Today, I'm sharing how to make the best churros with simple ingredients! It is so soft, moist, and slightly chewy inside with perfectly crisp edges.

Churros might be something you eat only at theme parks or carnivals. At least, that was me. But once you know that homemade churros taste incredible and are so easy to make, you might want to make them repeatedly for your family and friends!

heart shape churros coated with cinnamon sugar

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📌 What Are Churros?

📌 What's In Homemade Churros?

📌 How To Make Homemade Churros

📌 Ways To Enjoy Homemade Churros

📌 Frequently Asked Questions

📌 VIDEO: Watch How To Make It!

📌 More No-bake Desserts

📌 Printable Recipe

Homemade Churros

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📌 What Are Churros?

The churros are made by deep frying a dough called pâte à choux. (A.K.A pate choux, choux pastry dough, choux dough, etc.) Choux dough is made by heating liquids, salt, sugar, butter, and flour and mixing them with eggs. It is a traditional dough often used to make some classic desserts, such as cream puffs and eclairs.

Depending on where you live, churros are baked in the oven instead.

I grew up eating them at festivals and amusement parks, such as Disney World. Making them at home always excites me by bringing back those childhood memories.

stick churros coated with cinnamon sugar

What is the difference between cream puffs and churro dough?

For the cream puff, I add about 8 eggs while adding 5 eggs for churros. That is because the firmer dough holds a better, clearer shape after deep-frying it. It also creates a unique churro texture that is soft but not too spongy.
I use all-purpose four for churros while using cake flour for cream puffs. Using all-purpose flour creates a more crunchy texture outside and a soft yet slightly chewy texture inside.
More sugar is added to the churro dough. Sugar helps to make the texture more moist and soft, which is not equally important for cream puffs since I like a thin, crispy puff that goes perfectly with the fluffy cream filling inside.

📌 What's In Homemade Churros?

Choux dough

Water
Milk: It helps to color the surface more and add more crunchiness.
Salt: It adds more depth in flavor.
Granulated sugar: It helps to keep churros moist. I tried not to add it too much since we also coat sugar all around the churros.
Vanilla beans: It matches the cinnamon flavor so well.
Cinnamon: I feel the warm spice is essential for homemade churros!
Unsalted butter: It adds rich flavor and a softer texture.
All-purpose flour: It creates a soft yet chewy texture.
Egg: It does the main role of creating a soft texture.
Oil: It's used to deep-fry churros. You can also use olive oil, vegetable oil, or any other regular oil.

Cinnamon sugar

Cinnamon
Sugar: Use white sugar, such as granulated sugar or caster sugar.

📌 How To Make Homemade Churros

Preparation

The steps go quickly once you start making the dough. Prepare everything you can beforehand.

Warm the egg until it feels slightly warm.
Sift all-purpose flour.
Set up your star tip in a pastry bag.
Set a parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Pour frying oil into a large pan. (You can also use a deep fryer if you have one.)
Make a cinnamon sugar mixture by combining sugar and cinnamon.
Warm eggs slightly with hot water or the microwave. Using a slightly warm egg will make it easier for you to pipe the dough later

Step 1: Add water, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and butter to a medium saucepan.

Cut butter into smaller pieces so they melt entirely when the liquids start boiling.

liquids, cinnamon, vanilla and butter in a pot to make churros

Step 2. Heat it.

Heat it at medium-high heat. Swirl a saucepan sometimes to ensure the temperature is even. Remove the saucepan from the heat once the liquids are boiling hard. Do not continue boiling to prevent them from evaporating too much.

boiling liquids, cinnamon, vanilla, and butter in a pot

Step 3: Add all-purpose flour to the saucepan and mix.

Mix well until it forms a ball and gets doughy.

mixing cinnamon pate choux in a pot to make churros

Step 4: Heat it to cook the flour.

Heat the saucepan again with medium heat to cook starch in the flour. Repeat spreading and flipping the dough to cook it evenly.

Tip💡

By cooking starch, the dough gets more stretchy, which allows the dough to expand in the oil more, leading to a softer texture.

How do I know the choux dough is cooked enough?

To judge if it's cooked enough, check them below:

The dough gets slightly softer.
You’ll see a thin skin formed on the bottom of your pot. (It doesn't happen with a non-stick pan.)
Nice sizzling sound all around the pod.
The dough is about 176ºF (80ºC) when checking with a candy thermometer,
Time: How long it takes depends on the amount of the dough, the type of saucepan, the strength of the heat, etc. With one batch of this recipe, it normally takes 1 minute to 1.5 minutes (at medium heat).

Step 5: Beat the dough in a bowl.

Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and mix it at medium speed with a paddle attachment for a little less than 1 minute. You can do it with a large bowl and rubber spatula if you don’t have a stand mixer.

mixing choux pastry dough with a stand mixer

Step 6: Add beaten eggs to the dough.

Add about ⅓ or a little less than half the eggs to the dough and mix well. Once it looks combined, add the rest, dividing it into a few more times. Mix until the dough looks even.

Tip💡

The egg does not blend well at the beginning and looks separated, but keep going! It'll come together gradually.

Step 7: Pipe and deep-fry them!

The temperature of the oil should be 338 - 347ºF (170 - 175ºC). Start heating it with your timing.

Pipt it with a sturdy piping bag and a star-shaped tip.

Piping method 1

As a simple way, you can pipe it directly into the hot oil. Cut off the edge with a scissor to detach it. You can pipe longer to make sticks or shorter to make teardrop shapes.

Be careful not to spill the oil and burn yourself when dropping them!

Sticks

Teardrops

Piping method 2

Pipe them on parchment paper first and sink them in the oil. With this method, you can create many shapes, such as perfectly straight, long sticks, swirls, heart shapes, pretzel shapes, etc!

Tip💡

Attach a little bit of the dough on the 4 corners of a baking sheet and place parchment paper on top so that it does not move around while piping the dough.

piping pate choux on a tray to attach parchment paper

piping choux pastry dough into pretzel shapes

When you are done piping, cut the parchment paper around the dough and slowly dip the whole thing in oil.

There is no need to rush to take the parchment paper off right after dipping it in the oil. Once the dough is cooked slightly, it’ll be easier for you to slide that out. Use a tongue if necessary.

Flip the churros on the way to color them evenly. Take them out when they are nicely golden brown. Place the hot churros on a cooling rack.

Step 8: Coat cinnamon sugar.

As a final step, coat cinnamon-sugar mixture all around the warm churros.

And enjoy!

pretzel shape churros coated with cinnamon sugar

📌 Ways To Enjoy Homemade Churros

Make this delicious dessert for many occasions, such as:

A movie night with friends or family
Snack after dinner
Afternoon snack for kids
Home parties

As an option, dip them in homemade chocolate sauce. The melty sauce and crispy churros taste amazing!

homemade cinnamon churros with many shapes

📌 Frequently Asked Questions

What's the shelf-life of homemade churros?

Once you deep-fry them, they slowly lose the crunchiness on the surface and the softness inside, just like the other deep-frying goodies. I recommend consuming them while they are warm for the best taste.

How should I reheat the churros?

I recommend reheating it in the oven to bring back some of the crispiness. It won't be crispy in the microwave.

Can freeze the piped choux dough?

Yes, you can pipe the dough and freeze it so you can deep fry them later. Once they are frozen, move them into an airtight container and store them for up to one month.