Mexican recipes
Easy Mexican Recipes: Tacos, Carnitas and Tex-Mex Favourites
Mexican home cooking is built on corn tortillas, chiles, lime, cilantro and white onion. Pico de gallo and guacamole are made fresh, and tougher cuts like pork shoulder and beef chuck braise slowly until they shred for tacos, as in carnitas and barbacoa. Chipotle peppers in adobo give smoky heat to chicken tinga, a shredded chicken dish from central Mexico.
Tex-Mex grew up in Texas and leans harder on melted cheese, flour tortillas and cumin-spiced beef. This page has both. Carnitas, barbacoa, tinga, guacamole, pico de gallo and churros are Mexican; sheet pan nachos and quesadillas, chicken fajitas, slow cooker queso and taco casserole are Tex-Mex. The slow cooker handles the long braises, the air fryer makes tortilla chips, taquitos and churros without deep frying, and ingredient notes suggest swaps, such as mild white cheddar for Monterey Jack in the queso.
24 recipes · Updated
Quick answer
Savour's Mexican recipes include classic guacamole (10 minutes), easy beef tacos and shrimp tacos with avocado crema (25 minutes each), and slow cooker chicken tinga (about 4 hours 35 minutes, mostly hands-off). Slow cooker carnitas and barbacoa need 20 minutes of prep and about 8 hours of cooking. Tex-Mex favourites include sheet pan chicken nachos (30 minutes) and chicken fajitas (35 minutes).
- Recipes
- 24
- Average total time
- 1 hr 56 mins
- Quickest
- Classic Guacamole (10 mins)
- Rated Easy
- 23 of 24
- Average calories
- 395 per serving
- Newest
- Black Bean Quesadillas
All Mexican Recipes (24)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes?
Tex-Mex is the Texas-born branch of Mexican-American cooking, with more melted cheese, flour tortillas, ground beef and cumin. On this page, slow cooker carnitas, barbacoa and chicken tinga, guacamole, pico de gallo and churros are Mexican dishes. Sheet pan nachos and quesadillas, chicken fajitas, slow cooker queso, taco casserole, ground beef enchiladas, Mexican lasagna and freezer breakfast burritos are Tex-Mex. Beef tacos, shrimp tacos and cheesy chicken enchiladas are Mexican-inspired.
What pantry staples do I need for Mexican cooking at home?
Ground cumin and chili powder season most of these recipes, often with dried oregano (Mexican oregano if you can find it). Keep canned black beans, corn, salsa and a can of chipotle peppers in adobo in the cupboard, plus corn and flour tortillas, limes, fresh cilantro, onions and jalapeños. Chili powder in these recipes means a mild seasoning blend, not pure ground chili, so check the label.
Which Mexican recipes are vegetarian or gluten-free?
Classic guacamole, pico de gallo, black bean and corn salsa, air fryer tortilla chips and slow cooker black bean burrito bowls are vegan and gluten-free. Air fryer churros, slow cooker queso dip and slow cooker refried bean dip are vegetarian, and both dips are gluten-free too. Chicken tinga, beef barbacoa, pork carnitas, chicken tortilla soup, taco casserole and sheet pan chicken nachos are also gluten-free. Check the labels on tortillas, chips, broth and chipotles in adobo, since some brands contain wheat.
Which Mexican recipes can I make ahead or freeze?
Slow cooker carnitas, barbacoa and chicken tinga each freeze for up to 3 months, so one batch covers several taco nights. Freezer breakfast burritos make 8 at once and keep frozen for up to 3 months. Cheesy chicken enchiladas can be assembled and frozen without the final cheese, and air fryer taquitos cook straight from frozen. Skip freezing the queso dip: the cheese turns grainy when thawed.