Churro Waffles

These Churro Waffles are made of choux pastry, so their texture matches real churros - crisp crust, custardy interior, and cinnamon-sugar coating.

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Today's recipe is very closely related to one I published recently - Honey Cruller Waffles. Although I published the Honey Cruller Waffles recipe first, the idea for both actually started with this recipe - Churro Waffles.

I had the idea to make Churro Waffles for a long time before I actually got around to doing it. When I started doing research to develop the recipe, I was disappointed to find out that all of the existing Churro Waffles recipes seemed to be just regular waffles coated in cinnamon sugar.

I wanted my Churro Waffles to resemble actual churros as closely as possible - the unique texture included.

Choux pastry in a mixing bowl. — This is what the choux pastry batter should look like after beating in the eggs - it will be a stiff, sticky batter that forms sticks together to form one ball.

What are churros?

Churros are made from choux pastry (or pâte à choux) that are piped into a fluted line. Then they are then deep-fried and coated with cinnamon sugar. The result is a sweet, crunchy snack, with a slightly custardy interior.

When I first tried to make churro waffles, I had no idea if it would work. I made my very first batch of choux pastry batter and put it in the waffle maker to cook. I was very pleasantly surprised. The waffles were indeed crispy on the outside, with a soft, custardy interior - just like churros.

How to make Churro Waffles:

The first step to making churro waffles is to make choux pastry, which is very much nothing like making regular waffle batter. Making choux pastry first involves heating water, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until it comes to a boil.

Then you turn down the heat and add the flour to the mixture. The mixture will quickly form a very stiff, sticky dough that forms a ball. Transfer this dough to a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes.

While you're waiting, you can mix together the cinnamon-sugar mixture, melt a little butter, and plug in your waffle maker.

When the dough has cooled slightly, mix in the eggs and vanilla. You'll want to make sure you have a very firm grip on the bowl and the mixer because the dough is very stiff. The dough will initially break apart and look "curdled". Keep mixing, and it will eventually come back together. Now you can cook it into waffles.

I found that it took longer to cook choux pastry in my waffle maker than regular waffle batter, so if you have a timer built into your waffle maker, it probably won't be accurate for this recipe.

You'll know your churro waffles are done when the waffle maker stops steaming. Then carefully open the lid. If the waffle is golden brown, it's good to go.

Lightly brush the cooked waffles with melted butter and coat them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Serve them immediately, or keep them on a wire rack in a 200°F oven to keep them warm until they're all finished cooking.

If you like, you can serve them with caramel sauce, dulce de leche, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Churro Waffle Ingredients and Substitutions:

Making churro waffles from scratch doesn't require any unusual or uncommon ingredients. In fact, you probably already have everything you need!

Water - Tap water is fine here
Unsalted Butter - you can easily replace butter with a dairy-free butter alternative to make this recipe dairy-free
Granulated Sugar - The sugar you add to the waffle batter could be replaced with almost any other type of sweetener, but replacing it with low-calorie sweetener will likely affect the browning of the waffles. I don't recommend replacing the sugar used in the cinnamon-sugar coating with another sweetener, as it will greatly affect the texture of the coating.
Salt - I used regular table salt for this recipe.
All-Purpose Flour - I did not test this recipe with any other type of flour, and don't recommend using a different type.
Large Eggs
Vanilla Extract - Either real vanilla extract or imitation vanilla will work here.
Canola Oil - I chose canola oil for it's high smoke point and neutral flavor. You could also use vegetable oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, corn oil, or sunflower oil.

A hand dipping a homemade Churro Waffle into a small bowl of dulce de leche

Want more Waffle recipes?

A stack of honey cruller waffles on a white plate. — Honey Cruller Waffles

Corn Waffles - Domestic Dreamboat #glutenfree #breakfast #waffles — Corn Waffles (Gluten Free)

Overnight Yeast-Raised Waffles — Overnight Yeast Raised Belgian Waffles

Churro Waffles Nutrition Notes:

The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one waffle if the recipe makes 10 waffles. If your waffles are smaller or larger than mine (eg. if the recipe makes more or fewer waffles), the nutrition information will vary accordingly.

Note that the nutrition information does not include any dips or garnishes that may be included with your churro waffles.