Homemade Churros (+Video)

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A fun and tasty Mexican treat, these Homemade Churros are fairly quick to make, are so delicious and make the perfect snack or dessert!

A FUN MEXICAN DESSERT

Have you ever had the Churros at Disneyland? Every time I go, I gotta save room for some churros! Who doesn’t love a fried treat that is rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture? I know that I do and this recipe is one that we whip up when we are craving our favorite Disneyland treat. They make a great snack or dessert. Once you start making them yourself, you won’t be able to stop. Nothing tastes better than a fresh churro! So if you love Churros or have never tried to make them yourself, then you have to make this Homemade Churro recipe.

Layered Homeade Churros on white plate overhead with chocolate sauce.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What kind of oil is best to fry these in?

You need an oil that is good at high temperatures so I recommend peanut oil, soybean oil, corn oil, or sunflower oil.

What dough are churros made of?

They are made with a choux pastry which is basically a cooked (paste looking) dough that puffs up when baked or fried.

Do you put eggs in churros?

Yes. It is an essential ingredient in churro dough. It helps to bind everything together. Just remember you only mix it in when the dough has cooled because you don’t want the egg to scramble.

Why are my churros not crispy?

Generally this is because the dough was piped into the oil before the oil came to the correct temperature. So it sits in the oil and soaks it up as the oil is still getting hot. Make sure to use a cooking thermometer to keep a consistent temperature while frying or use an electric fryer with a temperature gauge.

Are churros supposed to be soft or crunchy?

A little of both. The outside should be slightly crunchy while the inside is soft and tender.

What can I serve with churros?

We love serving with a homemade chocolate or caramel sauce! My Salted Caramel Sauce works perfect with these! But honestly, they are delicious all by themselves!

Why are my churros raw inside?

More than likely your oil was too hot so the outside gets brown really fast but the inside hasn’t had time to cook fully. An oil thermometer is essential and making sure you don’t pipe out super large pieces of dough. Or alternatively you can use an electric fryer that can keep a consistent temperature for you.

How do I store leftover churros?

These are best stored in an airtight container lined with paper towels at room temperature where they will keep for up to 2 days. Storing them in the refrigerator will make them go soggy. These can also be frozen. Place cooled churros in a freezer bag and they can be frozen up to 1 month. To defrost, remove to refrigerator overnight. To reheat bake in oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes.

Hand holding Homemade Churros wrapped in parchment paper Pinterest image.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

water – room temperature water will work best.
granulated sugar – I have not tried this with a sugar substitute. You need the sugar for the churro batter and for the coating.
salted butter – it may seem like salt overkill to use salt and salted butter but trust me on this that it is necessary for the best taste.
vanilla extract – if you wanted, you could get experimental and try other extracts that you think might work here. Coconut or almond extract might be a fun twist.
all-purpose flour – this needs to be all purpose flour only, not self-rising.
egg – if possible, allow your egg to come to room temperature. I think it helps it to mix into the batter easier.
cinnamon – classic ground cinnamon is what you want here. It doesn’t need to be fancy, expensive cinnamon.

water, egg, flour, sugar, oil, cinnamon, butter, vanilla extract and salt. — *Note: oil amount shown above is not accurate – it is for illustrative purposes only.*

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHURROS:

In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup white sugar and 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon in a medium-sized casserole dish. Set this aside. You’ll use this for coating the churros later. To make the batter: add water, white sugar, salt, and butter into a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat then stir in the vanilla extract.

collage of two photos: sugar and cinnamon mixed together in container; water, granulated sugar, salt, and butter melted together in pan.

Then stir in the flour. You will need to stir this for a minute or so, until it is smooth and thickened. It will start to pull away from the edges of the pan. Transfer the thickened batter to a large bowl and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.

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. Place a paper towel on a plate next to the pot for draining the churros later.

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.

collage of three photos: flour added to pan with water and butter mixture mixed into a play-do like mixture; food thermometer inserted into oil in a pan to take temperature; egg added to flour mixture with hand mixer.

Place the churro dough 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 playdough 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. I learned the hard way!)

Pipe churros into 4-5 inch long ropes, directly into the hot oil, using scissors to cut the batter. It helps if you have a second person helping here. That way you can focus on squeezing the bag and they can cut.

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.

collage of three photo: churro batter in a piping bag; piping churro batter into hot oil in pan; churro pieces shown cooking in oil.

As you remove each churro from the oil, roll it quickly on the paper towel. Then immediately place it into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, toss to coat well, and place it on a cooling rack. Then place on a serving plate or platter (if preferred.)