Plane tickets bought. Hotel booked. And bags packed.
But are you ready for the diverse and incredible dishes waiting for you on your upcoming Mexican vacation?
If not, we have you covered! If so, we’re still confident you’ll come away with some tasty ideas.Here are 11 south of the border dishes you’ll want to try before heading home on your Mexican getaway.
While some live up to their popular reputation, you’ll discover that not all Mexican foods are hot and spicy.
1. Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles is a Mexican dish consisting of lightly fried, cut corn tortillas immersed in mole or salsa verde.
It’s typically topped with cheese, shredded chicken, sliced onions, and scrambled or fried eggs.
If you made too many tortillas the night before and have quite a few to spare, use them to make some chilaquiles.
Like most popular Mexican dishes, chilaquiles is spicy, but you can certainly fine-tune the same.
All chilaquiles recipes are not equal; whether it be chilaquiles rojos, chilaquiles verdes or chilaquiles blancos.
2. Elotes
You’ll see it everywhere in the streets of Mexico City, sold next to tacos on street carts. I’m talking about Elotes, of course!
Mexicans sure don’t serve basic corn; they add their incredibly diverse culinary skills to make a creamy, savory, and even spicy meal.
The sweet, tender kernels of corn are covered by the soft Mexican Crema.
A small layer of cotija (classic Mexican cheese) is sprinkled on top as a light savory layer.
And finally, the chili powder on the outermost layer gives the ultimate explosive taste with every single bite.
3. Tlayudas
At times referred to “Mexican pizza,” Tlayudas is a large, thin bread (corn tortilla) covered with pureed or refried beans and multiple toppings, including meat, cheese, avocado, and shredded cabbage.
Traditionally, Tlayuda is cooked on a grill, but you can make one without the comal grill/pan too.
Unlike a traditional pizza, the base of a Tlayudas is much thinner and, therefore, considerably fragile.
But, like a pizza, you may have to slice the cornbread in those small semi-circular triangles to feast on.
4. Machetes
Here’s a Mexican dish for those with a big appetite, the Machete.
A machete is a quesadilla, but extraordinarily long compared to a traditional quesadilla.
Thanks to its length, a machete packs in a lot more ingredients than a regular quesadilla can.
The relatively large variety of fillings also means a lot more flavor-rich, spicy, and scrumptious quesadilla.
A custom tortilla press is typically used to make the corn tortilla, and due to the quesadilla’s sheer size, a machete quesadilla generally is not made at home.
It’s, therefore, considered a “street food” in Mexico.
5. Birria
Birria is a dish usually served during special occasions, such as baptism and weddings, and holidays, like Christmas and Easter.
The Mexican dish is considered a “special occasion” delicacy not just because it tastes great and helps sweat out a hangover but also because the time and effort to make birria are enormous.
Birria is a popular Mexican soup/stew made using goat or lamb meat or combining several kinds of meat.
It’s also used for making birria tacos.
It’s a dish prevalent in Jalisco’s capital city of Guadalajara.
When prepared by locals in their homes, lamb and/or goat meat is used.
However, at local birria eateries or restaurants, various birria versions made using different kinds of meat could be served.
6. Calabacitas
Calabacitas is a popular vegetarian Mexican side dish made of squash, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and corn.
Its name translates to “little squash.”
Natives would often eat calabacitas with tortilla, beans, or rice.
Historical records show evidence of the dish dating back to the 16th century.
Here’s a simple recipe for an authentic-tasting batch of calabacitas.
You can prepare it using common household ingredients in just 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Pozole
Pozole is a traditional Mexican soup that typically consists of hominy, pork, chicken, and spices.
It likely originates from the ancient Aztecs, but contemporary audiences continue to enjoy pozole’s savory taste.
The earliest renditions of pozole likely featured a mix of Muscovy duck, hairless Mexican dog, and wild ocellated turkey. These animals were native to Mesoamerica.
Contemporary versions typically exclude these meats, though duck or turkey may make an occasional appearance.
Whether making pozole rojo, pozole blanco or pozole verde, this dish requires several hours and moderate preparation.
8. Mole
Mole plays a significant role in Mexican culture and cuisine. It can add flavor and be used on multiple popular dishes.
It is Mexico’s national dish with a complex richness that’s usually passed down through family recipes.
Mole can vary in ingredients, consistency, and even color.
Some mole is green instead of brown. And it can be thick or thin.
Cooking your traditional mole can take hours and require a lot of ingredients.
To cook a mole, you’ll need multiple chilis, spices, sweeteners, and thickeners.
How you cook your mole will determine how long the process will take.
9. Chiles en Nogada
Chiles en nogada is as delicious to the palate as it is pleasing to the eye.
The Mexican dish uses ingredients representing the Mexican’s flag colors of red, green and white.
This dish includes chiles (peppers) filled with picadillo (ground turkey) and a walnut sauce drizzle on top.
The combination of ingredients makes chiles en nogada a very unique dish, delivering a sweet, salty, and savory taste.
10. Aguas Frescas
With all these delicious Mexican foods, you’re going to need something to wash them down.
Well, let me introduce you to Mexico’s aguas frescas.
Aguas frescas are refreshing Mexican fruit drinks which are primarily water based.
The fruit is only added to provide a light taste that doesn’t overwhelm the refreshing effect of water.
Fun fact: “aguas frescas” translates to “cool water” in Spanish! And quite popular in the streets of Mexico.
Popular flavors include peach, watermelon, mango, cucumber, pineapple, cantaloupe and horchata.
11. Churros
Whether as a snack or dessert option, you’ll have no trouble finding homemade churros throughout Mexico.
Churros are a simple south of the border dish, particularly when compared to other popular Mexican dishes.
The famous Mexican pastry snack is usually eaten for breakfast with different sweet dipping sauces such as chocolate or cajeta.
Churros are crispy from the outside and soft and tender from within. The dish is best served fresh and hot.
Sugar is sprinkled on the churros to lend the dish increased sweetness. Truly a Mexican national treasure!
As you can see, Mexico is more than just tacos and burritos.
Tourists for all over the world have discovered Mexican cuisine offers something for everyone.
But don’t confine yourself to just Mexican foods.
If you are partial to having a cocktail or two while on vacation, or throwing a Cinco de Mayo party, you’ll want to check out our article, 18 Most Popular Mexican Drinks.
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.