This Atole de Pinole drink has a sweet and smoky taste with hints of cinnamon. It is perfect to warm you up on those cold days and can be enjoyed with your favorite Mexican pastries.
Learn how to make this Mexican pinole drink at home with our easy step-by-step recipe.
About
Pinole is a Mexican superfood made of toasted corn, piloncillo, and cinnamon. The ingredients are ground into a fine powder that can be eaten as a snack or used as an ingredient to make other recipes.
There are many recipes that feature original pinole, the most popular are cookies and drinks like this atole.
Atole de pinole is a hot beverage perfect to serve for breakfast or an afternoon snack. Is comfy, slightly sweet, and earthy, but is also fulfilling and nutritious.
Besides, is very easy to make and needs only a few ingredients, definitely something you need to try if you’re a Mexican food lover because this is an authentic and traditional recipe.
Ingredients
- Pinole: You can find this ingredient at Mexican groceries or on Amazon, or you can also make it at home with our pinole recipe which is what I recommend because you can control how much sweetener you add and also include other super foods like chia seeds or nuts.
- Milk: Use any type of milk you prefer, whole milk adds more creaminess but plant-based milk works well too, think of soy, coconut, or almond milk.
- Piloncillo: I used ground piloncillo, but regular piloncillo cones or brown sugar are good substitutes. You can find piloncillo at any Mexican or Latin-American grocery stores or on Amazon. If you can’t find it as piloncillo, try with “panela” which is practically the same.
- Cinnamon: Use a stick of Mexican canela or ground cinnamon.
- Vanilla: For a depth of flavor, use vanilla extract or vanilla paste. Be careful with products labeled as “scent of vanilla” as those are usually artificial flavoring.
How To Make Atole de Pinole
Place 1 cup water in a mixing bowl and add pinole flour, whisk vigorously for 1 minute making sure there are no lumps left.
Place the milk, piloncillo, and cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 5 minutes while mixing constantly until the mix is slightly infused with cinnamon flavor.
Pour the pinole mixture slowly into the pot and while stirring to prevent atole from forming lumps. Keep stirring until everything is nicely combined.
Cook for 10 minutes until the atole has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon and you will sense a delicious caramel smell coming from the pot.
Adjust sweetness to taste by mixing in more brown sugar or piloncillo. Serve in mugs and enjoy with tamales or pan dulce.
Notes
- Make sure you cook the atole over medium-low heat to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of your pan and burning.
- Do not leave the pot unattended or cook over high heat because there’s the risk of the mixture spilling out.
- You can substitute piloncillo with molasses. Even though molasses aren’t the same as piloncillo, the taste is pretty similar and you’ll be surprised how delicious is!
- If you want to make a vegan or dairy-free version of this Pinole drink, you can replace regular milk with your favorite plant-based beverage such as coconut milk or almond milk.
- You can mix in half a tablet of Mexican chocolate to bring this recipe to the next level!
Pair With
In Mexico, the best pairing for atole is the traditional tamales, but pastries are also perfect to enjoy alongside. Here are a few recipes to pair this Mexican hot drink:
How To Store
Atole de pinole drink can last up to 4 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container. Make sure the beverage is completely cooled before storing it.
For reheating, since the atole gets thicker as it cools down, we recommend reheating in a saucepan with a splash of milk or water over medium heat while stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
More Atole drinks recipes
If you loved this recipe, make sure to also check out more of our atole recipes in this blog:
- Pumpkin atole. Perfect for fall and the cold season.
- Maizena Atole. This creamy atole is super simple to make with cornstarch.
- Rice Atole. Think of a drinkable arroz con leche!
- Atole de Avena. Made with oats, this drink is perfect for breakfast.
Atole de Pinole
Ingredients
- ½ cup pinole
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup water (room temperature)
- ¼ cup ground piloncillo (or ⅓ cup brown sugar)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Place the water in a mixing bowl and add pinole, mix to combine until no lumps are left.
- Place the milk, cinnamon stick, and piloncillo (or sugar) in a pot and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 5 minutes or until milk is nicely flavored with cinnamon.
- Pour the pinole mixture slowly into the pot and while stirring to prevent atole from forming lumps.
- Cook for 10 minutes while stirring constantly until the atole has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Adjust sweetness to taste by mixing in more sugar or piloncillo.
- Serve in mugs and enjoy.
Notes
- Make sure you cook the atole over medium-low heat to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of your pan.
- Do not leave the pot unattended or cook over high heat because there’s the risk of the mixture spilling out.
- If you want to make a vegan or dairy-free version of this Pinole drink, you can replace regular milk with your favorite plant-based beverage such as coconut milk or almond milk.
Nutrition Information
Did you like this traditional atole de pinole recipe? Then please don’t forget to rate it and leave us a comment below. Also…
I’m game though it’s not what I remember growing up.
My question is where can I find the adorable Mexican cups and plates you photograph?
Hi Linda, most of them are gifts from my family or I buy them myself when I go to Mexico.
Never heard of atole de pinole before and I also noticed you included how the make the pinole powder which is fantastic! I have masa harina and piloncillo at home, I just need some piloncillo which I’ll buy today because can’t wait to try the recipe!