Homemade Tamarindo Candy! Transform tamarind pulp mixed with sugar and chile powder into a fun and delicious candy. This is a staple snack for any Mexican food lover!
Tamarindo Candy
Let me show you how easy it is to make Tamarindo Candy in three different versions to enjoy them with Tostilocos, Mangonadas, Raspados or just by themselves!
I’m soooooo excited for you to try these because I KNOW you will love them. These candies along with my beloved Chamoy, are Mexico’s favorite & most famous candies. There are many variations but here I will show you the classic version.
Making your own Tamarindo Candy is very easy! I’m not going to lie, it may be a little time consuming but the process is worth it. I promise.
The rewards? You’ll get delicious homemade Mexican candy free of preservatives that are fun to eat!
**This post was originally published on Jan 2021. It has been updated to be more helpful.
Ingredients
To make Tamarindo Candies, you’ll need:
- Tamarindos in pods – You can find them in the spice isle at any latin or asian store. They are also available online if you’re not lucky enough to find them locally.
- Chili lime Powder – Use my homemade recipe or something like Tajin.
- Granulated Sugar – now I know there is a lot of sugar in this recipe but isn’t that’s how candy is made? 😀
- Cornstarch – this acts as a binding ingredient and it does not provide any flavor. It just helps to keep the candy balls together better.
How to make Tamarindo Candy
This is a visual overview of the steps to make this recipe. See the detailed list of ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below.
- Start by adding about half a cup of hot water to the tamarinds in a large bowl. You only want enough water to coat the fruit and start the softening process.
- Soak the tamarind pods for about 20 minutes but stir them often to ensure they get coated evenly.
- Prior to adding all of the ingredients, cut the tamarinds in chunks (with your hands) and remove as many of the fiber (veins) as you can. Don’t worry if not all of them are removed…it’s perfectly normal to find them in tamarind candy.
Note: don’t remove the seeds. They are an integral part of forming the balls as they help keep ball’s structure.
- Add all ingredient to a large bowl.
- With a spatula or spoon, incorporate all of the ingredients together until a paste is formed.
- Place the tamarind paste in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to let it rest.
- When forming the balls, dampen your hands with water so that the paste does not stick to your hands. Roll the paste in your hands until a ball is formed.
- Roll the balls in sugar with two spoons. Follow the same steps for rolling them in the chili lime powder
A word of caution! don’t use your hands when rolling them into the sugar as the heat of your hands will melt the sugar and will create a mess!
How to Store & Reheat
- Fridge: The best way to store your tamarind balls is in the refrigerator since it has no conservatives. Place in a flat airtight container and add wax or parchment paper to separate each layer. They keep well for up to 3 weeks.
- They can also be wrapped individually in candy wrappers.
- Freezer: You can freeze the candy using the same storage method as above. Store for up to 3 months.
How To Eat Tamarind Candy
Mexican candy is always fun to eat no matter the occasion. It’s a nice treat to have once in a while. This type of candy is often quite sticky and chewy, so have clean hands in case you need to lick your fingers lol!
Remember that they contain seeds or small pieces of tamarind fruit, so be careful while chewing to avoid biting into a hard seed. The flavor is sweet and tangy making it unique and delicious!
FAQ
Tamarinds have a mild flavor but are a little tart. This is why we add sugar to balance the acidity in the fruit. The fruit itself can be a little sticky as well.
The main ingredients are tamarind pulp & sugar. For spicy ones, a little chili powder is added.
In Mexico you’ll find white plastic spoons filled with tamarindo candy the wrapped in plastic wrap. They’re very popular and you can find them at candy and grocery stores. They are a quick fun way to enjoy your candy!
Homemade Tamarindo Candy is the best! Free of preservatives and also fun to make. The best part is that first bite…yum!
I hope you make this recipe and make it a fun activity to do with your friends or family!
MORE delicious…
Appetizer & Snacks Recipes
I hope you like this recipe! Share it, or leave a rating and comment below. For questions that need an answer right away, please contact me and I’ll get back to you asap. Gracias!!!! xx, Ana
Print Recipe:
Tamarindo Candy
Ingredients
- 1 pound Tamarind pods Skin removed with seeds in.
- 1 cup hot water to hydrate the tamarinds
- 16 ounces White sugar
- 2 Tbsp. Chili lime seasoning or chili powder like tajin
- 4 Tbsp. Cornstarch
- Extra sugar and chili powder to coat balls
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the peeled tamarinds and add the hot water. You only want enough water to coat the fruit and start the softening process.
- Soak the tamarind pods for about 20 minutes but stir them often to ensure they get coated evenly.
- Prior to adding all of the ingredients, cut the tamarinds in chunks (with your hands) and remove as many of the fiber (veins) as you can. Don't worry if not all of them are removed…it's perfectly normal to find them in tamarind candy. (See note #1)
- With a spatula or spoon, incorporate all of the ingredients together until a paste is formed.
- Place the tamarind paste in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to let it rest.
Form the balls
- To form the balls, dampen your hands with water so that the paste does not stick to your hands. Roll the paste in your hands until a ball is formed.
- For sweet candy roll the balls in sugar with two spoons. (See note #2)
- Follow the same steps for rolling them in the chili lime powder.
- Store in a sealed container up to 1 month. Enjoy!
Muy Delish Notes:
Add Your Own Private Notes
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Nutrition
The nutritional information and US conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this data. If this is important to you, please verify with your favourite nutrition calculator and/or unit conversion tool.
This recipe brought back so many of my childhood memories. These candies were delectable and so good. Even my kids loved them and I made a big batch for myself.
Oh this looks awesome! I’ve never tried this but its on the list for this weekend! Thank you so much!
This candy is absolutely amazing! I think my only problem is that I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them LOL
I’m making these today! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Looks great!!!
I am so excited to try this candy! So many great bold flavors.
Hi Ana,
My store has ground tamarind. Have you worked with that form? I wasn’t sure if that would be a good substitute.
Thank you!
Hi Kasey! You need a pulp to be able to form it into the candy. I have not tried this yet but to make a pulp, you can cook dried apricots until you can form the pulp then add the ground tamarind (honestly, I didn’t even know that existed lol) to flavor it and form the candy.
If you give this a try, I would LOVE to know how it turns out!
Hi Ana! Thank you for the yummy recipe; I love everything tamarindo. I really miss the authentic tamarindo paletas (suckers), they were dark just like the fruit, with a saladito in the center or so. The ones found nowadays are light brown or reddish and don’t taste like tamarindo but possibly tajÃn. Are you familiar with the original recipe?
I am making these right now. My husband loves the red package pulparindos – the spicy ones. Should I add extra chile powder or follow the recipe?
Hi Allison! So happy to hear you’re making them! You can add extra chile powder if you want. That’s the beauty of this recipe..it’s very flexible! You can do half and half to see which one you like the most 🙂
Enjoy friend!
Ana
We love this recipe for dulce de tamarindo it’s delish and very easy to do. My mom bought a bag of tamarindo to originally make agua de tamarindo but after seeing the bag for a while be moved from one place to another because we did not want to peel lol! I decided to look up a tamarindo candy recipe and discovered it was simple to make. My son and I will be making it for the 2nd time today and putting them in small cups with lids. Hoping they last till Easter we will be handing them out to the family and they will surely love and enjoy! Thank you for sharing this dulce recipe with us look forward in checking out some of your other creation!! : D
I really enjoyed this amarindo candy! It was just like being back at home in Mexico! Thanks for the recipe!