If you’re a fan of Mexican food, you’ve got to try this delicious Chamoy dip recipe. This dip is savory, sweet and spicy, and is one of Mexico’s favorite condiments, typically paired with fruits, drinks and snacks, most commonly the famous Pulparindo candies.
Just like my Mexican chili oil, you can also pair this with any of your favorite appetizers and snacks too!
I love making sauces, dips and condiments in my kitchen. My refrigerator is almost always stocked with my all time favorites avocado ranch sauce and chili crisp and recently, I felt inspired and tried my hand at this easy Chamoy dip.
The dip actually turned out even better than I expected- it had just the right balance of sweetness, heat and tartness, and was a total hit in my household.
Quick Look: Mexican Chamoy Dip
- 🔪 Prep time: 5 minutes.
- ⏲️ Cook time: 25 minutes.
- 👪 Servings: 6.
- 📋 Main ingredients: Dried apricots, dried hibiscus flowers, dried chilies, brown sugar, lime juice, chili powder.
- ♨️ Cooking method: Simmer → blend → strain → cool and store.
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣 Serving ideas: Serve with fresh fruit, tortilla chips, grilled corn, shrimp Tajin tacos, cocktails, margaritas, and even Pepinadas.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- It's incredibly versatile. You can pair the sauce with your favorite Mexican foods like Mexican roasted potatoes.
- The sauce is gluten free, vegan and made with clean ingredients- perfect to make for when you're entertaining.
- It's great for drizzling over fresh fruit too- I like making watermelon Tajin salad with this sauce as a topping, but you can also check out other fruits and veggies to pair with Tajin and Chamoy.
Recipe Ingredients
Dried apricots: Authentic Chamoy dip usually had a dried fruit as a base. I’ve used dried apricots, but you could also use dried prunes, plums or even dried peaches- whatever you can get your hands on.
Dried chilies: Ancho chilies are typically used to make Chamoy sauce. I used dried Kashmiri red chillies, because that’s what I had at hand and I love how they lend a mild spicy kick to the sauce.
Brown sugar: I’ve used brown sugar to add some sweetness to the sauce and to balance out the other flavors. You can use date sugar, honey or agave if you don’t have brown sugar.
Lime juice: Lime juice ties up all the other flavors in the sauce beautifully, and in my opinion, it is an absolute must for the recipe. If you don’t have lime juice, you can use a dash of apple cider vinegar or strawberry vinegar to lend some sourness to the sauce.
Dried Hibiscus flowers: Flor de Jamaica aka dried hibiscus flowers are another crucial part of this Chamoy dip. They have a nice tart flavor and lend the sauce a beautiful red color.
Chili lime seasoning: I used my homemade Mexican chili lime seasoning here, but you can use the packaged version too. It's called Tajin.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you don’t have the Ancho chilies that the recipe calls for, you can use any other chili peppers of your choice. Arbol chilies, pasilla and guajillo are all great choices too!
- To make a sugar free version of this Chamoy dip, just omit the sugar and use stevia if you really want that sweetness.
- If you don’t have lemon juice and don’t want to add vinegar to the sauce, you can consider using some tamarind pulp to bring some sweet and tart flavor to the dip. Tamarind actually tastes incredible with these flavors- I realized this when I made homemade Tamarindo candy.
How to Make Mexican Chamoy Sauce
In a medium saucepan, add the apricots, hibiscus flowers and dried chiles with water and cook for 20 minutes over low heat until they soften.
Allow the mixture to cool down completely and add all other ingredients in.
Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture to a smooth paste, adding water if needed to loosen the mixture.
Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pulp, and transfer to an airtight glass container before you refrigerate.
💭Top Tip
Soak the dried chillies in warm water for about 20 minutes and then use them for the recipe. This will help make cooking them much easier.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- If the refrigerated Chamoy dip seems to have thickened, you can loosen it up by adding some water or lime juice into it. I always do this with my refrigerated Mexican sour cream sauce too.
- Remember to use the best quality ingredients to make the Chamoy sauce. This will really help the flavors shine through.
- Use a high power blender to process all the ingredients into a smooth paste. I used my small trusty blender while making this and my favorite avocado lime crema too to get that perfect smooth and creamy finish.
- If you want to tone down the spicy flavors, you can also deseed the dried chillies and then use them for the recipe.
- Add the lime juice towards the end, after you're done blending it together, especially if you want the dip to have a more pronounced lime flavor.
- If your defrosted Chamoy dip seems to have become grainy and has a bit of texture, don’t worry- it is natural! Just reheat it on low heat and add a bit of water to adjust its consistency.
- You can also batch make this paste and freeze for up to 6 months in ice cube trays.
How to Serve Mexican Chamoy Dip
The simplest way to serve the Chamoy dip is to team them up with practically any snack you’re putting together. You can slather it on some grilled corn or grilled pineapple, or serve them with your homemade French fries or some Mexican baked potatoes - it is super versatile that way.
Veggie sticks can also be paired with this easy dip. Baby carrots, stir fried zucchini and cucumber sticks are all great veggies to pair with it. In fact, I actually made mango con Tajin and cucumber and Tajin salad with this dip drizzled on for extra yumminess. In fact, you can also team up the sauce with strawberries and Tajin or apples with Tajin to serve as an appetizer or a snack whenever you're hosting.
Troubleshooting & FAQs
Like most other dips and sauces, Chamoy dip needs to be refrigerated at all times. Keeping it at room temperature will increase its risk of spoilage.
You totally can! If you don’t mind a bit of texture, you can skip straining the sauce and just straight up use it with some occasionally chunky bits.
You can store the dip in an airtight container or a sealed container with an airtight lid before refrigerating it. Doing this will help preserve its freshness. Also make sure you use a clean container and always use a clean spoon to remove and serve the sauce. This will help maximize its shelf life.
You can also freeze the Chamoy dip if you want to store it for longer. Just remember to use a freezer safe container to prevent freezer burn.
More Mexican Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Mexican Chamoy dip or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Mexican Chamoy Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried apricots
- ½ cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 4-5 dried chiles
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups water
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, add the apricots, hibiscus flowers and dried chiles with water and cook for 20 minutes over low heat until they soften.
- Allow the mixture to cool down completely and add all other ingredients in.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture to a smooth paste, adding water if needed to loosen the mixture.
- Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pulp, and transfer to an airtight glass container before you refrigerate.
