Mexican Dishes: A Guide to Classic Mexican Food

Mexican dishes are the foods of Mexico's cuisine, built on corn, beans and chile peppers and shaped by ingredients the Spanish brought, such as pork, beef, cheese, wheat and rice. In 2010, UNESCO added traditional Mexican cuisine to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The best-known Mexican dishes include tacos, enchiladas, tamales, mole, chiles rellenos, birria, pozole and guacamole. Most fall into a few families: tortilla dishes, slow-cooked meats, soups, salsas and sides, and sweets and drinks.

This guide gives a short definition of each classic dish and points to a full guide or recipe for each one. It also covers regional dishes, the line between Mexican and Tex-Mex, and easy dinner ideas. To eat many of these dishes in Breckenridge, start with the scratch-kitchen Mexican menu at Mi Casa.

What Makes a Dish Mexican?

A Mexican dish starts with three native staples: corn, beans and chiles. According to Wikipedia's entry on Mexican cuisine, corn and beans eaten together give a complete protein, and the chile pepper is the other basic ingredient in every part of Mexico.

Corn becomes masa through nixtamalization. Dried corn is cooked in an alkaline liquid, then ground into dough. The process was in use by about 1200 BCE, and it made tortillas possible.

After the Spanish conquest, new foods arrived. These included beef, pork, chicken, goat and sheep, along with dairy, wheat, rice, sugar and olive oil. Mexican cooks blended them with native foods, and most of today's classic dishes come from that mix.

Mexican Dishes at a Glance

This table lists the classic Mexican dishes covered below, with what each one is.

• Tacos: Tortilla folded around a filling (family: Tortilla dishes)
• Tacos al pastor: Chile-marinated pork from a vertical spit (family: Tortilla dishes)
• Birria: Chile-braised meat stew from Jalisco (family: Meats)
• Enchiladas: Rolled tortillas covered in sauce (family: Tortilla dishes)
• Tamales: Masa steamed in a husk or leaf (family: Corn dishes)
• Mole: Complex sauce of chiles, spices and more (family: Sauces)
• Chiles rellenos: Stuffed, often battered, chile peppers (family: Mains)
• Carne asada: Grilled beef (family: Meats)
• Pozole: Hominy stew (family: Soups)
• Guacamole: Avocado sauce (family: Salsas and dips)
• Elote: Grilled corn with toppings (family: Street food)
• Tres leches: Cake soaked in three milks (family: Desserts)

Tacos and Tortilla Dishes

Tortilla dishes are the heart of Mexican food. The tortilla works as plate, spoon and wrapper, and each dish below uses it a different way.

Tacos

A taco is a corn or wheat tortilla folded around a filling and eaten by hand. In Mexico, tacos are usually a snack or street food rather than the main meal.

Their roots go back to the pre-Hispanic habit of using tortillas as utensils. For the full story, read about the taco's journey from Mexico to the world.

Tacos al Pastor

Tacos al pastor are filled with chile-marinated pork cooked on a vertical spit and topped with pineapple. The method traces back to shawarma, brought to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants.

Al pastor is a staple of Mexico City street food. Our guide explains the pork cut and marinade behind al pastor.

Birria

Birria is a chile-braised stew from Jalisco, made with goat, beef, mutton or pork. In the United States, it is best known as birria tacos, dipped in the cooking broth, called consommé.

Quesabirria adds melted cheese inside the tortilla. Learn where birria began and what meat goes into it.

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are a Baja California specialty. The classic version uses battered, fried fish with shredded cabbage in a corn tortilla.

They are lighter than most meat tacos and quick to make. Try our crunchy fried-fish tacos from Baja at home.

Quesadillas

A quesadilla is a tortilla filled with cheese, folded and cooked until the cheese melts. Many versions add meat or vegetables.

It is one of the easiest Mexican dishes to make. Our recipe shows how to make a crisp, cheesy quesadilla.

Enchiladas

An enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas first appear in print in 1831, in El cocinero mexicano, an early Mexican cookbook.

The sauce defines the dish: red chile, green tomatillo or mole. Follow our step-by-step baked enchiladas for a weeknight version.

Burritos

A burrito is a large flour tortilla wrapped around a filling. Wikipedia credits flour tortillas, common in northern Mexico, with making the burrito possible in Ciudad Juárez.

The bulkier Mission-style burrito is a later version. See how to roll a burrito that holds together.

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles are fried tortilla pieces simmered in red or green sauce. They are a breakfast dish, often topped with cheese, crema and an egg.

The dish began as a way to use up leftover tortillas. Make saucy red or green chilaquiles for brunch.

Nachos

Nachos are tortilla chips topped with melted cheese and jalapeños. Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya created them in 1943 at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, just across the border from Texas.

Nachos are now a bar and game-day classic. Build a tray of oven-baked nachos for a crowd.

Meat and Main Dishes

These are the dishes most often served as a full plate, with rice, beans and tortillas on the side.

Carne Asada

Carne asada is Spanish for grilled meat, and in practice it means grilled beef. The dish is believed to come from the ranching states of northern Mexico.

Today it fills tacos, burritos and plates across Mexico and the American Southwest. Learn what carne asada means and which cut to buy.

Fajitas

Fajitas are strips of grilled meat served with sautéed onions and peppers and warm tortillas. The name first meant skirt steak, a cut given to vaqueros on South and West Texas ranches in the 1930s.

Fajitas are Tex-Mex, not traditional Mexican. Otilia Garza is credited with the sizzling skillet presentation in 1969. Make restaurant-style sizzling fajitas at home.

Chicken Tinga

Chicken tinga is shredded chicken simmered in a tomato and chipotle sauce. It is smoky, a little spicy and easy to pile into tacos or tostadas.

It is a good make-ahead dish for a crowd. Our recipe covers shredded chicken tinga in chipotle sauce on the stove or in a slow cooker.

Mole

Mole is a thick sauce made from chiles and dozens of other ingredients, often including Mexican chocolate, ground into a paste and simmered. Wikipedia calls it Mexico's national dish, served at major celebrations.

Oaxaca alone has seven classic moles, including negro, amarillo and verde. Mole poblano, from Puebla, is the best known outside Mexico. Read our full guide to mole and how to make it.

Chiles Rellenos

A chile relleno is a stuffed chile pepper, most often a poblano. It is filled with melted cheese or picadillo, a mix of meat, raisins and nuts.

It is usually dipped in an egg batter, fried and served in tomato sauce. An 1858 description already calls it a green chile stuffed with meat and coated with eggs. Here is our battered, cheese-stuffed chile relleno.

Tamales

A tamal is masa, often with a filling, wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed. Tamales date to the pre-Hispanic era.

In Mexico, they are a traditional Christmas food. Read what goes into tamales, from masa to wrappers, or follow our family-size tamales recipe.

Soups and Seafood

Mexican soups are hearty, and coastal seafood dishes are bright and sharp with lime.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken tortilla soup, or sopa de tortilla, is a chile-tomato broth with chicken, topped with crisp tortilla strips. Toppings like crema, cilantro and lime finish each bowl.

It is a warming dish for cold mountain days. Cook a pot of chicken tortilla soup with crispy strips.

Pozole

Pozole is a hominy stew with pork or chicken. It comes in three colors: red, made with guajillo or ancho chiles; green, made with tomatillos; and white, with no chile sauce.

Pozole appears in the 16th-century Florentine Codex. Tonalá, near Guadalajara, is especially known for it.

Ceviche

Ceviche is raw seafood cured in citrus juice, mixed with onion, chile and herbs. Mexico's coasts have their own versions, from Baja to the Yucatán, where raw conch is marinated in lime juice. Our recipe covers shrimp and fish ceviche cured in lime.

Salsas, Dips and Sides

No Mexican table is complete without salsa and sides. These dishes come with almost every meal.

Guacamole

Guacamole is an avocado-based sauce that began in pre-Hispanic Mexico. The basic version mashes avocado with onion, lime, chile and salt.

It works as a dip, a topping and a side. Mash a bowl of fresh, simple guacamole in five minutes.

Salsa and Pico de Gallo

Salsa is the Spanish word for sauce. In Mexican food, it usually means a tomato and chile sauce, raw or cooked, served with chips and tacos.

Pico de gallo is a chunky fresh salsa of diced tomato, onion, chile and cilantro. Learn the difference between salsa and pico de gallo, or blend a blender red table salsa.

Salsa Verde

Salsa verde is a green salsa made with tomatillos, chiles, onion and cilantro. Roasting or boiling the tomatillos gives a tangy, bright sauce.

It goes on tacos, enchiladas and chilaquiles. Blend tangy roasted tomatillo salsa verde at home.

Queso Dip

Queso dip, or chile con queso, is melted cheese with chiles. It is a staple of Tex-Mex restaurants, served warm with tortilla chips.

White queso uses white cheeses for a smooth, mild dip. Make a skillet of smooth white queso.

Elote

Elote is grilled corn on the cob, coated in mayonnaise, cheese, chile powder and lime. Esquites is the same idea, with the kernels served in a cup.

It is a street food found across Mexico. Grill charred street-style elote at your next cookout.

Mexican Rice

Mexican rice, also called red rice or Spanish rice, is rice toasted in oil and simmered with tomato, onion and garlic. The Spanish brought rice to Mexico.

It is the classic side for enchiladas, tacos and fajitas. Cook fluffy, tomato-simmered arroz rojo.

Tortillas

Tortillas are the base of most Mexican dishes. Corn tortillas are made from masa, and flour tortillas from wheat, which is more common in northern Mexico.

Wikipedia notes that northern Mexico has at least forty types of flour tortilla. Compare corn and flour tortillas side by side, or make tender homemade flour tortillas.

Mexican Desserts and Drinks

Mexican sweets often show their Spanish roots, with custards, fried dough and milk cakes.

Flan

Flan is a baked custard topped with a layer of clear caramel sauce. Outside Mexico, the same dessert is often called crème caramel.

It is smooth, rich and simple to make. Read what flan is made of and where it comes from.

Tres Leches Cake

Tres leches is a sponge cake soaked in three milks, usually evaporated milk, condensed milk and cream. Wikipedia calls it the most popular cake in all of Mexico.

The milk soak keeps it moist. Bake a three-milk soaked tres leches a day ahead.

Churros

Churros are fried dough sticks rolled in cinnamon sugar. They came from Spain and are a common snack in Mexico, often dipped in chocolate.

Horchata

Horchata is a sweet rice drink flavored with cinnamon. Wikipedia lists it among the drinks the Spanish introduced to Mexico.

It pairs well with spicy food. Blend a pitcher of creamy rice horchata.

Regional Mexican Dishes

Mexico is large, and each region has its own signature dishes. These are some of the best known, from Wikipedia and CNN's guide to Mexican food.

• Oaxaca: Seven moles; tlayudas, large crisp tortillas with beans and cheese
• Puebla: Mole poblano; chiles en nogada; cemitas
• Yucatán: Cochinita pibil, pork marinated in achiote and bitter orange, roasted in banana leaves
• Jalisco: Birria; pozole; tortas ahogadas, sandwiches drowned in chile sauce
• Michoacán: Carnitas, pork braised in its own fat
• Northern Mexico: Beef dishes; flour tortillas; burritos
• Pacific coast and Baja: Fish tacos; ceviche

Chiles en nogada stands out. It is a poblano stuffed with picadillo, covered in walnut cream and topped with pomegranate. Its green, white and red match the Mexican flag, and it is tied to Independence Day.

Mexican vs Tex-Mex Dishes

Tex-Mex is the Mexican American cooking of Texas. Wikipedia lists chili con carne and chimichangas as Tex-Mex, and fajitas began on Texas ranches.

• Mole, tamales, pozole: Traditional Mexican
• Birria, carnitas, cochinita pibil: Traditional Mexican, regional
• Fajitas: Tex-Mex, from Texas ranches
• Chili con carne, chimichangas: Tex-Mex
• Nachos: Created in Piedras Negras, Mexico, for American customers
• Queso dip: Tex-Mex staple, likely rooted in Chihuahua's queso flameado

Both styles are worth eating. Tex-Mex is not a lesser version of Mexican food; it is its own regional cuisine.

Mexican Food Ideas for Dinner

Mexican food makes easy weeknight dinners. These combinations use the dishes above:

1. Taco night: Chicken tinga or carne asada, warm tortillas, salsa verde, guacamole and Mexican rice.
2. Enchilada bake: Red chile enchiladas with rice, beans and a crisp salad.
3. Sizzling fajitas: Steak or chicken fajitas with flour tortillas, pico de gallo and queso.
4. Soup night: Chicken tortilla soup with tortilla strips, avocado and lime.
5. Brunch: Chilaquiles with a fried egg, crema and a glass of horchata.
6. Party spread: Nachos, queso, guacamole, elote and a tres leches cake for dessert.

Most of these come together in under an hour. Braised dishes like birria, mole and tamales take longer, so save them for weekends.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular Mexican dish?

There is no official ranking. Mole is often called Mexico's national dish, while tacos, tamales and enchiladas are everyday favorites.

What are the main ingredients in Mexican food?

Corn, beans and chile peppers are the base of Mexican food. The Spanish added beef, pork, chicken, dairy, wheat and rice, which are now part of many classic dishes.

What is the difference between Mexican and Tex-Mex food?

Mexican food is the cooking of Mexico, with many regional styles. Tex-Mex grew in Texas; fajitas, chili con carne and chimichangas are Tex-Mex.

What Mexican dishes are good for beginners to cook?

Quesadillas, guacamole, fresh salsa and chicken tinga are easy first dishes. Each takes simple ingredients and little equipment.

Is Mexican food a UNESCO heritage?

Yes. Traditional Mexican cuisine was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.

Classic Mexican Dishes at Mi Casa

Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant & Cantina has cooked Mexican food from scratch in Breckenridge since 1981. Our kitchen makes many of the dishes in this guide, from chile con queso and guacamole to chicken tortilla soup, fajitas and enchiladas.

The birria, tinga and elk tacos on our taco menu are among our most ordered dishes, and our desserts include flan, churros and tres leches. If you would rather eat at home, order Mi Casa takeout for the condo.