Mexican

Bold, sun-soaked flavors from across Mexico—fresh corn and tortillas, smoky chiles, bright citrus and fragrant herbs—come together in dishes both homey and celebratory. Find everything from quick street tacos and bright salsas to slow-simmered moles, pozole and simple weeknight meals that balance heat, richness and freshness.

Tomato Aguachile

By Shilpa Uskokovic

Tomato aguachile is a punchy, plant-based variation of traditional seafood aguachile or ceviche. A refreshing side to serve on a hot day.

Chicken Tinga Tacos

By Jenn Louis

Chicken gets fabulous Mexican flavor with tinga, an easy-to-make smoky tomato sauce. This delicious tinga chicken taco recipe uses only a few simple ingredients.

2 hr 30 min

Mango & Beer-Braised Slow Cooker Carnitas

By null

For tender yet crispy carnitas, each piece of pork is individually browned and caramelized to intensify flavor and crisp the edges, and braised with a savory mixture of smoky roasted chiles, sweet mango juice and tangy Mexican beer. It can be made up to three days in advance and slowly re-warmed for tacos, Mexican salads or huevos rancheros. Use either Mexican-style lard from a butcher shop, or Manteca by Farmer John.

Mayan Pepita Chicken Stew

By Maricel Presilla

Chef Maricel Presilla's hearty Mayan Pepita-Chicken Stew gets a hit of spicy flavor from a sprinkle of ground chiles and cacao just before serving.

3 hr 30 min

Birria Tacos

There's nothing quite as good as delicious quesabirria Tacos, with shredded beef and melty cheese inside a crispy taco, dipped in broth. These tacos are next-level.

3 hr 10 min

Mushroom Queso Fundido

By Christina Morales

Sizzling and gooey, queso fundido topped with chorizo is a staple on Mexican restaurant menus across the country. But the dish likely stems from home cooks along North Mexico and South Texas. Depending on where you go, different cheeses like Monterey Jack, Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheeses are used. Bricia Lopez, an author of “Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling (Abrams, 2023)” and “Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico” (Abrams Books, 2019), and an owner at Guelaguetza, in Los Angeles, was inspired by the salsa de queso and quesillo she grew up eating at her family’s restaurant to create her version of queso fundido, which uses the Oaxaca cheese to create a great cheese pull. She also tops it with mushrooms and epazote (see Tip), a fresh herb she grew up eating with cheese.

1 hr

Caesar’s Caesar Salad

By Pati Jinich

The Caesar salad on the menu today at Caesar’s in Tijuana, Mexico, is but a distant cousin of the original version first served there 100 years ago. It is believed to have included a whole coddled egg, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, and did not include anchovies. But Javier Plascencia and his family, who have been running Caesar’s for more than a decade, consider this iteration the best one yet. Romaine lettuce is coated in a creamy, intensely pungent dressing seasoned with anchovies, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and freshly squeezed lime juice. Garlicky, baked baguette croutons provide serious crunch. A few rules elevate a good Caesar salad to a great one: The leaves must be whole, crisp and cold; croutons must be sliced, not diced; and Parmesan must be applied generously.

1 hr 40 min

Crispy Beef Tacos

By Iram Mansoor

Crispy mini flour tacos filled with seasoned ground beef, fresh pico de gallo and a creamy taco sauce. Quick to assemble and perfect for a casual dinner or party snack.

35 min

Guacamole

By Nagi

Recipe video above. A really great Guacamole, the way it's made in Mexico and in the best Mexican restaurants around the world! The secret step that makes this so special is making a paste with onion, chilli, coriander/cilantro and salt before adding the avocado. Mashing is key to release flavour. And nobody wants raw onion chunks in their guac!

10 min

Charred Salsa Verde

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Smoky, spicy, sweet, bright, and complex, this is the one salsa to rule them all. It only has four real ingredients and you can make it in 20 minutes.

55 min

Vegetarian Enchiladas

By Sarah Jampel

Giving the tortillas a dip in hot oil not only makes them pliable (they won’t tear apart as you roll them up), but it also improves their flavor and texture (read: they won’t disintegrate into mush). This is especially important if you’re using slightly dry or very thin tortillas. If you’re using fresh, high-quality tortillas, you can skip the fry: Just warm up each one in a dry skillet.

Tamales

By Rick A. Martínez

Tamales are a traditional Central and South American dish of masa, a corn dough, that is filled with meat, vegetables, cheese and seasonings, then wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed. They have been around for thousands of years — the Aztec and the Maya people ate them — so there are innumerable delicious variations, but this Mexican version, which is known as rojos de puerco, is filled with braised pork and red chile sauce. Often served at special events like weddings, baptisms, first communions and the like, tamales are particularly important to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans at Christmas time during which tamaladas, or tamale-making parties, are hosted to divide the work, share the food and enjoy each other’s company. For convenience, this recipe calls for masa harina, a dried form of masa that can be found in most supermarkets and is reconstituted with water and fat, but if you can find fresh masa, use it for outrageously good, authentic results.

5 hr 45 min