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What is Atole?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Atole is a popular, grain based hot drink in Mexico, which celebrates the use of corn. In some ways it bears resemblance to gruel, and the drink may be thick or thin depending upon a person’s tastes. Recipes for this beverage date back to pre-Colombian times. Like many of the Latin American foods we enjoy today, it is a tribute to the ingenuity of the Latin American people as another inspired recipe that made use of the main grain source in Latin America.

This beverage consists of cooked cornmeal and water mixed with cane sugar blocks, which are called piloncillo. This makes a thin or porridge like drink. Cinnamon is then added, and other ingredients can produce the final result. Chocolate and fruit are the most common additions. The atole is thoroughly blended and then heated.

Atole is often served with tamales.
Atole is often served with tamales.

When chocolate is used, and this is one of the most popular variations, it is called champurrado. Chocolate atole is especially enjoyed during the Christmas season. Both chocolate and fruit atole are both commonly served on the Day of the Dead, which is the first of November. Some recipes suggest ladling pureed fruit on the top of the drink instead of blending it with the other ingredients. Tamales typically accompany the beverage, although it can also be eaten or drunk by itself as a breakfast meal.

It is possible to purchase atole in a powder form to make at home.
It is possible to purchase atole in a powder form to make at home.

In Central America, El Salvadorans make a variant of atole they call atol shuco. Shuco is slang for “dirty,” and the El Salvadoran version does have a somewhat grey, flecked appearance because of its ingredients. Though the drink may still contain sugar, it is more like a purple cornmeal and black bean smoothie, very different from the Mexican version. Some variants include ground chili peppers, and other forms of atol shuco also add pumpkin seeds. Like Mexican atole, it is served hot, but with beans added it is frequently thicker. It’s also a high protein drink since it does include beans as a protein source.

Atole is a grain based, hot drink from Mexico.
Atole is a grain based, hot drink from Mexico.

If you’re interested in trying atole, Mexican and South American markets often feature a powdered version that you can make at home by adding milk or water. It may also be found in Mexican and San Salvadoran restaurants. In the American southwest, atole is also enjoyed and powdered versions may be found in many grocery stores, or you can often get fresh versions at local cafes and restaurants.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

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    • Atole is often served with tamales.
      By: dreambigphotos
      Atole is often served with tamales.
    • It is possible to purchase atole in a powder form to make at home.
      By: alb470
      It is possible to purchase atole in a powder form to make at home.
    • Atole is a grain based, hot drink from Mexico.
      By: Marcos Bolaños
      Atole is a grain based, hot drink from Mexico.
    • Cornmeal, one of the main ingredients in atole.
      Cornmeal, one of the main ingredients in atole.
    • Cinnamon is typically used to season atole.
      By: Natika
      Cinnamon is typically used to season atole.