Ever been in a Mexican grocery store or in one of the plethora of Mexican convenience stores and found yourself staring in confusion at the candy aisle wondering what you should choose and how you could figure out what the best Mexican candy for you looks like?

I took up the challenge that is the Mexican candy aisle to both find the best Mexican candy for myself but also to help you figure out what you should try and what you should take home to show off.

Let’s take a look, then, at the world of Mexican candy. 

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Where can you buy candy in Mexico?

Jajajajaja (that’s how you laugh in Spanish, by the way). A better question would be, “Where can’t you buy candy?”

🍬 Supermarkets (grocery stores) all have extensive selections, as do the convenience stores (famously Oxxo, 7-11 or Six). Note that supermarkets in Mexico don’t only sell candies in the candy aisle, they also often have a collection of artisanal, traditional candies made from fruits, chilli, nuts and seeds. This section is definitely worth checking out.

🍬 The city markets have stalls selling candies and you may also find artisan markets and stores selling great traditional options.

🍬 Local street vendors and beach vendors sell traditional ice cream and candies.

🍬 The most popular Mexican candies can also be bought online and there are many places to buy Mexican candy in the United States too. 

The best Mexican candy

Here we’ll take a look at some of the very best Mexican candy so that you don’t feel lost or intimidated when faced with the candy aisle (and/or you can save money when your kids are trying to pick out a candy from the unfamiliar offerings).

Spicy Candy

It’s important to remember that while the candy might be spicy, it’s also sweet.

Why are Mexican sweets so spicy?

I’ve heard it said that Mexican candies are so often doused with spicy flavors in order to get Mexican kids eating the spice that is so ubiquitous in Mexican cuisine. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know but it certainly doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. 

In Mexico it’s also really common to douse fruit with Tajin, a delicious spicy-sugary-salty powder.

⭐️ If you’re a homeschooling family in Mexico, trying new candy flavours is a great lesson in cultural and cuisine differences.

Pelon Pelo Rico

These little plastic tubes of gel-like candy are one of the most popular candies in Mexico and they’re also my daughter’s favorite. You push from the bottom and little gelatinous strands of hair/spaghetti appear on the top. The original candy is a tamarind and sweet chilli flavored sweet candy but there are various different flavor options including mango or lemon and salt.

→ Buy Pelon Pelo Rico

Spicy Gummy Candy / Gomitas Enchiladas 

These tasty treats come in various shapes and flavors although the most common seem to be mango and pineapple covered in a spicy mixture of chili powder. There are artisanal versions and mass-produced versions of these familiar favorites. 

⭐️ You will sometimes find spicy nuts and candies added to the street food dish, “tostilocos”

🛍 Popular brand – Mancha-t

→ Buy spicy mango

Salsagheti Gusanos Sandia /Lucas Skwinkles 

These spaghetti shaped sweet treats look, at first glance as if it’s pieces of strawberry liquorice, to the uninitiated but it’s not, it’s spicy. These come in watermelon flavor with them you get a little sachet of a tamarind spicy salsa.  

→ Try Skwinkles

Tamarind stick

This is a plastic straw covered in a tamarind pulp. You can eat them neat or, sensibly add them to your fabulously delicious michelada (a spicy beer drink made by adding clamato, spices  lime juice and more). 

→ Improve every beer you ever have with a tamarind stick/straw

Tamarind

As you might imagine, there are numerous tamarind flavored candies in Mexico. I enjoy a Pulparindo product very much but be warned, the “extra picante” really is pretty hot. The smaller, yellow, Pulparindots are not especially hot so start there if you’re unsure of your tolerance levels.

→ Chew on some yummy Pulparindos

Lucas Gusano – Chamoy

This can be used as a sweet salsa as well as a candy in its own right. Once I passed the intelligence test that was working out how to get the lid off, I was horrified to find that I actually didn’t hate this. I wanted to hate it since it’s basically liquid sugar but I didn’t! Damn it, taste buds, letting me down like that. 

Chamoy, by the way is a paste made from pickled fruits. Typically it tastes salty, sweet, sour and spicy all at once.

The best Mexican candies – non-spicy

It may shock you but not all candy in Mexico is spicy, in fact, quite a lot of the traditional candies aren’t spicy at all. If you’re really not convinced by the sweet-spicy-salty-goodness we’ve discussed above, the following options might be more your style.

Cajeta based candies

Cajeta is a goat milk dulce de leche that is pretty much ubiquitous with popular Mexican candy (of the non-spicy kind).

My favorite cajeta based candy is the “Gloria” – this is a squishy, soft candy that often tastes of maple. 

Obleas con cajeta

The oblea con cajeta is a traditional Mexican candy comprising two thin wafers (the oblea) with a smear of cajeta between them. The wafers are made of wheat-flour and feel quite papery but when combined with the cajeta they make a delicious treat. 

🛍 You can pick up artisan obleas con cajeta or mass-produced obleas, small ones, giant ones or even sugar free ones. A popular candy brand for these and other candies is “Les Sevillanos”.

If you’ve ever wondered about the large, brightly colored disks you see being sold – they are obleas.

→ Try the delicious obleas con cajeta

De la Rosa Mazapan

This is a delicious salty-sweet peanut confection that is basically a marzipan crumbly delight made of ground peanuts. It’s a dry texture but it’s also kind of weirdly addictive once you’re used to it. 

⚠️ Did you know that mazapan is so popular in Mexico it even has its own national day? January 12th is Día del Mazapan!

→ Don’t let Jan 12th pass by without trying mazapan

INspireka by  Konstru-y

If you’re looking for a super kid-friendly candy, this is the one. It’s basically edible Lego. It isn’t a ‘Mexican flavour’ but it is a Mexican brand. They also make edible play-do and other silly candies. My kids are always so excited if we let them have a few bricks of this stuff.

It doesn’t have much flavour but the kids don’t care.  

Kids will also love Panditas (gummybears), Paleta Payaso (a marshmallow covered in chocolate on a stick – can also be sold frozen), Nucita – a 3 flavored paste that is often smeared in marquesitas.

Mexican Artisan Candies

Palenqueta con semillas

This snack can come in different shapes and is full of peanuts, honey, amaranth, linseed and sunflower seeds. It is absolutely delicious.

Bocadin

Bocadin is an amaranth candy and since amaranth is an ancient Mexican super food, it’s practically a healthy option. They come in different flavors including chocolate and honey. 

💀 Have you seen the Day of the Dead skulls made out of amaranth?

Cocada Banderas

These are little coconut candies shaped and coloured like the Mexican flag. I’m a sucker for anything coconut flavour so absolutely adore these. 

Ate en Laminillas

Note that while these look as is if they could be a good alternative to the ever popular fruit roll-up. However, this traditional candy, really doesn’t taste of much but sugar. 

Beach Candies

Below is a  typical tray of candies you’ll find at the beach in Mexico.  This photo was taken in Progreso. There are marshmallows, meringues,  rock-candy, coconut-based sweets, cajeta based sweets, nutty sweets. Oooooh, it’s a veritable tray of tooth-rotting delight. Generally everything on the tray costs more or less the same.

Other Candies

Lucas Muecas 

This is a lollipop that you dip in a sour powder that’s generally made of salty sugar and lemon. 

Lollipops

Just like everywhere else in the world, there are lollipops everywhere in Mexico – tamarind-flavored lollipops covered in chilli are my personal favorite and they’re also how I first introduced chilli to my then tiny children. Their disbelief at being handed candy overrode their initial dislike of the spice and bam, one of my kids was down for spicy foods forever. 

Anahuac Saleros

I carried this spicy salt and lemon flavor powder in my bag for months and would use it to liven up fruit or beers when I fancied a salty / spicy flavor and none was forthcoming.

Selz Soda 

These are essentially sherbet lemon hard candies that will remind you of your childhood. 

🪅 A note on piñata candy

In case you’re wondering what candy to add to a piñata for an upcoming birthday party, this is the answer: cheap, wrapped candy. I asked my Mexican friends about piñata candy and they told me that when they were young, piñatas weren’t always candy-filled. Sometimes they’d have nuts, satsumas or other healthier items within. But today, I don’t recommend trying this as the kids will be horrified!!

So, if you’re on the look out for piñata candy, know that the supermarkets and the piñata stores generally sell big bags of wrapped candy – these are what you buy.

🎁 And if you want to read about my total fail at throwing our first Mexican birthday party, here it is!

 

 

So next time you find yourself standing in front of the candy selection in a Mexican grocery store, don’t just grab a Twix or a packet of Skittles, try something new!