Name: Mexican cucumber snack (pepinos con chile)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 3 medium cucumbers; Tajín chili powder (as much as you like); Mexican hot salsa (Chamoy, Valentina or any brand you prefer.); 2 limes (juice); salt (optional)

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This refreshing Mexican cucumber snack is a super simple recipe and a good idea for those busy days. Crunchy and fresh cucumber is seasoned with a sprinkle or chili powder, salsa, and a squeeze of lime. Yum!

A plate and some cups with Mexican cucumber snack.

If you are looking for a healthy, refreshing and tasteful snack, then this recipe is perfect for you. Serve it as a snack or appetizer. Thanks to the many health benefits of cucumber and the water content, you can eat as much as you want. It is a perfect thing to eat on a hot summer day.

About this recipe

Pepinos con chile (Mexican cucumber snack) is an unbelievably tasteful and straightforward recipe that uses only a few ingredients. It is made with fresh cucumbers, lime juice, hot salsa, and chili powder.

This is the way we Mexicans eat some fruits and vegetables and we’re taught like this since childhood. When I was a kid, my mother will make this for us, using just a few drops of Valentina salsa, it was a nice way for keeping ourselves cool when heat was almost unbearable.

It is also very common to find street vendors of Mexican fruit cups that sells also pepinos con chile (cucumber with chili powder and salsa).

A close up of spears of cucumbers dressed with hot salsa, lime juice and chili powder.

What types of chili powder can you use?

You can make this Mexican snack with any blend of chili powder. Here are a few blends you can use:

Tajin powder: Tajin powder is yet another Mexican chili blend that has a spicy and tangy flavour. The tanginess comes from dehydrated limes. However, the spice comes from dried chile de árbol, pasilla and guajillo chilies. This powder is also easily available at many online stores such as Amazon.

Ancho chili powder: This chili powder is made with dried poblanos, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. It has a smoky, rich, dark and slightly sweet flavour. The spice level is somewhere from medium to mild. Its use is quite prominent in Mexican cooking.

A bottle of Chamoy sauce standing near to a bottle of Tajín powder.

Morita powder: A Morita is a type of chipotle pepper. It has a unique, slightly fruity, and somewhat acidic flavour with a touch of smoke. Because the chillies are not smoked for a more extended period, the powder is not very strong. Its heat is somewhere from mild to medium making it a perfect candidate for this Mexican cucumber snack.

Any chili powder: When you don’t have an authentic Mexican chili blend, you can use anything you have available where you live. From hot paprika, to American blend chili powder, to Gochugaru (korean chili powder). Really, like anything that gives a touch of heat to those cucumbers!

How To Make Mexican Cucumbers Snack

Wash thoroughly the cucumbers. Peel them and cut them into thick slices, spears or any other format you like.
Place them in a serving platter.
Squeeze the juice of a lime, and drizzle with hot salsa.
Sprinkle with Tajín powder and serve.

IMPORTANT: If you not using a chili powder that already has salt on it (such as Tajín), you’ll need to add a pinch of salt to cucumbers.

Some useful notes

Although Mexican cucumber snack is quite a straightforward recipe and there is usually no need for any other ingredient, here are a few ways you can enjoy it:

Cut the cucumbers in any format you’d like, from thick slices to chunks and even spears. Is all about being creative.
Cut and arrange cucumbers on a platter, then place lime wedges, a small bowl with chili powder and a bottle of hot salsa. This way everyone can season them as they want.
Peeling the cucumber is your choice. You can either peel it before eating or you can cut them and eat with skin. Either way, the flavour is on spot. Just remember that if you go with skin-on cucumbers, make sure they’re organic.

Related: Should you peel your fruits and vegetables? – By HealthLine.com

Close up of sliced cucumbers drizzled with hot salsa and sprinkled with Tajín powder.

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