Tostilocos are a popular Mexican street snack consisting of Tostitos tortilla chips, cucumber, jicama, Japanese peanuts, cueritos, Chamoy, lime, and hot sauce.

These “crazy” chips were invented in the 90’s in Tijuana, Mexico. There are generally no rules on how to make it- it is completely customizable and can be made in many different ways.

This is a salty, spicy, slightly sweet snack. It is incredibly popular with children but I have to admit that I am one of those adults that loves to indulge in these types of snacks!

Ingredients:

• Tostitos Salsa Verde chips- these are the most popular chips used for Tostilocos, but you can also use regular Tostito chips or any other kind of chips you like! There are tons of variations of this- for example, if you want to use Doritos then it would be called “Dorilocos.”
• Jicama, cucumber, & mango- some fresh ingredients are really important to have in this salty snack! They help cut the saltiness and just pair so well with all the flavors. I usually ask for extra cucumber in mine.
• Japanese peanuts- also known as “cracker nuts,” these peanuts are coated in wheat flour dough and then deep fried. Sometimes they are seasoned in chili lime seasoning and/or other flavors, and sometimes they come plain.
• Tamarind candy- any kind of Mexican tamarind candy is fine. The kind I usually see are the ones that have fruit in the center and are called “reilitos”, but you can use whatever you like.
• Churritos- these are small, deep fried cornmeal sticks that are similarly shaped like churros. They come in all kinds of flavors, but the ones used for Tostilocos are usually the chili-lime flavored ones.
• Chamoy, hot sauce, & lime- you can use as much or as little as you want! You can also add some Tajin.
• Cueritos- these are pickled pork skins. I personally do not like cueritos but I see a lot of street vendors adding this so I included it to stay true to the original recipe.

These are just some of the most common ingredients for Tostilocos. Feel free to add/remove whatever you like. There are no rules to Tostilocos!

Where to buy the ingredients:

You can find ALL of these items at any Mexican supermarket. You may be able to find most of them at an American supermarket as well. If you’re unable to find some, here are some links to help you:

Tajin & Chamoy

Tajin only

Chamoy only

Reilitos

If you live near a Mexican supermarket, you might be able to find this bag (pictured below) that is specifically for Tostilocos. It has the churritos, reilitos, and Japanese peanuts. They are already seasoned in chili & lime so you don’t need to add Tajin unless you want more.

Variations:

This version of Tostilocos is the most common one I have seen, but there are so many variations that are popular in Mexico as well. These are just to name a few. 

• Dorilocos- made with Doritos
• Tostinachos/Rufflelocos- Tostitos or Ruffles topped with nacho ingredients.
• Tostielote- Tostitos mixed with elote ingredients (Mexican street corn).
• Tosticeviche- Tostitos mixed with raw fish or shrimp marinated in lime and other seasonings.
• Cheetoslocos- like Tostilocos but with hot Cheetos
• Takilocos- like Tostilocos but with Takis

Can leftovers be stored for later?

Honestly, not really. If you want to make some ahead of time and eat it throughout the day or week, I recommend keeping all ingredients separate until you’re actually going to eat it.

Once assembled, everything needs to be eaten right away. All of the wet ingredients will make the chips very soggy eventually. So if you want to enjoy them at different points in time, it’s best to keep the ingredients separate.

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