This is a lightened choux-style churro. No deep frying, just a spritz of oil spray in the air fryer, which keeps it at ∼130-150 kcal per churro instead of 250+.
Quick Facts
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Chill Time: 15-20 min (optional but helps shape hold)
- Cook Time: 8-10 min per batch, 15-20 min total
- Total: ∼35 min
- Yield: 12-14 mini churros (4 servings)
- Calories: ∼145 kcal per churro / 3 churros = ∼435 kcal
Equipment
- Air fryer, saucepan, piping bag with large star tip (Wilton 1M / 8B), parchment paper, cooking spray
Ingredients
For the churros:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or low-fat milk
- 1 Tbsp light butter or unsalted butter (about 14g)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (90g)
- 1 large egg + 1 egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the cinnamon coating:
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar or monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Light oil spray / cooking spray
Optional light chocolate dip:
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk, 40g dark chocolate 70%, 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a saucepan, bring water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a simmer. Remove from heat, add flour all at once and stir vigorously until it forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides.
- Cool and add eggs: Let cool 5 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg white and vanilla until glossy and pipeable. It should be thick but smooth.
- Pipe: Transfer to piping bag with star tip. Pipe 4-5 inch logs onto parchment. For best results, chill for 15-20 min in the fridge. The recipe is often piped and chilled for 1 hour to hold shape.
- Air fry: Preheat air fryer to 375°F / 190°C. Lightly spritz basket with cooking spray. Place churros with space between, spritz tops lightly with spray. Cook 8-10 min, turning halfway, until golden brown.
- Coat: Mix sugar + cinnamon. While still warm, lightly spray churros again and roll in cinnamon sugar.
- Dip (optional): Warm milk, melt chocolate and cocoa, stir until smooth.
Tips to keep it light:
- Don’t skip the star tip – those ridges = extra crunch without needing more oil.
- Don’t overcrowd. Air circulation is what makes them crisp.
- If using sweetener instead of sugar, add it to the coating after cooking, not in the dough.
- For even lighter WW-style version, you can swap to 1/2 cup self-rising flour + 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt, but texture will be more bread-like.
Storage: Best fresh. Re-crisp in air fryer 2 min at 350°F. Freeze piped raw dough up to 1 month and air fry from frozen +2 min.
