Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Pinolillo
Nicaragua's national drink: toasted ground corn and roasted cacao spiced with cinnamon and cloves, whisked into water and served cold.
Nicaraguan · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 0 min
~52 cal · 2g protein · 11g carbs · 1g fat · 1g fiber · 2g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Pinolillo is so central to Nicaragua that Nicaraguans call themselves pinoleros. A nutrient-dense drink of toasted corn and cacao, it has been consumed here since before European contact and remains the national beverage, drunk daily and offered to every guest.
Toasted corn is ground with a small amount of roasted cacao and spices, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, traditionally on a stone metate, into a fine, fragrant powder. That powder is whisked into water (or milk), sweetened to taste, and served, usually cold. The drink is thick and a little gritty by design, its toasted, chocolatey aroma unmistakable.
A close relative, tiste, uses more cacao. But pinolillo is the everyday one, mixed in a jarritos of water and stirred so the grounds stay suspended. Wholesome, ancestral, and quietly delicious, it is, as Nicaraguans say, a little cup of their history. On water it is naturally plant-based.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 cup white corn, toasted and finely ground
2 tbsp roasted cacao, finely ground
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice and cloves
4 cups water
to taste sugar
to serve ice
Instructions
1
Combine the toasted ground corn, ground cacao, cinnamon, and allspice and cloves into a fine pinolillo powder.
✎ Chef’s note
The corn should be well toasted before grinding; that toasting is where pinolillo gets its signature aroma.
2
Whisk the powder into the water until evenly suspended, with no dry lumps.
3
Sweeten with sugar to taste and stir well.
4
Pour over ice and stir again before each sip, since the grounds settle.
Managua tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Managua. Gallo pinto is argued over with Costa Rica and neither side concedes, but the two are not the same plate: Nicaragua uses small red beans and Costa Rica black ones, and here the rice and the beans are cooked separately first so they stay distinct when they meet in the pan.
🗺️
Nicaragua. Gallo pinto is shared with Costa Rica and both countries claim it, so it is best described rather than awarded; in Nicaragua the beans are usually red and are fried with day-old rice until the grains take colour. The nacatamal is a different order of thing from a Mexican tamal, a large parcel of masa with pork, rice, potato and mint wrapped in plantain leaf and boiled for hours.
🌍
North America. North America's table began with Indigenous foodways, the "three sisters" of corn, beans, and squash, plus chiles, tomatoes, and cacao, then layered on colonial, African, and immigrant influences. From Mexico's UNESCO-recognized cuisine to the Cajun and Creole pots of Louisiana and the fiery jerk of the Caribbean, the region turns ancient staples into something new. Barbecue, tacos, gumbo, and mole all carry stories of migration and adaptation.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Nicaragua
Gallo PintoDay-old rice fried with red beans until speckled like a painted rooster, Nicaragua’s twice-daily heartbeat.
VahoA steamed Nicaraguan feast of marinated beef, green and ripe plantains, and yuca layered in banana leaves.
Indio ViejoShredded beef and vegetables thickened with toasted masa into a rich, sour-orange-scented stew, a Nicaraguan classic.
Browse all Nicaragua recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Best straight off the heat. Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and reheat well in a hot oven rather than the microwave.
Make it a Nicaragua meal
NacatamalDinner
Tres LechesDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Ethiopian Coffee (Buna)Ethiopia
Shahi bil Ful (Libyan Tea)Libya
Qahwa OmaniOman
Koko SamoaSamoa
Jabana (Sudanese Spiced Coffee)Sudan
QishrYemen
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Pinolillo?
Nicaragua's national drink: toasted ground corn and roasted cacao spiced with cinnamon and cloves, whisked into water and served cold.
Where does Pinolillo come from?
Pinolillo is a Nicaraguan dish from Managua, Nicaragua.
Can Pinolillo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pinolillo recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Pinolillo safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Pinolillo take to make?
About 10 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.