This thick pumpkin seed dip is a unique and delicious alternative to guacamole or hummus. Toasted pepitas give it a smokey, meaty flavor. Try it with cut veggies, tortillas or pita wedges for an appetizer or snack.
1 cup raw pepitas
1 large jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons lime juice (from about ½ of a lime)
½ cup canned fire roasted tomatoes with juice
An Oldways recipe and photo. Media: contact us for permission to reprint and for a hi-res image.
Recipe updated September 2020. Small modifications to traditional sikil pak recipes have been made, to make this recipe accessible to home cooks.
michael says: they are not pumpkin seds – pepitas in the Yucatan for sikil pak and many other dishes are the pepitas fron calebazas,squash. Not pumpkins
Christy Delucchi says: Can you make a day in advance?
kellytoups says: Absolutely! We recommend storing in a covered container in the fridge to maintain freshness. Like most recipes, we recommend trying to finish the dish within a few days.
Lucas says: I’m born and raised in the Yucatán peninsula. This is not how we make sikil pak. No parsley ever. Roasted tomatoes and onion yes. And chopped cilantro. Sour orange or lemon juice if the orange is no available.
Cynthia says: That sounds delicious, Lucas. Thanks for giving our website visitors inspiration for some different variations of this recipe. The beauty of traditional foods is that there’s rarely just one exact way to prepare a particular dish.
Margret says: In a fair acknowledgement of tradition, neither olive oil nor shallots would ever have been part of this recipe. You miss the point of honoring tradition – this is a Mayan recipe – by claiming that and not giving the indigenous recipe its due.
Katherine-Oldways says: Thank you for bringing this to our attention Margret. We took the comments on this recipe into consideration, did some research and have updated the recipe! Hope you try it out.
Rita says: Totally agree
Debby says: Delish
Kelley Fitzsimonds says: The best quick dip ever.
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