Air Fryer Churros
Learn how to make Churros in the air fryer! These Air Fryer Churros are the perfect way to make your favorite churro recipe without all the excess grease. They're rolled in cinnamon sugar while they're still warm and served with chocolate ganache.
The ultimate dessert! So don't wait and give my air fryer churros with chocolate sauce a try today. Your family will thank you!
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What is a Churro
Churros are a cinnamon and sugar-coated dessert that offer a crispy outside and soft and tender inside. They're typically deep-fried and rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture, but I've found a way to bake them and now air fry them. They can be served with a chocolate or caramel sauce. Churros are similar to a donut, but with a tasty twist.
How to make Air Fryer Churros
To make homemade churros you want to add your sugars, water, butter, and salt into a saucepan on the stove.
Heat up and melt until the sugar is fully dissolved, and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Then remove from heat.
Stir in the vanilla and flour, using a wooden spoon. Mix until a ball forms. You do not want the dough to be sticky. If it is sticky add additional flour.
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Make a well in the center of the dough and add in your egg working till incorporated. Repeat for each egg.
Pour the mixture into a piping bag, with a star tip. Pipe your churros to a greased pan.
Place churros in the freezer for 45 minutes to an hour to allow the dough to firm up.
How long do Homemade Air Fryer Churros last?
Homemade churros are best served warm straight from the air fryer. If you happen to not eat them all, allow the churros to cool. Then store in an airtight container or sealed bag for 2-3 days.
They can store on the counter. The ganache on the other hand needs to be stored in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze Churros? (cooked and uncooked)
You can freeze churros either uncooked or cooked. I find that freezing churros cooked you run into the coating falling off a little bit.
If you want to freeze your churros with uncooked dough, pipe out and allow the dough to set up. Then place in a freezer container and use wax paper in between layers if you stack. Then freeze for 2 months. To cook air fry the same, just add a minute or two extra since they will be frozen.
If you freeze your churros cooked, simply allow the churros to fully cool. Then store for up to three months. Thaw on the counter and enjoy when you would like.
Different Dipping Sauce Ideas For Churros
- Chocolate sauce - like in this recipe
- Caramel
- Raspberry sauce or other fruit sauce
- Eat Plain
- Frosting - like strawberry frosting, vanilla, or buttercream
Tips for Air Fryer Churros Recipe
- Using a star tip gives you the classic churro look.
- Use scissors to cut the piped churros away from the piping bag.
- Use a spoon (damped with a little water) to round off the ends of the churro dough.
- Make sure to leave space between each churro as it air fries to get an even cook.
- If you don't use parchment paper make sure to oil your tray to prevent sticking.
- You need to ensure you freeze the dough before air frying. This will allow you to handle the dough and not get burnt while trying to pipe it into the hot air fryer basket.
- This is the air fryer that I use.
Be sure to try fried churros and baked churros too!
Air Fryer Churros
Ingredients
Churros
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup butter sliced
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Coating
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Ganache
- ½ cup milk chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Churros
- Add the water, butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt to a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and let the butter melt and the sugar dissolve. Once the mixture comes up to a boil, remove it from the heat.
- Add the vanilla extract and flour to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until a ball forms. The dough shouldn't be sticky. If it does look soft and feels sticky, add an additional 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of flour and stir until incorporated.
- Make a well in the center of the dough and drop the first egg into it. Stir until incorporated. It will be pretty stiff and take some work to get the egg well combined.
- Repeat creating a well in the center of the dough and adding the eggs one at a time. Mix until the egg is completely incorporated before adding the next. The dough should still be pretty stiff.
- Add the dough to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. I used the Wilton 4b tip.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease with nonstick baking spray.
- Pipe about 4 ½ inch lines of churros on the parchment paper. You may want to do shorter depending on the size of your air fryer.*
- Place the churros in the freezer for about 45 minutes to an hour to firm up.
- Line your air fryer basket with a piece of parchment paper that has holes in it. You can skip this step, but I like to do it to ensure my churros aren't going to stick.
- Air fry at 360 degrees F for 11 minutes. The tops will be golden brown. *See notes
Coating
- In a shallow dish, add in the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir to combine.
- Transfer the warm baked churros to the cinnamon and sugar and roll until completely coated.
- They're best served warm.
Ganache
- Add the milk chocolate chips and heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals and stir after each interval until the ganache is smooth and creamy. This will take about 1 minute in total.
- Serve warm or cooled with fresh air-fried churros.
- Store any remaining ganache in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Don’t know why but the batter was super runny! Followed the instructions, even added about an extra cup of flower!
So sorry your batter was runny! One of the liquid ingredients was probably measured incorrectly. I hope you try the recipe again as they are delicious!
These did not puff up. Very dense and eggy in flavor. This was a fail. Both attempts. Really bummed
So sorry you didn't enjoy the churros! They do not puff up very much when they bake. Churros are typically more dense and chewy rather than fluffy like a donut. I hope you try them again or another recipe on the site- there are lots of amazing ones!