Is it even Cinco de Mayo without an epic spread of delicious Mexican recipes? It certainly is not. The food might just be the highlight of the day, so you want to get it right. If you are wondering what to make for a Cinco de Mayo Mexican fiesta, then you have come to the right place. Today, I am sharing over 30 of the best and most popular Mexican recipes including all the classics from tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos, dips, salads, and more.
What is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo (literally translated as the "Fifth of May") is a minor holiday in Mexico that is also referred to as Battle of Puebla Day. It's a commemoration of the Mexican Army's victory over the French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo represents a historic triumph of the indigenous Mexican people over European invaders and symbolizes the power and strength of Mexican culture. Although this holiday is literally a celebration of a battle won, Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, and one that is more popular celebrated in the United States.
Best Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo
Flavourful, easy fish tacos with lime crema is made with seasoned white fish, cabbage slaw, and lime sauce. It takes less than 25 minutes to prep and serve.
Easy baked chicken enchiladas brings the taste of authentic Mexican food into your kitchen -- saucy, spicy, and savoury. Perfect for a Mexican fiesta on Cinco de Mayo.
Incredibly tasty, this easy and basic guacamole takes less than 5 minutes to make. It is the perfect dip for a Mexican-inspired fiesta party.
Oven-baked loaded sheet pan nachos are a crowd pleaser for an easy weeknight dinner or a crave-worthy appetizer to serve on Cinco de Mayo.
Crispy Refried Bean Tacos are made with crispy, golden-brown tortillas, perfectly seasoned refried beans, and a handful of your favorite taco garnishes.
Skillet chicken fajitas are a light, fresh, and sizzling dish bursting with flavour, packed with colorful vegetables, and wrapped in warm tortillas.
Ground beef tacos are delicious, authentic, and so easy to make. They're savory, spicy, creamy, and fresh. The perfect recipe for a Mexican fiesta.
Homemade Taquitos are crispy, delicious and flavorful. These rolled tacos are filled with seasoned ground beef and melty cheese - and can be fried or baked!
Shrimp taco salad with cilantro lime dressing is flavourful, delicious, and easy to make. It has all the fixings and of shrimp tacos, but without the mess.
Homemade queso Mexican cheese dip is smooth, creamy, delicious, flavorful, and so easy to make. It's so much better than store-bought in every way.
Baked Chicken Quesadillas are cheesy, crispy, flavorful, and delicious. This family-friendly recipe is quick and easy to make in just 30 minutes!
Mexican street corn (elote) is a delicious corn on the cob loaded with a cheesy sauce elevated with cilantro and lime. Creamy, cheesy, spicy, and flavorful.
Huevos Rancheros is a classic Mexican breakfast dish that features fried eggs perched atop a bed of warm tortillas and beans and topped with salsa.
Chicken tacos are juicy and tender, loaded with flavor, delicious, and so easy to make. They are perfect for Taco Tuesday or a Cinco de Mayo Mexican fiesta.
Hearty and filling beef and bean burritos are easy to make ahead, freezer-friendly, and take just 30 minutes for restaurant-quality Mexican food at home.
Vegetarian quesadillas are quick and easy, completely customizable, loaded with veggies and beans. Serve this kid-friendly Mexican meal for lunch or dinner.
Cilantro lime slaw is fresh, light, crunchy, and zesty. Ready in 5 minutes, it's the perfect pairing for tacos, burgers, sandwiches, and barbecued meats. =
Juicy and tender Carne Asada with perfectly charred edges is flavorful, delicious, and so easy to make. Cook this Mexican steak in under 15 minutes.
White chicken chili is an easy and delicious one pot meal made with shredded chicken, hearty veggies, and a creamy broth that's loaded with flavor.
Shrimp avocado tostadas are a delicious, crunchy, quick and easy Mexican dish you can make in just 15 minutes, loaded with the best combination of toppings.
Cilantro lime rice is a fresh, bright and vibrant side dish that will add extra flavour to any meal you serve it with. It's a quick, easy, one pot recipe.
This Cheese Quesadilla has the perfect combination of crispy, cheesy, and flavorful. Ready to serve in just a few minutes with your favorite toppings.
Homemade Refried Beans are simple, easy to make, and taste better than store-bought refried beans by a mile. They are creamy, chunky, and delicious!
Chilaquiles Verdes feature crispy baked tortilla chips smothered in a homemade sauce loaded with salsa verde and features classic Mexican toppings.
Chicken nachos are an easy to make when you're craving something filling, crunchy, cheesy, and satisfying. Perfect game day appetizer or late-night snack.
Carne asada tacos are delicious, juicy, and tender Mexican street tacos loaded with steak bites that everyone will be raving about on Taco Tuesday!
Shrimp fajitas are healthy, flavorful, and delicious. This one skillet recipe is loaded with shrimp and vegetables and is ready in just 20 minutes.
Fresh mango salsa is sweet, tangy, and delicious. It's a quick and easy recipe that you can whip up with just 6 ingredients and in under 10 minutes.
Pinto Bean Soup (Sopa Tarasca)
Spice up your weeknight dinners with Mexican Pinto Bean Soup (Sopa Tarasca) made with creamy pinto beans, spicy chipotle, and a tomato broth in 30 minutes.
Beef taco salad is a simple, filling, and delicious meal loaded with your favorite taco fillings, and a creamy lime dressing. Make it in 20 minutes.
Hearty chicken tortilla soup is a delicious, wholesome and filling soup that you can make in about 30 minutes, packed with classic Mexican flavours.
Shrimp Tacos with Lime Crema Slaw
Quick and easy shrimp tacos with lime crema slaw are ready in less than 30 minutes and are packed with flavourful crispy shrimp and creamy cabbage slaw.
Sizzling and hot sheet pan chicken fajitas are on the table in less than 30 minutes! The best part is that you just throw everything into one sheet pan.
Homemade flour tortillas are delicious, soft, and so easy to make! They are easy to make with just 5 pantry staple ingredients and ready in under an hour.
Vegetarian cauliflower tacos are loaded with air-fried or baked cauliflower, a delicious seasoning blend, and creamy lime cilantro slaw inside a tortilla.
Mexican chicken breast is juicy, tender, and flavorful. It's easy to prep with a quick marinade before cooking on the stove, air fryer, or oven.
Mexican street corn salad adds a twist to a classic street food, loaded with freshly grilled corn, a creamy cheesy dressing, and authentic flavor.
These Sheet Pan Quesadillas are loaded with veggies and gooey cheese, baked in the oven until crispy, and made to feed a crowd in just 30 minutes.
Mushroom Fajitas have all the sizzle and flair of traditional fajitas without the meat! Made with portobello mushrooms, peppers, and onions in 30 minutes!
Salsa Verde Green Chicken Enchiladas
Salsa verde green chicken enchiladas are delicious and flavorful, quick and easy to make, and saucy and spicy. Authentic Mexican food ready in 40 minutes.
Mexican Pulled Pork Tacos (Carnitas)
Mexican pulled pork tacos with juicy and tender traditional carnitas wrapped in corn tortillas and topped with fresh onions, cilantro, and jalapeños.
Easy 5-minute pico de gallo chunky salsa is packed with fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lime juice (and optional jalapeños for a spicy kick).
Beef taco soup is a delicious take on tacos, transforming it into a hearty, wholesome, filling soup topped with all the taco fixings. Ready in 30 minutes.
Homemade tortilla strips are crispy, crunchy, delicious, and easy to make using 3 simple ingredients. Serve as a snack or a topping on soups and salad.
Easy homemade Vegan Burritos are the most flavorful version of beans and rice you've had, all rolled up in a large tortilla and served with homemade guac.
This Mexican Caesar Salad is loaded with Mexican ingredients. It's fresh, light, delicious, flavorful - and might even taste better than the original!
Air fryer Mexican shrimp is juicy, tender, fresh, and delicious. It's packed with classic Mexican flavors and ready in just 10 minutes. So quick and easy.
Mexican Tuna Cakes (Tortitas de Atun)
Mexican tuna cakes, or tortitas de atun, are quick, easy, and delicious. Made with canned tuna, these tuna patties come together in about 20 minutes.
This Black Bean Soup is hearty, healthy, and cozy - everything you want in a soup! It's loaded with black beans, spices, and your favorite Mexican toppings.
Fish stick tacos are fun, quick, easy, and delicious. Crispy breaded fish sticks are topped with a homemade mango salsa and a drizzle of lime crema.
These loaded Black Bean Nachos are the ultimate vegetarian appetizer or snack - warm, crunchy, gooey, and so easy to make.
Take fresh-off-the-grill corn on the cob and turn it into a light, flavourful summer corn salad, topped with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and cheese.
When it comes to vegetarian tacos, these vegan chickpea tacos are some of the best. They are delicious, filling, easy to make, and loved by all.
Chicken Enchilada Casserole is cheesy, saucy, and packed with layers of enchilada classics like chicken and beans, tortillas, and cheese. A family favorite!
This vegetarian, hearty and filling, creamy Mexican corn soup is dense, bright, and full of flavour! It is the perfect Cinco de Mayo recipe.
This quick and easy Black Bean Salsa is a delicious Mexican dip loaded with black beans, veggies, cilantro, and lime juice for the best summer flavor.
Mexican stuffed peppers are a delicious, wholesome, healthy meal loaded with fun Mexican flavors. It freezes well and is perfect for meal prep.
Mexican Chicken Caesar Salad is a delicious, flavorful twist on a classic Caesar salad with Mexican flavors and ingredients tossed in Caesar dressing.
Shredded Beef Enchiladas are flavorful, saucy, and cheesy. They are easy to make for family dinner using just a few ingredients including leftover beef.
Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
It's time for a fiesta with chipotle chicken burrito bowls served with lime cilantro rice, sautéed bell peppers, corn, black beans and guacamole.
Easy one pot vegetarian chili is the perfect warm and cozy comfort meal - it's hearty, filling, wholesome, flavorful, delicious, and loaded with protein.
Oven-roasted corn on the cob with homemade garlic butter is buttery, juicy, crunchy, and perfectly charred on the outside - without a grill.
Vegan Queso is a 5-minute dip that is creamy, cheesy, and perfectly spiced to mimic the classic dip - without any dairy! It tastes like the real thing!
Fusion-style Korean beef steak tacos are made with tender, flavour-packed slices of beef and topped with caramelized pineapple, kimchi, and spicy mayo.
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup is loaded with the savory spices and bold flavors of classic tortilla soup but without any meat. Ready in 30 minutes!
Homemade chili nachos are crispy, cheesy, delicious, and flavorful. This modern twist on a Mexican classic are the best way to use up any leftover chili.
Nothing beats homemade creamy cilantro lime dressing. It's fresh, vibrant, easy to make in 5 minutes, and tastes better than store-bought salad dressing. Serve it over salads, tacos, tostadas, enchiladas, grilled vegetables and meat.
This easy and delicious 7 layer dip is the perfect dip to serve at your next party, made with layers of beans, guacamole, salsa, cheese, and more.
Vegetarian Breakfast Quesadillas
Vegetarian Breakfast Quesadillas are quick and easy to make, loaded with eggs and veggies, and flavorful. Perfect for meal prep and freezer-friendly too.
Hearty slow cooker beef chili is an easy, comforting, low-maintenance dinner in fall and winter months. It's a family favourite crockpot chili.
Butternut Squash Quesadillas with Chicken and Kale
Quick and easy butternut squash quesadillas with chicken and kale is the best fall weeknight meal. It's flavourful, so cheesy, and has the perfect crunch.
Grilled Chicken and Avocado Burritos
For something quick and satisfying, grilled chicken and avocado burritos are the kind of creamy, gooey goodness with a bit of a crunch that you will want to make over and over again. So serve this up at your Cinco de Mayo party or at your next get-together, and even the pickiest of eaters will ask for more!
Easy homemade enchilada sauce requires just one pot, an assortment of flavourful spices, four simple steps, and less than 15 minutes to make.
Turkey chili is hearty, filling, flavorful, and delicious. It's warm and cozy, quick and easy to make in one pot, and can be made faster in the instant pot.
Cinco de Mayo Party Tips
- Plan your menu ahead of time. You can prepare many of these recipes and party food ahead of time. Some can stored in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature or in the refrigerator, and some can even be frozen, according to recipe directions.
- Prep your ingredients as much as possible. Once you have decided on the dishes that you are going to serve, prepare as much as you can in advance, whether that is chopping ingredients or prepping the dish and storing in the refrigerator until ready for the oven. Any little bit that you can prepare in advance will make things much less stressful when you just want to kick up your feet and enjoy the fiesta.
- Set the table the night before. Take out the special party serving dishes, festive napkins and whatever else you need to set up your meal table the night before. It's one less thing to worry about on Cinco de Mayo.
Did You Make Any of These Mexican Recipes?
Please leave a comment and rating below, and let me know what you thought of this round up of Mexican recipes for Cinco de Mayo. Be sure to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @aheadofthyme or share it on the Pinterest pin so that I can follow along.
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PrintRecipe
30 Mexican Recipes for Cinco de Mayo
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
Description
Browse 30 of the best and most popular Mexican recipes for Cinco de Mayo including tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos, dips, salads, and more. One of my favorite are these Ground Beef Tacos.
Ingredients
For the ground beef taco filling:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano (or Italian seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup beef broth or water
For assembling the tacos:
- 1 (8-piece) package small flour tortillas
- 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 medium red onion or white onion, diced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
- 1 lime, wedged
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet for 2 minutes over medium-high heat until the hot oil sizzles. Add ground beef and stir well to cook evenly until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Make sure to break up beef into small pieces to help even browning.
- Add cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper, tomato paste and beef broth. Reduce heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Heat the soft flour tortillas according to the package instructions, or heat in an ungreased skillet over medium-high heat for 30 seconds per side. You can also heat it directly on a gas burner for a few seconds to get char marks on the edges.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of the ground beef mixture on each tortilla. Top with cheese, onion, tomato and cilantro. Add a dollop of sour cream and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, to taste.
Notes
- Plan your menu ahead of time. You can prepare many of these recipes and party food ahead of time. Some can stored in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature or in the refrigerator, and some can even be frozen, according to recipe directions.
- Prep your ingredients as much as possible. Once you have decided on the dishes that you are going to serve, prepare as much as you can in advance, whether that is chopping ingredients or prepping the dish and storing in the refrigerator until ready for the oven. Any little bit that you can prepare in advance will make things much less stressful when you just want to kick up your feet and enjoy the fiesta.
- Set the table the night before. Take out the special party serving dishes, festive napkins and whatever else you need to set up your meal table the night before. It's one less thing to worry about on Cinco de Mayo.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Party Food
- Method: Various
- Cuisine: Mexican
Diana says
What a great list of recipe ideas for celebrating the holiday! I'm definitely going to be making some of these.
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thanks so much Diana! Let me know what you try =)
Gina says
Seriously want to try them all!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Hehe they are so good! Enjoy!