Top 10 Mexican Foods: Names, Descriptions and What to Order

Below is what each one actually is, what to expect when you order it, and the one thing Cuisine Seeker readers usually want to know: whether it is vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free, or what to swap to make it so. For more countries, see our world cuisines guides.

Top 10 Mexican Food Names and Descriptions

1. Tacos

A taco is a small tortilla, usually corn, folded around a filling and topped with salsa, onion and coriander (cilantro). Fillings run from carne asada (grilled beef) and al pastor (spit-roasted pork) to fish, beans or potato. In Mexico they are soft, small and eaten in threes; the hard-shell version is mostly a Tex-Mex thing.

Diet note: corn tortillas are naturally gluten-free, flour ones are not. For vegan, go for beans, potato, mushrooms or grilled vegetables and skip the cheese and crema.

2. Mole

Mole is a family of sauces rather than one dish. The best known, mole poblano from Puebla, blends dried chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and a little chocolate into a thick, dark sauce that is savoury first and only slightly sweet. It is usually served over chicken or turkey with rice. It takes hours to make properly, which is why it turns up at weddings and holidays more than on a Tuesday night.

Diet note: many moles are thickened with bread and cooked with lard or chicken stock, so neither vegan nor gluten-free is a given. Ask, or make it at home with vegetable stock and a corn tortilla as the thickener.

3. Enchiladas

Enchiladas are corn tortillas dipped in a chilli sauce, rolled around a filling of chicken, cheese or beans, then covered in more sauce and baked. Red (rojas), green (verdes) and mole versions are the common three. Expect cheese and crema on top.

Diet note: the corn tortillas are gluten-free, but jarred and canned enchilada sauces are often thickened with wheat flour, so check the label. Bean and cheese enchiladas are vegetarian; drop the cheese and crema for vegan.

4. Tamales

Tamales are masa (corn dough) spread in a corn husk or banana leaf, filled with meat, cheese, chilli or something sweet, then folded and steamed. You unwrap them and eat the inside; the husk is not eaten. They are made in big batches for Christmas and family gatherings, and they reheat well, which is why they end up on the breakfast table too. We cover that in eating tamales for breakfast and whether you can eat tamales cold.

Diet note: masa is gluten-free. Traditional masa is beaten with lard, so vegan tamales use vegetable shortening or oil instead. Rajas con queso (chilli strips and cheese) is the usual vegetarian filling.

5. Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles are a breakfast dish: pieces of fried corn tortilla simmered briefly in red or green salsa, then topped with crumbled cheese, crema, onion and often a fried egg or shredded chicken. How long they sit in the sauce decides whether they come out crunchy or soft.

Diet note: vegetarian without the chicken, and gluten-free if the tortilla chips are fried in oil that is not shared with battered food. For vegan, skip the egg, cheese and crema and add beans or avocado.

6. Quesadillas

A quesadilla is a tortilla folded over cheese, often Oaxaca cheese, and cooked on a flat pan until the cheese melts. Mushrooms, squash blossoms, chorizo or chicken can go in too. It is a snack or a quick lunch, usually with salsa on the side.

Diet note: vegetarian as standard. Ask for corn rather than flour tortillas if you need gluten-free. For vegan, use a melting vegan cheese or fill it with beans and mushrooms.

7. Pozole

Pozole is a soup of hominy (large dried corn kernels treated with lime so they puff up) and pork in a broth coloured red, green or left white. It arrives plain and you finish it at the table with shredded cabbage or lettuce, radish, onion, oregano and lime. It is a celebration dish, especially around Mexican Independence Day in September.

Diet note: hominy is gluten-free and so is a plain broth. Vegetarian pozole swaps the pork for mushrooms or beans and uses vegetable stock.

8. Burritos

A burrito is a large flour tortilla wrapped tight around rice, beans, meat, cheese and salsa. In northern Mexico they are slimmer, often just meat and beans; the overstuffed version with everything in it grew up in the US, in Tex-Mex and Californian cooking.

Diet note: the flour tortilla is wheat, so order a burrito bowl if you need gluten-free. For vegan, rice and beans is the obvious filling, but ask whether the beans are refried in lard and whether the rice is cooked in chicken stock.

9. Guacamole

Guacamole is ripe avocado mashed with lime, salt, onion, chilli and coriander, sometimes with tomato. It goes with corn chips, tacos and almost everything else on this list. It browns quickly once made, so it is best fresh.

Diet note: naturally vegan and gluten-free. The chips are the thing to check if you are coeliac, since they are often fried alongside battered food.

10. Fajitas

Fajitas are strips of marinated, grilled beef or chicken with onion and capsicum, brought to the table still sizzling in a cast iron pan, with tortillas, salsa, guacamole and sour cream so you build your own. They come from the ranch cooking of the Texas and Mexico border, so they sit closer to Tex-Mex than to everyday Mexican food.

Diet note: vegetable or mushroom fajitas are an easy vegan order. For gluten-free, ask for corn tortillas and check the marinade, since some restaurant versions use soy sauce or Worcestershire, which can contain wheat.

Mexican Street Food to Try

Elote

Elote is corn on the cob, grilled or boiled, then spread with mayonnaise and rolled in crumbled cotija cheese, chilli powder and lime. You will find it at markets, parks and street corners all over Mexico.

Diet note: vegetarian and usually gluten-free. For vegan, use vegan mayo and a nut-based parmesan or just chilli, salt and lime.

Tostadas

A tostada is a flat tortilla fried or toasted until crisp, then piled with refried beans, shredded chicken or seafood, lettuce, cheese and salsa. Tuna and prawn tostadas are a coastal favourite.

Diet note: the base is corn, so it is usually gluten-free. Bean tostadas go vegan if the beans are not cooked in lard and you skip the cheese and crema.

Esquites

Esquites is elote off the cob: the kernels cooked with butter, chilli and epazote (a Mexican herb), then served in a cup with mayonnaise, cheese and lime and eaten with a spoon.

Diet note: vegetarian and usually gluten-free. The vegan swaps are the same as for elote, plus oil instead of butter.

What to Order at a Mexican Restaurant

If it is your first time, a plate of three tacos is the safest way in: small, cheap, and a good test of the kitchen. Mole or pozole tells you whether a place cooks properly, because neither can be rushed. For breakfast, order chilaquiles. If you are after something lighter, ask for tostadas or a burrito bowl.

A few words on a Mexican menu are worth knowing. Salsa verde is made with tomatillos, salsa roja with tomatoes and dried chillies. Crema is a thinner, milder cousin of sour cream. And pico de gallo is the fresh chopped tomato, onion and chilli salsa; we explain why it is called pico de gallo, what goes into it in pico de gallo ingredients and uses, and how long it lasts.

If a recipe calls for jalapeños and you are standing in the shop wondering how many to buy, our jalapeño conversions and substitutes guide has the numbers, and our jalapeño heat comparison covers swapping in other chillies. And if you have seen fideo on a menu, it is a thin Mexican noodle, which we compare in is fideo the same as vermicelli.

Eating Mexican Food Vegan, Vegetarian or Gluten-Free

Mexican food is one of the easier cuisines to eat around a diet, because so much of it starts with corn, beans, chilli, tomato and avocado. The traps are in the cooking fat and the thickeners rather than the dishes themselves.

• Lard is traditional in refried beans, tamale masa and some tortillas. Ask, or look for “vegetariano” on the menu.
• Chicken stock often goes into rice and some sauces.
• Flour tortillas are wheat. Corn tortillas are gluten-free, though some commercial brands blend in wheat flour, so check the packet.
• Shared fryers matter for corn chips and tostadas if you are coeliac.

For vegan cooking at home, Veganiac has a sweet potato and black bean chilli and stuffed capsicums that sit well next to a plate of guacamole and corn chips. If you eat paleo, the swaps are lettuce cups or grain-free tortillas for the tacos, cauliflower rice for the rice, and grilled meat fajitas without the tortillas.

Easy Mexican Recipe: Classic Chicken Tacos

A good first Mexican recipe: simple spices, fresh toppings and about 30 minutes. Serves four.

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 8 small corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar or a Mexican blend)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
• Lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. Season the chicken. Mix the cumin, chilli powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Rub the chicken with the olive oil and coat it evenly in the spice mix.
2. Cook the chicken. Cook in a frying pan over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes a side, until the thickest part reaches 74°C on a meat thermometer. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice into thin strips.
3. Warm the tortillas. Heat them in a dry pan for about 30 seconds a side, or wrap in a damp tea towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Build the tacos. Chicken first, then lettuce, tomato, cheese and a spoonful of sour cream if you like.
5. Serve with lime wedges and a bowl of pico de gallo on the side.

Mexican Food FAQs

What is the most popular Mexican food?

Tacos are the most eaten food in Mexico and the dish most people outside Mexico think of first. They are cheap, sold everywhere from street stalls to restaurants, and the filling changes by region and time of day.

What is Mexico's national dish?

Mole poblano is the dish most often called Mexico’s national dish, usually served over turkey or chicken. Chiles en nogada, stuffed chillies in a walnut sauce in the green, white and red of the flag, is the other common answer.

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

Tex-Mex grew up in Texas and leans on yellow cheese, beef, wheat flour tortillas and cumin. Mexican cooking uses more corn, fresh cheeses like queso fresco, dried chillies and regional sauces. Hard-shell tacos, nachos and chilli con carne are Tex-Mex.

Are nachos a Mexican food?

Nachos were first made in Piedras Negras, a Mexican town on the Texas border, in the 1940s, for American visitors. They are usually counted as Tex-Mex, and you are more likely to find them in the US than on a menu in Mexico City.

Is Mexican food gluten-free?

A lot of it is, because it is built on corn. Corn tortillas, tamales, pozole, guacamole and most salsas are usually gluten-free. Flour tortillas, burritos, some enchilada sauces and some marinades are not, and shared fryers are a risk for chips if you are coeliac.

What Mexican food is vegan?

Guacamole, most salsas, bean or vegetable tacos and vegetable fajitas are usually vegan or close to it. The things to ask about are lard in the beans and masa, chicken stock in the rice, and cheese or crema on top.