Chamoy Sauce

This homemade chamoy sauce embodies all of the incredible flavors of Mexican cuisine. The spicy, tangy, sweet, and salty flavors work perfectly with fruit, drinks, snacks, and more!

Table of Contents

• 📖 What is chamoy?
• 📜 History
• 🌱 Is chamoy vegan?
• 🛒 Ingredients & substitutions
• 📝 Instructions
• 🥗 What to serve with chamoy
• 🌡️ Storage
• ♻️ Variations
• 🧑‍🍳 Top tips
• 💬 FAQ
• 🍴 More sauce recipes
• 📋 Recipe

📖 What is chamoy?

If you've ever been to Mexico, you've likely come across chamoy. In one form or the other, this condiment is sold everywhere!

Seriously, chamoy is found in so many different Mexican foods. Spot it on top of prepared fruit cups, in candies, popsicles (paletas), raspados (shaved ice), or in frozen drinks like mangonadas.

We're making chamoy sauce today, which typically consists of pickled fruits like apricots, plums, or mangoes. It's then mixed with chiles, lime, sugar, and sometimes hibiscus flowers or tamarind.

The end result of spicy, tangy, salty, and sweet flavors is like nothing you've ever experienced before!

Believe us when we tell you the unique ingredient combination of chamoy sauce just works. It's one of those foods you need to taste to understand!

Related post: Check out our detailed guide on chamoy.

📜 History

The timeframe of chamoy making its way into Mexican cuisine is fairly grey, but some food historians believe it was around the 16th century with the arrival of other Asian ingredients.

Countries in Asia such as China, Japan, and the Philippines had all been making their own versions of this pickled fruit snack for some time before then.

During the colonial period, Spanish trade routes from the Philippines introduced new ingredients to Mexico including tamarind, mangoes, and umeboshi. It was umeboshi, a type of pickled Japanese plum, that became the inspiration for Mexican chamoy sauce.

As you can probably tell, chamoy has taken many different forms since its origins. Nowadays, it is becoming much more mass-produced in Mexico. A lot of brands are full of preservatives and don't even contain real fruit.

🌱 Is chamoy vegan?

Rest assured, chamoy sauce is completely vegan. If you are buying it in other forms, there are just a few things to keep in mind.

Gelatin — Chamoy is often sold in candy form, so just make sure the ingredient list doesn't contain gelatin.

Alcohol — If chamoy is served in a drink, ensure the alcohol is vegan-friendly. The barnivore app is an easy way to check this.

🛒 Ingredients & substitutions

Fruit — We use dried apricots and plums in this recipe, but mangoes or peaches work too. If you can get your hands on some, you can even try ume plums. Stonefruits are high in nutrients like vitamin A, C, and potassium.

Chiles — For spice, we use ancho chiles and cayenne powder. You can try guajillo, pasilla, or arbol chiles for varying flavors and heat levels.

Lime juice — Provides a characteristic tangy, sour taste. If you don't have any limes, substitute an equal amount of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.

Flor de Jamaica — Dried hibiscus flowers add a beautiful red color and tart flavor. If you don't have access, use dried cranberries or more lime juice.

Cane sugar — To balance out the intense flavors in this sauce. If you don't have cane sugar, you can try piloncillo, coconut sugar, or agave.

Salt — To emulate the pickled fruit brine found in traditional chamoy sauces.

For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.

📝 Instructions

Step 1 — Stem and seed the ancho chiles. Add both of them along with the dried fruit, flor de Jamaica, cane sugar, salt, and water to a medium saucepan.

Step 2 — Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce it to simmer for about half an hour. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes to prevent any blender accidents. Then, blend everything until it's smooth.

Step 3 — Squeeze in the lime juice, then taste and adjust any seasonings to your preferences. Add more lime for tang, cane sugar for sweetness, or water until it reaches your desired consistency.

Step 4 — We add cayenne powder at this point for more heat, but the extra spice is optional. We'll leave it up to you!

Step 5 — Serve your chamoy sauce over fruits, vegetables, in drinks, or with chips. Transfer the rest to a mason jar or airtight container for later. Happy eating!

If you have questions about this chamoy sauce recipe, check out our FAQs or leave a comment down below!

🥗 What to serve with chamoy

When we first tried chamoy, we were overwhelmed with all of the foods it can be paired with. To help you avoid this confusion, here are some ideas:

Fruits — Mangoes, apples, strawberries, pineapple, papaya, watermelon, peaches, nectarines, and plums.

Vegetables — Cucumbers, jicama, carrots, celery, potatoes, or sweet potatoes.

Drinks — Use chamoy sauce to rim micheladas and Caesars, or drizzle it on mangonadas.

Raspados — Another way to incorporate chamoy is in raspados (Mexican shaved ice) or paletas (Mexican popsicles).

Candies — Make dulces enchilados by covering vegan-friendly candies like skittles, gummy bears, or dried mangoes in chamoy and Tajin.

Chips — Try your chamoy sauce atop chicharrones de harina or tostilocos.

🌡️ Storage

Not only is chamoy easy to make, but it's also fridge and freezer-friendly. Keep these storage times in mind for your recipe.

Fridge — Chamoy will last up to 2 months in an airtight glass container or jar.

Freezer — Freeze your chamoy in ice cube trays, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag for up to 6 months. Thaw the cubes on an individual basis.

♻️ Variations

The great thing about chamoy sauce is how customizable it is! Here are a few ways to make it your own:

Try fresh fruit — For a different taste and texture, use fresh fruit in place of the dried apricots and plums.

Add tamarind — While optional, we love adding tamarind paste to impart a unique flavor in our chamoy sauce.

Don't forget Tajin — Add Tajin (Mexican chile-lime spice) directly into your chamoy sauce, or serve it on top.

🧑‍🍳 Top tips

Add spice at the end — We recommend tasting your chamoy sauce once it's blended, then add cayenne powder to your preferred spice level.

Thin it out — We sometimes prefer a thicker sauce, but other times we thin it out. The nice thing about making your own chamoy sauce is you get to decide the final consistency!

Hold the lime — Squeeze the lime juice in once your chamoy is blended for the freshest flavor.

💬 FAQ

🍴 More sauce recipes

If you enjoyed this chamoy sauce, be sure to check out these other flavor-packed salsas:

• Mexican crema: A creamy, rich, cashew-based cream sauce.
• Chili garlic aioli: Rich, creamy, and spicy chipotle mayo made vegan.
• Mole poblano: An intricate sauce made from toasted chiles, nuts, chocolate, dried fruits, tortillas, and more.
• Salsa taquera: Made from a base of arbol chiles, this sauce will elevate any taco.

📋 Recipe

Note: We've updated this post to include new information and helpful tips about the recipe.