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Raspados Mexicanos are the answer to sweeten up your day and cool you down. This version of shaved ice features fluffy ice topped with fresh, juicy mangoes and other tasty garnishes like chamoy and tamarind.
Not a mango fan? There are so many flavors to try!
Table of Contents
📖 About
If you’re an ice cream or popsicle person, then you’re in luck! This raspado recipe is sweet, refreshing, and extremely easy to make at home.
What are raspados?
You may know raspados as shaved ice since this treat exists in pretty much every country in the world. Some other names for raspados include raspas, snow cones, piraguas, or granizados, just to name a few.
In Mexico, you’ll find raspados (or raspas) served by street vendors and paleterías as a tasty way to cool off from the heat.
Raspados are made by first shaving fresh ice into a cup, then topping it with a sweetened mixture. There are a wide variety of flavors to choose from, but common ones include mango, pineapple, tamarind, rompope, lime, and guava.
This mango raspado recipe is filled with natural flavors and skips the food coloring or additional syrups. It’s also quite similar to a mangonada, but the mangoes are not blended in with the ice.
Are raspados vegan?
Yes and no. There are a lot of raspados that contain condensed or evaporated milk (depending on the flavor or if it’s drizzled on top).
For this recipe, we kept it plant-based, simple, and healthy. We just use fresh fruit as the base for our topping!
History
Because this dessert is so popular all over the world, it has likely evolved over many time periods, regions, and groups of people.
One of the first written accounts mentioning shaved ice is said to be in 27 B.C.E. Nero, the Roman Emperor at the time, would have slaves collect snow from the mountains to be served with fruit and honey.
In the 1800s in Hawaii, Japanese immigrants began cooling off with shaved ice after a day’s work on sugar and pineapple fields.
The concept “kakigori,” meaning “shaved ice,” came to be because they used their tools to shave ice off of large blocks and coated this with fruit juice and sugar.
Shaved ice became “raspado” in Mexico, meaning “shaved.” It is now served all over the country in various flavors like tamarind, cajeta, lime, pineapple, etc.
One thing is for sure — people of all ages, ethnicities, and cultures seem to love the sweet, refreshing flavors of raspados.
Serving
Serve your raspa immediately after making it to avoid a melted mess! All you need is a spoon, napkin, chair, and you’re good to go.
Drizzle some chamoy on top or a few chamoy candies for extra flavor and texture, making your treat a little more like a mangonada.
🍲 Ingredients
For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.
- Fruit: We love the flavor of mangoes, but feel free to use other fruit like pineapple, tamarind, strawberries, limes, or guavas.
- Sugar: We use cane sugar to make the fruit syrup, but you can add a more natural sweetener like piloncillo. This type of unrefined sugar contains healthy amounts of iron.
- Ice: Shaved ice is a must-have to make this recipe. It’s best to use a blender unless you have an ice-scraper and a big block of ice.
🔪 Instructions
If you have questions about making raspados Mexicanos, don’t forget to check out our FAQ section at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Bring the water and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. In the meantime, peel and cube the mangoes into small pieces. Add them to the saucepan and bring to a simmer again until the mangoes are soft.
Step 2: Once softened, mash the mangoes with a potato masher and let the mixture reduce into a syrup-like consistency. Remove it from heat and let the mixture cool for a few hours before serving.
Step 3: Add 1-2 cups of ice cubes to a blender and mix until the ice is crushed (like shaved ice). Don’t fill your blender up too high!
Step 4: Transfer some ice to a cup and pack it in.
Step 5: Add about a ½ cup of fruit mixture overtop the ice.
Step 6: Enjoy as-is or drizzle your raspa with chamoy. Happy eating!
🌡️ Storage
Raspados Mexicanos are quick and easy to make if you keep some fruit mix on hand. Follow these tips for optimal storage.
Fridge
Keep the mango mixture in your fridge in an airtight glass container for up to a week. You’ll be able to top another raspado at a moment’s notice.
Freezer
As long as it’s stored in freezer-safe containers, the mango mixture will freeze well for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to make another raspado, thaw the fruit mixture in your fridge overnight.
💭 Tips & variations
We’d like to share some tips and variations we learned while experimenting with making raspados Mexicanos at home:
- Go sugar free. If you don’t want any added sugar, raspados are great with stewed fruit (use half the amount of liquid).
- Adjust the consistency. For more texture, don’t mash the fruit at all. For a smoother consistency, you can blend the syrup. The choice is yours!
- Switch up the fruit. Other fruits that work well include raspberries, cherries, tamarind, guava, lime, pineapple, and more.
- Make the fruit ahead of time. Since the fruit mixture stores so well, make it ahead of time if you’re preparing it for a party or gathering.
- Make a grown up version. For a little extra flavor and oomph, try adding tequila to the fruit mixture before serving.
🍴 Tasting notes
We consider raspados Mexicanos to be a universally delicious treat, wouldn’t you say? They’re:
- Sweet
- Refreshing
- Cold
- Fun
- Healthy
If you try making raspados Mexicanos, please rate the recipe and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
Raspados Mexicanos
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Potato masher
- High-speed blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups water ($0.01)
- 1 cup cane sugar* ($0.04)
- 2 mangoes, peeled and cubed ($0.55)
- Ice cubes ($0.01)
For serving optional
Instructions
- First, add water and sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and allow sugar to dissolve.
- In the meantime, peel and cube the mangoes into small pieces. Add them to the pot and bring to a simmer again for 10 minutes, or until the mangoes are soft.
- Once softened, roughly mash the mangoes with a potato masher and let the mixture reduce into a syrup-like consistency, about another 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for a few hours before serving.
Serving
- Add 1-2 cups of ice cubes to a blender and mix until the ice is crushed (like shaved ice). Transfer ice to a cup and pack it in.
- Add about a ½ cup of fruit mixture overtop the ice. Enjoy as-is or drizzle with chamoy and garnish with tamarind or chamoy candies. Happy eating!
Notes
- *Replace 1 cup cane sugar with a 225-gram cone of piloncillo for a richer flavor.
- Use other fruits like pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, tamarind, or lime.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe-to-recipe.
- All prices are in USD.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty ways to incorporate fruit into your treats, check out our other recipes like:
- Mangonada to try this similarly ice-cold, mango-infused drink layered with chamoy and served with a tamarind candy straw.
- Fresas con crema for a light, creamy, and juicy dessert made with cashew cream and fresh strawberries.
- Carlota de limón for a 5-ingredient dessert that’s easy to make and filled with creamy, tangy, and sweet flavors.
- Strawberry tamales to try a sweet version of tamales that are infused with strawberries and topped with jam.
💬 FAQ
When made with minimal sugar or sweetener, raspadaos Mexicanos are an extremely healthy dessert. If you want to make this recipe even healthier, omit the sugar altogether.
Not at all! Many people make vanilla, coffee, cajeta, or horchata raspados. Use whatever flavors you think will taste the best.
This raspado recipe is both gluten-free and vegan.
