Colombian Buñuelos: How to Make the Crispy Treat Seen in Encanto

This buñuelos recipe comes from two of our favorite Colombian-heritage homecooks, Janeth and Luna Barrera. The Pilsen, Chicago-area mother and daughter were so inspired by the Disney movie Encanto, they immediately went into their kitchen and made two of the dishes in the movie. They started with classic arepas de queso, using Janeth’s own Colombian family recipe, and then moved on to cheesy-crispy buñuelos (which are muy diferente from Mexican buñuelos).

Luna helps her mother prepare the mix of cotija cheese, eggs and milk. They then shape the ping pong-ball-size rounds of dough, and fry the balls in the hot cast-iron pan, using tongs. ”It looks so GOOD,” says Luna. She monitors the frying pan, hopping up and down, excited, while waiting for the buñuelos to turn burnished gold on both sides. ”I can’t wait to eat them.” Luna decides she loves buñuelos as much as arepas because they both have cheese, and queso is one of her favorite foods. ”I’m going to make these for every dessert we have,” Luna says.

Find more of their Colombian recipes here.