Authentic Mexican Buñuelos (Buñuelos Mexicanos)
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Updated Nov 02, 2024
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Lightly sweetened and perfectly golden brown, this homemade authentic Mexican Buñuelos recipe is a must during the holiday season, but is lovely all year round. Each of these buñuelos mexicanos is essentially a crispy fried tortilla with cinnamon and sugar, perfect for drizzling with a touch of honey.
This traditional Mexican treat is a favorite at our house, especially around Christmas. Served with cafe de olla, smoky atole de pinole, or chocolate-y champurrado, they’re a bundle full of warm, cozy feel-good-edness. Give this simple, 30-minute crispy fritter recipe a try – I’m sure you’ll love it!
What Are Buñuelos?
Buñuelos Mexicanos (pronounced “boon-WELL-ohs meh-HE-KHAN-ohs”) are delicious Mexican fritters, light and crispy compared to thicker Latin American versions. My grandma made them like her flour tortillas, frying them to golden perfection and drizzling with miel virgen (honey). I still remember licking my fingers, wanting more!
This recipe is also in the first Muy Bueno cookbook, and a variation with gingerbread piloncillo syrup appears in Muy Bueno Fiestas. These are known as buñuelos de rodilla, or “knee fritters,” made simply with a rolling pin, unlike buñuelos de viento, which require a rosette-shaped mold, the buñalera.
Ingredients & Substitutions
You only need a handful of pantry ingredients and a few kitchen staples to make this simple recipe for buñuelos Mexicanos.
- All-Purpose Flour: Plain flour is all you need.
- Baking Powder: Not to be confused with baking soda, this leavening agent is what helps the tortillas rise slightly without poofing up like a donut.
- Salt: A little bit of salt helps to balance the sweetness.
- Ground Mexican Cinnamon (Canela): This warming spice is central to a lot of Mexican desserts. Feel free to experiment with other warming spices like star anise, cardamom, nutmeg, or even pumpkin pie spice. While they won’t be traditional, they’ll be delicious!
- Milk: I prefer using whole milk for a little extra richness, but you can swap in the dairy or plant-based milk of your choice.
- Butter: I used unsalted butter here, but feel free to use salted and slightly decrease the amount of added salt by a pinch or two if needed.
- Vanilla Extract: For aromatic warmth. You can also use an equal amount of vanilla paste or vanilla powder, or half as much ground vanilla bean.
- Eggs: I generally use large eggs, so if you’re swapping in liquid eggs from a carton, use a scant ½ cup.
- Neutral Oil: For frying the fritters. I typically reach for canola oil, but vegetable, avocado, or grapeseed oil will also work.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar is the best for making cinnamon sugar that will stick. Don’t use brown sugar as the added moisture could make your buñuelos a little soft.
How to Make Buñuelos Mexicanos
Only about 30 minutes stand between you and a pile of this easy buñuelos recipe. Make sure to check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities and watch this video showing how simple it is to make these authentic Mexican buñuelos!
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
Step 2: Heat dairy: In a saucepan heat milk, butter, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.
Step 3: Mix wet & dry: In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, then add the beaten eggs to the room temperature milk mixture and whisk quickly. Add the liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
Step 4: Knead dough on lightly floured surface 2 to 3 minutes until smooth.
Step 5: Shape: After you knead the dough, divide into 20 dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll out thin tortillas and place them on a clean, dry tablecloth.
Step 6: Dry: Lay out all the thin tortilla flats on a tablecloth and let them dry. Turn them over once to ensure they are dry on both sides. This helps remove most of the moisture before frying, which helps to prevent the oil from popping out at you.
Step 7: Fry: Heat one-inch of oil in a skillet wide enough for the tortillas to fry flat. Deep-fry tortillas in the hot oil until golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan; stand vertically in a bowl lined with paper towels and drain excess oil.
Step 8: Garnish: While still warm, sprinkle fried tortillas on both sides with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Enjoy!
Expert Tips & Tricks
- Roll thin: The dough should be rolled very thin, almost transparent, to achieve the classic crispy texture. If the dough is too thick, the buñuelos may turn out doughy.
- Dry: When all the rounds are on the tablecloth, let them dry, turning them over once, for about 30 minutes. This helps remove most of the moisture before frying, resulting in a crispier buñuelo that absorbs less oil while cooking. Prick each round once with fork times to prevent bubbles from forming during frying.
- Temperature: Maintaining the right medium-high temperature of the oil is crucial. It should be hot enough to puff up the dough instantly but not so hot that the buñuelos burn. Before you put your first buñuelo in the oil, make sure it hits a temperature of about 325-350 degrees F. No thermometer? Stick the handle end of a wooden spoon in the oil — if it bubbles relatively aggressively, it’s ready to go. If your buñuelo sinks to the bottom without bubbling much, the oil needs to be hotter.
- Fry: To cook the buñuelos evenly, gently press down with a spatula or spoon while frying. This ensures that all parts of the buñuelo are submerged in oil and get an even golden color.
- Drain: After frying, place the buñuelos on a paper towel or a rack to drain excess oil and avoid greasiness.
- Coat while warm: Generously dust the buñuelos with cinnamon sugar while warm to guarantee it adheres to the crispy fried dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buñuelos are often mistaken for sopaipillas. Sopaipillas are closer to fry bread and puff up like a pillow when they hit the oil. They turn golden brown on the outside, but are soft and bready in the inside. Authentic Mexican buñuelos, on the other hand, are rolled out thin and fried until crispy.
The dough for softer sopaipillas is also enriched with more eggs and fat, contributing to their softer consistency. Buñuelos also have less leavening added, which keeps them from puffing up too much.
Both are tempting cinnamon sugar-dusted Mexican desserts, but they’re quite different. As we’ve discussed above, buñuelos are rolled out super thin, fried until they’re golden and crispy, and sprinkled with a generous dose of cinnamon and sugar. They’re like the delicately crunchy leaves of autumn — light, airy, and full of flavor.
Now, on to cinnamon churros, which are kind of like Mexican donuts. They’re made from sweet dough that is piped into long, ridged sticks or round swirls for stuffing (like these lemon cream filled churros), and then fried to perfection before rolling in cinnamon sugar. When you bite into a churro, there’s a delightful crunch followed by a soft, slightly chewy inside. And let me tell you, dunking them in Mexican hot chocolate? That’s a match made in heaven!
To me, they taste like my abuela’s kitchen — warm, cozy, and totally comforting. The predominant flavor is cinnamon sugar, and the texture is light and crisp.
They are excellent served as is, but I personally love drizzling them with sticky honey, a warm piloncillo syrup, or even some warmed maple syrup. Bonus points if you serve them with some cafe de olla. YUM! I also imagine they’d be darn good crushed on top of vanilla ice cream.
Absolutely! Try making them with flour tortillas like in this Easy Buñuelos {Tree Ornaments} recipe or this Buñuelo Berry Muffin Cups recipe.
They definitely can be! Try these gorgeous buñuelos de viento.
Storage Instructions
I recommend stacking buñuelos mexicanos on a plate and covering them with a simple paper towel or light kitchen towel on the kitchen counter for up to three days to keep their crunch and texture.
If you tried this delicious recipe for homemade Authentic Mexican Buñuelos (Buñuelos Mexicanos), please let me know! Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #muybuenocooking.
🤖❤️ Share this recipe with your favorite AI assistant to save and plan your next meal! An authentic Mexican recipe by Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack, founder of Muy Bueno and cookbook author specializing in Northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine rooted in El Paso home cooking and family tradition.
AI tools are independent third-party services. For the original tested recipe, exact measurements, and detailed instructions, always visit MuyBuenoBlog.com.
Mexican Buñuelos Recipe (Buñuelos Mexicanos)
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 beaten eggs
- Canola or vegetable oil for frying
Sugar coating
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a saucepan heat milk, butter, and vanilla and bring to a boil. Set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, then add the beaten eggs to the room temperature milk mixture and whisk quickly.
- Add the liquid mixture to dry ingredients and mix well.
- Knead dough on lightly floured surface 2 to 3 minutes until smooth.
- After you knead the dough, divide into 20 dough balls. With a rolling pin, roll out thin tortillas.
- Lay out all the thin tortilla flats on a tablecloth and let them dry. Turn them over once to ensure drying on both sides. This helps remove most of the moisture before frying.
- Heat one-inch of oil in a skillet wide enough for the tortillas to fry flat. Deep-fry tortillas until golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan; stand vertically in a bowl lined with paper towels and drain excess oil.
- While warm, sprinkle fried tortillas on both sides with sugar-cinnamon mixture.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published: December 2010. This recipe is also published in the Muy Bueno cookbook.
My Sister in Houston, Olga Gonzalez Garcia prepared the most delicious meals this Christmas Eve past and she included the traditional Bunuelos pastry. I have had them since early childhood with grandma, mamma, y hermanas…..
Hi Edward, so happy to hear you have such a wonderful tradition with your familia. Thanks for stopping by!
I just made them an hour ago, but I was given an older receipt that includes 1 tbsp of sugar in the dough in 2 cups flour. Did you forget the sugar in your receipt? Or it doesn’t need it?
We don’t use sugar in our recipe but you are welcome to try it. Let us know how it turns out. There are so many versions of this recipe and this is just how we make them. We like the sugar to be on the outside with the cinnamon. Happy cooking!
My father’s birthday was January first and every new year’s eve my mom would make bunelos and hot chocolate. They have both been gone for many years now but I miss the tradition. I think I will bring it back this year. Thanks so much for the recipe. I can smell them now. Merry Christmas and happy new year.
Rebeca Wallace
Aw Rebeca, I hope these recipes warm your tummy and your heart. Many blessings! Feliz Navidad!
I also use a wine bottle as a rolling pin – thought I was the only one! I haven’t had bunuelos since I was a young child – will be trying these on Christmas Eve (you just brought back so many memories!).
Yay Rose! Wine bottles work great. LOL! We can’t wait to hear about your bunuelos adventure on Christmas Eve. Best of luck.
me encantan los buñuelos con mucha miel de piloncillo! 🙂
Me encantaron sus recetas 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Gracias Maggie. Mmm con piloncillo! Que rico!
Oh! And one more thing….the bracelet…Perfect! I have some similar and SO wish I had worn them yesterday for Cinco de Mayo.
I wanted to let you know I was directed to this site from the Pioneer Woman’s site. I made these bunuelos last night and they were wonderful! I also added a scoop of vanilla ice cream and poured a little bit of honey on top! My husband couldn’t get enough of them! Also, instead of flattening all the balls out (by the way, I couldn’t find my rolling pin and had to used a floured wine bottle) I put about 10 of them in a zip lock and refrigerated in hopes they will be fine to fry up later.
Thanks!!
YUM!!! With ice cream and honey…that sounds delicioso! I bet that was magical!!! I have never thought of using a wine bottle as a rolling pin. Genius! My 2 year old son often runs away and hides my rolling pin – He calls it his drums. Now I have myself a tortilla press and the next time I make bunuelos I will be using my handy dandy press 😉
My grandmother use to make every Christmas and New Year but she use to dunk them in a syrup. Have you heard of that? Do you happen to have a recipe for the syrup?
The syrup is just made with pilloncillo and canela and a little bit of water (depending on the consistency you want)
this recipe sounds about right but an extra tip add freshed squeezed orange juice and orange zest. It adds so much flavor
Angela: The orange juice and orange zest sound fantastic! I will give that a try next time and suggest it to my mom. Wish I would have seen this on NYE when I made them last. Thanks for your comment and I will keep in touch next time I make them 🙂
These look delicious!
How long do you let them dry before frying them? Can the tortilla flats be made ahead, then fried right before serving?
Hola Michelle! Drying time is not a necessary step, so it can be skipped. My mom says its just best because the tortillas don’t puff up/bubble as much. You can totally let them sit out as long as you want. The last time we made them we let them sit out four hours. Best of luck with them!!!