Why Do Churros Explode?! Here's How to Avoid That Alarming Mistake

Whipping up your own homemade version of your favorite food is a special experience. Perhaps doubly so when you do a good job of it and create something even better than the original. Or at least good enough to pass for a dupe.

But what happens when it all goes wrong?

One TikTok video showing who appear to be a father and daughter making churros for Spanish class has us asking the very alarming question: Why do churros explode?! Here's the reason behind the explosive mistake and how to avoid it in the future.

It can happen to anyone. And it happened to Morgan and her father in May 2025 after they attempted to create a culinary delight for Morgan's Spanish class.

In the video, they set the camera up in front of an impressively-made plate of churros along with a hot dipping bowl.

Morgan's father goes to take a bite when suddenly things go badly wrong and it explodes in his face, shooting steam in every direction as he jumps off camera, grabbing for his mouth. Morgan laughed before asking, "what the f**k?!" And that's a pretty valid question, all things considered.

So what went wrong?

According to Just for Fruits, people find their churros explode most often when they don't use a ridged piping tip when they make the dough. It causes the outside to cook faster and set while the inside fills with steam, which explodes when someone tries to take a bite.

Most people think that all you need is a tube-shaped item made from churro dough, and Bob's your uncle. Unfortunately, there's a bit more to it than that.

You have to pay attention to the shape of your churros and the heat at which you cook it. And you should also check to make sure you aren't getting air bubbles in your dough.

So how can you prevent this unfortunate explosion?

Just for Fruits and other recipe sites recommend using a star-shaped piping tip when you dole out your churros. This allows the inside to receive more heat, cooking the interior and exterior more evenly and preventing that alarming steam build-up.

By doing this, you allow the oil to heat the inside as well as the outside.

They also recommend getting your oil to a temperature of around 350-400⁰F and only cooking a few churros at a time to avoid overcrowding. This will ensure that the heat is distributed more evenly.

Baking a Moment explains that on the flip side, you may have deflating churros if your centers do not cook enough, giving you limp and flat churros, which is, admittedly, probably better than the exploding churros.

To avoid this, the site recommends cooking your churros longer and turning the temperature down if the outsides cook too quickly and leave the inside doughy and raw.

Basically, use a star tip when piping out your dough, make sure they're cooked thoroughly and evenly, and maybe poke one with a fork first before taking a bite.

Just to be sure.