Homemade Churros are a classic favorite fried food! Made with simple, pantry-staple ingredients and fried to golden perfection, these are easier to make at home than you probably imagined!
We love frying everything around here, from homemade eggrolls to my favorite donut holes, and this Churros recipe is the current household favorite! I think you’re going to love them every bit as much as we do!
What is a Churro?
Simply put, it is a sweet treat, typically made from piped dough, fried until golden, then tossed in sugar. They’re little bites of heaven!
How to Make Churros
Churros aren’t just Fair food anymore, and if you’re wondering how do you make churros at home, I’m here to tell you how to make them in your own kitchen! This easy churros recipe is super simple and anyone can make it at home. All you need is a large pot for frying (I like to use my Dutch oven) and a few simple ingredients.
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Churros?
- Oil (for frying, you can use vegetable oil, canola oil, or corn oil)
- Water
- Butter
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour
- Egg
I’d bet you have most if not all of these ingredients in your pantry already. Churros are also often rolled in granulated sugar, or (as is my preference) in a mixture of ground cinnamon and sugar. A Churros dessert is perfect enjoyed by themselves or dipped in chocolate ganache or salted caramel sauce.
Tips for Frying Churros
One of the most important parts of making the best churros recipe is being sure that your oil is heated to the correct temperature. You will need to use a thermometer to be sure that you are frying them in oil that is between the recommended 360-365°F. If you use a lower temperature, you run the risk of your churros coming out soggy. If your oil is too hot, you will likely end up with churros with burnt outsides and raw insides.
Keep an eye on your oil temperature the whole time you are frying. I strongly recommend you only fry 2-3 churros at a time, as adding the batter will cause your temperature to drop. A drop that’s too significant can leave you with soggy churros! After you cook each batch, give the oil as much time as is needed to return to the proper temperature for frying.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you should keep your heat source fairly consistent. I recommend a medium heat. Expert tip: Start heating your oil before you start making your dough, as it will take a while for the oil to reach the proper temperature. If you crank up the heat to high in between batches to quickly get the oil back to temperature, the temperature will continue to climb rapidly, which can leave you with burnt (yet raw-inside) churros!
Paying attention to your oil heat is probably the most important factor in making this otherwise simple recipe!
Enjoy!
More Cinnamon Desserts You’ll Love
- Cinnamon Toast Cake – Favorite!!
- Orange Cinnamon Rolls
- 3 Ingredient Mini Cinnamon Donut Holes – Easy!
- Baked Apple Pie Roll Ups (video)
- Apple Cheese Danish Bars
- Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Crisps – Dessert, snack or appetizer!
Churros
Equipment
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil or canola oil or corn oil, for frying
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
TOPPING
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Fill a large pan (I like to use my Dutch oven) 2" deep with oil over medium heat. Heat oil to 360-365°F.
- Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar and salt over medium heat. Stir frequently until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil.
- Once mixture is boiling, add vanilla extract and flour (add carefully to avoid splatter!) and reduce heat to low. Stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and allow to cool for several minutes.
- After cooling, add egg and stir well until combined. This 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. The mixture will resemble gluey mashed potatoes when finished.
- Transfer dough to a sturdy piping bag fitted with a large star tip (I used Wilton 8).
- Once oil has reached 360-365°F, carefully pipe a 3-4" line of the dough into your oil (keep the tip close to the oil to prevent splashing and use a knife or kitchen shears to snip the dough from the tip).
- Only fry about 2-3 churros at a time to keep the oil temperature from dropping too drastically. Fry for about 90 seconds on one side then use tongs to turn over and cook on the other side for another 90 seconds until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate once cooked and allow to cool for one minute.
- Meanwhile, combine sugar and cinnamon for topping and stir well. Place in a large shallow bowl and once cooked churros have had a minute to cool, roll through cinnamon/sugar.
- Make sure that the temperature returns to 360-365°F before frying subsequent batches of churros.
- Enjoy! Churros taste best when served warm.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
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First time making churros was so easy thx for the recipe
Glad you enjoyed them, Mary!
Thank you for sharing your recipe! It was a hit at our party. This churros with chocolate ganache is wonderful tasting. It has a great favour, I’ll be adding this healthy recipe to my successful list!
I used to make these in college. The MN State Fair was canceled as an understandable health precaution, but I was going to miss my fried foods! This went off without a hitch except that my outsides were crispy and the insides were almost cooked enough, but still raw. I think that means I need to cook longer at a lower temperature next time? I used an Ateco #9 star tip, which is definitely on the thicker side. I tried cutting them into nuggets instead of long sticks to even out the cook time, but maybe that wasn’t it. Any expertise I would love!
Perhaps if your oil were just a little bit cooler it would help.
Can you make the dough ahead of time?
I haven’t tried making the dough ahead of time but I do think it would work. If you refrigerate the dough, be sure to let it come to room temperature before cooking/piping the churros.
Heyyyy it came out really well thank you very much ❤️❤️
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, Ruhini! :)
Could you fry them in bacon grease?
That’s an interesting idea, Lauren! We have never tried frying them in bacon grease, but would love to hear how that turns out for you!
Hi Samantha! I can’t wait to try this yummy churros recipe! May I know if I can wait till the dough has cooled before transferring them to the piping bag? Thank you! :D
Hi Candice, you want to make sure the dough is cooled in Step 4 before mixing in the egg (to prevent it come cooking when added). So it should be cooled when adding to the piping bag, hope that helps!
These were so GOOD. 39 weeks pregnant and had a serious craving for fair food. This was a huge jackpot for me. My husband and children also enjoyed them. Thank you so much for sharing. I will definitely be sharing.
So happy we could help Jamie!
You have inspired me to do so much baking and cooking so thanks so much for that
So glad you can provide you with these yummy recipes Niamh! I hope you’re having fun baking and cooking.
Excellent and so easy!
Samantha, I’ve been trying so many new recipes during this quarantine and yours is the best by far! Hubby eats these churros as fast as I can make them! Great recipe! Thanks!
So happy to hear that April! And that will definitely keep you busy, you are going to be a churro making machine in no time!
These were so delicious! My piping tip was a bit small so the churros turned out a little twiggy at first, but after an adjustment the size was perfect. They were so wonderful!!
I also tried them in an air fryer but the lack of oil made them a bit dry.
Twiggy or not, I am sure they were delicious Mariam!
Is the dough supposed to be super hard? I had a really hard time using any type of tip on a piping bag, I resorted to cutting a hole in a ziplock bag.
The dough should be firm but not really hard.
How do you fix this type of problem? Can I add something to make it softer?
As I haven’t had this problem, it’s hard to say. You could try adding a bit more liquid.
When measuring the flour, did you spoon it into the measuring cup? Scooping the flour from the container can sometimes pack it and add a bit extra which could make the dough too firm (more info on measuring flour here). I hope that helps!
can you make churros in a new-er air fryer oven with a consistent temperature
I haven’t tried it yet Bob, but in theory, I think it would work. If you try it, please let us know how it worked out!
can the churros be frozen?
While they could be frozen, I think the quality would degrade. I definitely think these are best enjoyed fresh. Enjoy Joyce!
May Churros be BAKED; as in our home we RARELY fry any food.
Egg Rolls ?
I have only tried this recipe as written Joan. If you do bake them, let us know how it works for you!