Air Fryer Nutella Stuffed Churros (Puff Pastry, 20 Min)

Air Fryer Nutella Stuffed Churros are crispy on the outside, soft in the middle, and packed with warm, melty Nutella in every bite. They start with store-bought puff pastry instead of homemade dough, so you get bakery-style churros coated in cinnamon sugar in about 20 minutes — no piping bag, no pot of hot oil, no mess.

If you have ever wanted churros on a weeknight but did not want to deal with choux pastry, this is the shortcut. The puff pastry does all the work, the air fryer crisps the outside, and the Nutella melts into a gooey chocolate-hazelnut center while it cooks.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Puff pastry does the heavy lifting. No boiling water, no dough from scratch, no piping.
• The Nutella center melts as it cooks, so you get a warm chocolate-hazelnut filling in every bite.
• They are ready in about 20 minutes, start to finish, including preheating.
• No deep frying, which means no oil to heat, strain, or clean up afterward.
• Five simple ingredients, most of which you probably already have.
• They reheat well in the air fryer, so leftovers actually stay crispy.

Ingredients Needed

• Puff Pastry (2 sheets): Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or for 20 to 30 minutes on the counter. It should be pliable but still cold.
• Nutella (1 cup): You can also use a nut-free chocolate spread, sunflower seed butter, cookie butter, or any thick chocolate spread. Avoid thin syrups, which will run out during cooking.
• Unsalted Butter (1/2 cup, melted): This is the glue that helps the cinnamon sugar stick after cooking.
• Granulated Sugar (1/2 cup) and Ground Cinnamon (1 tablespoon): The classic churro coating. Mix them together right before you need them.

Why Puff Pastry Works for Churros

Traditional churros are made from pâte à choux, a cooked dough that gets piped through a star tip and deep fried. It is worth doing, and if you want the real thing, my Air Fryer Churros recipe walks through the classic dough step by step.

Puff pastry gets you to a similar place with far less effort. As it heats, the laminated layers separate and steam, which gives you that shattery, flaky exterior that mimics a fried churro shell. Because it comes in flat sheets, you can also wrap it around a filling — something you simply cannot do with piped choux dough. That is what makes stuffed churros possible in the first place.

The tradeoff is shape. These come out as rolled logs rather than ridged sticks, so they look more like a churro-flavored pastry roll. They taste like a churro, and once they are coated in cinnamon sugar, nobody at the table complains.

How To Make Air Fryer Nutella Stuffed Churros

Step One: Cut the Puff Pastry

Lay one thawed sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured cutting board. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice it into four even squares, then cut each square in half diagonally to make triangles. You will have eight triangles per sheet. Repeat with the second sheet for 16 total.

Step Two: Add the Nutella Filling

Spoon about 1 tablespoon of Nutella onto the wide end of each triangle. Use the back of a spoon or a butter knife to spread it toward the center, leaving about a half inch of bare pastry around the edges. That border is what lets you seal the roll.

Step Three: Roll and Seal

Starting at the wide end, roll each triangle up toward the point. Pinch the seam and both ends firmly to lock the Nutella inside. Take your time here — a loose seal is the single most common reason filling leaks out during cooking.

Step Four: Air Fry

Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray and preheat to 400°F for 3 to 5 minutes. Add the churros in a single layer, seam side down, leaving space between each one. Cook at 400°F for 5 to 8 minutes on the air fry setting, until deep golden and puffed. Work in batches rather than crowding the basket.

Step Five: Coat in Cinnamon Sugar

While they cook, melt the butter and stir the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon together in a shallow bowl. As soon as the churros come out, dip each one in the melted butter, then roll it in the cinnamon sugar until fully coated. Do this while they are hot — the coating will not stick to a cooled churro.

Step Six: Serve

Serve warm, on their own or with caramel sauce, melted chocolate, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Recipe Tips

• Keep the pastry cold. If it warms up and turns sticky, chill it for 10 minutes before rolling. Cold pastry seals better and puffs higher.
• Do not overfill. One tablespoon feels like a small amount, but more than that will find its way out of the seam.
• Seal the ends, not just the seam. Nutella escapes from the sides more often than the top.
• Preheat the air fryer. Starting in a cold basket gives you a pale, slightly doughy exterior.
• Cook in a single layer. Stacked churros steam instead of crisping.
• Coat immediately. The butter-then-sugar order matters, and both work best on hot pastry.
• Line the basket with a small piece of parchment if your air fryer runs hot and you are worried about leaks sticking.

Dough Variations

Puff pastry is the flakiest option, but it is not the only one that works:

• Crescent roll dough gives you a softer, more bread-like churro and comes pre-cut into triangles, which saves a step. I have a full version of that here: Air Fryer Crescent Churros.
• Refrigerated biscuit dough makes thicker, doughnut-style bites. Flatten each biscuit before filling.
• Flour tortillas roll up tightly and crisp fast, though they will not puff.
• Wonton wrappers turn this into a crisp, thin-shelled version — closer to my Air Fryer Nutella Wontons than to a churro, but excellent in its own right.

You can also swap the filling. Cookie butter, dulce de leche, thick raspberry jam, or a spoonful of cream cheese mixed with sugar all hold up to the heat.

What To Serve With Nutella Churros

These are rich, so a plain dipping sauce usually beats a fancy one. Warm caramel, melted semisweet chocolate, or dulce de leche are all good. A scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside turns them into a proper dessert.

If you are building a dessert spread, they pair well with something crunchy and less sweet for contrast — Air Fryer Churro Chips are good for exactly that, and Air Fryer Cinnamon Churro Bites work if you want a smaller, poppable option on the same tray.

Make Ahead, Storing, Freezing, and Reheating

Make Ahead: Assemble the rolls, place them on a parchment-lined tray, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before cooking. Cook and coat them right before serving — the cinnamon sugar coating does not hold up to sitting.

Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They will soften as they sit.

Freezing: Freeze cooked, uncoated churros in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. You can also freeze them unbaked and cook from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes.

Reheating: Air fry at 300°F for 2 to 4 minutes until warm and crisp again. The microwave works in a pinch at 10 to 15 seconds, but the pastry goes soft.

Recipe FAQs

Why is my Nutella leaking out? Almost always overfilling or an incomplete seal. Stick to 1 tablespoon, leave a bare border around the edges, and pinch the seam and both ends firmly. Placing them seam side down in the basket also helps.

Can I use crescent rolls instead of puff pastry? Yes. Crescent dough comes pre-cut into triangles and produces a softer, doughier churro. See Air Fryer Crescent Churros for the full version with adjusted timing.

Do I have to preheat the air fryer? It makes a noticeable difference. Puff pastry relies on a blast of initial heat to separate its layers, and a cold basket gives you flatter, paler results.

Why did my puff pastry not puff? Usually the pastry got too warm before it went in, or the air fryer was not preheated. Chill the assembled rolls for 10 minutes and start with a hot basket.

Can I make these without Nutella? Yes. Any thick spread works — sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version, cookie butter, or dulce de leche. Thin sauces will run out during cooking.

How many does this make? Two sheets of puff pastry yield 16 churros. Halve everything for a smaller batch.

Can I bake these instead? Yes. Bake at 400°F on a parchment-lined sheet for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Coat in butter and cinnamon sugar the same way.

If churros are becoming a habit, my Air Fryer Churro Donuts use the same cinnamon-sugar finish in a completely different shape, and the Air Fryer Copycat Disneyland Churro Bites are the closest thing to the park version I have managed at home. You will find the rest of my dessert recipes here.