How to Reheat Churros in 5 Crispy Ways

Churros is a delectable pastry that’s popular in Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines.

It’s like a donut that needs to have a crusty exterior, but with a soft interior. The difference is in its shape and how its dough is made.

The signature shape of the Churros is formed by squeezing the dough through a piping bag. Hence the elongated and rigid shape.

Meanwhile, the dough, called pate de choux, only contains flour, water, butter and eggs. The eggs serve as the leavening agent when baked. It helps the batter to rise up by evaporation, making it airy but dense inside.

How to reheat churros the right way to retain its crispiness and light texture involves basic equipment, such as the oven, and the stovetop.

How to Reheat Churros

There are 5 ways where you can enjoy reheated churros that still have that crusty outside and moist inside. Your choice of equipment depends on whatever available in your kitchen.

On the Stovetop

You shouldn’t grease the pan with butter or oil when you reheat leftover churros on the stove. The cooked dough will get soggy instead of being crispy.

What you need to do instead is to cover the pan while reheating them, for even cooking. You should also, turn the Churros on all their sides when you reheat them.

The stove should be set to medium (375F) and should be hot enough before popping in the churros. Reheating can be done in 5-8 minutes.

In the Oven

You will have the best outcome when you reheat your Churros in the oven. It is the ideal tool for warming up deep-fried food. There’s no need for you to flip the Churros, as the oven provides even cooking.

You need to preheat the oven and reheat the Churros for 5-8 minutes. Use a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper to place the Churros on, before transferring them to the oven. The paper will absorb the excess oil and water while the churros are reheating. This will keep the crispiness of the outer crust.

In a Toaster Oven

How to warm up churros in a toaster oven requires attentiveness. It’s your next best thing after the oven, but you need to tweak the numbers a bit in comparison to the oven, as it is much easier to heat up the toaster oven than the regular oven. So, be careful!

You can pre-set this little equipment same as the oven (to 375F). Then, when it’s hot enough, slide the churros in and watch them warm up in 5-8 minutes.

Be careful as you might overcook and burn the churros. To prevent this from happening, either lower the temperature or reheat them for a shorter time.

In the Microwave

The quickest way to reheat leftover churros is through the microwave. 10-15 seconds is all you need for the churros to be warm enough and safe enough to consume.

If left for a shorter time, then the reheating process is pretty much useless. If left for a longer time, it will lose its crusty texture and become too moist.

Remember, the microwave heats food by making use of its moisture content. That’s why if churros are left for a long time in the microwave, most of its moisture will be lost by evaporation, leading to a dried up and brittle Churros.

With an Air Fryer

The air fryer is becoming a staple in the kitchen as it dry heats the food in the healthiest way. You need to deep fry churros to be cooked. But when you cook or reheat cooked churros in an air fryer, there’s no need to use a drop of oil or any sort of fat.

Same settings apply if you’re using an air fryer to reheat churros: 5-8 minutes at 375F. But you should be extra cautious to place them apart in the basket to ensure even heating. This will also release all surface moisture of the churros which will keep them away from getting soggy.

With a Deep Fryer?

While very useful for initially cooking the dough, a deep fryer isn’t an ideal equipment to warm up your churros.

Refrying the churros is possibly the worst reheating method. Reintroducing oils into the cooked pastry will only make them soggier and chewy.

Prepping Churros

Food prepping is quite important as it will set the quality of the food you are cooking or reheating.

A good food prep trick involves shaping the churro dough and freezing it up before cooking. This will keep the churros fresh, while preserving its crispy texture when cooked.

To keep churros crispy when cooked, you need to deep fry them in very high heat. Frying them only takes a little time, as leaving them in hot oil for a longer time will sodden them with moisture.

To maintain their warmth when served, place them under a heat lamp. Batches not yet served can be placed in a turned off oven.

Churros are still good to eat for up to 2 days. If there’s still a surplus of the cooked churros, it’s best to store them in an airtight container just over the counter. Churros, stored this way at room temperature, will last for a few days.

Do not store them in the refrigerator! Their texture will turn very soggy and mushy. But you can keep them in the freezer instead.

Freezing is a great way to preserve a cooked churro for up to a month. To freeze churros the proper way, lay them on a baking sheet and freeze them. Once frozen, seal them in a Ziplock bag and push the air out as much as you can, then return them into the freezer.

To reheat frozen churros. You must thaw them first at room temperature before reheating. The oven is the best way to reheat churros, while keeping them crispy and fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are churros good cold?

They can be eaten cold, but you won’t enjoy them as much as when they’re warm. Churros tend to turn spongy and lose their crispiness when they get cold. They are usually known for their crustiness. So a soggy churro is no churro.

You can also enjoy them warm again. Steps on how to reheat churros in different ways are listed on the first part of this guide.

What is the best way to eat churros?

The best way to eat this pastry is partnering it up with a sweet dip. The dough doesn’t contain sugar, so a naked churro is really bland.

The most popular way is to dip it in dense chocolate sauce. Sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar is also a well-known way.

If you ask us, the possibilities are endless: churros is like a base ingredient, much like pizza dough. Your creativity is the limit when it comes to pairing up churros with a tasty dip or topping.

How do you save leftover churros?

Churros are best eaten within 24 hours. But if there’s a surplus or you want to eat them another day, store them over the counter at room temperature. They will last for 2 days tops this way. You do need to wrap them in paper towel and lock them in an airtight container to keep them fresh.

Why are my churros not crispy?

Even if you have prepped the churros well, the soggy problem lies on how they are cooked in the first place. Do not overcrowd your fryer with churros; patiently cook them in batches of 4 to 6 pieces.

If they still get soggy, the oil temperature might be the problem. The oil needs to be hot enough for the churros to become crusty and hard on the outside while soft on the inside. Soak the uncooked churros once the oil gets to the ideal temperature (375F or more than that).

Are churros supposed to be soft on the inside?

They should be, but not as chewy and doughy as other pastries. Biting on a churros should feel soft, yet not doughy.

Churros should be fried in small batches at the ideal oil temperature for a few minutes. Excess oil can be removed with a paper towel. You should allow them to cool for a minute or so before rolling each one in a cinnamon-sugar coating.