Think Twice Before Trying To Cook Churros In The Air Fryer

Air fryers have revolutionized the food prep process for millions of home cooks around the world. They offer incredible speed and consistency in cooking and require far less oil (and less cleanup) than old-school deep fryers. Still, they're not suitable for replacing traditional fryers for every recipe — and that includes the delicious sugar-and-cinnamon-dusted churro.

Churros fall into the broader category of fried dough, which is generally not recommended for air fryers. That's because the hot, fast-moving air that cooks the dough doesn't have the same effect as oil does in helping the dough set. Instead, the runny batter will likely drip right through the grates of the cooking tray, creating a major mess. In addition, cooking dough in the air fryer can also lead to other less desirable outcomes, like a lack of proper browning, smaller size, unpleasant texture, and less overall flavor.

If your gut instinct is to toss everything in the air fryer these days, you're not alone. But trying to cook traditional frying batters in this type of appliance is one of the most common mistakes people make with air fryers.

While they might appear relatively hardy, churros should be cooked the traditional way because they're actually fairly delicate. They've been known to both collapse in on themselves from undercooking or explode from an improperly assembled batter, two of the biggest mistakes people make with churros.

Those who were considering the air fryer because they're hesitant over the amount of oil needed for traditional frying methods should try Mashed's churros recipe, which uses just 1 ½ to 3 cups of oil. Plus, thrifty cooks can reuse frying oil several times as long as it's filtered through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth and stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Just because churros aren't a good choice doesn't mean you should ignore your air fryer when it comes to making other baked goods. Cakes, pies, or other items cooked in pans or molds to help them maintain their shape are still excellent choices for this innovative kitchen appliance.