Mangonada Recipe

The Mangonada is a spicy-sweet frozen concoction of mango, lime, and chamoy that originated in Mexico. It comes together quickly in a blender for those hot days when a chilly treat is necessary!

Recently I made an impulse purchase of 8 pounds of fresh honey mangos – with no real plans for them. Aside from just eating them. I couldn’t help myself! Mostly because the price was right and ripe mangoes are so sweet and juicy on their own. It’s hard to improve upon eating them out of hand. But honey mangoes () are especially good – less fibrous than other varieties. Which makes them ideal for blending up with some mango nectar, lime, and a little spicy chamoy. With just a few ingredients and a blender, you can have the spicy-sweet sensation known as the mangonada.

Mangonadas can be enjoyed a few ways. Blend up the ingredients with no sugar added for something akin to a sweet-spicy smoothie. Or, add a little cane sugar or other natural sweetener for a more dessert-like treat. Another way to enjoy them is cocktail-style, with a splash of tequila.

Mangonada Origins

The mangonada is a beloved Mexican street food and chilly treat, often enjoyed during scorching summer weather. It’s a mango-based frozen beverage layered with chamoy sauce—a savory, spicy, and tangy Mexican condiment—and topped with fresh mango chunks.  Additionally, the drink is often garnished with a tamarind candy straw, which is a plastic straw covered with tamarind paste and rolled in chili powder. It is sweet, sour and hot all at once, and complements the fruity mango flavor.

Although mostly attributed to origins in Mexico, it should be mentioned that a Hispanic couple from Chicago claim to have invented it in the 2000’s, inspired by a childhood treat. You can read more about that . 

Ready to try it? Let’s go!

Prep Your Mangoes

Begin with ripe fresh mangos. They don’t have to be honey mangoes. Use what looks, smells, and feels ripest. Ripe mangoes will smell fragrant and feel soft under gentle pressure from your thumb. You’ll need about 4-5 mangoes to get the 1 lb. of chunks needed for this recipe. Cut them lengthwise on either side of the pit, so that you have two equal sized pieces of mango. Then, score each piece into squares using a knife on the cut (flesh) side without cutting through the skin. Then, invert the mango pieces, pushing the skin side upward and exposing the squares of mango flesh. Next, just trim them off the skin with a knife. (See video for this action!)

Frozen diced mangoes may be used to remove this step, but they may not have the same brilliant color and ripe flavor that fresh mangoes have.

Into the Blender

In the pitcher of an electric blender, combine the prepared frozen mangoes, freshly squeezed lime juice, mango nectar, and a cup of ice.

Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy, ensuring all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. You can give the mixture a taste here, and if it is too tart, you may add in a little cane sugar or simple syrup to sweeten it up. (See blog notes for simple syrup recipe.)

Rim Your Glasses

Chamoy sauce is key for this recipe – the exact ingredients can vary, but typically chamoy recipes include a combination of fruit, such as apricot, mango, or plum. Also in the mix – chili peppers like guajillo or ancho. And lime juice, salt, and sugar. Some people make their own. But since I’m nowhere near qualified to make an authentic chamoy, I’ll rely on good old brand. As well as their chili-lime seasoning.

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Place chamoy and chili lime seasoning in two small shallow dishes. First dip a glass in the chamoy, then dip into the seasoning.

Layer with Chamoy Sauce in Glasses

Pour a small amount – about 1/2 to 1 tablespoon – of chamoy into the bottom of each glass. Add the pureed mango mixture to fill the glass half full. Add in another spoonful of chamoy. Fill the glass to the top with the mango mixture.

Add a Tamarind Candy Straw

Add a to each beverage. These are made with tamarind paste mixed with sugar, chili powder, and other seasonings to create a sweet, sour, and spicy candy coating on plastic yellow straws. When placed in a drink, the tamarind straw gradually softens, infusing the beverage with its flavor – or you can just nibble on it! The kind I purchased doesn’t really function as a drinking straw until you clear the tamarind paste from inside the straw – and there’s a bunch up in there!

Garnish the Mangonadas

Top each Mangonada with fresh, juicy mango chunks. Drizzle on a little extra chamoy and shake on a touch more chili lime seasoning. Done and done!

Make it a Cocktail

As I mentioned earlier, Mangonadas can easily be transformed into a cocktail. Simply add a splash of your favorite tequila or vodka to the blender pitcher, along with the other ingredients before pureeing. More on this in the recipe notes.

Mangonadas are smooth and creamy, and somehow the tangy, salty chamoy makes the mango taste even sweeter! It seems like everyone has a different way to make them, but all have the same basic components. I kept this recipe very simple. You should be able to find everything you need at the grocery store in the international aisle, or for purchase online.

Hopefully you’ll find this recipe helpful, as it comes just in time for enjoying a cold beverage in hot weather. We already have summer temps here in the south, so I think I’m going to need another 8 pounds of fresh mangoes soon!

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