12 Exotic Mexican Fruits To Try When You Visit!

Mexico is home to tacos, pan de muerte, tequila, and mezcal – but don’t forget the amazing Mexican fruits you’ll see at every market and roadside stall. Some of these fruits can look a bit scary and confusing to eat – but they’re all worth a try. Who knows, you might find a new favorite!

Mexico is a beautiful place to visit due to its sprawling beaches, old architecture, and delicious food. The subtropical terrain also allows for some exotic fruits to grow that you wouldn’t usually find in the United States, and they’ll all take your tastebuds on a tasty journey.

So here are 12 exotic fruits Mexico offers that are worth trying next time you visit.

Learn more about Mexico:

• Best Places To Live In Mexico
• Where To Find The Best Vegan Food In Mexico City
• Can You Drink The Water In Mexico?

12 Exotic Mexican Fruits You’ve Probably Never Heard Of!

Look for these fruits if you decide to take a trip to Mexico. 

1. Capulin Cherries

Capulin (aka chapuline) cherries are a common fruit in Mexico, typically found in the Valley of Mexico, growing at high elevations. The little fruits are only a few inches wide in diameter and come in a beautiful dark red color. Inside you’ll find sweet, tart, and juicy fruit similar to other cherry varieties. They’re perfect for baking or eating right off the tree.

How To Eat Capulin Cherries

You can eat Capulin cherries the same way you eat cherries from your grocery store. Pop them in your mouth and spit out the seeds! You can also use them for pie fillings, jams, and alcoholic beverages.

2. Soursop

Soursop (aka the custard apple) is an avocado-shaped Mexican fruit that has an outer spiked, light green skin. The inside fruit ranges in color from white to cream and contains multiple black seeds. When you eat a piece of this fruit, you’ll notice that it is reminiscent of pineapple with its notes of sweetness and tanginess.

It’s also healthy for you, providing you with high amounts of vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, and potassium, anti-cancer effects, anti-inflammatory effects, and antibacterial effects.

How To Eat Soursop

To eat soursop, cut the fruit in half and scoop out the soft fruit inside. Ensure that you remove the seeds and then enjoy! Soursop fruit is also great for smoothies.

3. Mamey Sapote

Mamey sapotes have an outer rough and bumpy skin that looks similar to cantaloupe skin. The fruit is oval-shaped and has a beautiful orangey-red hue to it. It almost looks like papaya, but mamey sapotes have one large seed rather than multiple tiny ones.

The texture of the fruit is dense and soft, and it’s slightly sweet. The taste is reminiscent of pumpkin.

How To Eat Mamey Sapotes

To eat these Mexican fruits, cut them in half and remove the giant seed inside. Then you can scoop the fruit out as you’d do with an avocado. Mamey sapotes are great for smoothies, ice cream, and muffins.

4. Rambutan

Rambutans are very strange-looking fruits and resemble sea urchins, more typically found in Southern Mexico. These hairy-looking tropical fruits have a bright pink or red outer shell and a white, semi-transparent sphere of fruit hidden inside that looks like a lychee.

The taste of the crisp fruit is also similar to lychee, with a hint of strawberry, and elements of sweetness and tanginess.

How To Eat Rambutan

You can easily split the skin of this fruit or cut it open, take out the fruit, and eat it. Just remember that there’s a seed inside that you should spit out. Rambutans are also perfect for fruit salads, ice cream, juice, jellies, and jams.

5. Black Sapote

Black sapotes look similar to unripe tomatoes with their green skin and stubby stems. However, when you open these Mexican fruits, they look like fudge!

These two to six-inch fruits are in the persimmon family, but the flavor is much different. The soft brown fruit inside has notes of chocolate and a general sweetness, mimicking the taste of a chocolate pudding.

How To Eat Black Sapotes

To eat black sapotes, you’ll just need to cut the fruits in half and take out the seeds. Then you can scoop the fruit out of the skin and eat it. It’s a great dessert fruit due to its chocolate taste, but you can also add these fruits to pies, cakes, ice cream, pudding, and mousse. 

6. Naranjilla

Naranjillas (literally “little oranges”) are round tomato-looking fruits that are native to South America and central Mexico. Their coloring tends to be on the orange side, but they can be yellow as well. You might also hear them called “lulo”.

The pulpy fruit inside the skin is usually a combination of green and yellow. These fruits have a citrusy scent and taste, which is a little reminiscent of lemons or limes. 

How To Eat Naranjillas

You can eat naranjillas raw, but you might want to avoid eating the skin as it can be tough. Cut the fruits in half and scoop out the fruit to eat it, or squeeze the juice out to drink it. The fruit is also good for marmalades, jams, sauces, and pies.

The juice of the naranjilla fruit is green, and it’s often used in a drink called lulada.

7. Tuna Fruit (Prickly Pear)

Tuna fruits, aka prickly pear fruits, are spiky bulb-shaped Mexican fruits that come from cactuses. Most varieties of this fruit have a deep pink color to them, but you can find prickly pears in orange, yellow, and green.

Once you get through the outer skin and thorns, the inside fruit is soft and succulent, with hints of sweetness that are similar to the taste of a melon.

How To Eat Tuna Fruit

When you find the perfect prickly pear fruit, simply slice both ends off, peel the fruit, and pop it right into your mouth. You can also make juice, jams, candies, and margaritas with these fruits.

8. Nances

Nances are small, round, and poppable fruits that look similar to cherries. They’re typically yellow, but there are some red varieties too. Inside each fruit, you’ll find a pit covered in a starchy pulp, which tastes slightly sweet with hints of acidity and cheesiness.

Nances can also provide you with 59% of your daily vitamin C intake, aiding in immune system health!

How To Eat Nance Fruits

To eat small exotic Mexican fruits like these, you can put them in your mouth and then spit out the pit. However, if you’re looking for recipe ideas, you can use them in puddings, drinks, salads, jams, and fruit-based desserts.

9. Jocotes

Jocotes, or Spanish plums, are small fruits that typically look almost like large red and orange olives. The slightly squishy inside is typically a pale yellow or orange and tastes similar to an acidic mango. If the jacotes are ripe, you should taste a mixture of sour and sweet. 

How To Eat Jocote Fruit

You can eat jocotes raw by simply eating around the pit in the middle or spitting out the pit. Jocotes are also good for tangy sauces and jams.

10. Tejocote

Tejecotes, or Mexican hawthorn fruits, look like small orange and yellow apples. The inside flesh is even similar to apples in the sense that it has a slightly mealy texture and hints of an apple taste. You might also notice notes of apricot within this fruit due to the sweetness and hint of sourness.

How To Eat Tejocotes

To eat these apple-like fruits, you can bite into the fruit and eat around the middle just like an apple. However, be aware that raw tejocotes might be a little sour. Their sweetness shines through when you cook the fruit. With that said, these fruits are perfect for jams, punches, syrups, and stewing with spices.

11. Huayas

Huayas, or guayas, are little green sphere-shaped fruits. They almost look like olives, but when you split open their soft shells, you’ll see a bright orange or peach-colored ball of fruit inside.

This soft fruit surrounds a pit or seed that you should not eat. Huayas have a taste that is similar to lychee fruits, but they have more of a tartness to them.

How To Eat Huayas

To eat these round fruits, you can usually open the skin easily, peel it off, and put the orange fleshy fruit in your mouth. Just be sure you don’t crunch down on the pit and spit it out when you get to it. You can also turn the fruits into jams and sauces, but most people eat them right off the tree.

12. Mango

Last but not least, we have the incredibly popular mango. Mangoes are oval-shaped fruits from Mexico that typically have skin that ranges from green to yellow and red. The inside fruit is usually a beautiful yellow, with a large seed in the middle, which you should remove before eating. A ripe mango usually has firm and fibrous fruit inside, which has a delicious sweet melon essence when you eat it.

You can sometimes find mangoes in your local grocery store, but it isn’t guaranteed. Pay attention the next time you see one in your grocery store, as more often than not, they are a product from Mexico.

Mangoes are a great source of vitamins and can aid in immune, heart, digestive, and eye health. They also have anti-cancer properties by protecting your body from oxidative stress. 

How To Eat Mangoes

You can eat a mango raw, but you should peel the skin before eating, as it can be a little tough. Cut around the seed carefully, as the fruit is quite slippery – and then enjoy!

Mangoes make great additives for smoothies, salads, salsas, cakes, and tarts. You can also add them to margaritas, make natural juice, and add it to punches. Sprinkling the classic Tajin Mexican seasoning onto mangoes is another popular way to eat them.

Don’t Forget To Try Some Of These Mexican Fruits When You Visit Mexico!

Mexico is a beautiful place worth exploring, but don’t forget to check out their delicious fresh fruits. Mexican fruits are bursting with delicious notes of sweetness, sourness, tartness, and even chocolate! Be sure to try these delicious Mexican fruits on your next trip to Mexico.