Enjoy healthier Churros con Chocolate with these crispy Air-Fryer Spanish-style churros! Light, golden, and dusted with sugar, they’re paired with a rich hot chocolate dip for a comforting and indulgent treat.

air fryer churros with hot chocolate dip

Churros con chocolate is the ultimate Madrilenian winter breakfast—a beloved tradition in Madrid where locals start their day dipping golden, crispy churros into an ultra-thick, rich dark chocolate. This isn’t your average hot cocoa; it’s a velvety, pudding-like dip thickened with cornstarch for that signature spoon-coating texture. These Spanish-style churros are the original kind—slim, crispy, and best enjoyed fresh, especially when made in the air fryer for a lighter, guilt-free version of this classic!

Chocolate Story

Did you know Spain was the first country to import chocolate in Europe from Mexico in the 16th century? Initially consumed as a bitter medicinal drink, just like the Aztecs used it, chocolate slowly evolved as Spaniards added sugar to soften its taste. What started as a health tonic soon became a luxurious treat enjoyed by high society, eventually spreading across Europe. Today, chocolate is loved worldwide in every shape, colour, and flavour imaginable!

Thickener

Chocolate is a little-known sauce thickener; a little dark chocolate at the end of a brown gravy gives it colour, taste, and thickness. If you prefer a thicker hot chocolate dip, add more chocolate to melt in the milk. If you like an even darker and bitter chocolate, like in Spain, choose a darker type, like 75% cacao dark chocolate.

Fun Facts

Chocolate was once used as money. The ancient Aztecs and Mayans used cacao beans as money—they were valuable!
Chocolate melts at body temperature. That’s why it melts so smoothly in your mouth. It melts at about 34°C (93°F)—just a bit cooler than your body!
There’s a “chocolate holiday” every year. World Chocolate Day is celebrated on July 7th—a perfect excuse to enjoy a sweet treat.
It takes about 400 cacao beans to make one chocolate bar. That’s a lot of beans for just one treat!

Technique

The key to a crispy churro is in its shape. In Spain, they use a special instrument called chucherra, which is especially made for it, but it’s doable with a simple piping bag with a star-shaped tip. This shape helps make the tips of the churros crisp while still having a soft and airy interior.

Air-Fried vs Deep Fried

The Air Fryer gives this lovely crunchy texture, although the colour might be slightly paler than the original deep-fried version. Also, I recommend coating the freshly made churros with a light oil spray before putting them in the air fryer to give the newly made churros more colour.

Variations

For the Chocolate Dip:

Some people add a bit of cinnamon to the chocolate dip. I suggest under half a tablespoon so as not to overpower the chocolate.
This recipe uses a 50% dark chocolate, but you can use up to 75% without problem. In the end, you can adjust the bitterness with added sugar if needed.
Use cacao powder instead of dark chocolate.

The Churros

The thickness of the churros is up to you; I’ve used the largest star shape I could find, but you could make them thinner. Make sure to adjust the time if you go thinner.
If you go for the thicker version, you can stuff them, using a straw to get the center out and fill them with vanilla cream, Nutella, marmalade, etc.

Storage

Churros are best enjoyed fresh, but if you have leftovers:

Room Temperature: Store plain churros in an airtight container for up to 1 day. Reheat in the air fryer or oven at 350°F (175°C) for 3 minutes to crisp them up before serving.
Refrigerator: If already coated or dipped, keep them in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 2 days, but they may soften. Reheat gently and sprinkle fresh sugar before serving.
Freezing: Place cooked, uncoated churros in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze for up to 2 months. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe bag and refrigerate for another 2 months. Reheat straight from frozen in the air fryer or oven.
Chocolate Dip: Store the dip in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or microwave, adding a splash of milk if needed to thin it.

Other Chocolate Treats

5 from 6 votes