Four Origin Stories, One Pastry: Untangling the Churro's Disputed History

The history of the churro is a culinary mystery with at least four competing origin stories, from ancient Roman fritters to Spanish shepherd snacks. This beloved fried pastry evolved through various cultures and trade routes, leading to distinct regional variations still enjoyed today.

Aylin Kaya

October 14, 2026 · 4 min read

Nobody invented the churro—or at least, nobody we can name. Food historians trace the beloved fried stick through at least four competing origin stories: an ancient Roman fritter, a Moorish syrup-soaked pastry, a Chinese breakfast dough carried home by Portuguese sailors, and a practical mountain snack made by Spanish shepherds. What is clear is that the churro split into distinct traditions as it traveled, and the differences are easy to spot once you know them.

The Debated Origins of the Churro: A Culinary Mystery

Ask where churros come from and you will get confident, contradictory answers. The origin is genuinely unclear, and even the name is contested: the Diccionario de la lengua española treats "churro" as onomatopoeic, imitative of the sound of frying, while other accounts link it to the horns of the churra sheep breed. Rather than one tidy story, the evidence points to a family of fried-dough traditions that converged in Spain and then scattered across the globe through colonization and trade. Each theory below has real documentary support—and real weaknesses.

Ancient Roots: Roman Fritters and Moorish 'Zalabia'

The deepest claim comes from food historian Michael Krondl, who argues that "today's churro is not that different from a recipe for a flour and water fritter that you find in Apicius, a Roman cookbook dating from the 1st century AD." He adds that similar recipes exist from the ancient Greeks and that in the Mediterranean basin, fried dough "basically been around forever."

The Moorish thread is more specific. Some in Spain credit the Moors with bringing a dish called tueles to Spanish territories, where local cooks added their own elements like sugar and chocolate. Preserved cookbooks from Spain's Islamic period include instructions for making al-Zalábiyya—wheat dough pressed through a circular hole and dropped into hot oil—which the Detroit Institute of Arts describes as "the first ancestor of the Spanish churro." The earliest known recipes for the related zalabiyeh appear in the 10th-century Arabic cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh, which offered both plain and latticed versions made from a semi-thin wheat batter poured into hot oil. Traditional serving followed the syrup route: modern cooks of zalabia still describe simple sugar syrup as the classic finish.

Regional Churro Variations: A Comparative Guide

Once churros crossed the Atlantic—particularly to Mexico, where they were embraced and adapted into local cuisines—they began to diverge in shape, coating, and accompaniment. The table below contrasts the documented styles so you can tell them apart at a glance.

Comparing documented churro traditions by region
Region	Typical Accompaniment	Common Characteristics
Spain	Thick, rich hot chocolate or café con leche for dipping	Long and twisted, often served straight; typically dusted with sugar and cinnamon; a breakfast food
Mexico	Hot chocolate or coffee for dipping	Coated in cinnamon-sugar; frequently filled with ingredients such as cajeta or dulce de leche; sold by street vendors and churrerías at fairs and festivals

The pattern to notice: Spain keeps the churro plain and leans on the dip, while Mexico builds the indulgence into the pastry itself with coatings and fillings.