Colombian Buñuelos
The perfect recipe to make soft and delicious Colombian buñuelos. Enjoy them with hot chocolate or a cup of coffee all year round.
Today we’ll be talking about Colombian buñuelos, which just like with Colombian natilla, has to be made during the holiday season. They’re completely inseparable and made for each other. However, unlike the natilla, which is only made during the holidays, buñuelos are made all year round. We, Colombians, love our buñuelos and serve them on any day and at any time. You can even find street vendors in every city dedicated to making and selling buñuelos.
And just like with natilla, in Colombia they make them with not only cornstarch but also cassava flour. The cheese is very particular, it’s a special cheese we call queso costeño, which is usually only found in Colombia. It’s a salty and semi-solid type of cheese that gives these cheese fritters a very distinctive flavor. But for this recipe, I have an alternative, and that is the reason I posting it on the blog. I have been trying all types of cheese over the years and I finally got it down to two that I like, Mexican queso fresco and feta cheese, a crumbly, aged, Greek cheese that has a very strong flavor. The combination of both cheeses gives these buñuelos the same unique flavor that you get from the queso costeño.
Now, another alternative would be Mexican cotija cheese because it’s very similar to queso costeño. But, I have noticed that when I use cotija cheese, the buñuelos come out dry and not too spongy. The last option would be to mix the queso fresco with the cotija, but in that case, you would have to season very well with plenty of salt.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Cheese: In Colombia, you can use queso costeño. In the US you can use queso fresco with feta cheese. You can also mix queso fresco with cotija cheese. Or just use the cotija, but keep in mind that if you only use this cheese, the buñuelos don’t come out as spongy.
- Cornstarch: One brand is not better than the other, so feel free to use the one you like best.
- Cassava or Tapioca starch or flour: Again, use any brand and don’t get confused with the label, you can use either, flour or starch. However, make sure to only use sour tapioca, never sweet.
- Sugar: Don’t worry, this ingredient is only used to balance the flavor and does not make the buñuelos sweet.
- Eggs: They help bind the ingredients of the dough. I always use two and they come out phenomenal.
- Salt: The amount of salt depends on how salty is the cheese you’re using.
- Butter: It gives the dough a very nice texture.
- Baking powder: Completely optional, but it does help to make them big and spongy. Some say that it should never be used with cassava flour, but I always use it without any issues.
- Oil: You’re only using it to fry the buñuelos. Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point. Vegetable, corn, canola, or sunflower oil are very good options.
THE PROCESS:
- Mix all the ingredients for the dough until it’s nice and smooth. If you see that it’s a bit dry, add a little bit of milk. But if you notice that it’s too wet (which tends to happen when you use extra large or jumbo-sized eggs), then add more flour.
- Shape the dough into balls, any size you want.
- Deep fry them in hot oil until they are golden brown. Depending on the temperature, this can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes, sometimes up to 20.
Now that we solved the issue of the cheese, we also have to talk about the ideal temperature to make buñuelos. I have always heard the phrase “Make sure it’s not too hot and not too cold”, and that is something that never made sense to me. I have tried to make them on low heat, medium-low, medium, and even medium-high but they always explode and end up looking ugly and deformed. After trying different temperature settings, I decided to go a more modern route and ended up using a deep fryer. I also tried different settings with ti until I hit the magic number, which is between 325ºF – 350ºF (162ºC – 180ºC).
And if you don’t have a deep fryer, you can also heat the oil on low heat for about 30-45 minutes until a heatproof thermometer shows the correct temperature. If you don’t own a thermometer, you can try this trick to see if it works. All you have to do is make a tiny ball with the dough and throw it into the hot oil. If the ball comes up to the surface in less than 15 seconds, it means that it is too hot. If it takes longer than 15 seconds to make it to the top, it means that it is too cold.
¡Buen provecho!
Colombian Buñuelos
Ingredients
- 1½ cups 150g grated queso fresco
- ½ cup 50g grated feta cheese
- 1 cup 120g cornstarch
- ½ cup 60g cassava or tapioca starch or flour
- ¼ cup 50g white granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp salt or to taste (depending on how salty is the cheese you are using)
- 1 tbsp butter (softened or melted)
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- Oil for frying (Vegetable, corn, canola or sunflower)
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients (except for the oil) in a large bowl and knead until you get a very smoothe dough. If you notice that it is too dry, you can add a little bit of milk, but if you notice that it is too wet, you can add more flour.
- Shape the buñuelos with the dough by making balls that measure approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.
- Heat the oil in a deep fryer or large pot until it reaches a temperature of about 325°F – 350°F (163°C – 180°C).
- Place the balls of dough in the hot oil leaving enough room for them to float.
- Deep fry them until they are golden brown. Depending on the temperature of the oil, this can take anywhere from 15-25 minutes.
- Drain them on paper towels for a few minutes before serving.
Hola, te sigo desde el foro de visajourney, y me parece genial este aporte. El mes pasado prepare buñuelos y fue súper dificil conseguir los ingredientes o el equivalente de los mismos aca en usa, como me hubiese gustado tener a mano la información que das en tu página. Los buñuelitos no me quedaron nada mal, solo utilice queso fresco porque no encontré más :P, no sabia lo de tapioca starch, pero ya se para la próxima utilizaré tu receta.Yo soy de cali, y de vez en cuando me gusta preparar sancocho y patacón pisao; estaré pendiente de tu página para nuevas recetas y la daré a conocer a mis amigos por esta zona para que se deleiten con los platos tipicos de nuestra tierra.
¡Muchas gracias por tu comentario! Y sí, la yucarina (tapioca starch), al igual que el azúcar, son esenciales para que los buñuelos queden como los de Colombia. =)
Hola! Wow! Me sorprendiste con lo detallado de tu explicación para la receta! Te lo agradezco mucho ya que vivo en una zona de USA en la que no puedo conseguir el queso colombiano, ni hay restaurantes colombianos en el área. Además lo explicaste tan bien que hasta yo lo entendí a la perfección aún no siendo colombiana. Mi marido es colombiano y yo argentina y quería prepararle buñuelos en su cumpleaños así que gracias a tu dedicación lo podré hacer! Mil y mil gracias y que Papito Dios te bendiga!
¡Muchas gracias, Carolina! Me encanta saber que te ha servido tanto la págica. Cualquier duda o inquietud, aquí estoy a la orden. Un abrazo. ❤️
Mil gracias! Otro abrazo para ti! Ya hice los buñuelos y le encantaron a mi marido y a mis hijos. Lo único es que no que quedaron perfectamente redondos jajaja. Pero mi esposo me dice que me fue mejor que a él porque cuando el trató de hacerlos mientras vivía en Colombia, se les reventaban al ponerlos a hervir. Ya después averiguaré la técnica para que queden redondos jajaja.
¡Mil aplausos para ti, Carolina! Qué buena noticia saber que tu familia pudo disfrutar de estos deliciosos buñuelos colombianos. La clave para que queden bien redonditos es que el aceite esté a una temperatura entre 325°F (163°C) – 350°F (180°C).
Hola Diana, saludo cordial, has intentado hacer los buñuelos con quesito? Con mozzarella quedan espectaculares pero definitivamente el mejor buñuelo es con el queso costeño y ahora sí que lo están haciendo mejor x cuestiones higiénicas.
Claro, el queso costeño es muchísimo mejor. Y sí, con el mozarella quedan deliciosos, pero no con el olor que les da el queso costeño, por eso le agrego el feta, para que les de ese olor añejo que llevan. =)
Tienes mucha razón el queso costeño colombiano autentico le da un sabor exquisito , pero te tengo un truquito que te puede funcionar agrega a tu preparación por cada 150 gr de fécula de maíz una cucharada de queso parmesano.Puedes darle un vistazo a mi versión el blog http://thecolombiantouch.blogspot.ca/2014/08/bunuelo-colombianos-redonditos.htmlDianita me encanto el video , me encantaria ver tu version del pan de yuca que hasta ahora he tratado con mi horno que me queden perfectos pero me sigen saliendo algo chatos vi en un video de un chef colombiano que se debe al horno , los pan de yucas necesitan calor arriba y abajo y bastante cerca los primeros 5 minutos.
Good Morning, I tried your recipe over the weekend and I think I may have used too much cheese. I was happy they were perfectly round, nice crust, and did not explode – But they were very dense. The buñuelos from the local Columbian restaurant have soft, moist, spongy, cake like interior. Do you know how much queso fresco you use by weight to make up the 3/4 cup? The amount could change depending on how fine it is grated. I used about 9 oz to make up the 3/4 cup. Thanks for the recipe, I enjoy reading your blogs, and look forward to making these again with (hopefully0 a tip or two from you to make these a bit lighter. THANKS!
Good morning trazam1986, I'm so glad you gave this recipe a try! And well, it could be the brand of cheese you're using but here's the info for the one I use. The brand is Cacique and it has the word "Ranchero" on it. It's a 12 oz. package which I usually buy at Walmart and half of it usually gives me the 3/4 cup, so 12 oz. should be enough. The best part of your buñuelos is that they didn't explode which is a huge accomplishment in the buñuelo world. LOL. Here is the image link so you can see what it looks like:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07/45/62/00/0007456200100_500X500.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cacique-Ranchero-Queso-Fresco-Cheese-12-oz/10451920&h=500&w=500&sz=72&tbnid=aWGTEsBzlLevtM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=90&zoom=1&usg=__LB8F6J3gfUxw5nydHWqE84HH3wA=&docid=PnRVOHNkpU-8ZM&sa=X&ei=nVUKUtemIbGgyAGVz4CABA&sqi=2&ved=0CD4Q9QEwAg&dur=370#imgdii=_Let me know if that helped! =)
I thought it is 1 1/2 cups? That’s what you have on the recipe.
Hi trazam try this:remplace a part of baking powder for baking soda.remplace a part of egg by milk.
Good afternoon. Thank you for posting an easy way of making Buñuelos. I had a great time making it but like trazam1986 my Buñuelos turned out the same. Now I know what kind of cheese to get. But I do have a question on the measurement on the cheese. Is it 11/2 cups or 3/4 cup. Thank you.
Thank you so much for posting and for making me re-read what I wrote in the earlier post. I meant to say that 12 oz. should be enough because the whole 12 oz. gives you about 1.5 cups total once it's grated. For some reason I wrote 6 oz., which is incorrect unless you're making ½ the amount of buñuelos. I'm editing it right away. =)
Thank you for your fast response. I have one more question for you. What is the difference between tapioca starch and tapioca flour?
When it comes to baking there's no difference between the two and you can use either one. I think it really comes down to the company that sells it, one will label it as "starch" and another will use "flour" but they're both the same thing. So use whichever one you can find. =)
hello, can i make my bunuelos without tapioca starch
No, you can't. Well, you can but they're going to come out mushy and too dense on the inside. The tapioca flour or starch is what makes them crunchy on the outside and spongy on the inside.
Hola me alegra mucho haber encontrado esta pagina, anoche hice buñuelos con todos los ingredientes pero la masa no me quedo perfecta, estaba muy pegajosa y se me quedaba en los dedos entonces le agregue un poco mas de harina tapioca y quedo bien, despues lo eché en el aceite pero éste no quedo en la temperatura adecuada asi que los primeros buñuelos no quedaron bien, no se si tambien tuvo que ver la harina de más que agregué, no creció la masa en el aceite despues al resto le agregue mas baking powder y si me quedaron bien, pero no estoy muy segura de la temperatura del aceite porque además no tengo como medirlo. De todos modos es mi primera vez buñuelos y no quedaron nada mal. Gracias por tu pagina.
Hola Aura, muchas gracias por tu mensaje y no te sientas mal que hacer buñuelos es muchas veces una ciencia. A veces la masa queda muy húmeda dependiendo de qué tan húmedo esté el queso y el tamaño de los huevos, pero se soluciona haciendo lo que tú hiciste que es agregándole ás almidón o fécula de maíz. Y la temperatura es muy difícil de conseguir sin poderla medir, claro que hay personas que lo hacen sin necesitar un termómetro, pero yo no soy una de ellas y por eso necesito mi freidora. El caso es que los buñuelos tengan un buen sabor que es lo importante. =)
Hola Diana!Yo tengo dos preguntas yo encontre un queso llamado fresh ‘homestyle’ white cheese from colombia eso es lo que dice. Este es el queso que necesito? Tiene los mismo ingredientes que el queso fresco de mexico. Si tengo ese queso que compre necesito tambien feta cheese? Ya yo tengo el queso pero solo quiero asegurarme si tengo que jacer la mezcla con los dos quesos y si es el queso correcto. Es que mi novio es de Colombia y vivimos aqui en USA y yo solo quiero que los buñuelos me queden al mismo sabor de los de Colombia si es posible!!Me encanta tus recetas gracias!Siempre veo tus videos y me encantaria que en tus descripciones hables mas de los ingredientes de como se pueden conseguir en USA porque casi siempre son nombres diferentes tu sabes en ingles.Gracias de nuevo!
¡Hola! Sí, el quesito colombiano es prácticamente el mismo queso fresco que hacen en México y cualquiera de los dos te sirve para obtener la consistencia del queso costeño. Sin embargo, es un poco simple y lo debes combinar con el queso feta para obtener más sabor. Algunas personas usan queso cotija, que es otro queso mexicano y que al igual que el queso fresco, se consigue muy fácil en EE.UU.. Lo malo es que a mí me parece que es demasiado seco y es por eso que no lo uso.Y sabes, he pensado mucho hablar un poco más de los ingredientes que uso para que las personas los encuentren más fácil, pero a la final no lo hago porque son muchas las personas de otros países o que viven en otros lugares que ven los videos y no me gustaría confundirlos. Por ejemplo, en Colombia, España, México y Argentina, de donde visitan tanto el blog y el canal, no sabrían de qué estoy hablando si menciono los ingredientes en inglés. Fuera de eso hasta los mismos nombres en español son diferentes, entonces ahí sí me toca tratar de ser lo más neutral posible. =
Where can I get tapioca starch/flower
I find it at a Latin store in the town I live but you can also buy it from Amazon or amigofoods.com. I've also found it at Whole Foods but in all honesty, I don't think it's as good as the Latin brands.
Diana, por primera vez despues de 8 anos puedo decir que los bunuelos me quedaron perfectos, con ese saborsito que es, suavecitos y redonditos. Lo unico que cambie fue en lugar de utilizar dos clases de queso utilice uno que se consigue aca en Holanda en el turco (Zachtekaas in Pekelwater). Ayer disfrutamos de unos ricos bunuelos con natilla, seguro los voy a repetir en estos dias de navidad. Unas felices fiestas!
¡Qué alegría escuchar eso cinnabom! No sabes cómo le alegra escuchar esa noticia y que los hayan podido disfrutar para esta Navidad. ¡Felices fiestas para tí también! Un abrazo hasta Holanda. ♥
Pregnant and craving these bad boys at 11:32 pm. So I try and make it but for some reason my dough is not binding at all. I added a tad bit more starch and it's still not working ��. I think the cheese was kind of wet in the packaging. What should I do?
Hi there! Thank you so much for wanting to make the recipe! Fixing the dough should not be a problem at all. If it wasn't binding, it's because it was a bit dry, in that case all you have to do is add a little bit of milk to it until it's nice and smooth. Start by adding a tbsp at a time, that way it won't get too wet. Let me know if that works!
Well i think it was too wet. It was all together but wasn't doughy. It was kinda sticky and wet. why is this cheese so wet? Could that be the problem? I'm going to try and make pandebonos tomorrow and I'm praying the cheese behaves. Thank you for your help
Yes, the cheese can come very wet but you can pat dry it with a paper towel before grating it. The egg your using could also be a bit bigger and that may add more moisture to the dough. This reminds me of one time that my sister was helping me make buñuelos and went overboard with the milk. The dough looked like oatmeal but all we had to do was add a little bit more cornstarch and tapioca starch to make it firmer.
Hola, saludos desde Boston. Soy de puerto rico y mi esposo es colombiano, por lo cual le enseno a nuestro hijo a comer distintas comidas colombianas. Ha ambos les encanta los bunuelos y decidi intentar hacerlos siguiendo tu receta. Estube con miedo de q me salieran mal, pero me salieron muy ricos. Se crecieron bonitos, no reventaron y tenian muy buen sabor. Manana los hare nuevamente ya q mi esposo y hijo no los quieren comprados de afuera si no q hechos por mi porque me quedaron mejor q los q compramos. Muchisimas gracias
What type of butter did you use (tub or stick)? What brand feta did you use?
For the video I believe I used butter from a tub but I usually use room temperature butter from a stick because it's what I usually have in my fridge. These are the brands for the cheeses I usually use for this recipe:Queso fresco: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Cacique-Ranchero-Queso-Fresco-Cheese-12-oz/10451920Feta cheese: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Treasure-Cave-Crumbled-Feta-Cheese-4-oz/16618702
Hola dianamy name ratu from indonesia. I married colombian man and we have 2 sons now. Colombian food as far as i try to cook for him is not far from sudado, sanchoco or sopas. Because we live in Indonesia so some ingredients are not available.but i try my best to bake bread every other day, patacones for his morning coffee etc.he swore i cant make a bunuelos…kind of sad actually ja ja ja. So i quest to learn how to make bunuelos. I did make the queso fresco myself and thank god now my country start to produce cassava flour or arina yuca??Hope he will give his approval of my bunuelos. Since we plan to relocate to colombia i determine to learn even more and i find your channel and blog help me a lot.muchas gracias
Hola saludos desde New Zealand mira encontré todos los ingredientes pero tengo problemas con el queso fresco me podrías decir que queso podría reemplazar el costeño por que el feta si lo conseguí pero el otro no me podrías ayudar porfa
Hola Adriana, puedes usar cualquier queso que no sea muy húmedo y que no se derrita muy fácil con el calor. Yo tengo que usar el fresco mexicano, que se parece mucho al quesito campesino colombiano, para darle textura a los buñuelos. El queso feta lo uso más que todo para darles sabor ya que el fresco es un poco simple.
We've made you recipe previously and the Buñuelos came out amazing!! My Colombian in-laws told me I was an honorary Colombian. They felt like they were "home." Thank you very much. We are planning to make 30-50 Buñuelos for Christmas Eve. Is it possible to make them in advance and freeze them raw? We have a large deep fryer to fry them so they're freshly fried on Christmas Eve.
That's wonderful Jennie!!! I'm so glad to hear they loved the buñuelos. And yes, you can freeze the formed buñuelos, freeze them and then fry them directly in the oil. You need to make sure to cover them well with plastic wrap so they don't dry in the freezer. What I do is place them on a baking sheet, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and put the baking sheet in the freezer.
Hi! If I have extra left over how do you store them for the next day? Can I put them in zip lock bags and put it in the fridge? Or should I leave them out ? HELP
Hi Kimberly, I always use all of my dough because it tends to dry really quickly but you can try storing it in the fridge. As with most doughts, you will need to make sure it's well covered, either in a ziploc bag or airtight container. Hopefully, that will keep it from drying.
Perfect! Thanks for responding so quickly. Crossing my fingers it works and I could just warm it up in the oven tomorrow with my family 🙂
Today on Valentines day I made them for my gf who is half Colombian and had been craving buñuelos for a while. The buñuelos turned out perfectly and tasted sooooooo good!!! Thanks for sharing.Some notes: I fried them at 160 degrees and only took them 10 min to get to brown golden color(half the time in the recipe). I used exact same amounts in the recipe and it yield enough for 8 buñuelos (of course this will depend on buñuelos size)
Is it a glutenfree food?
Since they're not made with flour, they are 100% gluten free.
*wheat flour
Hello, I'm part Colombian and last week we went to Cali to see my Grandma and family. I live in Arizona. I like buñuelos but my wife really loves them. Thank you so much for this recipe. They came out really good. I had trouble with the oil temperature but other than that they came out really good. There great for breakfast with chocolate abuelita.
Do you really mean deep fry for 20 to 25 minutes or is that a misprint?
That is correct. It takes a while for the buñuelos to get golden brown so just give them time.
Hello! I made buñuelos tonight, and while they tasted amazing and the texture was good, they ended up getting all deformed while they were frying. Do you have any ideas as to why they didn’t stay little balls? Thanks!
Hi Emma, the most common reason is because the temperature of the oil was probably too high. This causes the outside of the buñuelos cook faster than the inside and the raw dough ends up bursting out for air giving you deformed buñuelos.
Hi! I was lucky enough to enjoy Bunuelos in Colombia and since me and my boyfriend crave them, after a bad attempt of making them I stumbled across your recipe and it looks amazing! Unfortunately we don’t have here queso fresco which kind of cheese can I substitute it to?
Thank you
Hi Shani, welcome to the blog! It depends on where you live but try to find a cheese similar to the Colombian queso costeño or que Colombia white plain cheese. If you can find something similar to that it should work. Mexican cotija cheese also works well.
you don’t include milk in the recipe? should i add 1 tablespoon at a time if i believe the dough is to dry and crumbly?
I do not because if you measure everything correctly 99% of the time the eggs will add enough moisture to the dough. If for some reason it is still dry, you can add a little bit of milk until it’s nice and soft.
I am not crazy for queso blanco cheese , but it was on sale, and I mistook it for melting cheese. I came across your recipe, to use up the queso blanco I mistakenly bought. I followed your recipe, albeit, loosely. Ive been baking /cooking for over 50 years. I never fry, but also had oil to use up. OMG! This recipe rocks! We’re hooked.
Hello Diana, I have been making your recipe for a couple years and I love it. I want to bring Buñuelos to work but we only have a microwave and I hate reheating them in a microwave, it’s just not the same.. However, I do have a slow cooker. Do you think the method below will work to reheat Buñuelos,
“Reheat dinner rolls in the slow cooker. Lay a damp, clean kitchen towel on the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Arrange the rolls on the cloth. Cover the top of the slow cooker with a second damp, clean tea towel. Cover and heat on the LOW setting until warm, about 30 minutes. After heating, you can turn the slow cooker to the WARM setting and keep the rolls soft and warm until the top towel is dry, about 2 hours. Do not heat the rolls on HIGH — the edges touching the insert may burn and the rolls will become tough.”
Please let me know if you have tried something similar.
Thank you, y Feliz Navidad
Diego
Yes, absolutely! If that method works for regular dinner rolls, it will soften the buñuelos just as well.
I’ve been using your recipe for years with good success, even from West Virginia! We live in Florida now, so I can get queso Colombiano. I just made my best batch ever! The only change I made from your recipe, other than using the queso Colombiano, was mixing the dry ingredients with a fork, and incorporating 1 teaspoon of baking powder (I never had good luck with 1/8 tsp in the recipe) instead of sprinkling it on top of the dough mixture. My Colombian husband has pronounced them most excellent. 🙂
Are there any make ahead recommendations?
Unfortunately, no. I have tried keeping the dough in the fridge but when you leave it in there for a few hours, it ends up drying up really badly. What I do is mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl the night before, as well as grate the cheese. The next day all I have to do is add the eggs and the butter and knead the dough.
Hello Everyone in the United States, I use Cotija Cheese as a substitute for both cheeses (fresco y feta) and it works perfectly. Cotija cheese is mexican and easy to find and most of the time it is already grated. follow the recipe as is and the bunuelos are amazing.
Thank you Sweet y Salado
So good!! What’s the best way to make this ahead of time and storing for gifting or to take to an event. Reheating, day off? Leaving them in the counter over night? Freezing? What’s been your experience?
Thank you so much, Vero! I’ll be honest with you, these are very difficult to make beforehand. I have tried making the dough the day before but it dries up quickly and it’s hard to soften up again. I have tried shaping it into balls and freezing them but the weight of the cheese flattens them within a few minutes. The only thing that works well for me is frying them, storing them in an airtight container, and then reheating them in the microwave.