ULTIMATE Mexican Food Guide: 50 Traditional Foods to Try in Mexico
Ready to discover the best traditional Mexican foods?
You’re in the right place and with the right guide, as I have lived in Mexico since 2018, and know the cuisine well.
In this article, I’m going to show you more than 50 of the most popular Mexico foods and drinks that every foodie should know about — and try!
While most people assume the only Mexico foods are tacos, burritos and nachos, authentic Mexican cuisine goes FAR beyond those three options.
In this article, you’ll discover some lesser-known Mexico foods like tlayudas, and learn facts you probably didn’t know about popular Mexican foods like tacos al pastor.
Ready to discover all the best Mexico dishes, tastiest desserts, most popular street foods of Mexico, and even some delicious Mexico drinks? Let’s get to it!
The 50+ Most Popular Mexico Foods
1. Tacos al Pastor
No Authentic Food From Mexico List is complete without a mention of tacos al pastor. These are arguably one of the most famous foods from Mexico, if not the most.
Tacos al pastor are a Lebanese Mexican hybrid food. They’re made with Mexican ingredients and cooked on a Middle Eastern-style spit, called a trompo in Mexico.
While they’re known as a Mexico City food, as it’s said the best ones come from there, you can find tacos al pastor all over Mexico — as these are the most popular of all types of tacos in Mexico.
🌱 Looking for vegan tacos in Mexico City? Check out these options!
Tacos al pastor are unique compared to other Mexican street tacos in that they are influenced by Arabic street food.
If you see a street vendor making the meat for tacos al pastor, you’ll notice it’s cooked on the same spit you’d see cooking meat in a gyro shop.
This is because Lebanese immigrants to Mexico influenced the dish.
They combined the technique for making lamb shawarma with a typical Mexican marinade — and pineapple as a side, for good measure.
Of course, being Mexico, the lamb is swapped for one of Mexico’s favorite meats: pork.
The dish originated in Puebla State, but now can be found all around Mexico in virtually every city and town, as well as taco trucks all over the world.
It is said that to eat the best tacos al pastor in Mexico, you have to try the tacos in Mexico City. After all, they’re one of the best foods in Mexico City!
Popular Mexico Foods
2. Mole Poblano: The National Dish of Mexico
Without a doubt, one of the best things to eat in Mexico is mole (pronounced moe-lay).
Mole is both a marinade and a Mexican sauce. It can be eaten on its own or with many different types of dishes, like enmoladas, which are enchiladas covered in mole sauce.
Mole is made from various spices, dried fruits, nuts, and even chocolate, so not all Mexican moles are the same.
Some moles have up to 30 ingredients, though 12-15 is more common. A rich, flavorful dish, mole can take days to prepare and cook.
Mole is most associated with the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, though as the national dish of Mexico, it’s also made in other states.
There are seven moles of Oaxaca: Mole negro, mole poblano, mole verde, mole amarillo, mole coloradito, mole manchamantel and mole chichilo.
Some types of mole are spicier than others, while some are actually very sweet.
Depending on the dish you’re eating and the region you’re in, you can try a variety of mole in Mexico.
In fact, if you do one of the popular food tours in Oaxaca, you’ll likely taste several types of mole.
🍽 If you love mole, you’ll also want to try pepián. You can find it in some places in Mexico, but it’s also popular in Mexico’s neighboring country of Guatemala.
Popular Mexico Foods
3. Chile en Nogada
With such a rich food culture, there wasn’t enough room for just one. That’s right — Mexico has two national dishes (according to some sources).
One is available year-round, mole, while the other, chile en nogada, is often only made around Mexican Independence Day on September 16.
Chile en nogada is one of the most unusual, yet most delicious Mexican foods.
A patriotic dish that’s usually only available around the Mexico Independence Day holiday, the green, white and red colors mirror the colors of the Mexican flag.
The dish consists of a giant, non-spicy poblano chili pepper that’s stuffed with a meat and fruit picadillo hash. This savory and sweet combo works perfectly!
The stuffed pepper is sometimes lightly battered and sometimes not, and is then topped with a walnut-based cream sauce, parsley and pomegranate seeds.
The origins of chile en nogada are unknown, but some say it was invented by nuns at a Puebla, Mexico convent to impress an important general visiting town.
However, José Luis Juárez López of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology & History says it was made before this.
One thing is certain though, the chile en nogada comes from Puebla.
For one of the best traditional Mexican chiles en nogada, head to Fonda Tipicana la Poblana restaurant in Puebla.
Trying this is one of the best things to do in Puebla if you visit in September or October around the time of Mexico’s Independence Day.
Popular Mexico Foods
4. Barbacoa
In English, barbacoa means “barbecue.” It has a delicious taste, though keep in mind that Mexican barbacoa differs from American BBQ.
For example, there’s no BBQ sauce or dry spice rub — it is taken just as seriously as in United States BBQ meccas like Texas, Tennessee and Kansas City.
Central Mexican barbacoa is often made with borrego (sheep), but there are other variations throughout the country.
These include barbacoa de res (beef barbacoa) which is common in Chiapas State, and barbacoa de chivo (goat barbacoa) common in Puebla State and some other places.
The place most associated with traditional Mexican barbacoa is Hidalgo State. Many say Hidalgo is where you’ll get the best barbacoa in Mexico.
Being just a few hours from Mexico City, you can also get Hidalgo-style barbacoa there. Often, barbacoa chefs make the food in Hidalgo and drive it over to Mexico City.
Much like BBQ in America, barbacoa in Mexico is a weekend food — but this doesn’t just mean barbacoa is only eaten on the weekends.
It is also often only available on weekends, because traditional barbacoa recipes can take nearly all week to make.
Many eat their barbacoa tacos with a side of soup broth called consome (consommé).
In Mexico, this is a breakfast or brunch meal because tacos de barbacoa and consome is a well known hangover cure — and a great way to sober up fast!
Popular Mexico Foods
5. Pozole
When it comes to the best Mexican soups and most traditional foods from Mexico, pozole (pronounced po-zo-lay) is a clear winner.
Traditional Mexican pozole is made with hominy and meat, and cooked in broth. Then, plenty of spices are added in, such as garlic, cumin, chili powder, and more.
Pozole has a spicy, rich taste to it, and can even be made vegetarian with beans instead of meat.
You can garnish your pozole with different things like diced white onion, lime juice, avocado, shredded lettuce, radishes, chili powder and dried oregano. It is often served with tostadas on the side.
There are three different types of pozole: red, green and white.
- Pozole blanco (white) doesn’t have any added green or red chilis
- Pozole verde (green) is made by adding tomatillos (green tomatoes) and green chilis to the broth
- Pozole rojo (red) has red chilis, like chili ancho and chili piquín, in the broth
The stew is pre-colonial, and dates all the way back to the 1300s, and has Aztec origins.
Today, pozole is popular all throughout Mexico, and is eaten as a regular dish, but also on holidays as a festive meal.
🎄 Check out these other Mexican Christmas and holiday foods!
Popular Mexico Foods
6. Birria
In Mexican slang, birria basically means “something of low value.” In the case of tacos de birria, they definitely aren’t!
In fact, these are among the most comforting of all tacos in Mexico, and some of the best tacos in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and other places in Jalisco State.
Birria is a stew, traditionally made with goat, though you can sometimes find beef birria.
It is slow-cooked and seasoned with quintessential Mexican spices, like adobo, onion and garlic.
Birria stew is served in a bowl with warm tortillas on the side, for you to make your own tacos.
It can also come served as a taco, with meat, diced white onion, cilantro and salsa.
When you get a birria taco, the tortilla will usually be dipped in the red-colored stew liquid before serving.
This turns the tortilla red, and is why you’ll sometimes see birria tacos called “red tacos.”
🌮 Wondering, Is there Taco Bell in Mexico? No — there aren’t any Taco Bells in Mexico.
Popular Mexico Foods
7. Conchas
There are a lot of variations of sweet breads, or pan dulce in Mexico. Of them all, there is none more popular than the concha, meaning “shell.”
This traditional breakfast pastry gets its name from a shell-shaped pattern made with sugar that’s on top of the bread.
One of the most popular Mexico breakfast foods, conchas are one of those Mexico food items that have made their way across the border into the United States.
In areas with a large Mexican and Mexican-American population, like LA and Texas, you can often find conchas at panaderías (bakeries) and in restaurants.
🍔 Mexico Food Fun Fact: In 2016, the Concha Burger, made by brothers Bobby and Adrian Cruz, won the James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project.
Popular Mexico Foods
8. Cabrito
Cabrito (goat) and tacos de cabrito (roasted goat tacos) are seldom found outside of North Mexico.
For those visiting this region, make sure to try these in the northern cities of Monterrey, Mexico, or nearby Santiago pueblo magico (magic town).
These beloved tacos norteños (North Mexico tacos) can be cooked several ways.
The most popular is cabrito al pastor, where the meat is slow cooked with indirect heat over a bed of charcoal.
This is the same method that’s been used for centuries, which produces a juicy, flavorful meat.
When served, you’ll get a large plate of cabrito meat with tortillas and condiments on the side to make your own tacos cabritos.
Popular Mexico Foods
9. Chilaquiles
One of the best traditional Mexican foods you can have is chilaquiles (pronounced chill-uh-key-les).
Chilaquiles are a traditional breakfast dish that originated in Central Mexico hundreds of years ago. What makes this dish so great is that it can be prepared in many ways.
You can order chilaquiles with salsa roja (red salsa), salsa verde (green salsa), or both, and even mole.
It is often made with day-old totopos (tortilla chips), so the chips soak up all the salsa; though some places use fresh totopos.
🤔 Wondering, What are totopos in Mexico? Totopos are just fried tortilla chips.
In Mexico, when you want a basket of chips for the table, which isn’t always the norm as it is in U.S.-Mexican restaurants, you’d ask for totopos.
Traditional Mexican chilaquiles come with just chips and your choice of salsa. From there, you can add eggs, or a meat of your choice.
They are topped with sour cream, crumbled cheese, slices of white onion, and sometimes a cilantro garnish.
I ate chilaquiles multiple times at La Fondita, one of the best restaurants in San Miguel de Allende.
Every time I ate there, the food was fresh and delicious, and the plates were huge so I always walked out stuffed.
Popular Mexico Foods
10. Sopa Azteca (Tortilla Soup)
We round out the Top 10 foods you must try in Mexico with one of the most popular traditional Mexican meals — sopa azteca AKA sopa de tortilla or tortilla soup.
As Mexico City, formerly called Tenochtitlan, was the seat of the Aztec Empire, the dish is said to originate in Mexico City — just one of many Mexico City fun facts.
🤔 Did you know that you can see one of the original Aztec Temples, the Templo Mayor, which is partially buried underground in Downtown Mexico City.
Sopa azteca soup consists of chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic, onion and chiles.
It is served with toppings that include avocado, crema (sour cream), chunks of a soft cheese called panela, or queso oaxaca (Oaxaca cheese), chicharrón (fried pork skin) and strips of fried tortillas.
The end result is a dish not only rich in flavor, but one that also provides a textural experience.
In sopa azteca, the gooeyness of the cheese as it melts in the hot broth, juxtaposed with the crunchiness of the tortilla strips, makes for a delicious combo.
Popular Mexico Foods
11. Tlayudas
Tlayudas (pronounced tuh-lie-you-dahs) are the quintessential and best street food in Oaxaca, a state in Southern Mexico.
If you find yourself in Oaxaca City or on the beaches of Oaxaca, you shouldn’t leave without trying one (or three!) from street vendors or local restaurants.
Like many Mexican foods, tlayudas start with a tortilla; in this case, a giant, dinner plate-sized tortilla.
As the tortilla heats on the cooking comal, a thin layer of pureed bean paste and stringy Oaxaca cheese get added.
After cooking, it’s topped with veggies and folded up. You can leave it with just beans, cheese and veggies, or add meat.
The most popular options are chorizo (red sausage), tasajo (salted, cured beef), and cecina (salted, cured pork).
Though a traditional Oaxaca street food, you’ll also find tlayudas at many of the best restaurants in Oaxaca.
Still, the best place to try an authentic tlayuda in Mexico is Oaxaca State, at local markets or from street vendors.
Popular Mexico Foods
12. Cochinita Pibil
Mexican food is a true expression of the local culture and a great source of pride, having earned a UNESCO World Heritage designation.
The cuisine in Mexico is very regional depending on what is available to be sourced locally.
Among the best foods in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, cochinita pibil (suckling pig) is not only typical to the region, but one of the world’s most traditional food dishes.
You can get it outside of the peninsula, but this is definitely a Yucatan food, as all the ingredients come from there.
What is cochinita pibil?
Cochinita pibil is a slow roasted pork that’s cooked in the juice of the naranja agria (sour orange, also called sour seville orange), which grows wild in Yucatán.
It has a more bitter taste than a regular orange, but this makes it perfect for a sour marinade.
The traditional cochinita pibil recipe also calls for achiote (annatto seeds powder), which gives the dish its reddish color.
To cook, the meat is wrapped in banana leaves, then slow-roasted in an underground oven called a pib — hence the “pib” in cochinita pibil.
🍽️ SOme Other must try Yucatan food staples
- Poc chuc: Marinated, grilled pork
- Frijoles puercos (or frijol con puerco): Mexican pork and beans
- Papadzules: Egg enchiladas with two sauces
- Brazo de reina: A type of Yucatan tamal
- Salbutes: A puffy fried tortilla
- Marquesitas: Dessert crepes
Popular Mexico Foods
13. Elote
When it comes to Mexican street foods and street snacks, the humble elote is a favorite. I say “humble” because elote is quite simply corn on the cob.
However, Mexico brings it up a notch and covers a grilled ear of corn in mayonnaise, cotija cheese, chili powder, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
The street food is so beloved that it has made its way to Mexican restaurant menus in the U.S. and beyond.
And what’s not to love about traditional Mexican elote!? It’s portable, and has smoky, spicy, and salty flavors that mix well with the sweet corn.
You can eat it on a street corner while taking a break from touring and find it in local mercados (markets) — or get this “antojito” from street stalls for a late-night snack.
🤔 What are Mexican antojitos?
Antojitos means “little cravings,” and they are basically an appetizer or small snack. A traditional dinner in Mexico will begin with antojitos.
Some of the most common include, gorditas, empanadas and sopes, though even tacos and elote can be considered an antojito in Mexico.
Popular Mexico Foods
14. Esquites
You may have noticed this list lacks a lot of vegan and vegetarian options. You’re right — most Mexico foods aren’t known to be vegan- or vegetarian-friendly.
However, esquites are one of the few authentic Mexican dishes that can be suitable for both vegans and vegetarians.
🌽 What are esquites?
In short, they are the same as elote — but the corn is served in a cup so you can eat it with a spoon.
Since it’s in a cup, you can add in even more toppings, like corn nuts and crushed up potato chips.
In Mexico City, you can get esquites con tuetano, a rich dish with corn kernels and bone marrow.
The simplest way to eat esquites, and the most healthy, is just the boiled corn kernels with some salt, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and chili powder.
However, many opt for the more traditional way, which is adding a layer of mayonnaise and shredded white cheese in with the corn.
🌭 When getting your esquites, be on the lookout for bandeiras, or “Mexican corn cogs.” These two make for a great carnival food-style combo.
Esquites is a versatile food, which can be prepared in healthy or not-so-healthy ways. Depending on what you add, it can be a filling meal or a light, vegan Mexican snack.
They are one of the most common and best street foods in Mexico. You’ll find them in parks, mercados (street markets) and on street corners in many cities.
They are especially popular in Central Mexico destinations like Mexico City, Queretaro, and Valle de Bravo, where esquites was my dinner every night for a week!
Popular Mexico Foods
15. Tortas
One of the most famous Mexicans sayings is about making sure to get your daily dose of Vitamin T. In this expression, the T stands for tacos, tamales and tortas.
As far as Mexico street foods go, the torta (sandwich) is just as important as the taco.
While tacos are one of the most common Mexican lunch foods, many eat tortas for breakfast.
Different tortas are popular in different parts of Mexico, many use the same bolillo bread. This is a soft hoagie roll, and one of the most famous Mexican breads.
In Mexico City, for example, one of the top on-the-go breakfast items is the guajolota, a torta with a tamal inside.
The Yucatan Peninsula has cochinita pibil tortas, as this is the most popular meat in the region.
Wherever you are in Mexico, try a torta that’s filled with some local foods. The fillings will differ depending on where you are, and the bread might as well.
Popular Mexico Foods
16. Tortas Ahogadas (Drowned Sandwiches)
As you just read, all Mexican food is regional. While the torta is a typical food across the country, you’ll find different tortas in different parts of Mexico.
The torta ahogada, which means “drowned torta,” is common in the state of Jalisco, particularly around its capital city of Guadalajara.
Similar to a French dip sandwich, tortas ahogadas are “drowned” in salsa, and you may want to eat them with a knife and fork.
They consist of a filling, usually fried pork, chicken, cheese or beans, Guadalajara’s birote salado bread, and they’re lastly covered in salsa roja (red salsa).
I also tried the famous tortijolada from Carnes Asadas don Ramón in Mercado de Abastos Guadalajara. These yummy tortas ahogadas are “drowned” in a bean sauce.
Popular Mexico Foods
17. Tamales
A tamal, spelled tamale in English, is a traditional Mexican dish that’s often served from street vendors at the side of roads.
Early in the morning in Mexico City, you will often find rows of people lining up to grab themselves a tamal before heading out to work.
Tamales are made from masa, the same maize dough also used to make corn tortillas. The masa mixture is then wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf, and steamed.
The leaf then acts as a plate for eating the tamales.
Tamales are the ultimate Mexican comfort food and come in a wide variety of flavors and can be filled with meats, cheeses or vegetables.
When planning your Mexico City itinerary, make sure to try a tamale verde, which is covered in a rich, green chili salsa.
🫔 Mexican Tamal Fun Facts
Tamales were first developed by the Aztec, Maya and other pre-hispanic tribes who needed nourishing food they could take with them as they went into battle.
While tamales in Central Mexico are made with corn husks, tamales in Oaxaca State (and a few other places) are made with a banana leaf.
These are called tamales hojas (leaf tamales), or tamales oaxaqueños (oaxaca tamales) when referring to tamales from Oaxaca specifically.
In traditional Yucatan food, there are several types of banana leaf tamales as well. These include vaporcitos, pib, brazo de reina, and tamales colados.
When I was visiting La Huasteca Potosina in Central Mexico’s San Luis Potosi state, I also tried another kind of leaf tamale called zacahuil.
Popular Mexico Foods
18. Burritos
One of the more common foods of Mexico, burritos are the second most beloved of all Mexico foods outside of Mexico (besides the taco, of course).
In Spanish, burrito means “little donkey,” an animal you’ll find on farms and ranches throughout Mexico.
Burritos are especially popular in Northern Mexico, an area with a lot of mountains, ranches and cattle farms.
In fact, the best burritos in Mexico come from the north, namely the state of Sonora and Chihuahua. Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua City are said to have the best ones.
When in Northern Mexico, you’ll find burritos norteños, which are made with giant tortillas — often even bigger than the Chipotle tortillas, if you can imagine that.
Don’t believe me? Check out the Burritos episode of Netflix’s Taco Chronicles (Season 2, Episode 5) to see the authentic Mexican burritos norteños for yourself.
🌯 Popular Burrito Variations
- Chimichanga: A deep fried burrito, and a Tex-Mex food staple.
- Dorado Style Burrito: Instead of being fried like the chimichanga, this burrito is placed on a plancha (cook top) after it’s prepared so the tortilla crisps up a bit.
- Wet Burrito: A burrito served covered in salsa, often eaten with a knife and fork.
- California Burrito: A burrito with french fries inside, often in place of the beans and rice, but some California burritos have all three.
Popular Mexico Foods
19. Carnitas (Mexican Pork Confit)
Carnitas meat is essentially fried pork confit — meaning the pork is cooked in its own fat and lard.
While no one’s saying this is healthy, it certainly is delicious, and it’s one of the most beloved types of taco meat.
Some call carnitas the traditional Mexican food equivalent of pulled pork, because the meat is fried in large chunks and then shredded after cooking.
Pork shoulder is the most used cut, as its high fat content produces the best carnitas. This pork preparation is most associated with the state of Michoacan, Mexico.
There, the meat is cooked in a large cazo de cobre copper pot over an open flame.
Copper craftsmen in Michoacan have handmade these pots for centuries, and they’re said to enhance the flavor of the carnitas.
The best copper pots for carnitas are said to come from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan. This is one of the Mexico pueblos magicos (magic towns).
Popular Mexico Foods
We round out the Top 20 Mexican foods with menudo — which is both the 1980s band Ricky Martin was in, and a beloved Mexican soup.
It can go by other names, like pancita (meaning belly, or literally, “little stomach”), or mole de panza (stomach sauce), as the main ingredient is tripa (tripe, or cow stomach).
For those who can get past the tripe, this traditional soup from Mexico is rich and delicious.
Menudo is a celebratory dish, often served at Mexican weddings, large parties and special occasions.
The reason being that menudo is time intensive to prepare and cook.
Among the ingredients in traditional menudo, there’s tripa, maíz (hominy corn), lime, onion, chilis, oregano and more.
Popular Mexico Foods
21. Churros
When making a list of Mexico famous foods, there’s no way to leave off churros!
Interestingly enough, churros originated in Spain and were brought over by Spanish Conquistadors. However, they’re now one of the best Mexican desserts.
The standard version of churros is a crispy fried dough, that has cinnamon and sugar on the outside, and a soft delicious inside.
There are also churros rellenos, which means “stuffed churros,” which can be filled with everything from fruit jams to cajeta, a type of dulce de leche caramel sauce.
While in Monterrey, Mexico, I got to see a man make churros. After mixing the dough, he used a pump to make a churro ring over a massive pot of hot oil.
When cooked, he took the coiled churro out, coated it in sugar and cinnamon, and cut it to serve.
Popular Mexico Foods
22. Tlacoyos
Tlacoyos are one of the best foods from Mexico City, and really only something you’ll find sold on the streets.
This is a Mexico City street foods staple, which has a history that dates back even before the Aztecs.
Tlacoyos (pronounced tla-coy-yos), are not only one of the best traditional street foods in Mexico City, but one of the oldest Mexican antojitos still enjoyed today!
Antojitos, meaning “little cravings,” refers to Mexican street snacks or appetizers.
Made with blue or yellow masa (cornmeal dough), the football-shaped tortilla of the tlacoyos is much thicker than a taco tortilla.
Vendors stuff the dough with any combination of pinto or fava beans, potatoes, chicharron (pork rinds), and a creamy Mexican cheese called requesón.
They are then dry-fried on large griddles, so the outside of the crisps, while the inside stays soft and doughy — the key factor to its deliciousness.
Toppings most commonly added include nopal (cactus), onions, cilantro, crumbled cheese, and, of course, salsa.
Popular Mexico Foods
23. Aguachile
Aguachile, which means “water chili,” is said to have been created on the West Coast of Mexico.
Though it originates in places including the Baja California Peninsula and Sinaloa state (home to the beach town of Mazatlan), you can now find it in most Mexican coastal cities.
One of the tastiest Mexico seafood dishes, traditional Mexican aguachile is a cousin to ceviche, in that it’s a seafood dish served cold.
Like ceviche, the shrimp is “denatured” in a mixture of lime juice and/or lemon juice, chili peppers, salt, cilantro and more.
It is served on a plate with slices of cucumber, sometimes raw onion, and a lot of chili.
🤔 What is denaturation?
Some incorrectly say ceviche and aguachile are “cooked” in citrus juice, but that isn’t accurate. To cook something means heat was used.
As no heat is applied to aguachile, the denaturation process makes the shrimp not raw, though it’s also not cooked.
Popular Mexico Foods
24. Marquesitas
Marquesitas (pronounced mar-kay-see-tahs) are among the best foods in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula (though you can also find them in other places).
It is essentially a crepe, cooked in a press, then slathered with a variety of fillings before being rolled up.
Cooking them in the press ensures they harden as they cool, so they’re easier to hold and eat. You might say they’re the ultimate grab and go Mexican dessert.
Marquesitas are most commonly found in all three Yucatan Peninsula states, Yucatán, Campeche and Quintana Roo.
They are sold by street cart vendors — but only after the sun goes down, as an after dinner treat.
This unique Mexican dessert has been around since the 1930s, and is a favorite of locals and visitors alike.
Traditional marquesitas are made with Nutella and shredded queso de bola, a local Yucatan cheese similar to Edam cheese.
The sweet and savory combination may sound odd at first, but is incredibly addicting after a few bites.
Most street vendors offer marquesitas that can be filled with cajeta (caramel), fruit jams, chocolate syrup and many other ingredients.
You could visit a marquesita food cart every day on a one week vacation, and never eat the same thing twice.
Popular Mexico Foods
25. Sopa de Lima
Another one of the best foods to try when traveling in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula is a light and flavorful soup called sopa de lima, meaning “lime soup.”
This is one of the most classic and traditional Yucatecan foods, sopa de lima is a traditional Yucatan soup made with chicken and lima yucateca Mexican limes.
This is a larger-sized lime that’s native to the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s a bit sweet, and gives the soup a unique flavor compared to soups made with common U.S. limes.
It also uses local spices, onions, tomatoes, sometimes red and/or yellow peppers, and finally, is topped with crunchy tortilla strips.
An all-season dish, traditional Yucatan sopa de lima makes for a hearty, healthy lunch and dinner option.
You can find it in nearly any restaurant or cafe that has tables and chairs so you can sit down and enjoy your lime soup.
Wherever you’re traveling in Yucatan State — be it the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza, the pink lakes of Las Coloradas, or the lesser-known Ek Balam Ruins — you’ll find some traditional sopa de lima at a restaurant nearby.
Popular Mexico Foods
26. Huevos Divorciados (Divorced Eggs)
For when you just can’t decide, there’s the hilariously-named huevos divorciados, or “divorced eggs.”
This, and most Mexican food dishes come with your choice of salsa, often salsa roja (red) or salsa verde (green) — but there’s also divorciado style, for the best of both worlds.
Popular Mexico Foods
27. Chicharrón Preparado
With so many pork-based dishes to try in Mexico, chicharrones preparados, or “prepared chicharron,” may seem commonplace, but they aren’t!
Once you get to the core of what chicharrones are, you’ll quickly understand why chicharrones preparados are such a genius idea.
🤔 what are chicharrones preparados?
They are a beloved Mexican City street food that, at first glance, look like a square pizza topped with veggies.
Instead of being pizza dough, it’s a large chicharron de harina, which is a rectangular-shaped flatbed made of fried corn flour that puffs up when fried.
The cooked chicharron de harina is topped with shredded cabbage or lettuce, tomatoes, sliced avocado, shredded cheese, jalapeño peppers, crema and cueritos (pickled pig skin).
Many also add a generous serving of Valentina hot sauce and squeeze of fresh lime to top it all off.
Chilangos (Mexico City locals) usually enjoy chicharrones preparados as a midday snack, so you’ll see long lines at street stands during lunchtime.
When in Mexico City, be on the lookout for one of the many street vendors offering this delicious Mexican snack food.
Popular Mexico Foods
28. Chapulines
If you are strolling the streets of Mexico City or Oaxaca City, you might encounter a peculiar-looking street food — chapulines, or grasshoppers in English.
These bite-sized snacks are toasted on a comal, a type of flat griddle popular in Mexico, and then seasoned with garlic, lime juice, salt and chilies.
Though not the food in Mexico most will gravitate towards, chapulines actually taste like salt and vinegar chips.
However, compared to salt and vinegar chips, chapulines offer a lot more protein so many would consider them a healthier snack.
In terms of texture, they are a bit crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Though you can find chapuline grasshoppers throughout Mexico (and even some places in Guatemala), they are most popular in Oaxaca State.
You’ll find them sold by the kilo from street vendors and in mercados (markets), and you can usually get chapulines at sports events as well.
Popular Mexico Foods
29. Guacamole con Chapulines
If the thought of eating grasshoppers straight up sounds a bit much, you can take baby steps by sampling guacamole with chapulines grasshoppers in it.
The grasshoppers add a crunchy texture to guacamole, without changing its taste much. You’ll find this appetizer in some Central Mexico restaurants.
🐞 Other Insects Eaten in Mexico
Entomophagy is the technical term for eating insects, and it has been done in Mexico (and many parts of the world) for thousands of years.
As insects provide a low-fat, high-protein food that’s produced in large quantities, the prehispanic diet did include insects, like chapulines, but also these:
- Gusanos de maguey: Gusano worms, the same ones you see in a tequila bottle
- Hormigas chicatanas: Large, winged ants
- Escamoles: Ant larvae, sometimes lovingly called “Mexican caviar” or ant eggs
Popular Mexico Foods
30. Mexican Ceviche
Mexico has 5,800 miles of coastline, so fresh seafood is a staple — even though it’s not always known for seafood.
Of the most beloved Mexican seafood dishes, there’s ceviche. For those who are wondering, What is ceviche?, here’s your answer:
Mexican ceviche (pronounced seh-vee-chay) is made with fish, shrimp, octopus, or ceviche mixto, with all three.
It is cut into bite-sized pieces, put in a bowl and doused in fresh lime juice so it coats everything, then cilantro, diced tomatoes and onion, and sometimes even cucumber are added.
This is where the magic of ceviche happens: the juice from the lime denatures the seafood.
As mentioned above, denaturing takes away the raw qualities of the fish, making it more firm just as the cooking process would, but without the use of heat.
The dish is served cold, and makes for such a refreshing meal on a hot day visiting any of these best Mexico beach towns.
It will come with a basket of totopos, which is what tortilla chips are called in Mexico. You can add hot sauce to your taste level.
Popular Mexico Foods
31. Flan
Curious about the top dessert in Mexico? While I can’t say definitively that it’s flan, I can say this is the one Mexican dessert you’ll see on most menus.
Flan is consumed in a few European countries, like France, where it’s called crème caramel and Spain. In fact, flan was brought to Mexico by the Spanish.
It is a simple dish, with only a few ingredients — egg, milk and sugar — though it requires some technique to perfect.
Essentially a custard dessert topped with caramel sauce, there are a few variations of traditional flan in Mexico.
Flan de cajeta replaces the standard caramel with cajeta, a thicker goat’s milk caramel, and flan napolitano uses cream cheese to create a creamier consistency.
🍮 Jericalla: Mexican Flan Variation
Another popular variation of Mexican flan is jericalla.
This is actually known as Mexican creme brulee, though it’s really more of a cross between a flan and traditional crème brûlée.
You’ll likely only find jericalla in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, so be sure to try some if you’re there.
Popular Mexico Foods
32. Arroz con Leche
After the main course, many people will be craving a sweet treat, that’s where arroz con leche (rice with milk) comes in.
Arroz con leche is Mexican rice pudding, which is sweetened with cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and even raisins — though there are different ways to make it.
Besides flan, it is arguably one of the most common of all traditional Mexican desserts, which you can find all over the country.
Popular Mexico Foods
33. Enchiladas, Enmoladas & Enfrijoladas
You don’t need to have visited Mexico to have heard of an enchilada — one of the best everyday Mexico foods.
In case you don’t already know, enchiladas are tortillas that are rolled like a cigar, sometimes stuffed with meat, cheese or veggies, and then covered in salsa.
However, have you heard of the enchilada’s lesser known Southern Mexico sibling?! Keep reading to find out what it is!
🍽 Enmoladas
Like enchiladas, the enmolada dish is made with rolled corn tortillas, sometimes stuffed, sometimes not, that are smothered in mole sauce, instead of salsa.
Traditional Mexican enmoladas are often served with queso fresco (fresh cheese) on top.
Mole is a rich sauce, and one of the most typical Oaxaca Mexican foods, which adds a new depth of flavor you don’t get with enchiladas.
There are these seven moles of Oaxaca, but enmoladas are usually served with mole negro, mole poblano or mole coloradito.
Enmoladas are one of the staple Oaxaca breakfast foods.
They are decidedly savory, with a hint of spice and sweetness from the chilies, cacao (chocolate), fruits and toasted breads in the mole.
Enmoladas often come stuffed with shredded chicken, cheese or vegetables.
🫘 Enfrijoladas
Another popular variation is enfrijoladas.
As the word frijol (meaning “bean”) in the name might have cued you in on, these enchiladas are covered with a bean puree, instead of salsa or mole.
For those who don’t want the sweetness of mole, enfrijoladas work perfectly.
Popular Mexico Foods
34. Gorditas
The gordita, which translates to “chubby girl” in English, is one of the unsung heroes of authentic Mexican street food.
It is said to have originated in the north of Mexico, though it’s also a popular street food in the state of Queretaro, located in Central Mexico.
Like many Mexican dishes, the gordita is a variation on a tortilla that’s filled with different ingredients.
Here, you’ll get a thick tortilla, similar to a pita or an arepa. The small, round bread is split open to create a pocket, and finally, stuffed with your choice of filling.
Traditionally, gorditas are filled with chicharron (fried pork skin), but you can find them with tinga de pollo (chicken stew), carnitas (pork confit), and more.
Once packed full of your favorite filling, gorditas can be deep fried, grilled, or baked, depending on the region of Mexico you are in.
One of the best places to try gorditas is the beautiful Bernal pueblo magico (meaning “magic town”), where they have their own unique take on this popular street food.
Made from black corn flour, these striking snacks are known as gorditas negritos, and are a regional specialty.
Popular Mexico Foods
35. Pescado Zarandeado
Love smoked and barbecued fish? Pescado zarandeado (or, “shaken fish”) is one of the best Mexican dishes for seafood lovers.
It is especially popular on the Mexico Pacific Coast, in places like Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita and Sinaloa State.
Pescado zarandeado can be made with several types of fish, from snapper to sea bass.
The fish is split lengthwise, then slathered in a mixture of mayo, Maggi sauce (a Mexican cooking staple), various chilis, onions, garlic and more, and then either grilled or baked.
Popular Mexico Foods
36. Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead Bread)
Chile en nogada (#3 on this list) isn’t among the only dishes from Mexico served for only a short window throughout the year.
Rather, there are traditional Mexico Christmas foods and Mexico holiday foods you’ll only find during select months of the year — like pan de muerto.
Literally meaning “bread of the dead,” this Mexican sweet bread is only made around the Day of the Dead in October and November.
One of the Day of the Dead foods, besides just eating it, many families leave them on ofrendas. These are the elaborate altars made in honor of the departed.
🎄 Check out these traditional Mexico Christmas dishes to discover more seasonal Mexican foods.
Popular Mexico Foods
37. Empanadas
Mexican empanadas are a type of handheld pie or turnover, often stuffed with meats, veggies and cheeses.
They are a common Oaxaca food, where you can try empanadas de mole amarillo, a local favorite that’s stuffed with shredded chicken in yellow mole sauce.
Empanadas are common throughout Latin America, especially Argentina and Colombia, but many cultures have a hand pie.
There’s Cornish pasty in the UK, Jamaican beef patties, a favorite dish in traditional Jamaican cuisine, piroshki in Russia and Ukraine, and pastel de guayaba (guava pastry) — a must try when traveling to Cuba.
🥟 Mexican Molotes
In Mexico, there are a few types of empanadas. The first type is the half-moon shaped empanada, which is the one you’ll see most often as a grab and go street food.
The molote is another type. It’s more of a cigar shaped food, often served in restaurants as an appetizer or lunch foods in Mexico.
Popular Mexico Foods
38. Cemitas Poblanas
One of the best Mexican sandwiches from Puebla State, cemitas are gigantic sandwiches that contain pretty much everything.
You’ll sometimes see these monster sandwiches referred to as cemitas poblanas — the “poblanas” part indicating they are a culinary specialty from the state of Puebla, Mexico.
Puebla is one of the Foodie Capitals of Mexico, known for tacos arabes, molotes, chalupas, mole poblano, and cemitas.
A traditional cemita contains milanesa (breaded chicken or pork filet), queso oaxaca, avocado, cerdo (ham slices), and more.
It is served on a cemita bread roll, which has sesame seeds. To eat it like a local, you can top your cemita with a unique Mexican herb called papalo.
Popular Mexico Foods
39. Molletes
You’ll find molletes (pronounced moy-yet-tays), on nearly all breakfast menus throughout Mexico.
The molletes dish is quite simple, and basically just an open face breakfast sandwich.
A traditional mollete breakfast plate consists of a bread roll cut in half lengthwise. It is smeared with black bean puree and cheese is melted on top.
Many places add a garnish on top, like pico de gallo, and some Mexican molletes also come with diced ham or a fried egg.
Popular Mexico Foods
40. Nieves & Tepoznieves
Nieves means “snow,” and is basically a cross between a shaved ice and a fruit sorbet.
They are made with fresh, local fruits, or sweet ingredients, then frozen, shaved and served.
You’ll find nieves in shops and from old school ice cream carts on the streets of many cities, especially on hot days.
If nieves sound yummy to you, be on the lookout for raspados (shaved ice, sometimes called granizados) and mangonadas.
🍧 Tepoznieves
In the Central Mexico City of Tepoztlan, one of the best day trips from Mexico City, they serve tepoznieves — said to be the best of all traditional Mexican nieves.
In fact, tepoznieves were a sweet treat, only reserved for the wealthy, priests and great lords.
Centuries ago, before refrigeration, the ice had to be transported from miles away to make tepoznieves.
To get it, they’d have to climb up two volcanes to get it, Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl, which is why it cost so much to buy.
Today, you can enjoy tepoznieves all over the Tepoztlan pueblo magico (magic town), for only a few pesos.
Since Central Mexico has a long growing season, there are always interesting flavors to try — like tuna (cactus pear), guanabana (soursop), zapote (mamey) and rose petals.
Popular Mexico Foods
41. Papadzules
Papadzules (pronounced pa-pawed-zool-es) is a traditional Yucatan food dish that you’ll likely never see on a menu outside of cities like Merida, Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula.
It is an ancient Mayan dish that has been eaten in the Yucatan since pre-hispanic times.
The traditional papadzules recipe consists of warmed corn tortillas, stuffed with hard boiled eggs.
They are then drenched in a creamy green sauce made from pepita (pumpkin) seeds and a leafy Mexican herb called epazote.
To contrast the richness, a tomato sauce is added on top for a bit of acidity and brightness.
The finished product looks something like an enchilada, but the flavors are much more mild and delicate.
As far as the best traditional vegetarian foods in Mexico — this is one of them!
🧑🍳 Want to take a cooking class in Merida?
Instead of ordering papadzules off a menu, why not try making them yourself?
Taking a cooking class is one of the best Merida things to do as you get to enjoy a delicious meal, tour a local mercado (market), learn about traditional ingredients, and be invited into a local’s home.
Plus, you’ll come away with a recipe you can replicate at home, which is arguably one of the best travel souvenirs you can find.
Check out the Merida Cooking Class and Market Tour. With an impressive 4.97/5 star rating, it’s one of the best things to do in Merida.
Popular Mexico Foods
42. Salpicon de Res
Though there are different preparations of traditional Mexican salpicon, it is basically a shredded meat dish that’s often served cold, along with different veggies.
You can think of this as a Mexican salad, because it’s often made with tomatoes, avocado, onions, radish and cilantro.
The most common preparation is salpicón de res, meaning “beef salpicon.”
In Mexican beach towns on the coast, you might find salpicón de jaiba (crab) and salpicón de pescado (fish) — which are both refreshing dishes on a hot day.
🦌 Tzic de Venado
In the Yucatan Peninsula, there’s another popular version of salpicon, called tzic de venado (sometimes spelled dzic de venado).
The word venado means deer, as this type of salpicon is made with venison (deer).
It is sometimes called salpicón yucateco or salpicón estilo yucatan, meaning “Yucatan style salpicon,” as you’ll rarely find it outside of Yucatan cities like Merida, Valladolid, Izamal and Campeche City.
Popular Mexico Foods
43. Baja Shrimp Tacos & Baja Fish Tacos
Tacos estilo baja, meaning “Baja style tacos,” are said to have been invented in Ensenada, Mexico, a surf town not far from the U.S.
🥗 Mexico Food Fun Fact: The Caesar salad was also invented in Baja California. Caesar Cardini first made it in 1924 at Hotel Caesar in Tijuana, Mexico.
Baja tacos have been made by locals on beachside taco shops since the 1950s, and are now popular the world over.
The standard Baja taco comes with either fried fish (pescado tacos) or fried shrimp (camarón tacos).
These are then topped with a cabbage and cilantro slaw, salsa and a squeeze of fresh lime; though they sometimes have avocado as well.
Baja Mexico tacos are usually wrapped in a flour tortilla. While some don’t consider flour tortillas authentic, they are for this type of tacos.
🌮 Additional Mexican Seafood Tacos
- Sinaloa Fish Tacos: In Sinaloa state, which has the famous Mexico beach town of Mazatlan, Mexico, don’t miss the tacos gobernador (fish covered with melted cheese and bacon).
- Nayarit Fish Tacos: In Nayarit state, which has the famous Mexico surf town of Sayulita, Mexico, don’t miss the tacos de pescado zarandeado (BBQ fish tacos).
- Yucatan Peninsula Fish Tacos: In some places throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, you’ll find tacos de pescado tikin xik (fish cooked in an achiote sauce).
Popular Mexico Foods
44. Huaraches
Huaraches, the food, share their name with Mexican huarache shoes — and they also share their shape.
In fact, the huarache that you eat gets its name because of its oval shape, which resembles the huarache shoe.
Traditional Mexican huaraches are made with masa (the Spanish word for corn dough), and formed into an oval.
Any combo of ingredients can be placed on top, but you’ll usually find some combo of meat, cheese, refried beans, crema (sour cream) lettuce, tomatoes, diced onions and cilantro.
Popular Mexico Foods
45. Huevos Rancheros
Wondering about traditional Mexican breakfast foods?
Huevos rancheros, meaning “ranch eggs,” is one of the traditional Mexican breakfast dishes that has found its way onto U.S. menus.
As the word ranch in the name says, this is a rustic dish. In years past, these were commonly eaten on farms, but you can now find them on most breakfast menus.
It is hearty, and meant to keep farm workers full until lunchtime. Though filling, huevos rancheros is a simple dish.
A sort of Mexican breakfast lasagne, it consists of a tortilla or two laid flat on a plate, beans on top, and a fried egg.
It is then all topped with salsa, often salsa roja (red salsa), and served with more tortillas on the side.
Popular Mexico Foods
46. Tostadas
Tostadas are essentially open-face tacos. Unlike a taco that’s folded up, tostadas are fried flat, with the taco “filling” just placed on top.
You can find tostadas in Mexico all over the country, but they tend to be very common in coastal cities where you’ll find fresh seafood tostadas.
In Mexico City’s Coyoacan neighborhood — where you’ll find the Frida Kahlo Museum — there is one mercado (market) known specifically for their tostadas.
The Coyoacan Market is considered to have the best tostadas in Mexico City, which are a must try on any Mexico City itinerary.
Popular Mexico Foods
47. Quesadillas
Traditional Mexican quesadillas will vary a bit based on where you’re eating them. However, the most common way is this:
One half of a large tortilla is stuffed with your choice of meat, veggies and cheese (though not always, as you’ll see below), then folded over.
After preparing the quesadilla, it is placed on a cooking comal for a bit longer to give the tortilla a bit of a crunch. This also helps melt the cheese further.
Now, about this big debate ragging in on Mexico, over whether or not quesadillas have cheese.
🧀 Mexico City Quesadillas Don’t Have Cheese
In Mexico City, you have to order a quesadilla con queso, meaning “quesadilla with cheese,” if you want cheese.
Yes, this seems bizarre, and there’s even memes about this heated debate between chilangos (Mexico City locals) and the rest of the country.
Here, the quesadillas are either fried or cooked on this flat-top cooking comal.
You can get them stuffed with everything from tinga de pollo (shredded, BBQ chicken) to huitlacoche (corn smut AKA Mexican truffle).
However, remember to order yours “con queso” if you want queso in your quesadilla.
Popular Mexico Foods
48. Types of Mexican Cheeses
Quesadillas usually come stuffed with queso oaxaca (Oaxaca cheese AKA quesillo).
This is a soft string cheese that comes in a ball, similar to a ball of fresh mozzarella.
While this may be the most popular of all authentic Mexican cheese varieties, there are others, like these:
Queso Fresco: Meaning “fresh cheese,” queso fresco is soft, moist, and crumbly, making it the perfect cheese for sprinkling over different foods.
Queso Panela: Similar in texture to feta cheese, but with a much milder flavor.
Queso Chihuahua: A soft, white cheese, similar in taste to manchego, which originates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
Queso de Bola: Similar to edam cheese, queso de bola, or “ball of cheese,” is popular in the Yucatan Peninsula, and a common topping for marquesitas.
Requeson: Essentially a Mexican cheese version of the Italian ricotta cheese, which are both made with whey.
Queso Cotija: Cotija cheese comes from the pueblo of Cotija in Michoacán state.
It is an aged cheese with a salty flavor, making it an ideal topping for everything from enchiladas to elote.
Popular Mexico Foods
49. Flautas
Flautas, known as taquitos in the U.S., are tacos that have been rolled like cigars, and then fried. They can be filled with anything from meat to cheese and veggies.
In Mexico, you might also see flautas called tacos dorados, depending on what part of the country you’re in.
🌮 Flautas Ahogadas
There are two kinds of Mexican flautas you’ll find — traditional flautas and flautas ahogadas, or “drowned flautas.”
With the standard type, your flautas come topped with crema (sour cream), lettuce and shredded cheese, while flautas ahogadas come “drowned” in salsa.
Popular Mexico Foods
50. Alegria de Amaranto (Amaranth Candy)
Amaranth (amaranto) is a grain that’s very popular in Mexico. It is found in everything from smoothies and yogurt at breakfast, to candy.
Of the most popular Mexican amaranto candies, there’s alegria de amaranto, meaning “joy of amaranth.”
Alegria candy is made with, of course, amaranto, but also Mexican peanuts, walnuts, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), raisins, and other dried fruits.
The ingredients are toasted and combined with honey or piloncillo (raw cane sugar), and finally, packaged for sale.
Alegria de amaranto is closely associated with the town of Santiago Tulyehualco in Xochimilco Mexico City, where it has been made since the 16th Century.
You can buy it all over Mexico, usually sold in local Mexican mercados (markets), and by street vendors. It is a very popular Mexican street food all year-long.
🍭 Fun Fact: In September 2016, the alegría of Santiago Tulyehualco was officially declared a Patrimonio Cultural Intangible de la Ciudad de México — an intangible part of the cultural heritage of Mexico City. (source: Wikipedia)
Popular Mexico Foods
51. Fajitas
Wondering, Are fajitas not Mexican food? Actually, they kind of aren’t. However, they come from one of the most beloved hybrid cuisines: Tex-Mex.
While not among the traditional Mexican foods, fajitas are a Tex-Mex food classic. They’re even more popular in the U.S. than they are in Mexico.
In Mexico, the word fajita actually refers more to a cut of steak meat in long, thin slices or strips, more so than a dish or preparation.
At any Mexican grocery store, you’ll often see fajita meat for sale. However, you can make many things with it, beyond U.S.-style fajitas.
When you do see Mexican fajitas as a dish, it is similar to what you’d get in the U.S.; a plate of strips of meat, with sautéed onions and peppers.
In Mexico, you’d get a special type of Mexican onion with your fajitas called cebollita cambray or “Welsh onion.” This is a type of scallion.
Popular Mexico Foods
52. Mexican Alambres
If you’re craving fajitas in Mexico and don’t see them on a menu, look for alambre instead.
Traditional Mexican alambre is similar to fajitas, and comes served on a plate with sautéed pieces of meat, onions, peppers, melted cheese, and tortillas on the side.
Popular Mexico Foods
53. Gorditas de Nata
Gorditas de nata, meaning “clotted cream biscuits,” are a popular Mexico City street food (though you can also find them in other places).
This sweet treat looks like a cross between a pancake and a biscuit, though usually much smaller than both. However, they do come in various sizes.
Gorditas de nata are made with crema de nata, AKA crema de leche. This is sweetened, heavy cream that’s similar to whipped cream.
Popular Mexico Foods
54. Machaca
Machaca is one of the easiest things to get outside of Mexico — and you can even buy some here on Amazon.
It is a dried meat, usually spiced beef or pork, that gets rehydrated before it’s cooked.
The most common preparation is the popular breakfast dish, machaca con huevo (machaca with egg).
Machaca is popular in Northern Mexico, but you can also find it in U.S. Southwest cuisine.
Southwestern food is a culinary fusion similar to Tex-Mex, but with Arizona and New Mexico influences like the “three sisters” ingredients of corn, squash and beans.
If machaca sounds good, you’ll also love discada norteña (mixed meat hash), tasajo (dried, salted beef steak), and cecina (dried, salted pork steak).
Popular Mexico Foods
55. Camarones al Coco (Coconut Shrimp)
Coconut shrimp, known as camarones al coco, have definitely made their way into U.S. restaurants — so this one might be familiar.
Though coconut shrimp is actually said to have been invented in Asia, you’ll find it in most Mexican coastal cities, where you can get shrimp right from the sea.
Coconut palm trees are also found all over Mexico, especially on the coast.
Since the ingredients are so easy to get, you’ll see camarones al coco in restaurants and seafood shacks in all the best Mexico beach towns — from Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas to Tulum.
🥥 Are you a fan of coconut? Be on the lookout for cocadas (sometimes called coconut kisses), a coconut candy Mexicans love.
🍤 Camarones a la Diabla
For a spicier Mexican shrimp dish, there’s camarones a la diabla, or “devil’s shrimp.” Mexican deviled shrimp is shrimp coated in a thick, red chili sauce.
It can be made with whatever Mexican dried chilis you’d like, including chile de arbol, chili ancho and chili guajillo.
Popular Mexico Foods
56. Rosca de Reyes
After enjoying these foods in Mexico for Christmas, the next major holiday is Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day or Epiphany), on January 6.
On this day, everyone eats rosca de reyes, or “bread of the kings.”
It is similar to an Italian panettone cake in taste, but comes in a ring shape, and has muñequitos (little dolls) inside that symbolize the Baby Jesus.
A friendly word of warning: But be careful when agreeing to eat your slice of rosca!
If your slice contains one of the muñequitos in your slice, you have to buy everyone tamales at the next holiday gathering, which is Día de la Candelaria on February 2.
🎄 Traditional Mexican Christmas Foods
Around Christmas in Mexico, you’ll start to see buñulos (similar to a beignet in New Orleans, but circular shaped or snowflake shaped) being sold by street vendors.
On Mexican Christmas dinner tables, families enjoy romeritos con mole, bacalao, tamales, pozole, ensalada navideña, and more.
Popular Mexico Foods
57. Marlin Ahumado (Smoked Marlin)
Marlín ahumado a la mexicana (smoked marlin fish) is a famous dish many have no idea they’d find in Mexico.
However, it’s one of the most popular Mazatlan Mexican foods, and among the best Mexican seafood dishes from the coastal cities in the north of Mexico.
Marlín ahumado is commonly served as tacos, tostadas, quesadillas or as a smoked fish dip that you eat with tostadas. (I was OBSESSED with this dip when I visited Mazatlan).
BONUS: 7 Delicious Mexico Drinks
1. Cafe de Olla
Cafe de olla literally means “coffee from the pot.” This is a traditional Mexican coffee preparation, common in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
It is made in an olla (large clay pot) with cinnamon and piloncillo (raw cane sugar). Fans of sweet coffee will love cafe de olla.
Popular Mexico Foods
2. Tequila & Mezcal
Both tequila and mezcal are liquors distilled from the agave plant.
However, real Mexican tequila must be made from the blue agave plant, and come from the town of Tequila, Jalisco.
It can also come from a few designated areas located near this Mexico pueblo magico (magic town).
For this reason, it is often said that all tequilas are mezcals, but not all mezcals are tequilas.
Fans of tequila also tend to like mezcal, especially those who like smoky flavors.
As a general statement, mezcal is often referred to as “smoky tequila,” though not all have a strong smoky flavor.
Popular Mexico Foods
3. Horchata
Horchata is also known as Mexican rice milk, and it’s a drink that’s consumed throughout Mexico.
As Mexican tacos and so much other Mexican food is on the spicy side, this cool, sweet drink that’s made with rice and cinnamon will cut through a lot of the spiciness.
Popular Mexico Foods
4. Tejate
Tejate (pronounced tay-ha-tay) is an ancient chocolate and corn drink popular in Oaxaca, Mexico, where it’s known as la bebida de los dioses, or “the drink of the gods.”
It is made by hand in large clay bowls, by liquifying a mixture of fermented cacao beans, toasted maize (corn), and a few more ingredients.
As it has been around since prehispanic times, each region, city and family will have their own unique spin on the traditional tejate recipe.
However, even within variations, tejate tastes like a very complex chocolate almond milk, and is always served cold — super refreshing on a hot day in Oaxaca City.
Popular Mexico Foods
5. Mexican Hot Chocolate
Chocolate has been a Mexican staple food since prehispanic times.
Traditional Mexican hot chocolate drinks are made with chocolate and water, unlike chocolate and milk in the U.S.
It is hand-spun using a wooden whisk called a molinillo, and usually contains cinnamon.
There are several chocolate drinks in Mexico, including tejate, atole, tascalate, chilate and champurrado.
While these are mostly regional drinks, Chocolate de la Abuela (Grandma’s Chocolate), is one of the most popular brands consumed all over Mexico.
Popular Mexico Foods
6. Aguas Frescas
Aguas frescas are “fresh waters,” and one of the drinks Mexican people flock to on hot days!
Many drinks can be called an agua fresca, including horchata and agua de jamaica (hibiscus flower tea), though they can be made with fresh fruits like guava, tamarindo, or whatever’s in season.
For some interesting Mexican agua fresca variations, be on the lookout for tepache, a fermented pineapple drink, and la tuba, made from the fermented coconut tree sap.
Popular Mexico Foods
Sometimes called “Mexican sangria,” ponche is a bit different, and it’s also served warm.
Ponche (pronounced pon-chay) uses fruits including tejocotes (little apples), pears, oranges and guava, as well as other ingredients like jamaica (hibiscus flower), tamarind and piloncillo (raw brown sugar).
🎄 Head here to discover the Mexico foods for Christmas you’d enjoy with this drink.
On its own, ponche is one of the most popular Mexican non alcoholic drinks. However, you can also spike it with rum or brandy.
Some of the other Mexican Christmas drinks you can enjoy during the holidays are rompope (Mexican eggnog) and champurrado, a chocolate drink.
Popular Mexico Foods: Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best food in Mexico?
There are so many opinions regarding the best food in Mexico, but some of the most popular include tacos, tamales, barbacoa, and conchas.
Of course, this is 100% subjective, so there can never be an answer. What you can know is your best food in Mexico.
Hopefully this list inspired you to try some new dishes, so you’ll find your best authentic Mexican food.
Popular Mexico Foods
What are some Mexican foods other than tacos?
While tacos are usually considered the most popular Mexican food, there are MANY others like enchiladas suizas, chiles rellenos, mole negro, sopa de fideo seco, nopales (cactus), and more.
What are 5 popular foods in Mexico?
Depending on who you ask, some beloved Mexican cuisine favorites include chilaquiles, pozole soup, tacos al pastor, tostadas, mole.
Popular Mexico Foods
What is Mexico’s national dish?
Mole poblano is considered the National Dish of Mexico by most, though some sources also name the chile en nogada as the national dish.
Popular Mexico Foods
Why is Mexico famous for food?
Wondering, Why is Mexican food so popular throughout the world? Quite simply, it’s so flavorful.
Common Mexican ingredients like avocados, beans, chiles, herbs like oregano and cilantro, tomatoes, corn, meats and seafoods always leave diners happy and satisfied.
Popular Mexico Foods
Why is Mexican food so filling?
The main ingredients in many of the most popular Mexican foods, like beans, corn and avocados, are nutrient-dense so they fill you up, and keep you full longer.
Popular Mexico Foods
What food has Mexico invented?
Some foods Mexico invented and foods that come from Mexico include chocolate (cacao), tomatoes, corn, vanilla, avocado, pumpkin, and a few varieties of chili peppers.
While many of the best Mexican foods contain these, you’ll also find these (and various ingredients) in the best cuisines all over the world.
Popular Mexico Foods
What Mexican food isn’t spicy?
There are several non-spicy Mexican foods like enchiladas, guacamole, carne asada, sincronizadas and tortilla soup.
When in doubt, just omit the salsa 🌶️ It’s usually the salsa that adds heat, so you can always order your food “sin picante” (not spicy), or simply don’t add salsa.
Popular Mexico Foods
Why does Mexican food tear up my stomach?
This answer will vary from person to person depending on food sensitivities, but different varieties of chili peppers are often the culprit.
Spicy foods can often irritate your digestive system, leading to discomfort. Next time you eat Mexican foods, moderate the spice level and you may have less issues.
Final Thoughts: Ultimate Mexico Foods Guide
Mexico food is beloved the world over, and has also been officially recognized as an international treasure.
In 2010, UNESCO declared the food of Mexico an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind, an honor only shared with one other country, France.
In plain English, that prestigious designation means Mexican food is one of mankind’s culinary achievements!
Though this is a long list, it only begins to detail all the best traditional foods of Mexico.
With the Seven Culinary Regions in Mexico, the topic of traditional Mexican dishes and snacks could go on forever — but I had to keep this Mexico food guide to a reasonable length.
Still, I hope you discovered some new dishes to try. After all, one of the best ways to understand Mexican culture is through its food.