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.
Thanks for sharing. Mom is 94 years old and she forgets which ingredients to use 🙁
She still makes them once in awhile, but not like she use to. I’m keeping up tradition and now that I have a complete recipe, I think she will be happy that someone else can take over! Grandkids dig these!
Delicious! Next time will try them with a killer caramel sauce that a relative makes. Have had bunuelos at a local Mexican restaurant topped with melted vanilla ice cream. So heavenly.
This will be my 2nd or 3rd year using your recipe and let me tell you it is my favorite!!!!I grew up in Texas and have tried lots of variations of this recipe. My husband and his mother were stunned at how awesome they tasted and how much better they were than the ones his grand ma used to make. Thank you so much, the children are now learning this recipe and hopefully one day they will carry it on. God bless and Merry Christmas
How long do they stay fresh for? Especially when they have the cinnamon sugar sprinkled on them?
Hi Janette, I would say 2-3 days at the most. As long as they are stored at room temp covered or in a tightly sealed container. Feliz Navidad.
Just found your website after a web search. Great find, thank you! A happened to come across a box mix for “Bunuelos” in my small local market in Northern New Mexico and was shocked. I had thought that my childhood memories of “Bunuelos” (in Chula Vista, South of San Diego) were something I had mixed up. Now I know that they really do exist and I’ll quit frying up flour tortillas with the hope of something similar. I wish I had come across your site earlier. I’ll try the box mix for a practice run, as not to waste it and then make your recipe for the real deal. I can’t wait to check out the rest of your recipes.
What were your thoughts on using the tortilla press vs a rolling pin?
Thank you so much for sharing your memories, recipes and expertise!
Hi Heather,
So glad you found Muy Bueno too! As far as a tortilla press that only works for corn tortillas. With flour dough you have to use a rolling pin.
Hope that helps.
I’m so glad to have found your site.
I’m going to make these this NYE. My husband’s grandma used to make them and the recipe that her daughter-in-law (my mother-in-law) gave me didn’t turn out at all. I thought it would be nice to make these for my children!
I was born and raised in El Paso and I never paid any attention to how my grandmother made her recipes. They were delicious! Then she passed away and took her knowledge with her. I’m happy to have found your blog with El Paso recipes! Other places have mexican food and recipes but they just don’t taste like “HOME”. I love your blog!
Welcome Lorrie! We love to hear from El Pasoans. I hope these recipes warm your heart and home and remind you of your grandmother.
I will be making these this weekend to suprise my husband. I am so excited. His abuela makes these every Christmas and she makes so many that we have them drying all over the place. Lol. We recently moved and he is kind of home sick so I want to give him a taste of home.
Keep us posted Ashley. Your hubby is one lucky guy. Such a super sweet gesture 😉
In the summer we top them with dulce de leche, mangos, and strawberries. Its a great summer option.
How long does this take to make?
Hi Amy, if you make them the traditional way we have posted you need to leave the rolled out dough over night. However, if you are in a hurry and want to make them immediately it is possible. You should count on at least 1 1/2 – 2 hours from start to finish.
Hi, I came across this recipe and decided to make these for my boyfriend. The recipe was simple and easy to follow. They came out absolutely perfect. My boyfriends mother gave me a recipe for a brown sugar syrup that tastes amazing with the bunelos. I will definitely be making these again. Do you have a recipe for Atole?