How to Make Chamoy

5 from 7 votes
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How to make chamoy in just minutes – prepare this flavorful condiment with just eight simple and delicious ingredients! This chamoy recipe is fast, simple, full of amazing flavor, and can be used in tons of ways!

A jar with homemade chamoy sauce

When it comes to homemade chamoy, this recipe is soon to become your favorite. Not only does it have a mixture of sweet, sour, and salty notes, but it has the perfect balance of spices as well. The best thing about making your own chamoy sauce is that you can use it on anything – that’s how versatile it is!

It’s great for a dip, a spread, or even as the main sauce ingredient in a variety of popular Mexican-themed meals and recipes. You can even experiment with adding it to some of your favorite dishes, too. Plus, you can easily pair this Mexican chamoy with watermelon, pineapple, avocado, or other fresh veggies and fruit. You can use chamoy seasoning on anything that you want to!

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What Is Chamoy

Learning what is chamoy is the key to knowing how to use it. This savory sauce is popular in Mexico and is widely used in Mexican cuisine. It can be found with different consistency – from a liquid to a paste, that’s either bottled or jarred. Traditionally, it’s made with the leftover brine from saladitos (dried and salted plums or apricots).

A good chamoy sauce recipe will make sure to combine flavorful ingredients like pickled fruit, chilies, and lime juice. The resulting sweet, salty, spicy, sour sauce can be used as a chamoy dip or a condiment to drizzle over the top of fresh fruit, vegetables, and possibly even onto some candies as well.

Not only can you use it as a way to add some sweetness and spiciness to foods, but pairing it with salty foods like chips, snacks, and nuts is also extremely delicious and addictive as well. If you’ve ever tasted a mango chamoyada (mangonada), you know just how great chimoy is!

A spoonful of homemade chamoy sauce over a jar

Fun fact: Some food historians believe that Mexican chamoy is related to Japanese umeboshi, which are salted pickled plums (ume plums). Some of the Asian ingredients are the same as for this hot sauce, but overall the two foods are different.

Is Chamoy Spicy

If you’re wondering what chamoy tastes like, I can’t just give a one-word description as the sauce offers an explosion of flavors. You’re going to have a lot of layers of flavor in just one bite! When you add the chamoy sauce on fruit, it creates a balance of sweetness paired with a little bit of saltiness and heat.

Adding the chamoy paste to avocadoes will really change the flavor to focus on the heat and spice and not as much on the sweetness. And if you use this tajin chamoy recipe as a dip with chips or nuts, it’s going to mesh really well with the salty textures and have more of a salty flavor rather than spice or sweetness.

Now you can see why everyone loves chamoy recipes – because the ingredients allow for fluctuation in the flavors!

Chamoy Sauce Ingredients

  • Dried apricots: Dried apricots are key to helping add sweetness and thickness to this sauce.
  • Prunes: The dried plums add a natural concentrated sweetness and lots of flavor.
  • Dried hibiscus flower: This adds a nice hint of tart, almost-cranberry like flavor that isn’t overpowering.
  • Sugar: A bit of sugar pairs perfectly with the natural sweetness of the fruit.
  • Lime: The lime juice creates a delicious citrus flavor and brightens the overall taste of the dip.
  • Salt: Just a pinch of salt will help enhance all the flavors.
  • Water: Used to thin out the sauce, so it’s easy to drizzle or spread.
  • Tajin or chili powder, and dried chiles: For that kick of spiciness. This is optional. And you can increase or decrease the amount based on preference.
Ingredients for chamoy

How to Make Chamoy

There are just a few steps to follow before you can enjoy your homemade chamoy sauce!

Step One: Cook the Dried Ingredients

Place the dried fruit, hibiscus flowers, dried chilies (if using), and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil then reduce and simmer for 15- 20 minutes.

Rehydrating ingredients for chamoy

Step Two: Remove from Heat

Remove from the heat and let cool down for 10-15 minutes. You can add the sugar now, so it dissolves more easily in the hot mixture.

Step Three: Blend the Mixture

Place the mixture in a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Add the lime, salt, and tajin and blend again.

Steps for making chamoy

Step Four: Strain

Pass through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pulp.

Keep the Mexican chamoy dip in an airtight glass container in the fridge for best results.

Passing chamoy through a sieve

How Do I Store Chamoy

Once you prepare and strain it, all that’s left is to store the sauce in an airtight container and keep it nice and chilled in the fridge (up to 2 months). It’s as simple as that.

For longer storage, you can freeze the sauce. I recommend first freezing it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the sauce cubes to a freezer-safe bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Save time googling “chamoy near me” and make your own homemade recipe. It’s such a simple way to have it on hand and ready to use when the craving strikes.

A bowl with homemade chamoy

What Do You Eat Chamoy with

You have many options when it comes to pairing your homemade chamoi with food. Enjoy it with fresh fruit, fresh veggies, or even as a topping for chips and tortilla chips. It’s a great addition to veggie platters. Prepare some jicama, cucumbers, carrots, or tamarind, and drizzle the sauce on them.

Or serve it with apples, fresh mango, pineapple, avocado, or watermelon. You can drizzle the chamoy and tajin sauce on top of your chopped fruit or have it sitting in a bowl as a chamoy dip on the side.

You can also drizzle it on popsicles, paletas, and ice cream. And of course, make a refreshing mango chamoyada (mangonada).

A glass with mangonada topped with mango cubes

FAQs

Is it bad to eat too much chamoy?

Like all foods, eating chamoy in moderation is key. If you overindulge, it can cause heartburn and stomach issues/irritation.
The added dried fruits are high in fiber so that can result in an upset stomach if not careful.

What fruit is chamoy good on?

To each their own, but the most common foods are fruits like watermelon and apples, nuts, and tortilla chips.

Is chamoy sweet?

It does have a hint of sweetness because of the dried apricots and the prunes. However, overall, the flavor is balanced between sweetness, salty, and a little bit of spiciness.

Is chamoy vegan?

There are no dairy or animal products in this recipe so this chamoy recipe is vegan, as well as gluten-free.

More Sauce Recipes

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How to Make Chamoy

5 from 7 votes
By: Samira
How to make chamoy in just minutes – prepare this flavorful condiment with just eight simple and delicious ingredients! This chamoy recipe is fast, simple, full of amazing flavor, and can be used in tons of ways!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 64

Ingredients 
 

  • 6.6 oz dried apricots 1 cup
  • 6.2 oz prunes 1 cup
  • 1 oz dried hibiscus flower 1 cup
  • 2 oz sugar 1/4 cup
  • 1 lime
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/3 cup tajin or chili powder
  • 0.1 oz dried chili 2 medium ones, optional for extra heat

This will yield about 4 cups (33 oz/950 g)

    Instructions 

    • Place the dried fruit, hibiscus flowers, dried chilies (if using), and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil then reduce and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 
    • Remove from the heat and let cool down for 10-15 minutes. You can add the sugar now, so it dissolves more easily in the hot mixture.
    • Place the mixture in a blender and blend to a smooth consistency. Add the lime, salt, and tajin and blend again.
    • Pass through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pulp.
    • Keep it in an airtight glass container in the fridge (up to 2 months) or freezer (up to 6 months).

    Notes

    What do you eat chamoy with? Enjoy it with fresh fruit, fresh veggies, or even as a topping for chips and tortilla chips as well. Prepare some jicama, cucumbers, carrots, or tamarind, and drizzle the sauce on them.
    Or serve it with apples, fresh mango, pineapple, avocado, or watermelon. You can drizzle the chamoy and tajin sauce on top of your chopped fruit or have it sitting in a bowl as a dip on the side.
    You can also drizzle it on popsicles, paletas, and ice cream. And of course, make a refreshing mango chamoyada (mangonada).
    Check the blog post for more tips, storage instructions, and answers to top FAQs!
    Course: Condiment
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Freezer friendly: 6 Months
    Shelf life: 2 Months

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Tbsp, Calories: 21kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 26mg, Potassium: 80mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 506IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 7mg, Iron: 1mg

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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