Mote con huesillo is a chilled Chilean drink of dried peaches, chewy wheat and cinnamon-scented syrup. This street-food favorite takes little hands-on work, but needs an overnight soak and time to chill before serving.
Mote con Huesillo at a Glance
What Is Mote con Huesillo?
Mote con huesillo (MOH-teh kohn weh-SEE-yoh) is a cold, non-alcoholic Chilean drink made from two ingredients plus syrup:
- Mote: wheat kernels that have been hulled and cooked until tender and chewy.
- Huesillos: whole dried peaches, with the pit still inside. The name comes from hueso, “bone,” the Chilean word for the pit. Each glass usually gets one or two.
The peaches are soaked and simmered with sugar (or chancaca) and cinnamon, and that cooking liquid becomes the syrup. Once everything is cold, it goes into a tall glass: mote first, then the peaches, then the syrup.
A quick warning if you’re new to it: the pit is still in there, so don’t bite straight down into the peach.
Chile’s summer runs from December to February, and that’s when the drink is everywhere. In the US it makes just as much sense in July.
Ingredients Used in Mote con Huesillo
The list is short, but each ingredient matters:
- Huesillos (whole dried peaches): Look for whole fruit with the pit in. Pitted dried peach halves, called orejones, will work in a pinch, but they break down faster and the syrup comes out thinner.
- Mote (hulled wheat): Sold dry (it needs soaking and cooking) or precooked in bags. Follow the package directions for dry mote; fully cooked mote saves that cooking step.
- Sugar or chancaca: Chancaca is Chilean unrefined cane sugar, sold in cones or blocks. It gives the syrup a darker color and a caramel flavor. Many families use part chancaca and part white sugar. Panela or piloncillo are close substitutes.
- Cinnamon sticks: The main spice. One or two sticks per batch.
- Optional extras: a few cloves, or a strip of orange or lemon peel simmered in the syrup.
- Water: for soaking the peaches, cooking the mote, and thinning the syrup to taste.
How to Make Mote con Huesillo at Home (Step-by-Step)
Most of the time goes into soaking and chilling, so start the day before. The recipe card has the measured ingredients.
- Rinse the huesillos, put them in a large covered container with the 8 cups water and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. Keep the peach soaking liquid. If your dry mote package calls for soaking, soak it separately according to its directions at the same time.
- Transfer the peaches and their soaking liquid to a large pot. Add sugar, cinnamon and any optional cloves, citrus peel or chancaca. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, or until the peaches are tender. Keep this a pourable, lightly sweetened liquid, not a thick syrup. Remove the cinnamon, cloves and peel.
- While the peaches simmer, cook the dry mote in a separate pot with plenty of fresh water according to the package, until tender but still chewy; the time varies with processing and soaking, and may exceed 40 minutes. Drain and cool. For fully cooked mote, rinse or reheat only as directed on its package, then cool.
- Cool promptly in shallow containers or an ice bath, keeping the peaches in their liquid and the mote separate. Refrigerate until thoroughly cold, allowing at least 2 hours; a large batch may need longer. Do not leave the cooked ingredients at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Divide the cooked mote among six tall glasses, add two peaches to each, and pour over the chilled peach liquid. Add cold water to taste if too sweet or concentrated. Serve with a spoon and remind guests that the peaches contain pits.
Timing: Plan on about 15 hours: 15 minutes active prep, about 45 minutes cooking with two pots running together, a 12-hour overnight soak and at least 2 hours chilling. An 8-hour soak shortens this by 4 hours; your mote package or extra chilling may require longer. Fully cooked mote saves its cooking step, but the peaches still need soaking and chilling.
Sweetness: Chancaca or panela is optional and adds sweetness as well as color. Taste the cooled liquid before adding more sugar; dilute each glass to taste.
Storage and ingredients: Refrigerate the peaches with their liquid and the cooked mote separately for up to 3–4 days. Mote de trigo is wheat and contains gluten. The recipe is naturally vegan. Whole huesillos retain their pits.
Tips for Serving and Enjoying Mote con Huesillo
- Serve it very cold. Warm mote con huesillo is heavy and too sweet. A couple of ice cubes help on a hot day.
- Use a tall, clear glass. The layers of wheat, peach and amber syrup are half the appeal.
- Always give a spoon (and a straw if you like). You can’t finish the wheat without one.
- Store the parts separately. Keep the syrup with the peaches and the mote on its own. They’ll keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Assemble each glass just before serving.
- Adjust the sweetness per glass. Street versions are very sweet. At home, a splash of cold water in each glass lets everyone set their own level.
It also fits alongside other traditional Chilean desserts at a party. A pitcher of syrup, a bowl of mote and a bowl of peaches let guests build their own.
Nutritional Information and Health Benefits
Mote con huesillo is a treat, not a health drink, and it’s best enjoyed that way. Here’s what’s in a glass:
- It’s sweet. The syrup is made with a good amount of sugar or chancaca, on top of the natural sugar in the dried peaches. Thinning each glass with water is the easiest way to lighten it.
- It’s filling. The wheat adds carbohydrates and some fiber, which is why a glass works as an afternoon snack and not just a drink.
- The peaches add a little more. Dried peaches bring some fiber and potassium.
- It’s naturally vegan. The traditional recipe uses no dairy or eggs.
- It isn’t gluten-free. Mote is wheat, so it’s not suitable for anyone avoiding gluten.
History and Cultural Significance
Nobody has pinned down exactly when mote con huesillo was first made, but its ingredients tell the story. The Spanish brought both wheat and peaches to central Chile in the colonial era. Drying peaches whole in the sun was how farms kept the harvest through winter, and hulled wheat was a cheap, filling staple.
Put the two together in sweet syrup and you get a drink that is cheap, filling and cold. That made it popular with working people, and over time it moved from farm kitchens to street carts.
Today it’s one of the foods Chileans most associate with home. The vendor cart with a big glass jar of amber syrup is a familiar sight in Santiago’s parks. It shows up at Fiestas Patrias fondas in September too, but its real season is summer.
Where to Find Mote con Huesillo in Chile
- Cerro San Cristóbal, Santiago: The best-known spot. Vendors at the top of the hill have been serving it to hikers and funicular riders for generations.
- Parks and plazas: Parque O’Higgins, Parque Forestal and busy downtown corners all have carts in summer.
- Ferias and markets: Stalls at ferias libres and markets like the Vega Central often sell it by the cup.
- Beach towns and roadsides: Along the coast and on the highways out of Santiago, roadside stands sell it to drivers.
- Picadas: Small family restaurants often serve it as a dessert.
- Supermarkets: Ready-to-drink bottled versions exist, along with dry huesillos and bagged precooked mote for making it at home.
Where to Buy Mote and Huesillos in the US
Outside Chile, the ingredients can be hard to find in regular supermarkets. Latin markets with a South American section sometimes carry them, and they’re easy to order online:
- Mote: Jesol trigo mote from Chile, the dry kind that needs cooking.
- Huesillos: Chilean huesillos on Amazon. Check that they’re whole peaches, not pitted halves.
- Chancaca: Chancaca on Amazon. Piloncillo or panela are good substitutes.
- Cinnamon: Ceylon cinnamon sticks, the soft, mild cinnamon common in Latin American kitchens.
Popular Variations and Modern Twists of the Chilean Drink
The classic version is the one most Chileans want, but you’ll see a few twists:
- With pisco: A splash of pisco in the syrup turns it into an adult drink for summer parties.
- Different spices: Some cooks add star anise, cloves or orange peel alongside the cinnamon.
- Herbal syrup: Lemon verbena (cedrón) or mint steeped in the syrup gives it a fresher taste.
- Frozen: The syrup makes excellent popsicles and granita, with a little mote stirred in.
- Restaurant desserts: Some Chilean restaurants turn it into a plated dessert, such as peach sorbet with crisp wheat and cinnamon syrup.
Mote con Huesillo vs. Other Latin American Summer Drinks
Most Latin American summer drinks are meant to be sipped. Mote con huesillo is the one you also eat with a spoon. Here’s how it compares:
- Chicha morada (Peru): Purple corn simmered with pineapple, cinnamon and cloves. It’s spiced like mote con huesillo but strained, lighter, and usually served with meals.
- Aguas frescas (Mexico): Light drinks of fruit, water and sugar, including agua de jamaica from steeped hibiscus. They’re thinner and more refreshing, with nothing to chew.
- Refresco de cebada (El Salvador): A creamy barley-flour drink, often pink, with cinnamon and vanilla. It’s the closest grain-based cousin, but it’s smooth with no whole kernels or fruit.
- Jugo de maracuyá (across the region): Tart passion fruit juice made from passion fruit pulp. It’s the most refreshing of the group and the least filling.
Final Thoughts: Why You Need to Try Mote con Huesillo
Mote con huesillo is easy to make. It takes an overnight soak, two pots and a cold fridge, and the result is a drink you won’t find anywhere else. If you’re exploring Latin American food, it’s one of the easiest ways to taste how Chile actually eats in summer.
Mote con huesillo is one of Chile’s most distinctive sweets. See our guide to traditional Chilean desserts for alfajores, leche asada, sopaipillas pasadas and more.
Mote con Huesillo Recipe
Mote con huesillo is Chile's classic summer drink: whole dried peaches and chewy hulled wheat served in a cold cinnamon syrup. Soak the peaches the night before.
Ingredients
- 12 whole dried peaches (huesillos; pits remain inside)
- 1 cup dry Chilean mote de trigo (hulled wheat), or about 3 cups fully cooked mote
- 3/4 cup white or brown sugar, adjusted to taste
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole cloves, optional
- Peel of 1/2 orange or lemon, optional
- 2 oz chancaca or panela, optional, for a darker flavor
- 8 cups water for soaking and simmering peaches, plus separate water for the mote and dilution
Instructions
- Rinse the huesillos, put them in a large covered container with the 8 cups water and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. Keep the peach soaking liquid. If your dry mote package calls for soaking, soak it separately according to its directions at the same time.
- Transfer the peaches and their soaking liquid to a large pot. Add sugar, cinnamon and any optional cloves, citrus peel or chancaca. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, or until the peaches are tender. Keep this a pourable, lightly sweetened liquid, not a thick syrup. Remove the cinnamon, cloves and peel.
- While the peaches simmer, cook the dry mote in a separate pot with plenty of fresh water according to the package, until tender but still chewy; the time varies with processing and soaking, and may exceed 40 minutes. Drain and cool. For fully cooked mote, rinse or reheat only as directed on its package, then cool.
- Cool promptly in shallow containers or an ice bath, keeping the peaches in their liquid and the mote separate. Refrigerate until thoroughly cold, allowing at least 2 hours; a large batch may need longer. Do not leave the cooked ingredients at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Divide the cooked mote among six tall glasses, add two peaches to each, and pour over the chilled peach liquid. Add cold water to taste if too sweet or concentrated. Serve with a spoon and remind guests that the peaches contain pits.
Notes
Timing: Plan on about 15 hours: 15 minutes active prep, about 45 minutes cooking with two pots running together, a 12-hour overnight soak and at least 2 hours chilling. An 8-hour soak shortens this by 4 hours; your mote package or extra chilling may require longer. Fully cooked mote saves its cooking step, but the peaches still need soaking and chilling.
Sweetness: Chancaca or panela is optional and adds sweetness as well as color. Taste the cooled liquid before adding more sugar; dilute each glass to taste.
Storage and ingredients: Refrigerate the peaches with their liquid and the cooked mote separately for up to 3–4 days. Mote de trigo is wheat and contains gluten. The recipe is naturally vegan. Whole huesillos retain their pits.
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.