Don’t you just want to dive into this tray of crispy gluten free churros? Even if you’ve never had a churro, these golden brown, sugar covered doughnuts are hard to resist. Good thing we can now make them gluten free!
If you’re unfamiliar with churros, they are undeniably delicious, but their origin story is a matter of some dispute, many believing that they hail from Spain and Portugal and were brought to the Americas with colonization. Others believe they really were first ideated in China as a fried flour stick that later morphed into the cinnamony-sometimes-chocolate-dipped sweet treat we all know and love, but that may be just be lore.
I suppose in the end, it really doesn’t matter from whence they came. The churro is here to stay because it’s amazing.
Who could deny the delight of a light, airy fried doughnut piped into a long line or curvy or spiraled shape rolled in sugar or dipped in melted chocolate? Churros are made from choux pastry – a light pastry dough also used to make fun things like gluten free beignets, eclairs, and even French crullers. (For more gluten free doughnut recipes, just search use the search bar at the top of my gfJules site … I have lots!)
They’re served at summer carnivals and fairs, but also for breakfast with hot chocolate or coffee. I like to bring a little summer into our lives during the cold, dreary winters by making unexpected recipes like gluten free churros. Call me crazy, but it sure makes winter more fun!
It’s also the perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, particularly during a depressing quarantine, don’t you think?
The base churro recipe is flour, lots of water and salt, with variations adding butter, eggs and even milk. I’ve chosen a gluten free and dairy free combination of those which has enough yummy flavor that you don’t have to smother the churros in cinnamon and sugar … but you sure can!
Can you see how amazingly airy this gluten free choux pastry is? That’s because it’s made with my gfJules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour. The batter and finished churros are remarkably light and crispy, with soft pockets of air scattered throughout. There’s no funny aftertaste from bean flours (none here!) and no grit from rice flour – just the perfect taste and texture you’d expect from the perfect gluten free churro.
They’re way too easy to eat, I’ll just warn you right now. My husband even said they were as good if not better than any churros he’s had in a restaurant (with gluten), so that’s a pretty good sign.
The batter is squeezed through a star-shaped tip to lend its signature ridges, but beyond that, you can put your own spin on them. Here’s the star tip I used and it worked well, but you could use a smaller or larger one or just pipe them into the hot oil through the corner of a bag as you would with funnel cakes (yep – I have a recipe for gluten free funnel cakes, too).
The colder the dough, the straighter the piped churros, in case you want to make sure your gluten free churros are very straight or prefer very curvy.
Enjoy these treats on Valentine’s Day in heart shapes, or anytime you have a Spanish-themed dinner, or really just anytime a craving hits for a light, airy doughnut dredged in cinnamon and sugar (which for me, is way too often).
What are you waiting for? Haven’t you gone without a great churro long enough?
Gluten Free Churros Recipe
Gluten Free Churros Recipe
Gluten Free Churros are light, airy fried doughnuts piped into a long line or a curvy or spiraled shape rolled in sugar or dipped in melted chocolate. Sounds pretty dreamy, doesn't it? Lucky for you, this recipe makes it easy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 Tbs. milk of choice (dairy or non-dairy)
- 7 Tbs. butter or non-dairy alternative e.g. Earth Balance Buttery Sticks
- 1 cup (135 grams) gfJules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ Tbs sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs (or equivalent egg replacer like Ener-G brand
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- Mild, high heat oil, for frying (I use high heat sunflower oil
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup sugar
Instructions
- Whisk the gfJules Flour in a large mixing bowl with baking powder, salt, cinnamon and 1 ½ tablespoons sugar.
- Heat milk together with the butter (cut the butter into smaller pieces before adding to help them melt faster) in a large saucepan on the stove. Heat gently and as soon as the mixture boils, remove from heat.
- Pour mixture into large mixing bowl with flour. Stir until combined, either with a wooden spoon or using an electric mixer.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add eggs or substitute, one at a time with vanilla, mixing until incorporated. The dough should be thick and sticky with air pockets but not so thick that it cannot be piped through the bag. If it is too thick, add more milk, 2 tablespoons at a time. If it's too thin, whisk in more gfJules Flour, 2 tablespoons at a time. If the batter is more like pancake batter and very thin, it will cook up like funnel cakes (also yummy!) but won't hold its shape from being piped through the star-shaped tip.
- At this point, the batter may be fried or covered to rest in the refrigerator for up to 24 hrs.
- Fill a deep saucepan (at least 10 inches wide) with three inches of oil. Heat until it reaches 350°F on a candy thermometer. Cover a wire rack or tray with paper towels.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon.
- Fit a 1M star tip to a piping bag or a large plastic bag and cut the corner out to fit the tip.
- Fill with the dough, then pipe directly into the pan, cutting off each dough strip with a knife.
- Fry until light brown and crisp – approximately 1 minute per side -- then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towel covered rack. I always test with a small amount of batter first to be sure the oil is the right temperature and get the timing down right before using all the batter.
- Pipe more churros into the oil and then transfer the cooked churros to a tray with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Toss gently when slightly cooled, then remove to parchment to finish cooling.
Notes
Note: refrigerate the dough before piping if you want straight churros; frying right from the bowl makes the dough softer and more likely to curl into curved shapes.
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Can these be baked?
They won’t turn out the same, Yvonne, as hitting the hot oil is what causes it to puff up and get the air pockets in it. I think you’d be disappointed in the results if they are baked.
~jules
These were not really what I expected. They were bad by any means, just a little too fluffy for me to call them churros, kinda like there was no chew to them. It’s probably the flour. I used better batter.
Hi Lisa, all gluten free flours are different, so if there were no other changes made to the recipe, I suppose that must have been it. Sorry you didn’t get the churros you were after! Hopefully next time you can try them again with my gfJules Flour and get them exactly right!
~jules
These are so yummy! I made them with my own GF all purpose flour mix, regular butter and eggs. I think I have had 1 churro in my life, so I can’t really compare, but, what I loved about these is there’s no yeast. When I make GF yeast donuts, they are tasty, but the yeast upsets my stomach. These were simple to make. I used my electric deep fryer, made 2 batches since i was frying anyways, and froze the extra ones. My 12 year old took over the piping, frying and rolling in cinnamon sugar halfway through. This really is a fabulous recipe – one I will use often in the years ahead. Thank you!
Hi Shannon – so happy you and your 12 year old made these (and memories!) together!!!!
~jules
Does this mix freeze before cooking very well. Was hoping to do these for a party and do them ahead of time and freeze them on parchment paper and then cook in hot oil from frozen to save the prep mess at the time.
Hmmmm not sure, honestly. I’ve never tried it that way, but I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t except that they may flatten and become somewhat misshapen if piped out onto a pan and frozen instead of piped into hot oil. The flip side of the equation is that the batter takes hardly any time at all to make, and it would be nearly as easy to just whip up the batter and make them immediately. I think that’s what I’d recommend for your party since I know you’ll want the best presentation. The biggest mess is in the frying, not the mixing of the batter (that’s just a pan and mixer); you’ll have to clean up the fry pan and oil either way. Anyway, that’s the way I think I’d go with it unless you have time to try it from frozen before the party to be sure it works as well as you’d hoped.
~jules
Jules…do you know of any other way besides frying to make them? Don’t know why, but fried anything makes my stomach act up for days. Stopped eating fried foods many years ago. I try a little something every now and then to check reaction. I fried a pork chop in a little bit of butter (Earth Balance) the other week and it didn’t sit well with the stomach.
Hi Kathie, not that I’m advocating fried food — I’m not! — but it also might be a function of the oil you’re trying. I’ve been using sunflower oil lately, with good results. Also making sure the oil is the right temperature ensures that the batter doesn’t absorb much oil. That being said, if you have an air fryer, you could try that. I’ve made traditionally fried doughnuts and also beignets in my air fryer and it worked! I meant to try these gluten free churros in my air fryer this Cinco de Mayo, but I got so into frying them that I forgot and used up all my batter! They might not be as pretty, but who cares?! Give it a go!!
~jules
Try a different oil for sure, and you might be able to quick fry, and then finish in an air fryer to get less oil. <3
They tasted amazing! Best gluten free churros ever!
YAY! So excited for you to have gluten free churros in your life anytime you like!
~jules
Loved this recipe, Made it dairy free using coconut milk and earth balance butter. I also made a batch egg free as well. Both turned out great. I am making some for a church luncheon and wondering if you have a suggestion on how to keep them crisp for a couple of hours. I transported them last time in a covered container and they seemed to get a little soggy as the day went one. Thank you for your help on this.
Hi Delanie, so happy to hear you loved this recipe! What egg replacer did you choose to use? I’m always curious! 🙂
Like anything fried, the sooner the better for eating them, but using eggs will help keep them crisper and I wrap them in parchment when fully cooled then put in tupperware. They lose a little crispness, but they’re still good. So nice of you to bake to share!
~jules
Bring an air fryer and reheat in there to crisp back up. I know I sound like “air fryer, air fryer, air fryer”, but it does work well to crisp things.
Hi Jules. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
Made these tasty treats just now and found they are very light and so incredibly moorish! Needless to say the plate is now empty, my non GF husband kept going back for more until they had all disappeared-he enjoyed them more than I did! I had said prior to frying that I hoped they weren’t too good as they were so easy but as it turns out, they are way too good and will probably make a regular appearance on our sweet snacks menu!
I used orgran plain flour which seemed to work very well, and I used a smaller star to pipe which gave us a very crispy result but I’m curious to try a larger one next time I make these to see which we prefer!
Hi Kat, so glad you gave the recipe a try and confirmed just how easy they are to make! I’d love to hear how you like the recipe with my gfJules Flour and yes, the larger tip. They are crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside with my flour and that larger tip. If it’s possible to be even better than they were when you made them, they are!!!! ENJOY!
~jules
I am a self professed “sweet aholic” and we know that gluten free limits easy access to ready made items. This recipe is easy and GOOD! I only had Namaste flour on hand but followed the direction except for that. Next I need to invest in a candy thermometer. The first few were still a little squishy inside but once I brought the temp down it was much better! Thank you!
Thanks so much for letting me know how it worked out! Yes, a candy thermometer will really help! I can’t wait to hear how you like it when you try the recipe with my gfJules Flour! It’s so light and airy — just perfect for this kind of recipe!
~jules
Looking forward to trying this recipe. I am Puerto Rican and as a kid, I would go with Mom shopping in Old San Juan (we are talking late 1950s , early 1970s). This was a treat for me. Haven’t had them in years.They were put in a paper bag filled with granulated sugar.
A cute story for you. Fast forward 20 years. My husband is from Iowa, but grew up in St Thomas, VI. When his parents took him the P. Rico for a visit, his Dad went into a store and purchased a bag of them. When he walked out shaking the paperbag, his wife asked him why he was doing that. His Dad said, ” I don’t know the reason , but everyone is shaking their bags” ! 🙂
That is a great story! I mean, when in Rome … or PR, as the case may be!
I can’t wait to hear how you like this recipe made gluten free with my gfJules Flour. Be sure to have a paper bag handy!!!
~jules
If I don’t have your GF flour (yet) should I add xantham gum in? My GF mix doesn’t have it added in.
Hi Summer, not sure what gluten free flour blend you’re using or whether it will work in this recipe, but if it doesn’t include xanthan gum, you should add some. Here are some general tips about gluten free flours and blends, and here are some guidelines for how much xanthan gum to add to different types of recipes.
~jules
Can I use this recipe for my Waffles, or is the batter not the same consistency?
Hi Wendeth, I would use one of my waffles recipes instead. Just use the search bar at the top of the page and search waffles to find those recipes you can choose from. Enjoy!
~jules
Yay! Success first time! My recently diagnosed son was missing churros and these turned out great. Can’t wait to get other recipes in my mail! Thank you!
Way to go, for trying this recipe for him! I’m sure knowing that treats like these can be easy and amazing will help you both with the transition to GF. Please let me know if there are ever other recipes you’re looking for. Also definitely check out this article on being new to Gluten Free!
~jules
I would like to learn how to make churros
Hi Alesyr – I’m so glad this recipe will be helpful for you! Enjoy!
~jules
Maybe a stupid question but the frying oil, is it vegetable, canola or corn? Thanks!
Hi Justine, it’s really up to you. I used safflower oil, but you could use any high heat cooking oil that is mild and doesn’t have a noticeable flavor. Enjoy the recipe!
~jules
(PS – no stupid questions here! I’m happy to answer any questions!)
I’ve been craving churros for a while and pregnant!!! Im making this today! THANK YOU!
AWESOME! I’m so glad you’ll be able to satisfy that craving! ENJOY!
~jules
can I use olive oil instead of butter?
Yes, that should work out. Let me know how it goes!
~jules
Recipe correction:
Heat milk TOGETHER (not to) with butter
Add vanilla after eggs (you forgot to add it in the directions).
Thanks Debbie! Always helps to have a proofreader! 🙂
~jules
Tried this recipe and sucks so much. Please retire yourself from writing shitty recipes
Dear Virginia, I can only imagine what could have gone wrong with the recipe as you made it, since you’ve left me no clues. I thought I’d written a delicious recipe for gluten free churros, since 63 others have left 5-star reviews, but perhaps I misunderstood their high praise. Now I’m rethinking everything — does my mother really love me? I appreciate the unsolicited career advice and will consider the source, given your apparent no good, very bad day.
~jules
Hey Virginia: It sounds like you’re generally unhappy. Why don’t you retire yourself from an otherwise positive and supportive environment? Or up your meds. Or just keep your negativity to yourself. Seriously, what purpose could you possibly have hoped your totally uncalled-for comment would serve. Do you think the hundreds of other people on here using Jules’ flour and recipes and having great success benefit from your comment. Do you think your snide comment will sway others who haven’t used Jules’ flour or recipes from doing so? Or are you just so bored with your life that you log onto a gluten free recipe site and try to incite some incendiary banter? Why don’t you think back to happier times, when you weren’t so stressed out and negative and intent on trying to knock people down? If you did, in fact, attempt this recipe with Jules’ Flour, and it didn’t turn out as you’d expected, you could have invested some time into checking if you did everything correctly, and, if so, reached out to a very helpful, seemingly always available Jules, and asked for her help. Oh, right, that would have been a rational decision instead of your knee-jerk reaction to pull everyone down into the mire in which you seem to exist. I pray for your happiness–really, I do. Because if you weren’t so miserable, I could have just spent the last 4 minutes corresponding with someone who is supportive, or who genuinely wanted to try to improve their recipe. This world–your world–isn’t going to get any better until people like you stop spreading your vitriol around like a virus. Luckily 99% of the people on this site are immune to folks like you. You know, here’s an idea: why don’t you retire yourself from writing shitty things to wonderful people? Every journey begins with a first step Virginia.