Recipes › Mexican

Mexican cuisine

Every Mexican dish we have, with the recipe for each — 159 of them, each one written for this site rather than adapted from anybody else's.

By protein

Chicken (29)
Pork (37)
Beef (17)
Turkey (3)
Lamb (2)
Goat (1)
Rabbit (1)
Fish (9)
Shellfish (8)
Egg (22)
Vegetarian (12)
Vegetables (28)
Desserts (16)
Pastes, sauces and basics (28)

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North American recipes (159)

Every Mexican dish

Adobada, sourced from Mexico. Pork under a thick chilli paste rubbed on like a coating, cooked in a pan so the paste catches and darkens. Pork.
Aguachile, sourced from Mexico. Raw prawns butterflied and dressed at the table, because the lime goes on working and five minutes is the whole window. Chicken, Shellfish.
Alambre, sourced from Mexico. Everything chopped together on the griddle and the cheese melted over the heap, so nothing is served in one piece. Pork, Beef.
Albóndigas, sourced from Mexico. The meatballs go into the broth raw with the rice still uncooked inside them, so they swell and thicken it as they cook. Pork, Beef, Egg.
Alegrías, sourced from Mexico. The amaranth popped a spoonful at a time on a bone-dry pan, because a handful steams itself and nothing pops. vegetarian.
Aporreadillo, sourced from Mexico. Dried beef simmered into a tomato and chilli sauce, with the egg stirred through the sauce rather than scrambled round the meat. Beef, Egg.
Arroz a la Tumbada, sourced from Mexico. A rice dish deliberately left soupy, with twice the liquid of a dry rice and the seafood added at the end. Fish, Shellfish.
Arroz con Pollo, sourced from Mexico. The chicken browned and lifted out, and the rice fried in what it left behind on the base of the pan. Chicken.
Arroz Poblano, sourced from Mexico. The poblano blended into the cooking liquid, so the rice is green before it is cooked rather than stirred green afterwards. Chicken.
Barbacoa, sourced from Mexico. Lamb wrapped in maguey leaves over a pot of stock, so that what drips out becomes the broth served beside it. Lamb.
Bionico, sourced from Mexico. The cream thinned with condensed milk and poured on at the table, so the fruit never sits in it. vegetarian.
Birria, sourced from Mexico. Beef submerged in its own chilli broth in a sealed pot, which is why it is the one that arrives wet. Beef.
Bolillos, sourced from Mexico. A lean roll slashed deep down its length and baked with steam, which is what opens the slash into a ridge. vegan.
Borracho Beans, sourced from Mexico. Beer in place of some of the water, added early enough to lose its rawness and cook its bitterness out. Pork.
Buñuelos, sourced from Mexico. Stretched over the back of the hand until it is translucent, because a rolling pin cannot take it that thin. Egg, vegetarian.
Burrito, sourced from Mexico. The sides folded in before it is rolled, so nothing escapes at the ends — and it is never fried. Pork, Beef.
Burro Percherón, sourced from Mexico. Built on a tortilla the width of a dinner plate, with the ends left open because at that size they cannot be folded. Beef.
Cabrito, sourced from Mexico. Cooked beside the fire and never over it, turned for hours, because the fat has to render before the skin can crisp. Goat.
Cahuamanta, sourced from Mexico. Ray wing simmered until the flesh combs off the cartilage in strands, which no other fish here does. Fish, Shellfish.
Cajeta, sourced from Mexico. The bicarbonate goes in at the start, because goat's milk curdles as it reduces and will not brown without it. vegetarian.
Cajeta de Celaya, sourced from Mexico. Taken past the pourable stage to where a drop holds its shape on a cold plate, so it sets firm enough to spread. vegetarian.
Cajeta de Piña y Plátano, sourced from Mexico. The fruit goes in only once the milk has already reduced, because pineapple acid and plantain water both split the pan. vegetarian.
Calabacitas con Puerco, sourced from Mexico. The courgette salted only in the pan and never before, because salted early it floods the dish with water. Pork.
Caldo de Mariscos, sourced from Mexico. The broth built from the prawn heads and shells, fried hard and simmered, so it tastes of shellfish before any is served in it. Fish, Shellfish.
Caldo de Pollo, sourced from Mexico. The vegetables kept in large pieces and served in the bowl, which is what makes it a meal rather than a starter. Chicken.
Caldo de Queso, sourced from Mexico. The cheese goes in off the heat in cubes, so it softens and holds its shape instead of melting away into the broth.
Caldo de Siete Mares, sourced from Mexico. Seven kinds of seafood, each going in at its own moment — the dish is a running order, not a stock. Fish, Shellfish.
Caldo Tlalpeño, sourced from Mexico. A whole chipotle steeped in the broth and lifted out, with the avocado added at the table and never in the pot. Chicken.
Camarones al Ajillo, sourced from Mexico. The prawns go in shell on and the shells fry in the oil first, which is where the sauce gets everything it has. Shellfish.
Capirotada, sourced from Mexico. The bread dried hard and fried before any syrup touches it, which is why it holds its shape instead of dissolving.
Carne a la Tampiqueña, sourced from Mexico. One long thin strip cut down the length of a fillet, so a single piece frames the plate of accompaniments. Chicken, Beef.
Carne Asada, sourced from Mexico. Salted and nothing else, over a fire that has burned down to embers with no flame left. Beef.
Carne de Chango, sourced from Mexico. The pork smoked over dry sugarcane husks before it ever meets the grill, which is where all the flavour comes from. Pork.
Carnitas, sourced from Mexico. Pork simmered soft in lard, and then the heat turned up so it fries in the same fat it cooked in. Pork.
Cemitas, sourced from Mexico. An egg-enriched roll built for a sturdy crumb, because it is loaded heavily and then squashed flat. Pork, Egg.
Chahuis, sourced from Mexico. Toasted dry first and only then put into fat, because a beetle's shell will not crisp in oil from cold.
Chalupas, sourced from Mexico. Small masa boats with a hollow pressed in by thumb, dropped into hot fat rather than griddled, and sauced the moment they come out. Pork.
Chamoy, sourced from Mexico. The dried fruit simmered in its own soaking water until it falls apart, so nothing is thrown away and nothing needs thickening. vegan.
Chapulines, sourced from Mexico. Toasted on a dry comal with no fat at all, and tossed in lime only once they are off the heat.
Chicharrón, sourced from Mexico. Dried a day and then fried twice at two temperatures — low to render, hot to puff. Pork.
Chicharrón en Salsa, sourced from Mexico. It goes into the sauce dry and is left to go soft on purpose, which is the opposite of everything the chicharrón page works for. Pork.
Chicharrón Preparado, sourced from Mexico. Nothing is cooked at all — a whole sheet is loaded flat and handed over before it has time to soften. Egg.
Chilaquiles, sourced from Mexico. The tortilla taken apart — cut up, fried, then dropped into simmering sauce and served the moment it has just begun to give. Egg.
Chileajo de Cerdo, sourced from Mexico. A great deal of garlic going in raw and blended rather than fried, which is what the name is about. Pork.
Chileatole, sourced from Mexico. Thickened with fresh masa slaked in cold water and poured in as a slurry, which is what makes it atole rather than soup.
Chiles en Nogada, sourced from Mexico. The walnuts skinned one by one after a night in milk, which is the only way the sauce comes out white. Pork.
Chiles Rellenos, sourced from Mexico. A batter of nothing but whisked egg whites with the yolks folded back in, which is why it puffs and clings. Egg.
Chilorio, sourced from Mexico. Pork cooked tender first and the chilli paste added only at the end, then dried until it coats every strand and goes sticky. Pork.
Chimichangas, sourced from Mexico. It goes into the fat seam down and is not turned until the seam has set, or it opens and fills with oil. Beef.
Chochoyotes, sourced from Mexico. Each dumpling dimpled with a fingertip, so broth gets inside it instead of running off a smooth ball.
Chongos Zamoranos, sourced from Mexico. The curd cut once into squares and then never stirred again, because a broken curd will not come back.
Choriqueso, sourced from Mexico. The chorizo fat poured off before the cheese goes in, because cheese melted into rendered fat splits. Pork.
Chorizo, sourced from Mexico. A fresh sausage, not a cured one — and the meat and fat are kept cold enough that the fat never smears. Pork.
Churros, sourced from Mexico. The flour cooked into boiling water before anything else, which is the only reason the dough can be piped. vegetarian.
Clemole, sourced from Mexico. The plain one, thickened by nothing but its own tomato — no seeds, no nuts, no bread, no chocolate. Pork.
Cocadas, sourced from Mexico. Cooked until a spoon drawn across the pan leaves a dry trail that does not close, or they will not hold their shape. Egg, vegetarian.
Cochinita Pibil, sourced from Mexico. Pork in sour orange and achiote, wrapped in banana leaf whose job is to keep the acid from drying the meat. Pork.
Cochinitos de Piloncillo, sourced from Mexico. The piloncillo dissolved into a syrup and cooled before it meets the flour, because grated it never fully melts in the dough. Egg.
Conchas, sourced from Mexico. A separate paste of sugar, flour and fat pressed on and scored, which cracks into a shell as the bun rises beneath it. Egg, vegetarian.
Corn Tortillas, sourced from Mexico. Masa pressed thin and cooked on a dry griddle, turned three times, the third turn being the one that makes it puff. vegan.
Corundas, sourced from Mexico. Masa beaten light with lard and wrapped in the long leaf of the maize plant rather than the husk, folded to a triangle and steamed.
Coyotas, sourced from Mexico. Two thin discs sealed round piloncillo and pricked, so the filling melts and leaks and caramelises on the tray.
Elote, sourced from Mexico. Boiled first and then grilled, because grilling alone chars the outside and leaves the middle raw. Egg.
Enchiladas, sourced from Mexico. Tortillas passed through hot oil before they go anywhere near the sauce, which is the step that stops them collapsing. Chicken.
Enfrijoladas, sourced from Mexico. A thin bean sauce, tortillas dipped and folded in four rather than rolled, and on the plate within seconds — nothing is baked.
Entomatadas, sourced from Mexico. The tomato cooked down hard in oil until it darkens and will sit on a tortilla instead of soaking into it.
Escamoles, sourced from Mexico. Moved by shaking the pan and never with a spoon, because they are soft-bodied and a spoon bursts them.
Esquites, sourced from Mexico. The stripped cobs go into the pan with the kernels, so the liquid in the cup tastes of cob. Egg.
Fajitas, sourced from Mexico. The skirt grilled whole and sliced across the grain afterwards, which is the only way skirt is not stringy. Beef.
Flautas, sourced from Mexico. Rolled the full length of the tortilla and fried floating, so they stay straight instead of bowing. Beef.
Flour Tortillas, sourced from Mexico. A wheat dough made with fat and water hot from the kettle, rested, then rolled thin — nothing like the pressed masa it sits beside.
Frijoles Charros, sourced from Mexico. Kept deliberately brothy and eaten as a soup from a bowl, with everything cooked in the liquid rather than into it. Pork.
Frijoles Negros, sourced from Mexico. The plain pot — nothing goes in but onion and epazote, and the salt waits until they are soft. vegan.
Frijoles Puercos, sourced from Mexico. Fried down hard until it is stiff enough to hold a shape on a spoon and a tortilla will stand up in it. Pork.
Gorditas, sourced from Mexico. A thick masa cake griddled whole, then split open along its edge and stuffed through the slit. Pork.
Gringas, sourced from Mexico. Chilli-marinated pork and cheese in a flour tortilla, griddled in the fat that runs out of the meat. Pork.
Guacamole, sourced from Mexico. The onion, chilli and salt ground to a wet paste before the avocado goes anywhere near them. vegan.
Guajolota, sourced from Mexico. A whole tamal put inside a bread roll, and the roll hollowed out properly to take it. Chicken.
Guasanas, sourced from Mexico. The pods boiled whole in heavily salted water and eaten straight from the pod, so the salt has to get through the shell. vegan.
Gusanos de Maguey, sourced from Mexico. Fried in nothing but the fat that comes out of them, which is a surprising amount.
Huachinango a la Veracruzana, sourced from Mexico. A tomato sauce whose salt comes entirely from olives and capers, so nothing else is salted until the end. Fish.
Huaraches, sourced from Mexico. A long oval of masa with bean paste sealed inside it before shaping, finished in oil and loaded with steak. Beef.
Huevos Divorciados, sourced from Mexico. A ridge of beans built down the middle of the plate as a wall, so the green sauce and the red one never touch. Egg.
Huevos Motuleños, sourced from Mexico. The yolks left deliberately liquid, because the yolk is part of the sauce that binds everything underneath. Pork, Egg.
Huevos Rancheros, sourced from Mexico. The egg cracked straight onto the tortilla in the pan, so the two set together as one piece. Egg.
Jocoque, sourced from Mexico. Left to sour at room temperature before it is strained, because the souring and the draining are two separate jobs. vegetarian.
Jumiles, sourced from Mexico. Ground into the salsa raw in a molcajete, because heat destroys the only thing they contribute.
Machaca, sourced from Mexico. Beef salted, dried hard, and then pounded until the fibres separate into fluff. Beef.
Machacado con Huevo, sourced from Mexico. Dried beef dropped into the hot pan dry, so it takes up fat before any egg is added. Beef, Egg.
Manchamanteles, sourced from Mexico. The mole with fruit in it, added late enough that the pineapple and plantain keep their shape. Chicken, Pork.
Marquesitas, sourced from Mexico. Rolled the instant it leaves the iron, because it sets rigid in about ten seconds and then shatters. Egg.
Mazapán, sourced from Mexico. Pressed and never kneaded, because working it releases the peanut oil and it turns to paste. vegan.
Memelas, sourced from Mexico. Pinched while still raw and left oval, then griddled — not pinched hot and round like a sope. Pork.
Menudo, sourced from Mexico. The tripe scrubbed with coarse salt and lime, blanched and rinsed before any cooking starts — and nothing later makes up for skipping it. Pork, Beef.
Migas, sourced from Mexico. The tortilla pieces fried crisp first and the egg poured over them without stirring, so some stay crisp. Egg.
Mixiote, sourced from Mexico. Rabbit sealed inside the thin membrane peeled off a maguey leaf — a bag, not a parcel, so nothing escapes at all. Lamb, Rabbit.
Mixmole de Pescado, sourced from Mexico. The fish goes in off the heat and poaches in what is already in the pan, because two minutes of simmering shreds it. Fish.
Mojarra Frita, sourced from Mexico. A whole fish scored to the bone on both sides, which is the only way the middle cooks before the outside burns. Fish.
Mole Blanco, sourced from Mexico. A mole defined by a refusal — nothing in the pan is allowed to take any colour at all. Chicken.
Mole de Olla, sourced from Mexico. The one eaten with a spoon — a thin chilli broth with beef and corn still on the cob. Beef.
Mole Poblano, sourced from Mexico. Each kind of chilli fried on its own, because they do not soften at the same rate, then ground with seeds and chocolate. Chicken.
Mole Verde, sourced from Mexico. Thickened by pumpkin seeds held in suspension, which is why it must never be allowed to boil once they are in. Chicken.
Molletes, sourced from Mexico. Open-faced and never closed, with the cut sides toasted dry before any bean touches them.
Molotes, sourced from Mexico. Sealed into a pointed spindle with the filling inside and then deep fried, so it puffs away from the filling. Pork.
Nachos, sourced from Mexico. Each chip loaded separately in a single layer and the cheese grilled onto it, never poured over a heap.
Nicuatole, sourced from Mexico. It sets on its own as it cools, because the masa is the only setting agent — no gelatine and no egg. vegan.
Nixtamalised Masa, sourced from Mexico. Dried corn simmered with a little lime, steeped overnight and ground wet, which is what turns hard grain into a dough that holds together. vegan.
Nopalitos, sourced from Mexico. Cactus paddles diced, salted to draw the slime out, rinsed and then griddled dry — three separate goes at the same problem. vegan.
Paletas, sourced from Mexico. The mould filled in two goes with the fruit pieces added between, so they do not all float to one end. vegan.
Pambazos, sourced from Mexico. The whole closed roll dipped in thin guajillo sauce and then griddled, so the crust itself is red and sauced.
Pan de Cazón, sourced from Mexico. Built as a stack of alternating tortillas, beans and fish, then cut in wedges like a cake. Fish.
Pan de Muerto, sourced from Mexico. No topping paste at all — the bone strips are rolled from the same dough with a knuckled finger, and the scent is in the crumb. Egg, vegetarian.
Panuchos, sourced from Mexico. A tortilla puffed on the griddle, slit along the edge and sealed full of bean paste, then fried with the beans inside it. Chicken.
Papadzules, sourced from Mexico. The green oil pressed out of the pumpkin seed paste and drizzled back over the top, which nothing else here does. Egg, vegetarian.
Pastel Azteca, sourced from Mexico. The tortillas go in dry and unfried, and the sauce does the softening in the oven instead. Chicken.
Pescado al Ajillo, sourced from Mexico. The fillets floured before they go in, because a bare fillet sticks and breaks and the sauce has nothing to hold on to. Fish.
Pico de Gallo, sourced from Mexico. Everything cut to the same small dice by hand, because a processor bruises it into a wet purée in four seconds. vegan.
Piñata Cookies, sourced from Mexico. The hollow cut out of the middle layer before baking, never drilled out afterwards. Egg.
Plátanos Congelados, sourced from Mexico. The banana frozen solid before it is dipped, so the chocolate sets on contact instead of sliding off. vegan.
Poc Chuc, sourced from Mexico. Pressed thin and in the sour orange for twenty minutes only, because the acid starts cooking it after that. Pork.
Pollo al Carbón, sourced from Mexico. The bird butterflied flat and weighted, so every part of it is the same thickness over the coals. Chicken.
Pollo Asado, sourced from Mexico. Left uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry the skin, before any rub goes near it. Chicken.
Pollo Motuleño, sourced from Mexico. Built on a fried tortilla and assembled one plate at a time, because the tortilla has about two minutes. Chicken, Pork.
Pozole, sourced from Mexico. The whole dish waits on the hominy, which is ready when every grain has burst open into a four-petalled flower. Chicken, Pork.
Pulpo a la Campechana, sourced from Mexico. The octopus simmered long and then chilled in its own liquid, because cooling it in air turns it rubbery. Chicken, Shellfish.
Puntas de Filete, sourced from Mexico. Not grilled at all — the tips are browned hard and then stewed in a chilli broth until they go tender again. Beef.
Quesabirria, sourced from Mexico. The red fat skimmed off the top of a birria broth, used to dip the tortilla and then to fry it in. Beef.
Quesadillas, sourced from Mexico. One corn tortilla folded over cheese on a dry comal, cooked until the fold will hold itself shut.
Queso Flameado, sourced from Mexico. The spirit warmed separately and lit as it goes on, never poured cold from the bottle onto hot cheese. Pork.
Rajas con Crema, sourced from Mexico. Charred poblanos in strips with the cream stirred in off the heat, because it splits the moment it boils.
Recado Rojo, sourced from Mexico. Annatto seeds soaked overnight before grinding, because nothing will break them down dry, then pressed into a brick. vegan.
Refried Beans, sourced from Mexico. Cooked beans tipped into hot fat and crushed in the pan as they fry, never mashed beforehand.
Relleno Negro, sourced from Mexico. The chillies burned black on purpose, outdoors, and the smoke is the whole flavour of the dish. Pork, Turkey, Egg.
Romeritos, sourced from Mexico. The sprigs boiled and then squeezed dry in the hands before they meet the mole, or they water it down. Chicken, Shellfish, Egg.
Rosca de Reyes, sourced from Mexico. The hole made far wider than looks right, because a ring closes as it proves and bakes into an oval loaf. Egg, vegetarian.
Salbutes, sourced from Mexico. A masa disc dropped into deep fat so it puffs, then left soft and never crisp, piled with turkey and pickled onion. Turkey.
Salsa, sourced from Mexico. Tomatoes, chillies and garlic charred dry on the griddle until blackened in patches, then blended with their skins on. vegan.
Salsa Macha, sourced from Mexico. The oil taken off the heat before the chillies go in, so they steep rather than fry. vegan.
Salsa Verde, sourced from Mexico. Tomatillos boiled only until their colour turns from bright green to olive, which is the signal and the whole timing of the sauce. vegan.
Sincronizadas, sourced from Mexico. Two flour tortillas with ham and cheese between them — a sandwich, and it is built and cut like one. Pork.
Sopa de Fideo, sourced from Mexico. The noodles toasted dry in oil until they go the colour of weak tea before any liquid comes near them.
Sopa de Flor de Calabaza, sourced from Mexico. The blossoms torn in and the pot taken off the heat in the same movement, because ninety seconds is all they have. Chicken.
Sopa de Lima, sourced from Mexico. The peel steeped in the broth and lifted out within ten minutes, because the pith turns the whole pot bitter. Chicken, Turkey.
Sopes, sourced from Mexico. A masa cake part-cooked, then taken off the heat and its rim pinched up into a wall to hold the topping. Chicken.
Tacos, sourced from Mexico. The tortilla doubled and nothing fried — two warm tortillas per taco, because one tears under anything wet. Chicken, Pork.
Tacos al Pastor, sourced from Mexico. Thin slices stacked into a cone with pineapple at the top, so the outside chars and is shaved off while the inside goes on cooking. Pork.
Tamales, sourced from Mexico. The masa spread over only two-thirds of the husk, leaving a clear border to fold, so nothing escapes in the steamer. Chicken.
Taquitos, sourced from Mexico. Rolled tight and held shut with a cocktail stick until the hot fat has set the seam. Chicken.
Tinga, sourced from Mexico. Shredded chicken in chipotle and tomato, with the onion sliced in long strips and cooked until it is sweet. Chicken.
Tlacoyos, sourced from Mexico. A pointed oval of masa stuffed with fava paste and cooked on a bare comal with no fat at all, topped with cactus.
Tlayuda, sourced from Mexico. The tortilla dried hard first and then grilled flat over coals, so it goes brittle in patches and stays bendy in others. Chicken, Pork.
Tortas, sourced from Mexico. Crumb pulled out of both halves so the filling sits below the crust line, then the whole thing pressed on the griddle. Pork.
Tortilla Chips, sourced from Mexico. Yesterday's tortillas cut in wedges and fried — and they have to be yesterday's, because a fresh one fries limp. vegan.
Tortilla Soup, sourced from Mexico. The strips are the body of the dish, not a garnish, and a whole pasilla is fried apart to crumble over.
Tostadas, sourced from Mexico. A tortilla held flat in deep fat until it is rigid all the way through, then used as a plate. Chicken.
Tostilocos, sourced from Mexico. Built inside the opened bag and eaten out of it, because the bag is the bowl and the mixing vessel. Pork.
Totopos, sourced from Mexico. Thick masa discs pierced all over and baked twice, which is why they keep for weeks when a fried chip does not. vegan.
Tres Leches Cake, sourced from Mexico. Pricked all over and soaked while still warm, because a cold sponge refuses the milk and sits in a puddle. Egg, vegetarian.
Walnut Soup, sourced from Mexico. The walnuts simmered soft in the stock for twenty minutes before anything is blended, because hard nuts blend to grit.

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