Country · 101 recipes
Recipes from Mexico
Cooking this selection
This selection brings together masa snacks, broths, moles and dishes from several Mexican regions. Begin by comparing picadas, memelas and quesadillas: all use corn, but their shape, filling and assembly differ. When preparing mole, organize and toast ingredient groups separately to control browning.
Planning the preparation
For a meal, start with stews and sauces that can wait, then finish tortillas, fried foods and fresh toppings at serving time. Buy chiles by their specific names because substitutions change flavor and heat. Each entry describes one version; regional cooking varies between kitchens.
Recipes to start with
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101 recipes
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 30′Almejas tatemadas (fire-roasted clams)
Grilled chocolate clams: a home adaptation of the dish associated with Loreto.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 60′Arroz a la Tumbada
A soupy tomato rice perfumed with epazote and loaded with seafood and fish from the Veracruz Sotavento.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 120′Asado de boda zacatecano (Zacatecas wedding stew)
Pork in a sweet-and-sour sauce of dried chiles with chocolate and spices, a ceremonial stew of Zacatecas.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 100′Asado de puerco chihuahuense (Chihuahua-style pork in red chile)
Pork stewed in a red chile sauce with spices, served at parties and family meals.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 30′Atlixco Cecina
A thin sheet of salted, sun-dried beef, charcoal-grilled and served with nopales, cheese, avocado, and handmade tortillas.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 400′Barbacoa de borrego (pit-cooked lamb)
Mutton slowly cooked in an earth oven, wrapped in maguey leaves until tender and juicy.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 270′Beef birria
Beef simmered in a dried-chile marinade and served with broth and tortillas.
🌮 Street food⏱ 50′Bernal Migajas Gorditas
Hand-ground corn gorditas stuffed with chicharrón bits and bathed in red salsa.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 180′Cabrito al pastor (spit-roasted kid goat)
Milk-fed kid goat skewered on a rod and slowly roasted over charcoal, an icon of Monterrey.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 60′Caldillo duranguense (Durango beef stew)
A brothy beef stew with green chile and tomato, the signature dish of Durango.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 40′Caldo de queso sonorense (Sonoran cheese soup)
A light potato and green chile broth with milk and cubes of regional fresh cheese that melt as you serve it.
🥤 Drink⏱ 10′Cantaritos de Tequila
A refreshing tequila cocktail with citrus juices and grapefruit soda, served in a clay pot.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 70′Caribbean Rice and Beans
Rice cooked with beans and coconut milk, an Afro-Caribbean side dish very present in Bacalar cuisine.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 45′Carne asada a la tampiqueña (Tampico-style grilled beef plate)
A grilled strip of beef fillet served with an enchilada, chile strips, beans, and guacamole — a creation of Tampico.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Carne en su jugo (beef in its juices)
Finely chopped steak cooked in its own broth with bayo beans, bacon, and green salsa.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 170′Carnitas michoacanas (Michoacán carnitas)
Pork slowly confited in its own lard in a copper pot until tender inside and golden outside.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 25′Cecina de Yecapixtla (Yecapixtla salted beef)
A thin sheet of salted, air-dried beef, grilled over charcoal and served with crema, cheese, and guacamole.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 90′Chiles en nogada
Poblano peppers filled with meat and fruit, covered with walnut sauce and pomegranate.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 115′Chilorio
Shredded pork fried in a sauce of dried chiles, garlic, and spices, typical of Sinaloa.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 110′Chipilin tamales
Soft masa tamales with chipilin leaves, typical of Chiapas and Tabasco.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 150′Churipo
A Purépecha red beef broth with guajillo chiles and vegetables, traditionally served with corundas.
🥤 Drink⏱ 10′Coatepec Coffee
A cup of high-altitude coffee grown in Coatepec, Mexico's coffee capital, with an intense aroma and balanced acidity.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 490′Cochinita pibil
Pork marinated in achiote and sour orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked until it falls apart.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 630′Cochito horneado (baked pork)
Pork marinated in an ancho chile adobo, vinegar, and spices, baked until very tender.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 220′Comala-Style Pork Tatemado
A pork stew slow-cooked in an adobo of dried chiles, spices, and vinegar, with a deep, smoky flavor.
🥤 Drink⏱ 15′Comiteco
An ancestral spirit distilled from the aguamiel of the comiteco maguey, an element of cultural identity in Comitán de Domínguez.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 50′Coricos de Mocorito
Crunchy ring cookies of corn masa and piloncillo or sugar, a traditional cookie of northern Sinaloa.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 80′Cortadillo de Cuatro Cienegas
Chunks of beef stewed in a tomato, bell pepper, and onion broth, a northern dish of Cuatro Cienegas.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 100′Corundas (Michoacán triangular tamales)
A triangular tamal of masa wrapped in a corn-plant leaf, served with crema, salsa, and cheese.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 60′Coyotas de Villa de Seris (piloncillo-filled pastries)
Flat flour pastries filled with piloncillo and baked golden, a classic of Hermosillo.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 70′Discada norteña (northern plow-disc mixed grill)
A mix of meats and cured sausages cooked outdoors on a plow disc, a northern gathering feast.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 20′Dolores Hidalgo Avocado Ice
A creamy, unusually flavored churned ice: avocado blended with water, sugar, and lime.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 50′Durango-style baked gorditas
Sweet baked flour or corn gorditas with piloncillo and cinnamon, a Durango baking tradition.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 180′El Bote de Mazamitla
A country three-meat broth cooked with pulque and vegetables, with a smoky flavor from the wood fire.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Enchiladas mineras (miner's enchiladas)
Tortillas dipped in guajillo sauce, filled with cheese and topped with browned potato and carrot.
🌙 Dinner⏱ 50′Enchiladas potosinas (San Luis Potosí enchiladas)
Tortillas made from masa kneaded with ancho chile, filled with cheese and onion, and browned on a griddle.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Enchiladas tultecas
Red-tortilla enchiladas filled with cheese and chorizo, topped with lettuce, tomato, and chile piquin.
🌙 Dinner⏱ 40′Enchiladas zacatecanas
Tortillas dipped in chile salsa, filled with cheese and onion, a classic Zacatecas street dish.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 110′Frijoles charros (cowboy beans)
Brothy beans with bacon, chorizo, hot dog, and chile — the classic side for northern grilled meats.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 630′Gallina pinta
A Sonoran broth of pinto beans, nixtamal corn, and beef short rib, with no hen at all despite its name.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 75′Glorias de Linares
A candy of burnt goat's-milk caramel with pecans, wrapped in its classic red cellophane, the pride of Linares.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Gorditas de maíz quebrado (cracked-corn gorditas)
Thick gorditas of coarsely ground corn, filled with stews and bathed in red salsa.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 25′Green aguachile with cooked shrimp
An adaptation of Sinaloan aguachile with cooked shrimp, lime, serrano, cucumber and red onion.
🌮 Street food⏱ 30′Guacamayas (León pork-rind rolls)
A crusty bolillo roll filled with pork chicharrón, pico de gallo, and a very spicy chile de árbol salsa.
🌮 Street food⏱ 10′Guacamole
Mashed avocado with onion, chile, cilantro, tomato and lime.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Huachinango a la veracruzana (Veracruz-style red snapper)
Fillet or whole fish in a tomato sauce with olives, capers, and guero chiles.
🥤 Drink⏱ 10105′Huasca de Ocampo Naranjete
An artisanal liqueur of orange, cane alcohol, and vanilla, slowly macerated until aromatic.
🌮 Street food⏱ 25′Jumil Salsa
A molcajete salsa of tomato and chile with thoroughly cooked jumiles, cinnamon-flavored insects typical of Taxco.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 65′Lomitos de Valladolid
Pieces of pork loin stewed in a thick tomato sauce with habanero, served with hard-boiled egg and ibes beans.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 30′Machaca con huevo (shredded dried beef with eggs)
Dried, shredded beef cooked with eggs, tomato, onion, and chile — the cornerstone of a Sonoran breakfast.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Mazatlan-style pescado zarandeado
A whole fish butterflied open, marinated and grilled over coals on a mangrove rack called a zaranda.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 125′Mixiotes de pollo (chicken mixiotes)
Chicken in a chile adobo steamed inside small parcels, traditionally made from maguey skin.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 100′Mole amarillo (yellow mole)
A light stew of chilcostle and guajillo chiles thickened with masa, served with meat and vegetables.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 165′Mole negro
A home version of the Oaxacan sauce made with dried chiles, seeds, nuts and chocolate, with a dark color and silky texture.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 180′Mole poblano
A thick sauce of chiles, spices, nuts, and chocolate, served over turkey or chicken.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 180′Mole Xiqueño
A sweet, velvety mole from the Magical Town of Xico, made with more than twenty ingredients including chiles, dried fruits, cacao, and spices.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 40′Oaxacan memelas
Thick oval tortillas with a pinched rim, spread with pork lard, beans, and quesillo.
🌙 Dinner⏱ 40′Oaxacan tlayudas
A large crisp tortilla with beans, quesillo, grilled tasajo, lettuce and avocado.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 45′Pámpano en Escabeche
Pompano fish cooked and marinated in an escabeche of vinegar, onion, garlic, and spices, typical of Campeche riverside cooking.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 60′Pan de cazon
Layers of tortilla, refried beans, and stewed dogfish, bathed in tomato sauce with habanero chile.
🌮 Street food⏱ 50′Panuchos
A refried-bean-stuffed tortilla, fried and topped with cochinita or turkey, pickled onion, and avocado.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Papadzules
Hard-boiled egg tacos bathed in a pumpkin-seed sauce and seed oil, with tomato sauce.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 70′Pastes hidalguenses (Hidalgo pasties)
Flaky pastry turnovers filled with potato and meat, a legacy of the Cornish miners of England.
🌮 Street food⏱ 25′Pátzcuaro Fried Charales
Tiny lake fish fried until crisp and golden, served in a paper cone with lime and salsa.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Pejelagarto asado (grilled gar)
A fish endemic to Tabasco, grilled over charcoal and served shredded with amashito chile.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 100′Pepita con Tasajo
A ceremonial dish of dried beef tasajo bathed in a thick sauce of squash seed, ground rice, and achiote.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Pescado a la talla (grilled chile-rubbed fish)
Fish butterflied open, rubbed with a chile adobo, and grilled over coals, typical of the Guerrero coast.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Pescado zarandeado (Nayarit grilled fish)
Fish butterflied open, coated with adobo, and grilled over coals on a rack of branches.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 75′Pollo de San Marcos (San Marcos-style chicken)
Browned chicken bathed in a dried-chile sauce with a sweet touch of fruit and wine.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 160′Pozole verde (green pozole)
A cacahuazintle corn broth with pork or chicken and a green sauce of pumpkin seed, tomatillo, and chile.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 35′Pueblan cemita
A sesame bun filled with breaded beef, quesillo, avocado, chipotle and pápalo.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 30′Puerto Nuevo-style lobster
Lobster split and fried in lard, served with flour tortillas, beans, rice, and butter with lime.
🌙 Dinner⏱ 35′Quesadillas de comal (griddle quesadillas)
Folded masa tortillas with fillings and — depending on Mexico City taste — with or without cheese.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Real de Catorce Oven-Baked Gorditas
Masa gorditas baked in a wood-fired oven, filled with stews such as chicharrón or potato with chorizo.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 130′Relleno Negro
A turkey or pork stew in a dark broth of recado negro, with ground-meat 'but' meatballs and hard-boiled egg.
🍮 Dessert⏱ 245′Saltillo pan de pulque (pulque bread)
A fluffy wheat bread fermented with pulque, with a light tang and a scent of cinnamon.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 180′San Miguel de Allende-Style Fiambre
A cold salad of meats, fruits, and vegetables macerated in vinaigrette, typical of All Saints' Day.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 30′Sierra Tarahumara trout
Fresh stream trout butterflied open and grilled with butter, herbs, and lime, a mountain dish of Creel.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 35′Sierra Trout
Farm-raised trout from the Sierra Juárez, grilled or in garlic mojo, served with regional herbs.
🌮 Street food⏱ 180′Skillet tacos al pastor
Thin slices of marinated pork served in corn tortillas with pineapple, onion and cilantro.
🌮 Street food⏱ 20′Smoked marlin ceviche
A fresh ceviche made with smoked marlin, tomato, onion, and lime, a coastal specialty of Todos Santos.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 60′Sopa de lima (lime soup)
An aromatic chicken or turkey broth perfumed with Yucatecan lima and topped with fried tortilla strips.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 70′Sopa de Pan Coleta (Coleto Bread Soup)
A festive dish of toasted coleto bread slices, vegetables, egg, and fried plantain, bathed in a saffron-spiced broth.
🌙 Dinner⏱ 50′Sopitos colimenses (Colima sopitos)
Small fried masa cakes topped with ground beef and bathed in a light tomato-and-oregano sauce.
🥤 Drink⏱ 20190′Still apple cider, home version
A home adaptation of apple cider fermented with cider yeast and served without bottle carbonation.
🌮 Street food⏱ 50′Tacos de canasta (basket tacos)
Soft tacos of simple fillings, pressed and steamed in a basket, served hot and greasy.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 40′Tacos de carne asada norteños (northern grilled beef tacos)
Skirt or flank steak grilled over coals, chopped and served in a tortilla with guacamole, spring onions, and salsa.
🌮 Street food⏱ 40′Tacos de pescado estilo Baja (Baja-style fish tacos)
Battered, fried fish in a corn tortilla with cabbage, crema, salsa, and lime — the hallmark of Ensenada.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 520′Tapalpa-Style Borrego al Pastor (Lamb)
Lamb marinated and slow-cooked in a clay oven or over coals, with a smoky flavor and tender meat.
🥤 Drink⏱ 45′Tejate
A pre-Hispanic cold drink of corn and cacao crowned with a foam contributed by the cacao flower.
🌮 Street food⏱ 40′Tepoztlán Itacates
A triangular corn masa snack with cheese, browned on the griddle and filled with stews to taste.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 190′Tequisquiapan Larded Beef Tongue
Beef tongue larded with bacon and vegetables, slow-cooked and enhanced with local white wine.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 55′Tikin xic
Fish marinated in an achiote and sour orange recado, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 50′Tinga poblana
Shredded chicken stewed with tomato, onion, and chipotle, served over tostadas.
🌮 Street food⏱ 55′Tlayoyos
Oval corn masa gorditas filled with field pea or bean, cooked on the griddle and topped with salsa, cheese, and onion.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 40′Tortas ahogadas (drowned sandwiches)
A savory birote roll filled with carnitas and drowned in a tomato sauce with very spicy chile de árbol.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 30′Valle de Bravo Garlic Trout
Fresh locally farmed trout browned in plenty of golden garlic, butter, and lime.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 40′Veracruz-style picadas
Thick tortillas with a pinched rim, red or green salsa, onion, and fresh cheese.
🥚 Breakfast⏱ 45′Xilitla Huastec Bocoles
Thick corn masa gorditas with bean, browned on the griddle and filled with cheese or chicharrón.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 390′Zacahuil
A giant tamal of coarsely ground masa, chile adobo, and pork or turkey, wrapped in banana leaves and baked.
🍽️ Lunch⏱ 390′Zacahuil (giant Huastec tamal)
A giant tamal of coarse masa and pork in adobo, wrapped in banana leaf and baked in a wood-fired oven.