Churros are a favourite sweet Mexican dish

When I think of Mexican food, I think of nachos and tacos – well, who doesn’t! But having visited Mexico I discovered that Mexico has many more tasty Mexican dishes than just my two favourite Mexican dishes.

What I discovered during my Mexican holiday was the huge variety of tasty Mexican main dishes and Mexican side dishes, from sweet to savoury that exist. And now I never tire of Mexican food because of the variety of dishes to enjoy.

So, what to eat in Mexico? If you are heading to Mexico for your first ever visit, prepare your taste buds for some culinary delights. In this post I am listing some of the best Mexican foods to try on a visit to Mexico. Some you may have heard of, others not. In some cases, I have linked the food to recipes so you can make these best Mexican dishes yourself while camping, caravanning, hostelling or at home. Without further ado, get ready to discover some favourite Mexican dishes.  

About Mexican Food

Best Mexican Dishes

Kicking off this Mexican food dishes list with one of the most famous Mexican dishes, tacos, and who doesn’t love tacos!

Tacos

If you travel through Mexico, you should try tacos, probably the famous dish you will find on every street corner. They are the perfect mid-day snack and you can easily eat three or four of them. Tacos are small soft corn tortillas filled with different ingredients. The base is usually meat, cheese, and pico de gallo, a spicy tomato, onion, and coriander combination. The meat used is either spicy beef, pulled pork, or shredded chicken. A taco costs around 1$ dollar at a street stand or in a local restaurant. For vegetarians, meatless options are sometimes offered. There are also many restaurants that try to improve the taco. Offering healthier ingredients or colorful tortillas, which is not comparable to an oily taco from around the corner. If you like to make Tacos at home, you should definitely try some black beans and sour cream in it. Although this combination isn’t real Mexican anymore.

Contributed by Victoria @ Guide Your Travel

If you want to make tacos at home or while camping, caravanning or staying a hostel or hotel, check out my beef taco and fish finger taco bowl. Both easy and quick Mexican meals

Enchiladas 

Enchiladas are a popular Mexican dish which I was looking forward to trying while on holiday in Mexico. And I wasn’t disappointed. They are basically a large tortilla filled with various ingredients before being rolled or folded and topped with sauce and cheese. My favourite fillings include beef mince with some beans and vegetables. If you are vegetarian leaving out the meat and only having beans and vegetables in the enchiladas makes this one of the great vegetarian Mexican dishes. 

Chile en Nogada

If you are planning to visit Mexico in September, you’re in for a treat because you’ll get to try chili en nogada. This dish is only made around Mexican Independence Day on September 16. It is one of the most important Mexican holidays.

Chili en nogada is a very patriotic dish. Actually, one of the two national dishes of Mexico. It is made from a poblano (non-spicy) chili pepper stuffed with picadillo, which is a meat and fruit hash. The chili is topped with a creamy walnut sauce, called “en nogada” sauce, pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley. The colors of the ingredients are green, white and red — the colors of the Mexican flag.

While this flavor combination may seem bizarre, it’s quite delicious. People look forward to the chili en nogada season each year. Since they are quite time consuming to make, many opt to get them at a restaurant instead of making them at home.

Contributed by Shelley @ Travel Mexico Solo

Pozole (Soup)

To say I love soup is an understatement. I particularly love eating soup during winter months when it is cold outside. And when I tasted Pozole I was in heaven and have added it to my list of favourite soups that I love to make. Poloze is one of the most authentic Mexican dishes and is usually made with chicken broth but pork is also used. Other ingredients include hominy (dried maiz kernels), vegetables all seasoned with chillies, herbs and spices. Like many other Mexican dishes, it can be as spicy as you like. I found most Mexican restaurants make it mild and allow those eating Poloze to spice it how they like. And this is one of my favourite Mexican dishes to enjoy, particularly on a cold day. Check out my soups page for soup recipes to make at home or while travelling.

Panuchos

If you are traveling to Mexico’s Yucatán state, make sure to try panuchos. It ‘sone of the most famous regional dishes and as an authentic Mexican dish is a staple of the Yucatec cuisine. And a favourite Mexican dish.

Panuchos are small fried tortillas stuffed with beans and topped with vegetables and some meat upon request. They are served as starters in many restaurants around the state of Yucatán. And are often combined with other traditional foods from this part of Mexico. Make sure not to confuse the state of Yucatan with the Yucatán Peninsula. The state of Yucatán is part of the Yucatan Peninsula that also includes two other states: Quintana Roo and Campeche.

Panuchos are great for vegans and vegetarians. You ask for them to be made them without meat, and add more vegetables instead. If you can’t find anything else vegan-friendly on the menu, you can always order panuchos.

To make home-made panuchos, you need to follow a simple process. Prepare corn masa dough with oil to make it crispy, retried beans and vegetables that you want to put on top. Although the corn base remains the same, you customize the toppings in many ways. The most popular ingredients are avocado, salsa, red onion and lettuce.

Contributed by Daria @ The Discovery Nut

Quesadillas

Another Mexican food that I had heard of before visiting Mexico is the quesadilla. Having tried them at home, I was keen to taste them in Mexico. As queso is the Spanish word for cheese (which I found out in Mexico), quesadilla basically means cheese tortilla. And you can have them with just cheese if you like, particularly if you are a vegetarian travelling Mexico however, they also come with other fillings. Fillings can include soft meats and veggies. Look out for the blue corn quesadillas, they are very tasty.

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican breakfast food dating back to the early Aztecs. This tasty dish is tortilla chips covered in salsa, shredded cheese, cilantro, cream, and red onion. The tortilla chips are usually simmered in salsa. However, sometimes the chips are baked in salsa and occasionally the chips just have the salsa drizzled on top before the other ingredients are added. Chilaquiles are also often paired with chicken, beef, and/or eggs so it’s basically breakfast nachos.

I discovered it at Janik’s Cafe during the years I lived in Chicago but have tried it a number of times on various visits to Mexico since 2008. While I’ve made it at home, it never tastes quite as good as a restaurant in Mexico serving it with homemade green salsa. One of my absolute favorite places in Mexico to eat Chilaquiles is Rooster Cafe in Isla Mujeres. The shredded chicken is seasoned really well and is paired with eggs cooked in your preferred method. It’s my favorite place to eat when I visit the island.

Contributed by Brodie, Our Offbeat Life

Tamales

One of Mexico’s main Mexican dishes is tamales. In fact, these are one of the oldest Mexican foods being served some 5,000 years ago. Made from seasoned meat and maize flour that are steamed or baked in maize husks. As the ingredients are in abundance, tamales form a staple of Mexican people’s diet and is one of the most important Mexican foods. But it is the ingredients inside the corn dough which gives the tamale its flavour. You have the choice of chicken, meat, mole, salsa verde or roja. You can also get sweet tamales flavoured with guava turning them bright pink! Tamales are served in restaurants however, you can commonly find them being made and served at food stands. Oh, and they taste better when hot.

Chicharron

The first time I saw this Mexican street food dish I didn’t know what to expect. There are many different types of Chicharron you can try. After seeing a bunch of locals sitting around eating Chicharrones preparados, I knew I had to try one while I had the chance.  Shortly after, the taste explosion that happened in my mouth made me a regular at the same local street food stand. The base, which is made from Chicharron de harina (a dry dense flour-based snack) is topped like a Pizza with a fresh wad of shredded cabbage, a generous serving of sliced avocado, tomatoes and then splattered with cream cheese. It’s a snack I have seen sold mainly throughout the day on the streets, in parks, and outside schools in Mexico City. I like to add Valentina hot sauce on top to get that extra spicy kick that I love to taste when eating Mexican food.

Contributed by Daniel @ Layer Culture

Tlayudas

If you love pizza then you will most likely love Tlayudas as they are often called Mexican pizza. This is because the tortilla is served flat and topped with ingredients like a pizza. There are plenty of topping options to try on this traditional Oaxacan Mexican dish. Toppings like refried beans, meat, vegetables and cheese. So if you are visiting this part of Mexico, definitely try this staple street food. As they say, ‘when in Rome’.

Fajitis

I discovered Fajitas on a holiday in Cancun. We had spent a busy morning by the pool and decided to try the pool-side restaurant in our hotel, The Fiesta Americana. I was determined to try many Mexican foods on this trip and on this occasion I wasn’t disappointed. Fajitas are made up of stripped grilled meat with peppers and onion served in a flour or corn tortilla. I discovered you can use strips of chicken rather than meat and it tastes just as good. The meat is usually marinated in a spicy tomato and paprika mixture – well mine was – and this gave it such a nice spicy taste. Mine was served with salad so I added some salad while folding my tortilla around the goodness inside. I discovered these are also very easy to make while you are travelling. Fajitas are definitely one of my favourite Mexican dishes.

Contributed by Sharyn @ Discover Australia Now

Churros

Feeling like something a little sweet, then you are probably feeling like some churros. And I am finishing off this list of Mexican favourite dishes with one of my favourites, churros. Originating in Spain, churros are incredibly popular in Mexico. Churros are basically strips of fried dough then dusted with sugar or cinnamon. They will come with either melted chocolate, cajata (Mexican caramel sauce) or condensed milk to dip them in. I personally love dipping my churros in hot chocolate.

Are You Ready to Enjoy some Favourite Mexican Dishes?

There you go, enjoy these Mexican dish favourites. After enjoying many of them myself, Mexican food is still one of favourite world cuisines. Mexican food is right up there with some of my favourite Japanese, Indian, Italian and Asian dishes. Have you got a favourite Mexican dish? Tell us in the comments.