Air Fryer Churros

Air Fryer Churros

Air fryer churros are a lighter version of traditional churros. Why? This recipe skips the deep fryer and instead instructs you to make the churros in an air fryer! But don’t worry—doing so does not compromise the churros’ flavor and texture. These air fryer churros are just as crispy and delicious as their more traditional counterpart thanks to the use of melted butter and lots of cinnamon sugar!

Where are churros from?

Although churros are traditionally associated with Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American cuisine, its origin is a little murkier. According to some food historians, churros were inspired by youtiao (Chinese donuts). However, other food historians argue that churros originate from old Greek, Roman, and Spanish farmland recipes.

In any case, churros are a popular dessert and snack food around the world. Many Spanish and Latin American countries sell churros as a breakfast food to be ordered off a cafe menu, or as a street food to be ordered from a small cart or trailer. You can also sometimes see similar churro cart vendors in the New York City subway system.

However, I personally think that, in the United States, churros were popularized by Disney. Churros are a popular snack at Disney amusement parks like Disneyland and Disney World. In 2020, Disney released their official churros recipe to great fanfare.

Air Fryer Churros Versus Regular Churros

Traditional churros start with a choux pastry, a special kind of pastry dough that is also used to make cream puffs and eclairs. The pastry technique involves cooking the dough over the stovetop to cook off the water in the dough. There’s a lot of really cool science behind how and why this works over on Serious Eats—I definitely recommend checking out the article if you’re interested in the science of baking!

Once you’ve made the choux pastry, a traditional churro recipe then instructs you to pipe the choux pastry directly into a deep fryer to make churros. Doing so results in golden, crispy, deep fried sticks of deliciousness. The recipe will then instruct you to toss the deep fried churros in cinnamon sugar, then serve them immediately.

This air fryer churro recipe follows the same techniques, but with one major difference: instead of deep frying the churros, I instruct you to air fry them.

Why You Should Make Air Fryer Churros

Here are all the reasons to make air fryer churros:

These air fryer churros are a lighter version of traditional churros.

I’ve already talked about how traditional churro recipes instruct you to deep fry choux pastry, and how this recipe instructs you to air fry them. But why? Because doing so results in churros that are less oily and greasy, and infinitely more light.

That being said, air fryer churros are still as equally crispy and crunchy as their deep-fried counterparts. And when dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar? You won’t be able to tell the difference!

This air fryer churro recipe involves no deep frying!

Real Talk: I love eating deep fried foods (probably more than I should), but I hate deep frying food at home. It’s messy, scary, and wasteful (Because what do you do with all the leftover oil? You can only cycle through it a handful of times). So I’ll take any excuse to avoid doing so at home. If there’s a recipe that instructs me to deep fry something, I’ll shallow fry, pan fry, or air fry it instead.

So if you’re like me and hate deep frying at home but love baking projects, this air fryer churro recipe is perfect for you!

You probably have all the ingredients needed to make air fryer churros at home—no extra grocery trip necessary!

The best part? It’s likely that you already have everything you need to make these air fryer churros at home. The recipe only uses basic pantry ingredients like butter, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. That’s it!

Air Fryer Churros Ingredients and Substitutions

Now that I’ve convinced you to make air fryer churros, here’s your shopping list for the recipe:

Shopping List for Air Fryer Churros Recipe

• cooking spray
• unsalted butter
• whole milk
• granulated sugar
• kosher salt
• all-purpose flour
• large eggs
• ground cinnamon

And let’s talk about some ingredients and their potential substitutions:

Cooking Spray

You need cooking spray to make these air fryer churros.

Why You Need Cooking Spray To Make Air Fryer Churros

Most baking recipes instruct you to grease pans with butter, oil, or cooking spray before baking anything in them. Doing so prevents the final product from sticking inside the pan and ensures that whatever you made comes out whole.

Typically, in my recipes, I instruct you to use cooking spray. It’s my personal “tool” (or is it an “ingredient”?) of choice since I think it’s the easiest and neatest method to grease pans. However, many seasoned bakers who follow my recipes prefer to grease their pans with their preferred method of choice. That can include using a pat of butter to grease the pan, or using a pastry brush to brush its insides with oil. While that works with 99% of my recipes, it won’t work for this recipe for air fryer churros.

The best method for greasing the air fryer basket is cooking spray, full stop. I tested the other methods—specifically, I used a pat of butter to grease the basket (it was messy and didn’t grease the pan fully), and a pastry brush to brush it with oil (this was less messy, but still imperfect). In both cases, the churros stuck to the air fryer basket. Cooking spray greases all the nooks and crannies of the basket and prevents the churros from sticking.

The Best Cooking Spray To Make Air Fryer Churros

Fortunately, I’m not a stickler when it comes to the kind of cooking spray you use. You can use any kind you like—one made from butter, canola oil, coconut oil, or whatever else kind of vegetable oil. As long as it’s sprayable, it works in this air fryer churro recipe!

My only recommendation is that you skip any kind of spray with flour in it. The flour can sometimes adhere to the outsides of the churros, making it hard to coat them.

And for those curious, I personally used Trader Joe’s Canola Oil Spray. It’s my favorite spray for baking!

Whole Milk

You need ½ cup whole milk to make these air fryer churros.

Can I use skim, low-fat or non-fat milk instead of whole milk in this air fryer churros recipe?

Yes, but with reservations. Skim, low-fat, and non-fat milks will lead to less flavorful baked goods.

Can I use non-dairy milk like almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or oat milk instead of whole milk in this air fryer churros recipe?

Yes! You can use alternatives like almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, and/or oat milk in this recipe without altering the results. However, be mindful that using an alternative milk with “strong” flavors (like coconut or oat milk) will impart their flavors into the churros, too. Specifically, your churros might have a subtle coconut or oat milk flavor, too.

Kosher Salt

You need 1 teaspoon kosher salt to make these air fryer churros.

Why You Should Use Kosher Salt When Baking

I like to use kosher salt (as opposed to table salt) when baking. Its larger crystals make it difficult to confuse with granulated sugar. However, not all kosher salts are created equal. Some kosher salts have smaller granules than others, which will result in saltier tasting baked goods.

For consistency, I recommend sticking to one brand, and one brand only: Diamond Crystal kosher salt. It’s the only brand of salt I use when I develop recipes for Hummingbird High. Why? Diamond Crystal kosher salt is one of the few 100% pure salts in the grocery store. Other brands have additives that can add unexpected flavors to your desserts.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Is Morton’s Coarse kosher salt okay?

Yes, with reservations. Morton’s Coarse kosher salt granules are much smaller, denser, and crunchier than Diamond Crystal. According to this Food52 article, the two are different shapes and sizes because of how they’re made. Morton’s is made by flattening salt granules into large thin flakes by pressing them through high-pressure rollers, whereas Diamond Crystal is formed by a patented method in which “upside-down pyramids [are] stacked one over the next to form a crystal.” You can even see a visualization of the different sizes in this Cook’s Illustrated article.

Okay, but what does that mean, exactly? 1 teaspoon of Morton’s will taste saltier than 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal. Wild, right? So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, the results will come out saltier. In fact, sometimes they will come out TOO salty. So if you’re using Morton’s instead of Diamond Crystal, reduce the salt in the recipe by half.

Want to learn more about Diamond Crystal versus Morton’s Coarse kosher salt? Definitely check out the Food52 and Cook’s Illustrated articles I linked to above, as well as this Taste article.

I can’t find Diamond Crystal OR Morton’s Coarse kosher salt. Can I just use table salt?

Yes, with reservations. If you use table salt, you’ll need to reduce the recipe’s salt quantity by half.

If you read my little essay about Diamond Crystal and Morton’s, you learned that Diamond Crystal kosher salt granules are larger than Morton’s kosher salt granules. The same principle applies to table salt versus kosher salt. Table salt granules are much smaller than kosher salt granules. As a result, 1 teaspoon of table salt tastes much saltier than 1 teaspoon of kosher salt… simply because it can hold more granules! Wild, right?

So if you follow my recipes exactly as they are written but use table salt instead of kosher salt, the results will come out saltier. If you’re using table salt instead of kosher salt, I recommend reducing the salt in the recipe by half. 

All-Purpose Flour

You need 1 cup all-purpose flour to make these air fryer churros.

Does a 1-1 gluten-free all-purpose flour work in this air fryer churros recipe?

I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I rarely bake with those types of flour replacements because they’re expensive and my household is fortunate not to have any gluten restrictions.

However, if you replace the flour in this air fryer churros recipe with any gluten-free alternatives, please leave a comment so I can update this post accordingly!

How To Make Churros In An Air Fryer

Here are the basic steps to make air fryer churros from scratch:

First, make the choux pastry for the air fryer churros.

1. Prep the ingredients for the choux pastry. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
   These air fryer churros are made with a choux pastry base. Luckily, prep for this part of the recipe is really easy. Simply make sure you have everything you need on hand and measure it out—that’s it! For the choux pastry, ingredients like butter, milk, and eggs don’t need to be brought down to room temperature. You can use them straight from the fridge and still chilled!
   
   
2. Make the choux pastry. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
   If you’ve never made choux pastry before, prepare to get weirded out. The technique for making choux pastry involves bringing the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt in the recipe to a simmer on the stovetop, adding the flour, and cooking the resulting paste for a few minutes. Doing so helps water evaporate from the dough and result in a super crispy pastry shell perfect for air fryer churros.
   
   After that, transfer the dough to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and slowly beat in the eggs. The resulting dough will be perfectly pipe-able, with a texture halfway between thick cake batter and sticky dough. To test if you’ve got the right texture, stick a wooden spoon in the dough and pull up. The dough should pull upwards with the spoon in a beak-like, triangle shape!

Pipe and air fry the air fryer churros.

1. Pipe the churros. (Work Time: 5 minutes)
   In the recipe below, I instruct you to use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip. I then instruct you to pipe 4 ½ to 5-inch long churros directly on to the greased air fryer wire basket.
   
   But really, this is where you can get creative. If you want longer churros, feel free to pipe longer 10- to 12-inch long ones (similar to the kind you can get at theme parks). You can also play around with different piping tips and shapes. I noticed most of the air fryer churro recipes on Pinterest showed straight churros, but I liked having a shallow S-shaped curve to my churros. I thought that the curve made them look like they were traditionally fried, and helped distinguish them from eclairs. But you do you!
   
   
2. Air fry the churros. (Fry Time: 10 minutes)
   The churros need 10 to 12 minutes in the air fryer, or until golden brown and crispy. Truthfully, it can be hard to tell when the air fryer churros are done. You can pick one up and tap its bottom—it should sound hollow inside. Just be careful! It’s gonna be REALLY hot. It might not be worth the risk, lol.

Make the cinnamon sugar coating, then coat and assemble the air fryer churros.

1. Prep the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar coating. (Prep Time: 5 minutes)
   While the first batch of air fryer churros are frying, prep your cinnamon sugar coating station. Whisk together the remaining sugar and cinnamon for the coating in a shallow bowl. Melt the butter for the coating in another shallow bowl. Have everything placed next to your wire rack for cooling so you’re good to go.
   
   
2. Cool the churros. (Cool Time: 5 minutes)
   Once the first batch of churros are done air frying, I instruct you to place them—still on the air fryer basket—on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Doing so helps cool them enough for easy handling. However, if your hands are especially heat tolerant, you can skip this step and just coat them directly.
   
   
3. Coat the churros. (Work Time: 10 minutes)
   Working with one churro at a time, quickly dip it in the bowl of butter so that both sides of the churro are coated. Then, place it in the bowl with the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat completely. Eat immediately, or transfer to a serving plate for serving immediately. Repeat with the remaining churros.
   
   Let me warn you now—this part of the recipe is MESSY. And as you coat the churros, you’ll notice that the cinnamon sugar will start to clump because of all the butter. Don’t panic, this is totally normal! Check out the baking tips below on how to handle this issue.

Serve the air fryer churros, and repeat.

1. Serve the air fryer churros.
   It’s best to serve the air fryer churros immediately after cooling them slightly and coating them! Making air fryer churros are similar to making pancakes: work in batches so you can serve the freshly finished products immediately! I definitely recommend air frying in batches to ensure that everybody gets the freshest and crispiest churros.
   
   
2. Repeat the process of piping and air frying any leftover choux pastry, and coating the resulting air fryer churros until you are out of choux pastry.
   If you don’t want to eat 55 mini churros all at once (it’s a lot, I know), check out the Troubleshooting and FAQ section. I have instructions on how you can freeze the leftover batches of churros for serving at another time.

Air Fryer Churros Recipe Troubleshooting and FAQ

FAQ: Equipment To Make Air Fryer Churros

To make air fryer churros, I recommend having the following “specialty” baking tools and kitchen equipment on hand:

• an air fryer with a wire basket
• a piping bag with an open star tip
• kitchen shears or a paring knife

Help! I want to make these air fryer churros but don’t have an air fryer. Do I really need an air fryer to make it?

No, you don’t need an air fryer to make these air fryer churros. Yes, I said it!

Because truthfully, if I hadn’t received an air fryer as a part of a sponsorship opportunity, I probably wouldn’t own one. Why? I kinda think air fryers are a scam! If you have an oven with a convection setting, you already own an “air fryer.” Because yes, convection ovens and air fryers are pretty much the same thing. I’m not alone in my thinking, either.

So if you don’t have an air fryer but DO have a regular OR toaster oven with a convection setting, you’re in luck! You can make this air fryer recipe without an air fryer. To do so, preheat your oven or toaster oven to 375°F on convection mode. Then, place a wire rack (the kind you use for cooling baked goods) on top of a sheet pan big enough to hold it. Follow the recipe instructions to prep the wire rack like you would the air fryer basket, pipe the choux dough directly onto it, and bake per the recipe. That’s it!

Congrats—you just made this air fryer churro recipe without the air fryer.

What open star tip did you use to make these air fryer churros?

To make these air fryer churros, I used the Ateco #863 from this jumbo pastry tip set. This Wilton 8B tip is very similar. But really, any “open star” or “French star” (they are basically the same thing) pastry tip will do!

The most important thing is to look for a piping tip with an opening that is about ¼-inch big. Bigger pastry tips with ½- or 1-inch openings will result in SUPER big and thick churros that are more like eclairs. Go for a tip that is ¼-inch wide or smaller (since you can always apply more pressure on it to pipe bigger churros).

I don’t have an open star tip, but I do have other tips like a writing tip and/or a closed star tip. Will other piping tips work in this air fryer churros recipe?

Yes! You can use regular writing tips or closed star tips to make these air fryer churros, too. Just note that, if you do, your churros will look slightly different than mine. Again, if you use a different style piping tip, the most important thing is to use one with an opening that is about ¼-inch wide or smaller.

Help! I don’t have piping bags or piping tips. What can I use instead?

In a pinch, you can use a zip top plastic bag. Instead of transferring the choux pastry dough into a piping bag, scrape it into a zip top plastic bag. Then, use a pair of kitchen shears to snip off a small hole in the corner about ¼-inch big. Congrats! You just hacked a piping bag and tip. You MacGyver, you.

FAQ: Air Fryer Churro Recipe Troubleshooting

Help! My air fryer churros got stuck to the air fryer basket. What did I do wrong?

If your air fryer churros are sticking to the air fryer basket, I suggest the following tips and tricks:

1. Spray the air fryer basket with a GENEROUS amount of cooking spray before piping with churros. And when I say generous, I mean generous. You want to be uncomfortable with the amount of cooking spray you use! Doing so will prevent the churros from sticking the next time.
   
   
2. Unmold the churros while they are still hot and fresh from the air fryer. They are less likely to stick to the air fryer basket while they are still warm. If they are too hot to handle with your fingers, slide a stiff metal spatula under the churros in one big motion to unstick them.
   
   
3. Air fry the churros for 12 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes. The longer air fryer time results in darker churros, but also ones that are less likely to stick to the basket.
   
   
4. “Clean” the basket before air frying the next batch of churros. Use a stiff metal spatula to quickly scrape the air fryer basket of any stuck churro dough. Doing so will help prevent future batches from sticking. Don’t forget to spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray for every new batch!

FAQ: Air Fryer Churro Recipe Results

Hm, I was looking for a LIGHTER, healthier version of regular churros. But these air fryer churros are coated in a stick of butter and cup of sugar! What can I do to make these more “diet-friendly”?

Hahah, you got me! Once air fried, I dunk the churros in a ton of butter and roll them in sugar to make them taste more like conventionally deep-fried churros. I do this because, well, without this step, the air fryer churros mostly taste like dry eclairs. The cinnamon sugar topping also doesn’t adhere to them very well. It definitely tasted like a “diet” version of what is supposed to be an indulgent dessert!

But if that’s the kind of dessert you’re looking for, no judgement! Simply scroll down past the original recipe. You should see a section titled “Variation: Lighter Air Fryer Churros Recipe.” In that version, I skip the butter and reduce the sugar for a more diet-friendly version of the original recipe!

FAQ: Storing and Serving Air Fryer Churros For Later

How To Store Air Fryer Churros

The churros are best immediately after assembling, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To re-serve, toast in the air fryer for 5 to 10 minutes until warm and crispy.

Can you freeze air fryer churros?

Yes! You can freeze air fryer churros.

To freeze air fryer churros, follow the recipe instructions to make and serve as many air fryer churros you want and/or can handle eating right away. Once done, follow the recipe instructions to pipe and air fry new batches of churros. However, do NOT coat the churros in butter and sugar—they only freeze well without the coating! Instead, let the churros come to room temperature uncoated. Once cool, transfer the churros into an airtight bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

When ready to serve, preheat an air fryer to 350°F. Air fry in the air fryer basket (there’s no need to grease it!) for 10 minutes, or until warm and crispy. Follow the recipe instructions to coat in butter and toss in the cinnamon sugar.

More Fried Pastry Recipes

• Apple Cider Crullers
• Sumac Sugar Jelly Donuts
• Vanilla Custard Bread Ahead Donuts

Variation: Lighter Air Fryer Churros Recipe

So you were looking for a diet-friendly air fryer churro recipe and found this one, but was disappointed by how much butter and sugar I used in the coating. You’re in luck! You don’t need to use as much butter and sugar as I do in the original recipe. Instead, you can skip the butter completely and halve the cinnamon sugar amount for a “lighter” version of this recipe.

To do so, follow the recipe instructions to make and air fry the choux pastry. Once the first batch of churros is done air frying, use a stiff metal spatula to transfer each churro immediately into a bowl of the cinnamon sugar. Toss to coat. That’s it!

It’s important to coat the churros while they are still warm from the oven. Without the butter, the cinnamon sugar doesn’t stick to the churros as well—but coating them while warm helps the sugar stick. You likely won’t need as much cinnamon sugar with this version of the recipe. I suggest cutting the cinnamon sugar ingredient quantities by half. Use ½ cup granulated sugar and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon instead.

Also, note that this version of the recipe makes churros that are more similar to empty eclairs than actual churros. Still good, but maybe not as good as my traditional churros or even my original air fryer version of the recipe. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!