Advertisement
31 Easy Mexican Dishes That Are Bursting With Flavor
Do you know Mexican food? Sure, tacos and burritos hit the spot every time. But there is more comforting and flavorful Mexican food than the staples we crave and rely on—and they're just as simple to make at home.
Like any cuisine, Mexican food runs the gamut from traditional and tried-and-true to trendy and unique. We happen to love all of it. With that in mind, we rounded up our favorite Mexican recipes, from bean- and sausage-topped pizzas to classics like guacamole and corn soup.
Black Bean and Sausage Mexican Pizzas
Inspired by the popular Oaxacan tlayuda from Mexico, these black bean and sausage Mexican pizzas are made with a quick chorizo and bean mixture that nestles into cheese-topped crispy tortillas and to finish it off, it gets a bright and spicy cabbage slaw. All that’s left to do is cut into triangles and enjoy these savory delights with guacamole. It’s a flexible dish: for a spicier take, substitute Pepper Jack for the cheese, or switch up the beans with what you have on hand. (Refried beans are traditionally used in tlayudas.) Paired with light beers or margaritas, this dinner is perfect for brightening up a busy weeknight and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
VIEW RECIPE Advertisement
Refried Bean and Cheese Melts
Meet the humble mollete, Mexico's ultra-comforting and cheesy open-faced sandwich. Making one is simple: Rub a halved baguette with garlic and then slather with butter, refried beans, and sharp Manchego cheese. Toast this up in the broiler and that is literally it! A delicious, easy breakfast, lunch, or dinner in just ten minutes. Serve with fresh salsa like pico de gallo (to cut through the richness) and a dressed green salad on the side, or turn these into brunch with fried eggs, sliced avocado, and hot sauce.
VIEW RECIPE Advertisement
Skillet Mexican Pasta
This simple one-pot pasta recipe is reminiscent of risotto due to the technique of toasting the thin noodles first with onions in a skillet. In Mexico, it's known as fideo seco. Ours is the most simple version of that.
VIEW RECIPE Spicy Crab Tostadas
Delicious, packed with flavor, and easy: That's the name of the game with this elegant recipe for spicy crab tostadas, which takes its flavorful cues from Mexico.
VIEW RECIPE Roasted Mushroom Mole Enchiladas
Often made with chicken, this vegetarian rendition substitutes roasted mushrooms, which add a deep savory note to balance out the slightly sweet sauce. Traditional mole usually requires many hours and upwards of forty ingredients to get its signature depth of flavor. This shortcut version is just as delicious, and gets dinner on the table fast. Sprinkled with bright green pumpkin seeds and slices of bright white onion, this dish is worthy of a dinner party or special occasion.
VIEW RECIPE Zesty Corn Soup With Chicken
Mexican street corn flavors combine in a medley of savory cotija, spicy cayenne, tart lime, and toasted sweet corn. Together they harmonize in each bite to create a crave-worthy soup. Thanks to shortcut items like frozen corn kernels and rotisserie chicken, you can whip up this easy recipe in just 20 minutes.
Don't skip cooking the cilantro stems in butter and garlic—sure, it's a great way to minimize food waste, but it also creates more depth of flavor in a soup that comes together so quickly. Round out the meal with high-quality tortilla chips and fresh guacamole, and end with fresh fruit like mango or melon. What a cozy treat!
VIEW RECIPE Vegetarian Tacos With Sweet Potatoes and Corn
Filled with a zesty vegetable-and-tofu mixture, these tacos rival any other. We used the old-school trick of crumbling extra-firm tofu to imitate ground beef's meaty texture. You won’t miss the meaty flavor thanks to a hearty dusting of chili powder and the tasty duo of corn and sweet potatoes. Whether a weeknight family-friendly meal or a fiesta served alongside tortilla chips and guacamole, this dish is likely to become your new classic.
VIEW RECIPE The Easiest-Ever Homemade Guacamole Recipe
The best guacamole recipes are about two key elements: ripe avocados (duh) and perhaps even more importantly, the ratio of ingredients. An out of proportion guac is simply a waste of avocado, and thus, the reason to follow these simple steps for doing it right. Here, it’s all about a shower of chopped cilantro, just the right amount of acid from a lime, and some heat from a jalapeño. Then, the most important ingredient that ties it together: salt, which highlights the rich avocado, the sharpness of the lime, the herbaceous cilantro and the fiery jalapeño. Only one task is left to you: selecting the perfect chip.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican-Style Noodles With Fried Eggs
Less than a dozen ingredients combine in this simple dish, which is packed with flavor thanks to canned chipotle chilies and hearty black beans. The genius of this recipe lies in breaking up the noodles, which means you don't need to boil them in a separate pot. Instead, they get browned in butter before tenderizing in a blend of beans and tomato.
VIEW RECIPE Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Sliders
The recipe for these tasty Mexican sliders originated with a style of cooking meat called Barbacoa. Traditionally, it would require hours of slow-roasting and basting, but thanks to the modern kitchen miracle known as a slow cooker, you can have all the flavors at home—no fire pit required.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican Red Rice
These days, we can choose from a host of healthy grains, from the now-ubiquitous quinoa and couscous to trendier options like farro. While those grains are often touted as a healthier alternative to white rice, this red rice recipe adds fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants to white rice, resulting in a more nourishing dish.
VIEW RECIPE Mushroom and Corn Tacos
Mixed wild mushrooms, paired with sweet, lightly charred corn, add a big meaty flavor to these vegetarian tacos. We like these with our Quick Blender Salsa, but feel free to use your favorite salsa, hot sauce, or pico de gallo to top them off.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican Chicken Soup
This warming soup is a classic for a reason: It's full of flavor and hearty enough to make a meal of. Here, white rice combines with onion, carrot, chicken, and plenty of lime. Cooking whole chicken in a pot of water ensures a deeply flavorful broth.
VIEW RECIPE Spicy Street Corn Salad
Here, the corn is easier to eat since it's off the cob, and it's mixed with arugula and beans for a filling, fresh summer salad. Because you're eating the corn raw, try seeking out fresh corn from a local stand or farmers' market. Serve this salad alongside grilled proteins like fish, chicken, or steak, or serve with hard-cooked eggs for a vegetarian twist. If you can't find cotija, you can substitute parmesan or aged Cheddar.
VIEW RECIPE Elote With Mole Verde
You may think of mole as that rich, brown sauce that covers enchiladas at your favorite Mexican restaurant. And it is that, but it's also so much more. Mole is a family of complex sauces that can be made from a range of different ingredients, but the main stars are usually onion, garlic, chiles, and ground seeds such as sesame or pumpkin seeds. In this green version, tomatillos are blended with spinach for a captivating pop of color, plus jalapeños, scallions, and a combination of sesame and pumpkin seeds. This rich sauce is served alongside grilled corn on the cob, aka elote or Mexican street corn, and topped with crema and crumbled cheese.
VIEW RECIPE Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos With Corn Salsa
It’s hard to beat a delicious, brimming burrito. But delicious burritos that keep well in the freezer might do just that. These “freezer burritos” are stuffed full of crisp-tender shoestring sweet potatoes, fresh tomato-corn salsa, beans, and, of course, cheddar cheese. To make the sweet potatoes you’ll peel them, grate them on the large holes of a box grater, and roast them on sheet trays. Don’t skip the parchment paper, otherwise they’ll stick to the tray. Make sure all of the ingredients are thoroughly cooled before you roll them up to prevent burritos that get soggy in the freezer.
VIEW RECIPE Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
If there were an award for the most magical kitchen appliance, the slow cooker would win hands down. For this intensely flavorful chicken soup, simply combine the main ingredients, turn the crockpot on, and voila—taco soup.
VIEW RECIPE Quesadillas Poblano
While there's no meat in these quesadillas, they are plenty filling, thanks to pinto beans and cheese. The poblano peppers are the real star of the show, however, and add a subtle smokiness. Top with avocado and radishes dressed with lime juice and salt.
VIEW RECIPE Garlic Skirt Steak Tacos
Let's be honest: We could happily feast on tacos every night of the week and never get bored. Indeed, one of the best things about this family favorite is its utter versatility. Almost anything you can think of can be a taco filling, and often, it's the most uncomplicated and inexpensive combinations that wind up being the most delicious.
VIEW RECIPE Turkey Taco Salad
Turkey replaces beef to bring a healthier version of this family favorite to the table.
VIEW RECIPE Creamy Rajas and Greens Tacos
A rich and filling taco doesn’t have to be stuffed with meat. We built one with creamy, cheesy greens, spicy charred poblanos, crunchy radishes, and salty Cotija cheese. It’s all the flavors and textures we want in a vegetarian taco, at once light but satisfying. This recipe is arguably better when made with whole milk but you can use low-fat in a pinch. Our favorite way to warm tortillas is over an open flame i.e. your gas stove. If all you have is electric, pop the tortillas on a baking sheet under the broiler for about a minute. Flip them over and broil just one more minute, until they start to take on a little char.
VIEW RECIPE Cheesy Chicken Nachos With Avocado and Radish
Is anyone truly satisfied with loaded cheesy nachos from restaurants? Finding the best chip that's equally loaded with toppings always feels like a fight. Consequently, eating sparsely topped nachos becomes an archaeological dig to unearth just the right bite before your friend does. The process can be stressful, to say the least.
VIEW RECIPE Grilled Chili Shrimp Tacos
You can top off these tasty shrimp tacos with any homemade salsa, not just the pineapple-jalapeño one that's described here. (Although we do give that one a big thumbs up!)
VIEW RECIPE Pork and Pineapple Tacos
A delicious sweet and savory combination from the succulent pork and sweet pineapple, these tacos really bring the wow factor with a hint of heat from the jalapeños in every bite. Dig in!
VIEW RECIPE Smoky Flank Steak Tacos
Juicy, spice-rubbed steak, charred tortillas, and a fresh tomato salsa. What’s not to like? In a world where you can buy almost any meal to go, and ready-made steak rubs are a dime a dozen, it’s a grounding practice to cook every element of dinner from scratch. And, in the case of these easy steak tacos, making each part doesn’t have to take more than 30 minutes. Serve the tacos with ice-cold light beers and a chopped romaine salad, if desired.
VIEW RECIPE Squash Blossom Tacos
Bright orange squash blossoms are not only beautiful, they also have a mild peppery flavor that's delicious in tacos. They're often found battered and fried, or stuffed with cheese. In these summery tacos, squash blossoms are paired with gooey mozzarella and meaty poblano chiles plus avocado and sour cream for a creamy touch. This satisfying meal takes cues from a traditional Mexican quesadilla, which is often stuffed with squash blossoms and stringy Oaxaca cheese that melts similarly to mozzarella. A squeeze of lime, a sprinkling of crunchy pepitas, and a showering of cilantro are the finishing touches to these stellar tacos.
VIEW RECIPE Cauliflower Tacos al Pastor
Traditionally, tacos al pastor are made from thin slices of marinated pork and pineapple that roast on a rotating spit and then are shaved off into thin slices. But now, you can experience a cauliflower version of this Mexico City favorite right in your kitchen. Fragrant orange zest, smoky chipotle chiles, garlic, and honey make up the flavorful marinade that coats the cauliflower florets, while annatto, a paste made from achiote seed, give them their vibrant color. Tossed and roasted alongside pineapple and onion, it's a major hit. A zesty avocado salsa drizzled on top brings just the right amount of brightness to these crave-worthy cauliflower tacos.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican Grilled Corn With Cilantro
This easy Mexican side dish pairs grilled corn with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro. Serving it on the cob makes for easy prep. Plus, you can cut it into smaller chunks to serve a crowd.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican Spiced Hot Chocolate
Are you looking for some warm drinks to enjoy when it's chilly outside? This easy upgrade to packaged cocoa really puts the "hot" in hot chocolate. Just add chipotle chili pepper for spice and smokiness. Then top it off with cinnamon and homemade whipped cream.
VIEW RECIPE Mexican "Fried" Ice Cream
Roll scoops of velvety ice cream in browned panko and drizzle with honey for a lighter version of this classic treat.
VIEW RECIPE Butternut Enchilada Casserole Is Healthy, Easy to Make, and So Satisfying
Enchiladas are a beloved Mexican dish typically made by stuffing a corn tortilla with a meat or cheese filling and rolling it. In this easy vegetable enchilada recipe, instead of rolling, corn tortillas are layered in a baking dish to save on prep time.
VIEW RECIPE 
You’ll Also Love
What Is a Couscoussier and How Do You Use It?
The #1 Nutrient to Eat For Weight Loss, According to a Gastroenterologist
How to Use a Bundt or Shaped Cake Pan
The Only Way To Prevent Baby Carrots From Getting Slimy
A Guide to Buying the Right Wok
Is Nonstick Cookware Safe?
Caring for Cast Iron the Right Way
Irregular Circadian Rhythms May Increase Heart Disease Risk by 300%, According to a New Study