How to Store Cooked or Uncooked Churros (So They Stay Fresh)

Whether you are making churros ahead of time to store overnight or have leftovers that you want to keep fresh, you’ve come to the right place. This article provides the most efficient ways to store either your cooked or uncooked churros to save you the trouble of sorting through that entanglement of answers.

Continue reading on to learn the best ways to store them and keep them fresh.

Storing Cooked Churros in a Container

Storing churros is generally the first thing that comes to mind when considering how to keep them fresh after baking, since they can’t simply be left out overnight. 

Here’s what you need to store cooked churros in a container:

• An airtight container, such as a snack container that snaps shut
• A paper towel

It’s important to use the proper kind of container because, without it, they will become stale before it’s morning.

Why This Method Works

Storing churros in an airtight container effectively keeps air from coming in and out, preventing them from going stale. A paper towel lined on the inside of the container helps keep them crispy over time and is necessary to absorb any moisture that may form during storage. 

Now that we know how to store churros in a container, there’s some more to it to keep them crispy rather than soggy.

Make Sure to Cool the Churros

Before you place the churros into a container, you need to make sure that the churros have completely cooled after you baked them. Storing them while they are still warm can create a lot of condensation in an airtight container, making them soggy despite the paper towel. 

Pro Tip: An excellent method to cool the churros off is by setting them on a rack. Cooling the churros on a rack ensures that one side isn’t left soggy from resting on a surface while it cools and replaces the need for you to turn them every other minute to keep them crispy. 

To help remove any remaining grease or moisture during this cooling period, place some paper towels onto the rack as well. Make sure to replace the paper towels if they start to soak through. Once the churros are cooled, you can now store them in the airtight container you prepared.

How Long Churros Last Using This Method

When storing them in a sealed container, the churros can last up to two days as long as the container is kept at room temperature.

Storing Churros In the Fridge

There are different ways you can store churros in the fridge depending on if they are already cooked or are still uncooked. Let’s dive into either way below.

Cooked Churros

Although you shouldn’t store fried churros in the fridge since it can make them soggy, it can be done if you have no other option; plus, there are ways to reheat them to make them crispy once more. 

To store churros in the fridge, you’ll need: 

• An airtight, resealable freezer bag
• A straw or an air vacuum pump, if applicable 
• An airtight container 

Steps to Storing Cooked Churros In the Fridge

Here are the steps to storing cooked churros in the fridge:

• Step 1: Make sure your churros have cooled
• Step 2: Place your churros into a freezer bag
• Step 3: Use either a straw or a vacuum pump to remove as much air from the bag as possible
• Step 4: Place the bag into an airtight container, such as a snack container
• Step 5: Place the container into the fridge

The main goal is to ensure there is as little air as possible in storage with the churros. Checking this is a precaution because, in a fridge, moisture and condensation can build up.

If the containers you stored your churros in aren’t entirely sealed or as airtight as possible, moisture can seep in, or condensation can form and quickly make the churros soggy. 

How Long Churros Last With this Method

Although it might seem redundant to put so much effort into keeping the churros from going soggy in the fridge, it’s to prevent them from going bad much quicker if you can fix that with some reheating. Typically, cooked churros can be kept in the fridge overnight or for a maximum of two days. 

Reheating Cooked Chilled Churros

When reheating your cooked churros, there are several appliances you can use to ensure they come out crispy again: 

• An oven
• A toaster oven
• An air fryer

The above list is the best way to reheat your cooked churros, as it will keep them crispy. When reheating them, it’s best to time them for about five minutes at 375-400˚F and to keep them separated from one another on the tray you put them on. 

Cooking appliances such as a microwave can be used as well, but it will make the churros soggy once finished.

Uncooked Churros

If you need to keep your churro dough in a safe place where it can stay fresh overnight until you can cook it, a fridge is an excellent way to go.

To store churro dough in the fridge, you need:

• Wax paper
• A baking tray
• Plastic wrap 

Now, let’s take a look at some steps you can follow to store the churro dough in the fridge.

Steps to Storing Uncooked Churros In the Fridge

Here are the steps you can take to store your churro dough in the fridge:

• Step 1: Line your baking tray with some wax paper so you can begin to pipe the churro dough onto the tray. Piping the dough out rather than keeping the dough in a bowl is crucial since it can be challenging and somewhat tedious to pipe cold churro dough later when you want to cook it. 
• Step 2: When piping the churros out, make sure they are spaced apart not to start to stick together. 
• Step 3: Once they’re all laid out, tightly cover the baking tray with plastic wrap before you put it into the refrigerator. 

Now that we know how to store them, let’s take a look at how long they will last.

How Long Churros Last With This Method

Typically, refrigerated raw churros can be stored for up to three days. However, it can last 24 hours in the fridge for the best flavor upon being cooked before the dough starts to become stale and won’t taste as good upon cooking.

Storing Churros In the Freezer

We know how to store both cooked and uncooked churros in the fridge, but what about freezing them? Let’s take a look below to see if we can store churros by freezing them.

Cooked Churros

If you’re planning on keeping your cooked churros as an emergency snack for a long time ahead, then freezing them is your best option. 

To freeze your baked churros, you’ll need: 

• A baking tray
• Parchment paper
• Airtight container or freezer bag

Now, let’s see a list of steps for storing cooked churros in the freezer.

Steps to Storing Cooked Churros In the Freezer

Here are the steps to storing cooked churros in the freezer:

• Step 1: To make sure they don’t stick together when you place them in the freezer, you first want to lay them out on a baking tray that has you lined with parchment paper.
• Step 2: Ensure the cooked churros are all separated before you place them into the freezer for about an hour or so or until they’re decently cold.
• Step 3: Afterward, you can store the cooked churros into either an airtight container or freezer bag, with as much air pushed out as possible, before popping it back into the freezer. 
• Step 4: If you’d like to store them as you would in the fridge, with the freezer bag inside of an airtight container, that is also a valid option.

Now that we know how to store cooked churros in the freezer, let’s take a look at some tips on reheating them.

Reheating Frozen Cooked Churros

Keep in mind that when you reheat your churros again after freezing them, don’t allow them to thaw out. Letting them thaw out will introduce moisture into the churro, immediately making it extremely soggy after all that hard work of keeping it as fresh as possible. 

How Long Churros Last With This Method

Cooked churros can last in the freezer for up to one month before they start to lose their flavor and go stale. At most, they can last up to a few months, but if they begin to taste odd after you reheat them, it’s best to throw the rest out at that point. 

Uncooked Churros

If you’re planning to make churros well ahead of time, freezing your dough is a viable option.

To freeze uncooked churros, you’ll need: 

• A baking tray
• Wax paper
• Plastic wrap
• An airtight container 

Now, let’s see some steps to using this method of storage for churros.

Steps to Freezing Uncooked Churros

Here are the steps to freezing uncooked churros:

• Step 1: You first want to pipe the churro dough out onto the baking tray that has been lined with wax paper because it’ll especially be a pain if you try to pipe them later when the dough is frozen. 
• Step 2: Once the churro dough is piped out and separated, cover the tray with plastic wrap and place it into the freezer for an hour or until the dough is hard to the touch.
• Step 3: Since they’re now frozen and won’t stick to one another, you can take the tray out, collect the uncooked churros into an airtight container, and stick it back into the freezer for storage. 

Now that we know how to store uncooked churros with this method, let’s look at how long they will last.

How Long Churros Last With This Method

Uncooked churro dough can last up to a few weeks in the freezer before the dough starts to turn stale. When you go to cook the dough after freezing it, always make sure to fry it right away rather than letting it thaw out. 

Final Bite

I hope this article has provided all the info you need when it comes to storing churros correctly. Thanks for stoppin’ by!

For more, don’t miss How Long Does Queso Last? (And How to Store It Correctly).