Churros

Published September 2, 2018. Updated April 4, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

In my opinion Churros are one of the worlds best desserts – when made fresh from scratch of course. These are hands down the best churros I’ve ever had, even better than those I got in the Mexican market. They’re crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside and they have a flavor no one can resist!

Churros

The Perfect Churro Recipe

We’ve all had those churros, the kind that come in a long uniform straight form, that were previously fried, frozen then reheated and they’re sitting there for hours next to the hot pretzels. Every now and then you’ll come across one that’s okay, but most of the time no thanks.

That’s because I’ve had real churros and nothing compares. Fresh homemade churros are the best out there!

I’ve decided these need to be a new tradition for family parties. I made these earlier this week for the blog then a few days later made them again for a family party and you would not believe how quickly they disappeared! Definitely faster then I could fry them.

And everyone was begging for me to make a second batch! That included my brother who couldn’t care less about dessert and lots of picky eating kids. Everyone wanted more.

They can seem a little intimidating if you’ve never made them before but they really are a breeze to make. Simple ingredients, straight forward method and I’ve shared the steps and tips below so you can make a perfect batch too!

(Note that pictured in the photo above is nearly two batches)

Watch the Churros Video!

 

 

churros

How to Make Churros

For the coating whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish, set aside.

Heat about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a large pot or deep saute pan over medium-high heat to 360 degrees. Prepare the dough while oil is heating.

Add water, butter, sugar and salt to a large saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

churros

Add flour, reduce heat to medium-low and cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together and is smooth (a few lumps in it are fine).

churros making batter in saucepan

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl, let cool 5 minutes.

churros adding egg and vanilla to batter

Add vanilla and egg to flour mixture then blend immediately with an electric mixer.

churros batter in mixing bowl

Blend until mixture comes together and is smooth (it will separate at first but keep mixing it will come together).

churro batter in mixing bowl mixing with electric hand mixer

Transfer to a 16-inch piping bag fitted with a rounded star tip (no bigger than 1/2-inch). I recommend using the Ateco 845 or Ateco 846 (in the kit).

Carefully pipe mixture into preheated oil, into about 6-inch lengths, cut end with clean scissors.

churro batter in piping bag fitted with star tip

Let fry about 2 minutes per side until golden brown.

churros frying in oil

Transfer to paper towels to dry briefly, about 15 seconds (don’t wait too long or they’ll be dry and the sugar won’t stick as well).

churros drying on paper towels

Then transfer to cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat.

Repeat process with remaining dough (frying no more than 5 at once, separate with metal tongs if they stick a little).

Let cool for a few minutes then serve warm.

churros rolling in cinnamon sugar mixture in dish

Tips for Delicious Churros Every Time

  • Use a candy thermometer for the oil (I own this one HERE). I think it’s a must so you can heat the oil to the proper temperature and monitor it as the churros fry. Preheat the oil while you make the batter because it will take time to come up to temperature.
  • I like to stick with one egg in the batter. Some recipes use 3 eggs but I feel like they come out too eggy, some omit the eggs but the egg gives them some rise and a richer flavor so I found just one egg was perfect.
  • Use a closed star piping tip (one with rounded off edges, like THIS), it gives the churros more defined edges. Which means crispier exterior and classic churro appearance.
  • Let the dough rest before adding the egg, you don’t want to cook and scramble the egg into the batter. Keep in mind though the dough will still be really warm so have the mixer ready to go right after you add the egg and mix away.
  • Really pay attention to the color as they fry. They never seem to need an exact amount of time, their golden brown color will let you know when each side is done. If undercooked they’ll seem raw in the center so wait for that golden brown shade.
  • Let the churros drain on paper towels just briefly before you add them to the cinnamon sugar mixture. You don’t want them to be wet and oily and add straight to the sugar or they’ll just clump up the sugar and you’ll get too thick of a coating, but on the other hand you don’t want them to dry completely on the paper towels or the sugar won’t stick very well. Something like 15 seconds then roll.
  • Serve them warm. There’s nothing like a freshly made warm churro. This is how you make best friends, everyone who tries one will love you :).

Churros

More Churro Inspired Recipes to Try

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

churros
4.93 from 207 votes

Churros

There's nothing like a fresh homemade churro. Easily one of my favorite treats! They're crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside and they have the most irresistable flavor. Plus they're easier to make than you'd think. Always a crowd favorite! Plan on two per person or pipe out longer churros.
Servings: 18
Prep10 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Cooling time5 minutes
Ready in: 35 minutes

Ingredients

For coating

Instructions

  • For the coating whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish, set aside.
  • Heat about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. While oil is heating prepare batter. Reduce burner temperature as needed once oil reaches 360 degrees to maintain that temperature.
  • Add water, butter, sugar and salt to a large saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
  • Add flour reduce heat to medium-low and cook and stir constantly with a rubber spatula until mixture comes together and is smooth (a few lumps in it are fine).
  • Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl, let cool 5 minutes.
  • Add vanilla and egg to flour mixture then blend immediately with an electric mixer. Blend until mixture comes together and is smooth (it will separate at first but keep mixing it will come together).
  • Transfer to a 16-inch piping bag fitted with a rounded star tip (no bigger than 1/2-inch). I recommend using the Ateco 845 or 846.
  • Carefully pipe mixture into preheated oil, into about 6-inch lengths, cut end with clean scissors.
  • Let fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to dry briefly then transfer to cinnamon sugar mixture and roll to coat.
  • Repeat process with remaining dough (frying no more than 5 at once). Serve warm with chocolate ganache or caramel sauce for dipping if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Churros
Amount Per Serving
Calories 139 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 15mg5%
Sodium 37mg2%
Potassium 11mg0%
Carbohydrates 17g6%
Sugar 11g12%
Protein 1g2%
Vitamin A 90IU2%
Calcium 4mg0%
Iron 0.4mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.
This post contains affiliate links.

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

639 Comments

  • Sandra

    Churros are not Mexican. They’re are from Spain.
    Real churros are just water, butter and flour.

    • Gilberto

      Actually Sandra, you might wanna check your facts. “Real Churros” are actually made with what this recipe says. Also, churros are served in Mexican restaurants so how they Spain🤨? I don’t know why you would think otherwise, but it’s okay because we all make mistakes.

  • Jackie

    This recipe is perfect! I made it with my Culinary Arts class. We piped them with a large open star tip onto parchment and froze them overnight. We fried them straight from frozen the next day and they were delicious!

  • Christine

    These churros came out exactly like your recipe predicted!!! It was so easy, too! I didn’t heat the oil in time and I was afraid the lag between the dough waiting in the piping bag before I could use it was too long but actually it was totally fine (about 10 min lag). Using the kitchen shears to clip off each piece is brilliant, an important step. I did cook them a little longer because I wasn’t sure how hot the oil was, so I just cooked them by eyeing the color. They turned out perfectly and my taster friend who is Mexican said it was pretty legit!!

  • LMGotts

    Worked perfectly. I don’t understand the issues that people have commented on. If you follow the recipe, it’s 100% awesome. I made a 3x batch, piped them into 3-4″ diameter “cookies” and made ice cream sandwiches. They were great. The only problem I had was that I should have made a “3 1/2x” batch as a few people in our group of 12 had to have “open face” ice cream cookies because it made 21 of them. I added a bit too much vanilla (like 1/2 t into the 3x batch) and of course it didn’t hurt anything. I wish I could add pictures to my comment – the pics are not great (I also made fish tacos for the same group and by dessert time I was running out of steam and have mediocre phone pics). Anyway: Will. Make. Again!

  • Natcho

    I like the consistency of the dough. They were fairly easy to make, and cook. The dough was smooth and didnt come out with a bunch of air bubbles like a lot of other churro doughs do. I just didnt like the eggy taste or the density of the churros. Im used to the traditional fluffy, airy churros. My dad loved them though. 3/5 stars

  • Joshua

    Dough was too thick, let them stay in the oil way longer than suggested and they were still raw in the middle. They tasted ok, but i couldnt even pipe it. Add another egg to the revipe maybe and dont use a beater, i think it overworked the dough. I even added extra water and it was still too thick. Ive made pate a choux before and this was not right at all.