Create café-quality crispy churros con chocolate at home, including a rich homemade chocolate dipping sauce. Simple ingredients, easy to make!
(Love Spanish-inspired desserts? Try these smooth and creamy mini Basque cheesecakes.)
A significant chunk of Filipino cuisine can trace its roots to Spain, we were a Spanish colony for 3 centuries after all.
Filipinos have mostly adapted these recipes to local tastes, like brazo de mercedes and lengua de gato, but others we kept as is. Like churros con chocolate.
If you grew up in Manila like I did, you might be familiar with the churros from Dulcinea. These are just like that!
Crispy churros, mouthwatering chocolate dipping sauce. It’s a dream straight out of Madrid.
Why you’ll love making churros and chocolate
These days you’ll find chocolate filled churros, churros dipped in dulce de leche or caramel, and other variations like this Ritz Bits churros recipe. They’re good but I always go back to the classic churros and chocolate.
- Easy and simple dough. Thick but still able to be piped easily, holds its shape and results to crispy churros. Plus, we don’t use eggs here.
- No-fail chocolate dipping sauce recipe. Just simmer everything in a pot until the chocolate thickens.
- Feeds a crowd. This recipe makes 16 servings though you may want to double as people will for sure want seconds. They’re delicious!
How to make churros con chocolate
There are 3 components to this recipe: the churros, the cinnamon sugar coating and the chocolate dipping sauce.
Ingredients
Churros con chocolate ingredients are pantry staples like butter, salt, flour, and sugar. You can find the full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
A few things to note:
- Oil for frying — we usually use canola oil but you can use any neutral oil.
- Chocolate — you can use chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips. I suggest springing for the best chocolate budget allows.
- Milk — we’ve only ever used dairy milk. Whole milk works best.
- Cornstarch — this is what makes the chocolate sauce nice and thick.
Cooking tools
A deep fryer is very handy but a saucepan that’s at least 2 inches deep will work too.
To pipe the churros, we use a Wilton 1M piping tip. You can use a similar star tip but I don’t recommend a smaller one. A larger one can work but will result to thicker churros that will change your cooking time and might also impact the texture.
Step-by-step photos
In a medium saucepan, add water, unsalted butter and salt. Bring to a boil and stir until the butter is melted and the salt is completely dissolved.
Add flour and stir well until a soft, smooth ball forms. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Fill another saucepan with oil — at least 2 inches deep — and wait until hot enough to use for frying. If using a deep fryer, set at 355F and wait until ready. Get a baking sheet ready by placing several pieces of paper towels on it. This is where you’ll place the fried churros later to drain excess oil.
When ready to fry, carefully pipe and drop 3-inch pieces of churros directly into the oil. Once you’ve piped the length you need, drop the dough into the fryer by cutting the end of the dough from the piping tip with a pair of kitchen scissors; be careful so that hot oil does not splatter on you.
Fry churros until golden brown (about 3 minutes). Remove from oil and let dry on baking sheet.
While churros are drying, put granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a wide, shallow dish and stir until combined. Put dried churros on the dish and gently turn until evenly coated. Repeat until you’ve coated all the churros.
To make the chocolate churro dipping sauce, in a medium saucepan on medium heat, add chocolate, ¾ cup milk and granulated sugar. Stir until chocolate is melted. Switch to low heat and bring to a simmer.
Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup milk and add to the melted chocolate. Stir until the chocolate thickens (when you lift the spoon you should get a smooth drizzle of chocolate and not choppy drops).
Remove from heat, add a pinch of salt and give the chocolate one final stir.
Expert tips
Here are tips for perfectly crunchy churros every time.
- Allow the cooked flour to cool. If you transfer the dough to your piping bag while still hot, it might just melt the bag! So allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes. It will still feel hot but more manageable.
- Use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. This makes nice, professional looking churros with those characteristic ridges.
- Ensure your oil is hot enough. You can drop a piece of dough to check if it sizzles and fries immediately. If you’re using a deep fryer, set the temperature to 355F.
- Watch churros while frying. The churros tend to gravitate towards each other and stick together while frying. So don’t crowd your pan and if they do stick just gently pull them apart with tongs.
- Dry to remove excess oil. This ensures they remain crispy for longer.
Recipe FAQs
Churros are best enjoyed freshly made. If you have leftovers, store them in a covered container on your counter. They should keep up to 3 days.
Reheat in a toaster oven or in an oven preheated to 350F to bring back some of that crispiness.
You can freeze cooked, uncoated churros though note that the texture won’t be the same as freshly made ones.
Ensure your churros are completely cooled and drained of oil before placing in a freezer-safe container. They should keep for at least a month.
To reheat, pop in a toaster oven or in an oven preheated to 350F.
You can use a large Ziploc bar with a corner cut out. You won’t get the nice ridges but your churros will still be delicious!
We tested making churros in an air fryer and while they also came out crispy, they weren’t as crispy as the deep fried ones and the texture took on a rubbery feel. It also tasted a little weird!
So while it is technically possible, we do not recommend it.
More delicious fried recipes
Want to keep frying? Check these out:
We love making churros con chocolate. It reminds me so much of times spent with my mom in our favorite Spanish restaurant. It’s one of our favorite comfort foods!
And that chocolate sauce for churros? Frankly, I can drink that on its own it’s so good.
Happy frying!
Did you make this churros con chocolate recipe? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest and YouTube.
Easy Homemade Churros con Chocolate
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Churros:
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- oil for frying preferably canola or another neutral oil
For the Coating:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For the Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chopped, or dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup milk divided into ¾ and ¼ cups
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp cornstarch
- pinch salt
Instructions
For the Churros:
- In a medium saucepan, add water, unsalted butter and salt. Bring to a boil and stir until the butter is melted and the salt is completely dissolved.1 cup water, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ tsp salt
- Add the flour and stir well until a soft, smooth ball forms. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.1 cup all purpose flour
- Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
- Fill another saucepan with oil – at least 2 inches deep – and wait until hot enough to use for frying. If using a deep fryer, set at 355F and wait until ready.oil for frying
- Get a baking sheet ready by placing several pieces of paper towels on it. This is where you’ll place the fried churros later to drain excess oil.
- When ready to fry, carefully pipe and drop 3-inch pieces of churros directly into the oil i.e. once you’ve piped the length you need, drop the dough into the fryer by cutting the end of the dough from the piping tip with a pair of kitchen scissors; be careful so that hot oil does not splatter on you.
- Fry churros until golden brown (about 3 minutes).
- Remove from oil and let dry on baking sheet.
For the Coating:
- While churros are drying, put granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in a wide, shallow dish and stir until combined.¼ cup granulated sugar, ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Put dried churros on the dish and gently turn until evenly coated. Repeat until you’ve coated all the churros.
For the Chocolate Dipping Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add chocolate, ¾ cup milk and granulated sugar. Stir until chocolate is melted. Switch to low heat and bring to a simmer.⅓ cup dark chocolate , 1 cup milk, 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- Dissolve cornstarch in the remaining ¼ cup milk and add to the melted chocolate.1½ tsp cornstarch
- Stir until the chocolate thickens (when you lift the spoon you get a smooth drizzle of chocolate and not choppy drops).
- Remove from heat, add a pinch of salt and give the chocolate one final stir.pinch salt
Video
Notes
- Estimated nutrition information is based on 16 3-inch churros. You can make yours shorter, longer or a different shape.
- The churros tend to gravitate towards each other and stick together while frying. So don’t crowd your pan and if they do stick just gently pull them apart with tongs.
- You may want to double the cinnamon sugar coating to make it easier to coat the churros. However, note that you will end up with lots extra.
- It’s best to make the chocolate sauce right before eating the churros. If the chocolate cools and seizes, you can make it smooth again by microwaving it for a few seconds and giving it another stir.
- See post for more tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
intabe
Thank you for sharing the recipe! Making churros seems more difficult thank I though, gonna try it tomorrow.
Ana
Yum! Yum! Yum! It’s a guilty pleasure! Thanks for sharing the recipe…can’t wait to try it! Have pinned it for my reference.
Jolina
Thanks Ana! It is a pleasure to eat indeed 🙂 And thanks for pinning too!
Tori Gabriel
Wow. You put a lot of effort into this one! I love churros but can’t get them over here in the UK. Now I can make my own.
Jolina
Absolutely! And don’t be discouraged by my little fiasco haha. The recipe is really simple and the chocolate is really to-die for 🙂
Liz
Thank goodness you sorted out the kinks so the rest of us can enjoy! The sacrifices of a food blogger 🙂 I’m slowly getting comfortable around hot oil, but it’s been quite a process. I just don’t really trust the substance. Churros, however, sound very worthwhile.
Jolina
It was really a fiasco haha. And I think my hot oil-aversion is one of the reasons I can’t cook! Baking (ovens specifically) are much much safer 🙂
Ashley
thankyouthankyouthankyou for this recipe! This is one of my favorite restaurant desserts 🙂
Jolina
You are very welcome Ashley! It’s one of my favourites too 🙂 And that’s what pushed me to make it myself. Hope you can try the recipe out 🙂