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📍 Mexico City

Tacos de canasta (basket tacos)

· Street food

Soft tacos of simple fillings, pressed and steamed in a basket, served hot and greasy.

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Tacos de canasta (basket tacos): Soft tacos of simple fillings, pressed and steamed in a basket, served hot and greasy.
Photo: Jorge A. Ramos Ruiz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 50 min🍽 4 servings📊 Easy🏷 Commonly associated
Preparation
30 min
Cooking
20 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

Also called steamed or 'sweated' tacos; they're carried in wicker baskets through the streets of Mexico City and are tied in origin to Tlaxcala.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Prepare the fillings separately and keep them warm.

  2. 2

    Fill each tortilla with a filling and fold it.

  3. 3

    Brush the tacos with the guajillo oil.

  4. 4

    Layer them inside the cloth-lined basket.

  5. 5

    Cover them well so they sweat and heat up with their own steam.

  6. 6

    Serve with more green salsa, onion, and cilantro.

Cooking tips

  • Fillings must be fully cooked and hot when assembling; prepare only what will be served soon.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Use hot, thick fillings without loose liquid, which can tear tortillas. Warm tortillas so they fold without cracking and use a modest amount of filling. Line a clean basket or container with food-safe material. Covered resting softens tacos with steam, but it does not replace safe food handling. Prepare a batch you can serve promptly and keep salsa separate.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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