to save time. Fill a large pan or pot with your frying oil and heat it to 365-375°F. (I like to use a dutch oven or a saute pan with high sides when frying churros.)

Step 2: Make the dough. Heat the water, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture until it boils. Turn down the heat and add in the flour. Once a dough ball forms, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool.

Step 3: Add the eggs. Once the dough is cool, stir in 1 egg at a time using a wooden spatula. After it’s combined, add the other egg.

Mixing the eggs in with the dough will be difficult at first and the mixture won’t seem to come together, but use a spatula or wooden spoon to continue to stir until the egg is combined. Mixing in the second egg will be harder than the first one, but use those muscles and keep going! When the dough is fully mixed, it will look like thick gluey mashed potatoes.

Then, transfer the dough into your piping bag with the star tip attached. Try your best to get rid of any air pockets in the piping bag to help the dough come out smoother.

Step 4: Fry the churros. Carefully pipe a line of dough into the hot oil. Use scissors to cut the dough free from the piping bag. Fry until golden brown, then transfer the finished churros to a plate lined with paper towels.

Step 5: Coat and serve. Roll the hot churros in the cinnamon sugar until they’re fully coated. Serve with your homemade chocolate sauce or your dip of choice.

Helpful tips and tricks

• Measure the temperature of the oil using a candy/deep fry thermometer. This will help ensure that the oil is at the right temperature so you don’t accidentally burn the outside or undercook the middle of the churros.
• Using a large star tip, like the Wilton #6b or an Ateco 845, will give you a thick and fluffy churro with defined edges.
• Make sure to use a very sturdy piping bag. The dough is very thick and if the piping bag isn’t strong enough, it may burst open at the seams when piping. Grab a professional-grade piping bag like this or this.
• Leaving the batter to cool down before adding the eggs is very important. This time allows the churro dough to cool down so that the eggs don’t accidentally cook when you’re mixing them in one by one.
• Only fry 3 churros at a time. This will help the oil stay hot throughout the frying process.
• This recipe moves fast. Before making the dough, get your plate with paper towels ready as well as your cinnamon sugar.

How to serve homemade churros

Hot and fresh churros are best served with a variety of dipping sauces! These options pair perfectly with the sweet dough and cinnamon sugar coating:

• Chocolate sauce – Learn how to make your own using the instructions in the recipe card.
• Dulce de Leche – This rich sauce goes with almost anything, but especially churros!
• Cajeta (Mexican Caramel) – Drizzle this gooey sauce all over the churros.

Can you bake churros?

Fried foods not for you? No problem! Try my recipe for Baked Pumpkin Churros. The texture and flavor aren’t totally the same as fried, but it’s a good alternative if you don’t want to fry them.

I haven’t tested out this specific recipe for baking, so try at your own risk. If you do bake them, leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!

Storing, freezing, and reheating

Homemade churros are best enjoyed fresh, but they can be frozen for later.

To freeze, place the finished churros on a baking sheet and place it in the freezer. You can also do this with the uncooked dough. Once frozen, transfer the churros to a sealed bag. They should stay fresh for up to 3 months.

To reheat, warm the pre-cooked churros in a 400ºF oven for about 10 minutes. The uncooked dough should thaw completely before either being baked or fried.

More Mexican desserts

• Sopapillas
• Flan
• Tres Leches Cake
• Bunuelos

Leave a Reply

1. Em

   February 27, 2024

   
   Yes!

   Reply

2. michelle

   January 9, 2023

   
   First time making churros (skipped the chocolate sauce) – they turned out great and weren’t too sweet! I used a Wilton 1M star tip as that was the largest one I had. Thanks for the recipe!

   Reply

3. Camie

   December 21, 2022

   My son received a ‘churro maker’ (think a waffle maker) from a family member for Christmas. Would your recipe work in something like this (where they wouldn’t be fried)? Thank you!

   Reply

4. Jasmine

   April 27, 2022

   
   I made these nd enjoyed them very much, but have a question. To get mine so they were done on the inside, I had to cook them longer, causing them to split open. What did I do wrong? They still tasted great, just not so pretty.

   Reply

   1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      April 28, 2022

      Hi Jasmine! Maybe the piping tip is too big? It could also be that the oil was a little too hot so they cooked quickly on the outside but not the inside. If you try them again let us know!

      Reply

5. Susan

   November 5, 2021

   
   I read the recipe through 2 or 3 times along with your notes at the end of the recipe to make sure I understood everything. As I was making the churros, I thought this is going to be a disaster and look nothing like your picture. But I followed your directions exactly and was very impressed with the results. The chocolate dipping sauce was delicious. My churros looked just like your picture and tasted so fresh – crisp on the outside and tender inside. Now that I have the hang of it, I will make these again for friends. Thank you!

   Reply

   1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      January 10, 2022

      Hi Susan! I’m glad they turned out well!

      Reply

6. Iris

   December 14, 2020

   Any suggestions for an vegan egg replacement that won’t compromise the texture? I usually use flax seeds, but I have a feeling it won’t work as well here.

   Reply

   1. Ana @ Isabel Eats

      February 16, 2022

      Hi Iris! Im not too sure about that, I wish we had an answer for you! If you find a good substitute let us know so we can add it!

      Reply