Easy Homemade Churros with Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Crispy, ridged, cinnamon-sugar-coated churros fried in about 20 minutes from pantry staples. Soft and pillowy inside, shatteringly crisp outside, served with a two-ingredient chocolate ganache for dunking.
Tasted & written by Rachel
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Serves
18
The Key
Let the dough cool for a full 5 minutes before adding the egg. Hot choux dough scrambles eggs on contact, and once that happens, the dough is ruined — lumpy, grainy, won't pipe. Five minutes of patience buys you a smooth, pipeable dough every time.
Mia asked for 'the cinnamon sticks from the fair' and I realized I'd never actually made churros at home. Seemed like a project — hot oil, piping bags, Spanish pastry technique. It is not a project. Six ingredients, one pot, twenty minutes of frying, and now I can't stop making them.
The dough is a basic choux — same one behind éclairs and cream puffs — which means if you can boil water and stir flour, you're already most of the way there. The star tip does the heavy lifting on texture: those ridges catch the cinnamon sugar and fry into tiny crispy edges that make the whole thing work.
David ate four before they'd cooled down. Noah licked the cinnamon sugar off one and handed it back. Progress.
The trick — and it's the only real trick — is letting the dough cool before you add the egg. Hot dough scrambles eggs on contact. Five minutes of patience. That's it. After that, you pipe, fry, roll, and try not to eat them all standing over the stove.
I've made these for Priya's playdate group twice now. The first time I made a single batch. The second time I doubled it. Still not enough. They disappear faster than I can fry them, which is either a compliment or a problem.
The chocolate sauce is optional in theory. In practice, Mia won't eat a churro without it, and honestly she's right. It's two ingredients — hot cream poured over chocolate chips — and it turns a good snack into an actual dessert.
Mise en place
Ingredients
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, diced into small cubesdiced into small cubes
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 0.25 tsp Salt
- 1 cup (141g) all-purpose flour, scooped and leveled
- 1 whole Eggs
- 0.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Vegetable oil, for frying (about 1½ inches deep)for frying
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 0.75 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Ceylon)
Chocolate Dipping Sauce
- 0.75 cup Chocolate ChipsOptional
- 0.75 cup Heavy CreamOptional
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (Ceylon)Optional
The Method
Instructions
- 01
Whisk together ½ cup sugar and ¾ tsp cinnamon in a shallow dish. Set aside.
Done when:Even sandy-brown color throughout, no white sugar streaks visible.
- 02
Pour about 1½ inches of vegetable oil into a large heavy pot or deep skillet. Heat over medium-high heat to 360°F. Reduce heat as needed to hold temperature.
Done when:Thermometer reads a steady 360°F. A tiny pinch of dough dropped in should sizzle immediately and float.
- 03
Add water, butter, 1 tbsp sugar, and salt to a large saucepan. Bring to a full boil over medium-high heat.
Done when:Butter is fully melted and the surface is rolling with large bubbles — not just simmering at the edges.
- 04
Remove from heat. Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a smooth ball.
Done when:Dough is cohesive, slightly shiny, and pulls cleanly from the pan sides. A few small lumps are fine.
- 05
Transfer dough to a large mixing bowl. Let cool for 5 minutes — hot dough will scramble the egg.
Done when:Bowl is warm to the touch but not too hot to hold comfortably. Steam has mostly stopped rising.
- 06
Add vanilla and egg. Beat with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until fully incorporated and smooth.
Done when:Dough will look broken and curdled at first — keep mixing. It's ready when it's thick, smooth, and holds a stiff peak on the beater.
- 07
Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Pipe 6-inch lengths directly into the hot oil, snipping the end with kitchen scissors. Fry no more than 4-5 at a time.
Done when:Churros float and begin bubbling immediately. Pipe straight and steady — the dough holds its shape once it hits the oil.
- 08
Fry until deep golden brown on all sides, turning once with tongs or a slotted spoon.
Done when:Even deep-gold color all over — not just the edges. The ridges should look distinctly darker than the valleys. Pale churros will be doughy inside.
- 09
Transfer to paper towels for 10 seconds, then immediately roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture while still hot.
Done when:Every ridge and surface is coated. The sugar should stick without falling off — if it slides, the churro isn't hot enough.
- 10
Repeat frying in batches. Check that oil returns to 360°F between batches — this is non-negotiable for crispy churros.
Done when:All dough is used. Each batch should take roughly the same time if your oil temperature is consistent.
Where it goes wrong
Common mistakes
- ✕Adding the egg while the dough is still hot — you get scrambled egg chunks and the dough won't come together.
- ✕Crowding the pot — drops the oil temperature 30-40°F instantly, giving you greasy, pale, limp churros.
- ✕Piping too thin — anything under ¾ inch diameter fries into a hard stick with no soft center.
- ✕Skipping the thermometer — oil that's too cool soaks in, oil that's too hot burns the outside raw inside. 360°F is precise for a reason.
Context
Compared to the usual
Traditional Spanish churros are thinner, unsweetened, and served for breakfast dipped in thick hot chocolate so dense you could stand a spoon in it. The Mexican version — which is what most Americans know from fairs and food trucks — is fatter, rolled in cinnamon sugar, and treated as dessert. This recipe splits the difference: cinnamon sugar coating from the Mexican side, chocolate dipping sauce from the Spanish side. It's the hybrid that works at a Tuesday night kitchen counter.
Glossary
Techniques used
- Choux
- A French pastry dough made by cooking flour into hot liquid, then beating in eggs. The same base behind éclairs, profiteroles, and gougères. Pronounced 'shoo.'
- Star tip
- A piping tip with a star-shaped opening (open or closed). For churros, use an open star tip — the grooves create ridges that crisp up during frying. Ateco 845 or 846, or Wilton 1M.
- Ganache
- Equal parts chocolate and hot cream, whisked until smooth. The simplest chocolate sauce that exists — two ingredients, zero technique required.
Riffs
Variations
Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Heat ¾ cup heavy cream in a small saucepan until simmering. Pour over ¾ cup dark chocolate chips, let sit 2 minutes, add 1 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of salt, then whisk until glossy. Stays pourable for over an hour at room temperature.
Dulce de Leche Filled
Let fried churros cool 5 minutes. Poke a hole in one end with a chopstick, then pipe dulce de leche inside using a piping bag with a small round tip. Roll in cinnamon sugar after filling.
Churro Bites
Pipe 2-inch lengths instead of 6-inch. Fry for 2 minutes total. Easier for kids to handle and they cook more evenly. Same dough, same coating, half the frying anxiety.
Q & A
Frequently asked
Can I bake these instead of frying?
You can pipe them onto a parchment-lined sheet and bake at 400°F for 15-18 minutes. They won't be the same — less crispy, less rich — but they're decent and significantly less messy. Brush with melted butter before rolling in cinnamon sugar.
What oil is best for frying?
Vegetable or canola oil. Both have high smoke points and neutral flavor. Avoid olive oil — the smoke point is too low and the flavor competes with the cinnamon.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes. Pipe the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Fry straight from frozen — add 1-2 extra minutes of frying time.
Why are my churros hollow inside?
That's actually correct. Choux dough creates steam pockets during cooking. If they're too hollow and the walls are thin, your dough may have been too wet — make sure to measure flour by scooping and leveling, not scooping from the bag.
Can I fill churros?
Absolutely. Let them cool slightly, poke a hole in one end with a chopstick, and pipe in dulce de leche, Nutella, or pastry cream using a small round tip.
Storage
Fried churros in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 8 hours. They lose crispness overnight — if storing longer, reheat.
Reheating
Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 5-7 minutes until crispy again. The oven revives the crunch better than anything else. Avoid the microwave entirely — it makes them chewy and sad.
Freezing
Freeze unfried piped dough (not fried churros). Fried churros don't freeze well — the coating gets soggy and the interior turns gummy on thaw.
Make ahead
Pipe unfried churros onto parchment, freeze solid, then store in freezer bags for up to 2 months. Fry directly from frozen, adding 1-2 minutes to the frying time. The cinnamon sugar mix keeps indefinitely in a jar.
Serve with
Pile them on a board or platter — churros look best in a casual heap, not lined up like soldiers. Serve the chocolate sauce in a small warm bowl alongside. A scoop of vanilla ice cream turns this into a full dessert. Coffee or Mexican hot chocolate for the adults.