How to make homemade churros from scratch — Vegan Churro Recipe

Follow along with our video tutorial on how to make vegan churros!

Part of what makes our churros so unique is the award-winning dough we have developed with the help of professional pastry chefs since the beginning of San Diablo. Our churro recipe is adapted for vegan and dairy-free churro lovers because we believe in making amazing food and experiences accessible to everyone. No matter who you are, you deserve fresh filled churros! If you’ve ever wanted to make our dough from scratch in your kitchen, here is everything you will need. 

Replace your memories of mass-produced, re-heated food court churros with a more decadent handmade pastry.  Our churros are melt-in-your-mouth delicious with a hollow middle (perfect for your favorite filling) and the perfect amount of crispiness on the outside. Dust them with San Diablo’s freshly-ground cinnamon sugar, and you’ll be transported to a delightful dessert paradise — reliving the nostalgia of your favorite churro memories. Add your flair with some gourmet, non-traditional fillings like lemon curd or ube, or go the traditional route with dulce de leche or Nutella. 

Servings: 18-20 mini churros

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 4 T. unsalted Vegan Butter 
• 1 cup high-quality Baker’s flour — Bread Flour, 10-12% protein
• ¾  t. salt
• Egg replacement (1 large egg)
• 1 t. Vanilla
• Oil, for frying

Instructions: 

1. To start your vegan churro dough, combine the water and vegan butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. When the vegan butter has completely melted, add the flour and salt. Stir until there are no clumps of flour left and it resembles a ball. Take off the heat.
2. Transfer the warm dough to a stand mixer or large bowl. Mix the dough by hand or with a paddle attachment on low speed to allow the dough to cool. Mix the vegan egg substitute and vanilla in a separate bowl and slowly increase the speed of the mixer while adding in the vegan egg and vanilla mixture. Mix while stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula until the dough forms a ball with a smooth, Play-Doh-like consistency. Let the dough chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes or keep it in the fridge in a sealed container until you’re ready to fry your churros. 
3. Start your frying oil on the stove, we recommend using a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Heat about two inches of oil. We recommend canola oil for its neutral taste but you can substitute it with your favorite oil for frying. It makes the outside of the churros crispy and the inside light and airy.  For Air Fry instructions, please click here. Heat the oil until your candy or deep-fry thermometer reaches 375 degrees F. (No thermometer? No problem! The heat should be about a 4 out of 10 on your stovetop). For instructions on how to make air-fried churros, click here. 
4. Fill your San Diablo churro maker with the chilled dough (make sure it’s fitted with the hollow churro tip). Read below for detailed instructions on how to set up the churro maker. Hold the churro maker straight up over the oil and twist 2-3 inches of dough. While holding the churro maker over the oil, slowly twist the knob down to press out the churro dough through the nozzle. After pressing the desired amount of churro dough through the nozzle, cut it off with a butter knife or your finger. Keep a close eye on the churros and fry in batches until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes, making sure to rotate the churros so that all sides are cooked evenly. Set the fried churros on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. 
5. While the churros are still warm, roll them in a bowl of cinnamon sugar or dust the churros using the San Diablo cinnamon sugar shakers. Looking for a way to spice things up? Check out our secret menu with spicy cinnamon sugars: Diablo style with cayenne pepper and Inferno style with habanero pepper.
6. Fill to your heart’s content using a squeeze bottle or one of San Diablo’s reusable filling bottles with Dulce de Leche, Nutella, or Sweet Cream. Pro tip: Get creative with what you have around the kitchen like honey, jams, nut butter, and syrups. And for added flavor “pop,” we suggest sprinkling your churro with some pink Himalayan salt!
7. Enjoy while warm!

Congrats! You’re well on your way to becoming a vegan churro master!

How to set up your churro maker:

Once your dough has chilled and you’re ready to fry, shape the churro dough into a bullet or tube shape with your hands. Make the roll of dough slightly smaller than the width of the barrel so it easily slides into the churro maker when loading. Re-secure the shaft and knob attachment (for filled churros, use the hollow nozzle attachment) and prepare to twist and press the dough into the hot oil or air fryer tray.