Recipes with piloncillo
73 verified Mexican recipes with piloncillo.
Piloncillo — unrefined cane sugar in cone form, with caramel and smoke notes — sweetens traditional Mexico: café de olla, capirotada, candied pumpkin en tacha, atoles, buñuelos with piloncillo syrup and tepache. Real raw sugar with a flavour of its own (dark muscovado is the nearest swap).
This page gathers 73 verified Mexican recipes with piloncillo, ordered A to Z — including Pinole Drink (Rarámuri Energy Drink), Amaranth and Honey Bar, Amaranth Atole (Pre-Hispanic Hot Drink). Total times range from 5 to 225 minutes, so there are weeknight options as well as weekend pot-cooking projects. The quickest is Agua de Pinole (5 minutes in total). Indicative UK price: £4.49 per 500g (researched for our cost estimates).
Pinole Drink (Rarámuri Energy Drink)
Rarámuri energy drink made with toasted ground maize, cinnamon and fresh water.
5 minfacil2 servings
Amaranth and Honey Bar
Puffed amaranth bars bound together with piloncillo and honey.
35 minmedia10 servings
Amaranth Atole (Pre-Hispanic Hot Drink)
Pre-Hispanic amaranth atole with piloncillo and cinnamon. Nutritious and warming.
30 minfacil4 servings
Chocolate Atole
Thick maize drink with Mexican chocolate, comforting and creamy.
30 minfacil6 servings
Coconut Atole (Warm Coconut Corn Drink)
Creamy coconut atole with corn masa, piloncillo and cinnamon.
30 minfacil4 servings
Atole de Guayaba (Guava Corn Drink)
Warm thick corn drink with guava, cinnamon and unrefined cane sugar.
35 minfacil6 servings
Walnut Atole (Mexican Holiday Drink)
Hot walnut atole with cinnamon and piloncillo, traditional for Mexican festivities.
35 minfacil6 servings
Pinole Atole (Toasted Corn Hot Drink)
Hot drink of pinole (toasted ground corn) with cinnamon and piloncillo.
25 minfacil4 servings
Tejocote Hawthorn Atole (Seasonal Mexican Hot Drink)
Winter atole of Mexican tejocotes with piloncillo and cinnamon. Day of the Dead tradition.
45 minfacil6 servings
Oaxacan Atolillo (Corn Pudding Drink)
Oaxacan corn atolillo with cinnamon, piloncillo and vanilla. Ancient drink and dessert.
35 minfacil4 servings
Buñuelos
Crispy fried tortilla rounds drenched in warm piloncillo syrup.
70 minmedia10 servings
Cheese Fritter Balls
Fried maize and fresh cheese balls, crispy on the outside and soft within.
30 minfacil5 servings
Knee-Stretched Buñuelos (Oaxacan Style)
Enormous thin buñuelos stretched over the knee, drenched in piloncillo syrup.
90 minmedia10 servings
Bunuelos de Viento (Puffed Mexican Fritters)
Spherical hollow fried fritters, light as air, bathed in piloncillo and cinnamon syrup.
55 minmedia8 servings
Caballeros Pobres (Mexican French Toast with Piloncillo Syrup)
Traditional Mexican dessert of fried bread bathed in piloncillo and cinnamon syrup with raisins.
35 minfacil6 servings
Mezcal Coffee (Café con Mezcal)
Oaxacan pot coffee with cinnamon, piloncillo and a measure of mezcal.
20 minfacil2 servings
Mexican Clay Pot Coffee
Traditional coffee brewed in a clay pot with piloncillo and cinnamon.
20 minfacil6 servings
Candied Pumpkin in Piloncillo Syrup
Pumpkin slow-cooked in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and guava. A traditional Day of the Dead dessert.
100 minfacil8 servings
Prawns in Tamarind and Chilli Sauce
Prawns in a sweet-sour tamarind, árbol chilli and piloncillo glaze.
30 minfacil4 servings
Capirotada (Mexican Bread Pudding)
Traditional bread pudding layered with piloncillo syrup, cheese, dried fruits and nuts.
70 minmedia8 servings
Capirotada de Leche (Milk Bread Pudding)
Creamy Lenten capirotada with bread in piloncillo milk, raisins, peanuts and cheese.
55 minfacil8 servings
Champurrado (Chocolate Atole)
Thick, warming chocolate atole made with masa, piloncillo and cinnamon.
40 minmedia6 servings
Chilate (Cacao and Chilli Drink)
Ancestral Guerrero drink of cacao with chilli and cinnamon, served cold.
30 minmedia6 servings
Homemade Chipotle Chillies in Adobo
Smoked chipotle chillies in homemade adobo sauce with tomato, spices and vinegar, an essential base of Mexican cooking.
65 minmedia8 servings
Chicken Chilorio (Sinaloa)
Shredded chicken in dried chilli sauce, chilorio style.
60 minmedia6 servings
Churros with Mexican Hot Chocolate
Crispy fried churros rolled in cinnamon sugar with thick Mexican hot chocolate for dipping.
40 minmedia6 servings
Piloncillo Piggy Biscuits
Piggy-shaped sweet bread made with piloncillo and spices.
50 minmedia12 servings
Cocoles (Tlaxcalan Anise & Piloncillo Bread)
Tlaxcalan sweet bread with anise and piloncillo, an ancestral tradition.
70 minmedia10 servings
Condoches (Sweet Fresh Corn Tamales)
Sweet steamed corn tamales with piloncillo in their own husk, from Aguascalientes.
85 minfacil8 servings
Mexican BBQ Ribs with Guajillo Glaze
Pork ribs with guajillo chilli and piloncillo BBQ sauce, oven-roasted.
210 minmedia6 servings
Coyoles in Honey Syrup (Tabasco Palm Fruit Dessert)
Coyol palm fruits cooked in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and cloves.
110 minfacil6 servings
Coyotas (Sonoran Piloncillo Biscuits)
Sonoran biscuits filled with caramelised piloncillo.
55 minmedia12 servings
Piloncillo-Filled Coyotas
Sonoran wheat pastry filled with caramelised piloncillo, crisp and treacly.
50 minfacil12 servings
Donas Mexicanas (Mexican Doughnuts with Piloncillo Glaze)
Fluffy doughnuts with piloncillo and cinnamon glaze, decorated with coloured sugar sprinkles.
110 minmedia12 servings
Dulce de Biznaga (Barrel Cactus Candy)
Traditional barrel cactus pulp confection in piloncillo syrup.
120 minmedia8 servings
Pumpkin in Piloncillo Syrup (Dulce de Calabaza)
Pumpkin cooked in piloncillo and cinnamon syrup. Traditional Day of the Dead dessert.
110 minfacil8 servings
Purple Sweet Potato Candy from Puebla
Traditional Puebla purple sweet potato candy with cinnamon, orange and raw cane sugar.
75 minfacil10 servings
Coconut and Cinnamon Candy (Dulce de Coco)
Chewy coconut candy with piloncillo, cinnamon and vanilla. Traditional Mexican coastal sweet.
60 minmedia20 servings
Chickpea Candy (Dulce de Garbanzo)
Chickpeas cooked in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and orange, a traditional Mexican sweet.
65 minfacil8 servings
Mexican Fig Preserve in Piloncillo Syrup
Figs in piloncillo cane sugar syrup with cinnamon and cloves, traditional Mexican dessert.
75 minfacil6 servings
Jícama Candy with Lime and Chilli
Jícama in tangy-spicy lime and piloncillo syrup with piquín chilli.
35 minfacil6 servings
Green Papaya Candy in Piloncillo Syrup
Green papaya crystallised in piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and cloves.
110 minfacil8 servings
Dulce de Pepita (Pumpkin Seed Brittle)
Crispy pumpkin seed brittle with piloncillo, a pre-Hispanic sweet from Puebla and Oaxaca.
35 minfacil8 servings
Dulce de Tejocote (Mexican Hawthorn Compote)
Mexican hawthorn fruits in piloncillo syrup, a Christmas sweet.
60 minfacil8 servings
Northern Mexican Pine Nut Empanadas
Shortcrust pastry empanadas filled with toasted pine nuts with piloncillo and cinnamon.
65 minmedia16 servings
Sweet Sugar Gorditas
Masa corn gorditas sweetened with piloncillo, cinnamon and anise, a typical fair sweet from central Mexico.
35 minfacil6 servings
Baked Gorditas
Northern-style baked gorditas with piloncillo and anise, filled with beans or cheese.
55 minmedia8 servings
Bread Crumb Gorditas
Sweet masa gorditas filled with bread crumbs, piloncillo and cinnamon.
35 minfacil10 servings
Piloncillo Sweet Gorditas
Sweet corn masa gorditas with piloncillo, cinnamon and star anise.
40 minfacil6 servings
Pork Loin in Tamarind Sauce
Juicy pork loin glazed in sweet-sour tamarind sauce with piloncillo and ancho chilli.
70 minmedia6 servings
Muéganos (Piloncillo-Glazed Fried Dough)
Fried dough pieces coated in piloncillo syrup, a Huauchinango tradition.
75 minmedia8 servings
Muñuelos Tlaxcaltecas (Fried Dough Balls in Piloncillo Syrup)
Fried dough balls bathed in piloncillo and anise syrup from Tlaxcala.
45 minfacil6 servings
Peanut Brittle
Toasted peanut bars with caramelised piloncillo syrup.
30 minfacil12 servings
Mexican Walnut Pie (Pay de Nuez)
Walnut tart with piloncillo, cinnamon and vanilla, a Mexican celebration dessert with dark caramel flavour.
75 minmedia8 servings
Pemoles (Piloncillo and Anise Biscuits from the Huasteca)
Rustic piloncillo and anise biscuits from the Huasteca Potosina of San Luis Potosí.
40 minfacil24 servings
Pepitorias (Pumpkin Seed Brittle)
Pumpkin seed and piloncillo caramel brittle.
30 minfacil16 servings
Piloncillo Sugar Syrup
Piloncillo syrup with cinnamon and cloves for buñuelos, churros and Mexican desserts.
25 minfacil10 servings
Pollo de San Marcos (San Marcos Fair Chicken in Dried Chile Sauce)
Chicken in rich dried chile sauce from the San Marcos Fair in Aguascalientes.
90 minmedia4 servings
Cold Fruit Punch
Mexican ponche served cold with tejocotes, guavas, pineapple and sugarcane for parties.
60 minfacil12 servings
Pomegranate Ponche
Festive red ponche with pomegranate, piloncillo and cinnamon.
45 minfacil8 servings
Showing the first 60 of 73. Filter more in the directory
Frequently asked questions
How many recipes with piloncillo are there on Recetas Mexas?
We have 73 published Mexican recipes using piloncillo, all with verified ingredients, steps and timings. A few examples: Pinole Drink (Rarámuri Energy Drink), Amaranth and Honey Bar, Amaranth Atole (Pre-Hispanic Hot Drink).
What's the quickest recipe with piloncillo?
Agua de Pinole, ready in 5 minutes in total. The rest of the recipes on this page range from 5 to 225 minutes.
How much does piloncillo cost in the UK?
The indicative price we use in our cost estimates is £4.49 per 500g, researched across UK supermarkets and Mexican grocers. Each recipe page shows its calculated cost.
I've got piloncillo and not much else — what can I cook?
Use our "What can I cook?" tool: tick piloncillo plus whatever else you have at home and it tells you which recipes you can make in full and which are only one ingredient away.
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Recipes curated by Edmond Bojalil. Last updated: 2026-06-16.
Founder, Recetas Mexas
Mexican from Puebla, IT professional and foodie. Author of 1000+ authentic Mexican recipes adapted for home kitchens worldwide. Based in Madrid since 2018.
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