This churro recipe was called “best churro recipe out there” on Pinterest! Making churros fried dough may seem like a daunting cooking project with kids, but you’ll be surprised that homemade churros desserts with cinnamon sugar aren’t as difficult as you think! Learn how to make this churro dough recipe step-by-step for a yummy dessert recipe and Disney copycat recipe!
EASY CHURRO RECIPE (The Best Way To Make Homemade Churros!)
This is the classic churro recipe that you’re probably used to having in Mexican restaurants or at fiestas or festivals!
What is a churro made of?
What are the ingredients for churros?
Churros ingredients include a basic dough recipe of:
- Flour
- Butter
- Water
- Salt
- Eggs
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
Those are the basic ingredients in churros (for cinnamon churros), but you can use different dipping sauces! (They’re probably simple ingredients you already have at home in your pantry!) These are fun for a fiesta party, Cinco de Mayo desserts or a fun Mexican dessert any time!
Learn how are churros made full recipe below. Keep scrolling for the printable churro recipes instructions!
This churros dough recipe is a light pastry dough that is used in many different kinds of pastries (including eclairs).
(There’s really nothing special in any of the churro ingredients or churros batter!)
You can also get a churro mix / churro flour (check your grocery store if you prefer that), but making them from scratch isn’t that hard. It does take some practice for piping the dough strips into long churros, though. (At least it did when I made this churo recipe!) You might want to practice a few pipe churros on parchment paper before piping them into hot oil.
Before we get to our tasty churros recipes and how to make churros easy steps, you may have some questions like what is a churro…
Fried Churros Origin and History: What Are Churros?
If you’ve never had these awesome pastries, you may be wondering what’s a churro (or what are Spanish churros)?
Churros are a Spanish fried pastry dough dusted with cinnamon and sugar found in different Latin American cultures. However, they are also popular in Spain, Mexico and Cuba, where you can often find them filled with different fillings like dulce de leche, caramel, chocolate, and even guava!
The authentic churros recipe from Spain is very similar to the authentic Mexican churros recipe. (You can read more about the history of churos here.)
Churros are sometimes called a Spanish doughnut and they are a fried dough pastry that is long (like a stick) instead of round (like a doughnut).
I think churro dough is much lighter than doughnuts. They are kind of a cross between a doughnut and a crispy funnel cake or elephant ear for me.
And?
Making churros is much easier to make than I thought it was going to be! (It’s really the piping of the churro dough that takes a few tries.)
Then top them with that tasty cinnamon sugar mixture before eating this delicious treat!
5 STAR CHURROS! Our easy churros recipe was called the best churros recipe on Pinterest!
OMGOSH These churros are delicious… Best recipe out there and super easy to make… I tried another recipe out there on YouTube, but they were so tough and chewy and I just could not get the inside to cook… If you’re looking for a churro recipe this is the one…. crunchy and delicious everything a churro should be. -Teresa M. on Pinterest
I’ve never had the Disney churros recipe, but someone told me that this recipe was just as good as the churro recipe Disney park version! (YAY! You can learn how make churros like Disney churro! I made a copycat Disney churro recipe and didn’t even know it!)
Do churros have eggs?
Yes, the traditional churro recipe is a basic dough recipe and it includes eggs. You may be able to find a recipe for churros dough without eggs, but they will be a little different than authentic churros.
RECIPE TIP: Search eggless churros recipe online.
What are churritos?
Churritos are a flat, deep fried, Mexican food treat. The snack is often seasoned with lemon and chili. Some people confuse churritos ingredients and churro ingredients, but they are different things.
What does a churro taste like?
A churro tastes like a light, crispy doughnut. If you’ve ever been to a fair or festival and had an elephant ear with sugar and cinnamon, they taste like a crispier, lighter version of that.
Are churros hollow?
Churros are sometimes hollow or have air pockets inside of them. That’s because they puff up a little when they are fried. The outside of churros traditionally have ridges because they are made with a churrera, which is a piping press tool with a star-shaped nozzle (aka: churro bag).
But don’t worry, your churros making doesn’t have to be perfect to be yummy!
You can also use a piping bag with a start tip / pastry baglike this. (Get a large star tip if you can!)
What can I use if I don’t have a piping bag for churros?
How to make churros without a pastry bag is easier than you think. Place your DIY churros dough inside of a large (gallon) resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and press the churro batter to one corner of the bag. Carefully snip that corner of the bag and you have a homemade pastry bag. Pipe the churros per the recipe.
Your churros won’t have those pretty ridges, but they will taste the same!
How long do churros last?
Although churros are best eaten fresh and hot, you can store homemade churros in an airtight container for up to 2 days and they’ll still remain fresh. If you want to keep them longer, you can freeze them for up to 4 weeks, but they will not have that same crunchiness once you freeze and then later reheat.
How do you make churros stay crispy?
To make churros crispy, carefully remove them from hot oil with a slotted spoon. Place the fried churros on paper towels (on a baking sheet) to drain the excess grease and then serve immediately while hot and crispy.
Do churros need to be refrigerated?
You may be wondering can you keep churros overnight or beyond? You should really enjoy churros when they are fresh (right after you’ve made them). If you can’t, you shouldn’t refrigerate them because it will make them soggy. Instead, just store them in an airtight container for a couple of days. Anything beyond that and they might start to feel and taste stale.
Can churros be eaten cold?
Churros are best eaten warm right out of the fryer and not eaten cold. Once homemade churros are cold, they lose some of the crispy-ness and become soft. I don’t think they’re as crispy once they reach room temperature. Definitely have a warm churro if you can.
How do you reheat churros in the oven?
If you want to reheat your churros after they’ve been stored or frozen, simply place them in a shallow baking dish, brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon and sugar. Heat in the oven 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until crispy. Or, try reheating churros in your air fryer!
ALSO TRY: HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM WITH THIS RECIPE!
What can you eat with churros?
Churros recipes best eaten with dips. There are so many fun dipping sauces for churros, so let your imagination go crazy!
Eat churros with these churros dipping sauces:
- Dark chocolate sauce
- Chocolate dipping sauce
- Whipped cream
- Nutella
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate-peanut butter sauce
- Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar)
- Melted milk chocolate
- Ice cream
- Milkshakes
- Icing (of any flavor!)
- Pudding
- Fruit jams
- Caramel sauce
- Strawberry sauce
- Raspberry sauce
- Hot chocolate
- Coffee
These are perfect churros with just the cinnamon-sugar mixture topping and nothing else!
OK! On to the simple churros recipe!
You’ll never again search for churros near me when you learn how to make churros at home!
These are fun to make with your Day of Dead food or Cinco de Mayo food, too.
How do you make churros from scratch?
This churro recipe easy to make. The harder part comes in getting them piped just the right way, so it may take a few tries to get them to look exactly like you want!
This is the recipe people think about when they talk about making the churro Mexican recipe.
RECIPE TIP: Get a deep-fry thermometer like this for heating your oil to get crisp edges of churros! (The temperature of the oil really does matter!)
How do you make churros step by step?
Learning how to make homemade churros is probably a lot easier than you think and your kids will have a lot of fun with this recipe.
We didn’t make our churros recipe baked, we did it the authentic fried way. So be sure you take care of piping the churros sticks into the hot oil part (and not the kids!). If you want churro bites, just pipe the churros in smaller strips.
We’ve included step-by-step instructions on how to make churros, so just follow along our easy churro recipe!
We made them as cinnamon churros with a dipping sauce, but you can definitely leave off the sauce and they’re still yummy.
You can also play around with the sugar cinnamon mixture. If you like more cinnamon (or don’t like as sweet churros), add it to your cooked churros!
We ate ours like this, but you can also put them on churros sticks (wooden skewers), especially if you’re serving them for a Cinco de Mayo party food, Mexican dessert churros, or for a kids party dessert!
Here’s the printable recipe card for cinnamon churros recipe…
Cinnamon Sugar Churros Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted butter cubed
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated sugar
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup All-Purpose flour
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla
- Vegetable oil or Sunflower Oil for frying
For Topping
- 1/2 Cup Granulated sugar
- 3/4 Teaspoon Ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine water, butter, sugar, salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.
- Stir in flour a little at a time, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add vanilla and egg to flour mixture. Blend with an electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag or churrera.
- Heat oil in a deep skillet to 360 degrees F.
- Using the filled pastry bag, carefully pipe strips of dough into hot oil, about 6 inches long. Fry until just golden, about 2 minutes on each side--do not overcook! Then, drain briefly on paper towels.
- Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll warm churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture.
- Repeat process of piping, frying, and rolling in sugar mixture until all dough is used.
- Serve warm alone or with a dipping sauce like chocolate, strawberry, or raspberry dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
Why are my churros raw inside?
Uh oh. So your churros came out raw inside? That’s actually a common thing that happens when frying pastry and usually means that you had your oil too hot. Raw churros inside means the outside of the churros are cooking faster than the inside.
If you lower the temperature of your frying oil a little, it should take care of the churros being raw inside because the outside and inside will cook more evenly.
To make sure you get your oil to the right temperature (which is an important part of a churros recipe), use an oil or candy thermometer for your deep fried churros. It really helps with how to cook churros at home without burning them or making churros crispy enough!
Are churros supposed to be gooey on the inside?
Churros will be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They should not be gooey or doughy on the inside. If that is happening, the oil you are frying your churros in is probably too hot. Using a cooking thermometer will help keep the oil at the right temperature.
Why won’t my sugar stick to my churros?
If you’re cinnamon-sugar mixture won’t stick to the churro, you may have allowed them to cool too long. When they come out of the hot oil, drain your churros on a paper towel and then immediately toss in the cinnamon and sugar topping.
READ AND COOK FOR KIDS: The Best Churros Recipe Paired With Book of Life
Classic churros are a fun recipe for kids to make so be sure to pair them up with a recipe and read craft!
We decided to pair our recipes for churros homemade with A Hero’s Journey (The Book of Life) by Daphne Pendergrass
.
This is a book marketed as a “storybook retelling of the movie The Book of Life!”
In the book, Manolo Sanchez is a bullfighter–one from a long line of champion fighters, as a matter of fact.
However, Manolo doesn’t want to be a bullfighter.
Instead, he wants to play music and win the love of the beautiful Maria, who is the general’s daughter.
That seems like enough to deal with, but Manalo tries to save his town when dealing with magical forces who invade.
The book boils down to the importance of family, friendship and following your dreams.
Our recipe pairing for this one is actually based more on the movie than the book.
In the commercials, one of the characters says, “It’s all you can eat Churros!” and my kid cackles every single time.
So, that seemed like the natural pairing with the book.
Listed Book Age Range: 3-8 years
Let us know when you make this simple churro recipe!
LOOKING FOR FUN COOKING PRINTABLES FOR KIDS?
can i make the batter the night before?
Hi Jen,
I’ve never tried that, but I probably wouldn’t. Some batter gets weird stored even overnight.
Thanks For Sharing this Amazing Recipe. My Family Loved It. I will be sharing this Recipe with my Friends. Hope They will like it.
my family loved these will defintiely be making again
I’m so glad everyone loved them, Carole!