Vegetarian Mexican recipes

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Rebanadas de mantequillaButtered sweet bread slices

When yesterday's pan dulce goes stale, Mexican bakeries slice it thick, spread it with butter, dust it with sugar and toast it until crisp, and the result, rebanadas, often sells out first. At home it is a ten-minute afternoon treat with hot chocolate or a glass of cold milk, and a good way to use up a loaf of brioche, a pan de yema or a few bolillos. This version uses butter, so it is vegetarian. Chef's tip: let the butter get really soft so it sinks into the bread instead of sitting on top.

17 min

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Polvorones de nuezPecan butter cookies

Christmas cookie tins, wedding tables and bakery counters all over northern and central Mexico hold polvorones, small domes of toasted pecan shortbread that crumble to dust in the mouth, which is how they got their name. They are rolled twice in icing sugar, once warm and once cold, so they look snowy. Old recipes used lard; this one uses butter, so it is vegetarian, and it contains wheat and tree nuts. Chef's tip: toast the pecans first, which turns a plain cookie into a deeply nutty one.

40 min

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Mazapán de cacahuatePeanut sugar sweets

Mexican children grow up on mazapán, little rounds of ground roasted peanuts and powdered sugar that crumble at the first bite, sold singly at corner shops and piñata parties across the country. The homemade version tastes even more of peanut and needs no cooking at all, only a blender and a pastry cutter or bottle cap to press the rounds. They contain peanuts. Chef's tip: press really hard and lift the cutter straight up, as loose pressing is why homemade mazapán falls apart.

20 min

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GaznatesMeringue-filled pastry tubes

Gaznates are a fair and fiesta sweet in Puebla, Mexico City and the State of Mexico: paper-thin squares of pastry wrapped around metal tubes, fried until blistered and filled with a glossy meringue or sweetened coconut. Some stalls tint the meringue pink. The shell shatters like a cannoli while the filling is soft and cloud-like. They contain wheat and egg. Chef's tip: roll the dough as thin as you can, so it bubbles and turns crisp; thick dough turns hard.

60 min

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Fruta con chileFruit with chile and lime

Every plaza in Mexico City seems to have a fruit cart with a glass case of jícama, cucumber, mango and pineapple, cut to order into tall sticks and packed into a cup. The vendor squeezes over lime and shakes on chile-lime salt, and you eat it with a toothpick on a hot afternoon. It's juicy, crunchy, sour and only a little hot. Chef's tip: chill the fruit well first; cold fruit and sharp chile make the contrast.

15 min

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Pan de eloteFresh corn cake

Across central Mexico, from Morelos to the State of Mexico, pan de elote is baked when fresh corn is cheap in late summer and sold by the slice at market stalls. Despite its name it is more cake than bread: fresh kernels blended with butter, eggs and condensed milk bake into a dense, custardy, golden loaf that tastes of sweet corn. It contains wheat and egg. Chef's tip: use the starchiest, most mature corn you can find, because young sweetcorn makes a wetter, flatter cake.

65 min

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Atole blancoWarm masa drink

Long before coffee arrived, atole was the morning drink of central and southern Mexico, and in villages of Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala plain atole blanco is still drunk hot with tamales at breakfast or on cold evenings. Fresh masa is whisked into water and cooked until it thickens to a silky, gently sweet drink with a toasty corn taste. Made with water it is vegan. Chef's tip: strain the masa before cooking, so the atole is smooth with no lumps.

25 min

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Ejotes con huevoGreen beans with egg

Cheap, fast and filling, this is the kind of dish that turns up on Mexican home tables on a Lent Friday, at breakfast or as the main course of a weekday comida. Green beans are blanched, tossed through a quick tomato and serrano sofrito and bound with softly scrambled egg. Spoon it into warm corn tortillas or eat it with frijoles de la olla and rice. Chef's tip: cut the beans on a slant into short pieces so every forkful catches some egg.

25 min

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Chongos zamoranosMilk curds in cinnamon syrup

Zamora in Michoacán gave its name to chongos, soft knots of fresh milk curd slowly poached in their own whey with sugar and cinnamon until the syrup turns golden and the curds turn springy. They are served cool in small glass bowls after Sunday lunch, and jars are sold at roadside stands across the Bajío. Traditionally the milk is set with animal rennet; use a vegetarian rennet (microbial or plant-based) to keep it vegetarian. Chef's tip: never stir after the curds form, only tilt the pan, or they break into crumbs.

195 min

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Nieve de mameyMamey ice cream

Mamey, the rough brown fruit with salmon-orange flesh that tastes like sweet potato, pumpkin and almond at once, is a favourite in Tabasco, Chiapas, Veracruz and the Yucatán, and its ice cream is a star of the nevería in any southern town. The fruit is naturally so creamy that a little milk and sugar is enough. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: use a mamey that gives like a ripe avocado when pressed; underripe ones taste chalky.

45 min

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Limones rellenos de cocoCoconut-stuffed candied limes

At the candy stalls of Oaxaca's Mercado 20 de Noviembre and in the towns of Michoacán, bright green candied limes stuffed with snowy coconut are a jewel of traditional dulcería. The limes are scraped, soaked and boiled to take away the bitterness, then candied over two days until glassy, hollowed and filled. They are sweet, chewy and sharp at once, made for weddings and gifts. Chef's tip: change the soaking water every time without fail, as that is what takes away the bitterness of the pith.

300 min

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Agua de tamarindoTamarind drink

Brown, cloudy and gloriously tart, agua de tamarindo fills the big glass vitroleros at taquerías and fondas across Mexico, especially in hot Guerrero, Colima and the Yucatán, and it is the drink most people reach for with a plate of tacos de guisado. The pods are peeled, simmered and rubbed through a sieve, so it tastes far fresher than paste or concentrate. Chef's tip: soak the pulp in the hot cooking water before you rub it, which loosens every bit from the seeds.

40 min

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Agua de pepino con limónCucumber lime drink

Pale green and very refreshing, agua de pepino is the cooler sold from market juice stands in Mexico City and Oaxaca when the afternoon heat builds, and families blend a jug for comida on hot days. Cucumber, lime and a few mint leaves give a clean, light taste with very little sugar. Chef's tip: leave some of the peel on the cucumber for colour, but strain the drink so it stays silky.

10 min

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Tacos de nopales asadosGrilled cactus tacos

At weekend markets in Milpa Alta, the cactus-growing district on Mexico City's southern edge, whole nopal paddles are grilled until tender and folded into tortillas with charred spring onions and salsa verde. Grilling dries the natural slime the cactus is known for and leaves a lemony, green-bean flavour. It is a light, naturally vegan taco. Buy paddles with the spines already removed, or scrape them carefully with a knife. Chef's tip: score the paddles in a criss-cross before grilling so they cook evenly and stay flat.

25 min

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Nieve de garrafa de limónLime water ice

In town plazas from Oaxaca to Guadalajara, neveros still churn nieve de garrafa by spinning a tall metal can in a wooden barrel of ice and rock salt, scraping the frozen walls with a long paddle. Lime nieve is the sharpest and most refreshing, pale green from the zest, and it is eaten in small cups after a hot walk through the market. At home a metal bowl set in ice and salt works the same way. Chef's tip: add the zest at the start but strain it out; that way you get its oils without the bitterness.

60 min

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MangonadaMango sorbet with chamoy

Mangonadas, also called chamoyadas, are a Mexican street sweet sold by neverías and fruit stands from Guadalajara to the US border: thick frozen mango blended to a slush, layered in a tall cup with sticky red chamoy and chile-lime salt and crowned with fresh mango cubes. Sweet, sour, salty and hot at once, it comes with a chewy tamarind-candy straw for stirring. Chef's tip: freeze the mango in cubes beforehand, so you get a thick spoonable slush without watering it down with ice.

15 min

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Crema de eloteCreamy corn soup

Market fondas around Mexico City and Puebla ladle this pale-gold soup as the opening course of the comida corrida, the set lunch served from about two until four in the afternoon. Fresh kernels are simmered in milk with a little onion, blended until silky and finished with ribbons of roasted poblano, a few cubes of queso fresco and a swirl of crema. Sweet corn comes first, then a gentle green heat from the chile. Queso fresco is usually made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian or use a mild vegetarian feta. Chef's tip: scrape the bare cobs with the back of a knife; that milky pulp thickens the soup without any flour.

45 min

Mexican Soups

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Fideo secoDry chipotle vermicelli

A 'dry soup' sounds like a contradiction, but in Central Mexico sopa seca is the pasta or rice course that follows the brothy soup at the comida corrida. Short vermicelli is fried until nut-brown, then simmered in a smoky chipotle and tomato purée until every drop is absorbed. It's served heaped with crema, crumbled cheese and slices of avocado. Cotija and queso fresco are normally made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian crumbly cheese. Chef's tip: fry the noodles until they're the colour of a hazelnut; pale noodles taste flat.

35 min

Mexican Pasta & Noodles

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ChamoySweet-sour chile sauce

Brick-red and glossy, chamoy is the sauce Mexicans splash over fresh fruit, mango sorbet, crisps and the rim of a michelada glass. It is said to descend from Asian salted plum sauces, but today's version is pure Mexican: dried apricots and hibiscus simmered and blended with chile, lime, sugar and salt. Homemade chamoy is fruitier and less sweet than the bottled kind. Chef's tip: it thickens a lot as it cools, so take it off the heat when it still pours like warm ketchup.

35 min

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Nieve de leche quemadaBurnt milk ice cream

Under the laurel trees by the church of La Soledad in Oaxaca city, the nieve stalls scoop leche quemada, burnt milk ice cream, often paired in one cup with a tart tuna (prickly pear) sorbet. The milk is cooked with cinnamon until it catches and caramelises on the bottom of the pan, giving a smoky, toffee-like flavour and a light beige colour. It contains dairy and egg. Chef's tip: let the milk scorch deliberately, but scrape the brown layer into the milk rather than letting it go black.

90 min

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Crema de chile poblanoCreamy poblano soup

In Puebla, where poblano chiles take their name, this pale-jade soup appears at family lunches and on the menu of almost every cocina económica. Roasted chiles are blended with onion, a little corn and milk, then enriched with cream, so the flavour is smoky and mellow with just a flicker of heat. Serve it with crisp tortilla strips or a few corn kernels on top. Chef's tip: roast a couple of extra chiles while the grill is hot; the strips keep for four days and lift any taco or quesadilla.

50 min

Mexican Soups

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Chicharrones de harinaPuffed wheat snacks

Outside Mexican schools and parks, vendors fry little dried wheels and rectangles of wheat dough until they balloon into airy, crackly chicharrones de harina, also called duritos. They're handed over in a plastic bag drenched in lime juice and bottled hot sauce. At home you can buy the dried pellets (duros) at Latin grocers, and they puff in seconds. Chef's tip: fry just a small handful at a time; they triple in size.

12 min

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Tacos dorados de papaFried potato tacos

Crisp potato tacos are a Friday and Lent staple in homes across central Mexico, and a cheap favourite at fondas near schools in Mexico City. Tortillas are rolled around buttery-soft mashed potato, fried until shattering, then buried under cool lettuce, crema, salsa and crumbled cheese. Children love them, and the potato filling is easy to make ahead. Fresh crumbly cheeses here are often set with animal rennet; a vegetarian queso fresco or a microbial-rennet feta keeps the dish meat-free. Chef's tip: mash the potatoes while hot and let them cool before rolling, so the filling is firm and doesn't ooze into the oil.

45 min

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Tamales de rajas con quesoPoblano and cheese tamales

On the evening of 2 November, after the graveyard visit, many families in central Mexico sit down to a pot of steaming tamales, and rajas con queso is the meat-free favourite at every tamalera's stall. Soft, fluffy masa beaten with fat until it floats wraps a filling of charred poblano strips, a spoon of tomato salsa and a finger of melting cheese. Fresh Mexican cheeses such as queso Oaxaca or panela are often made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian mozzarella-style cheese if that matters to you. The masa here uses vegetable shortening rather than lard. Chef's tip: test the beaten masa by dropping a pinch into cold water; when it floats, it is light enough.

150 min

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Tortitas de coliflorCauliflower in egg batter

Cuaresma, the six weeks of Lent, is cauliflower season in the markets of Puebla and Mexico City, and cooks turn the florets into these puffy capeados: each piece stuffed with a little cheese, dipped in whisked egg, fried until golden and then bathed in a brick-red sauce of tomato and guajillo chilli. They come to the table with white rice and a stack of tortillas. Queso Oaxaca and panela are often made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian melting cheese if needed. Chef's tip: dust the florets with flour before the batter so it clings rather than slides off.

55 min

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Guacamole

In fondas around Mexico City and at Sunday carne asada gatherings across Puebla and the Bajío, guacamole is pounded to order in a basalt molcajete and carried to the table still in the stone. No sour cream, no garlic powder: just ripe avocado crushed over a paste of onion, serrano chile, cilantro and salt, sharpened with lime. It is a dip for warm totopos, a topping for tacos and a side for grilled meat, and it is best eaten within the hour. Chef's tip: grind the chile, onion and salt to a wet paste first, so the heat spreads through every bite instead of sitting in chunks.

15 min

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Pan de muertoDay of the Dead bread

From mid-October, bakeries from Mexico City to Puebla stack their shelves with these domed loaves, and families set one on the ofrenda for the souls who return on 1 and 2 November, then share the rest with hot chocolate. The crumb is soft and rich with butter and egg, scented with orange zest and orange-blossom water, and the knobbly strips across the top stand for bones, with a small ball for the skull. A sugar crust or a dusting of sesame finishes it. Chef's tip: shape the bones from dough you have held back and chilled, so they keep their ridges instead of melting flat in the oven.

70 min

Mexican Breakfast & Brunch

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Nopales con huevoCactus and scrambled eggs

Tender cactus paddles are sold cleaned and diced in bags at every market in Mexico City and Michoacán, and the quickest breakfast they make is this: nopales fried with onion, tomato and green chile until their sticky juice cooks off, then folded through softly scrambled eggs. It is light, green and tangy, and wrapped in a warm tortilla it becomes a taco to eat on the way out. Chef's tip: cook the nopales uncovered until the slime has gone completely before the eggs go in.

20 min

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GaribaldisJam-glazed sprinkle cakes

Named after a famous old Mexico City bakery, garibaldis are little dome-shaped butter cakes coated in warm apricot jam and rolled in white nonpareils, so they look like snowballs on the counter. Chilangos buy them by the bag for afternoon coffee and school lunchboxes. The cake is dense and buttery, the jam gives a sharp, sticky contrast and the sprinkles a light crunch. Chef's tip: brush the jam on while the cakes are still warm, as the sprinkles then stick evenly.

45 min

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CocolesAnise sweet bread

In the markets of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, cocoles are the plain, honest bread of the morning: diamond-shaped, deep brown from piloncillo, fragrant with anise and studded with sesame seeds on top. They are not very sweet, so people eat them with café de olla or split them for a cheese torta. Old bakers used lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, so it stays vegetarian and vegan. Chef's tip: steep the anise in the warm piloncillo syrup, so its flavour runs through every bite.

55 min

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Jamoncillo de lecheMilk fudge

Jamoncillo turns up wrapped in waxed paper at sweet stalls from Puebla to Coahuila, and in San Luis Potosí and Guadalajara whole shops are given over to it. Milk and sugar are cooked down slowly with cinnamon until they turn into a pale caramel-coloured fudge that is firm, slightly grainy and rich, then pressed into bars and topped with pecan halves. Chef's tip: keep the heat moderate and stir all the time near the end, because the paste can catch and burn in seconds.

70 min

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Atole de guayabaGuava masa drink

In the cold months, when guavas from Aguascalientes and Michoacán perfume the markets, street vendors in Mexico City ladle atole de guayaba from big steaming pots beside the tamal cart. Ripe guava is blended with milk, strained and thickened with cornflour into a pink, creamy, fragrant drink. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: add the blended guava only once the milk is thickened and off the boil, so the milk doesn't curdle.

35 min

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Atole de fresaStrawberry masa drink

Pink, warm and sweet, atole de fresa is a children's favourite in Mexico City and Irapuato, the strawberry capital of Guanajuato, sold in polystyrene cups alongside tamales for breakfast. Fresh strawberries are blended with milk and thickened with a little masa, which gives a gentle corn flavour under the fruit. It contains dairy. Chef's tip: blend the strawberries raw and add them at the end, so the drink keeps its bright colour.

30 min

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Salsa verde crudaRaw tomatillo salsa

Raw green salsa sits in a bowl on nearly every taquería counter from Toluca to Mexico City, and families blend a fresh jar most mornings to spoon over eggs, tacos de guisado and grilled meat. Because the tomatillos are not cooked, it tastes sharp, grassy and almost citrusy, with a clean serrano bite. It takes ten minutes and keeps three days in the fridge, thickening slightly as the tomatillo pectin sets. Chef's tip: choose firm, bright green tomatillos that have split their papery husks; yellowing ones are sweeter and make a dull salsa.

10 min

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Ensalada de manzana navideñaCreamy apple salad

In homes from Monterrey to Guadalajara, a big bowl of creamy apple salad is chilling in the fridge on Christmas Eve, ready to sit alongside roast pork or turkey, and the kids usually go back for seconds as dessert. Crisp diced apple, juicy pineapple, celery for crunch, raisins and toasted pecans are folded into a sweet dressing of cream, condensed milk and a little soured cream. Many versions add marshmallows, but most contain gelatine, so they are left out here. Chef's tip: chill it for an hour before serving; the dressing thickens and the flavours marry.

20 min

Mexican Salads

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Flan napolitanoCream cheese caramel flan

Mexican family parties, from birthday lunches in Monterrey to Sunday comida in Guadalajara, very often end with flan napolitano. It is richer and denser than a Spanish egg flan, because condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream cheese are blended into the custard, giving a cheesecake-like slice under a dark caramel. It contains eggs and dairy; standard cream cheese is made without animal rennet. Chef's tip: bake it in a gentle water bath and chill it overnight before turning out, so it slices clean.

75 min

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Cacahuates enchiladosChile-garlic peanuts

Sold in twists of paper at bus stations and set out free with a drink in Mexican cantinas, these peanuts are fried slowly with whole garlic and dried chile de árbol, then tossed with chile powder, salt and lime. They're crunchy, salty, sour and hot all at once. Make a batch for a party or keep a jar for snacking. They contain peanuts, so warn guests with nut allergies. Chef's tip: let them cool fully on a tray before tasting; they only turn properly crunchy once cold.

20 min

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Salsa de molcajeteCharred tomato chile salsa

Market cooks in Puebla, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico still blister tomatoes, garlic and chiles on a dry comal and grind them in the same volcanic-stone mortar that gives this salsa its name. The result is chunky, smoky and slightly sweet from the charred tomato skins, and it is served warm or at room temperature with grilled meat, quesadillas and barbacoa. A blender works, but the molcajete gives a rougher, juicier texture. Chef's tip: grind the garlic, chile and salt first, then the tomatoes, so the hard bits break down properly.

20 min

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ChiltomateRoasted tomato habanero sauce

Chiltomate is the everyday red sauce of the Yucatán Peninsula, ladled over papadzules, huevos motuleños, panuchos and grilled pork in Mérida's cocinas económicas. Tomatoes are charred on the comal, blended and simmered with onion, while a whole roasted habanero floats in the pan to scent it with fruity heat. It is mild unless you split the chile. Chef's tip: for real heat, slit the habanero before simmering; for a family table, leave it whole and lift it out.

25 min

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HuarachesSandal-shaped masa cakes

Named for the leather sandals they resemble, huaraches are the pride of the market stalls around La Merced and the Jamaica market in Mexico City, where long ovals of masa are filled with beans, griddled and loaded with toppings at breakfast or lunch. This vegetarian version is topped with salsa verde, grilled nopales, crema, onion and crumbled fresh cheese. Most queso fresco is set with animal rennet; a vegetarian-labelled fresh cheese or a crumbly feta made with microbial rennet keeps it meat-free. Chef's tip: pat the beans into a log inside the masa before pressing, so they spread evenly to the edges.

50 min

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BocolesFilled masa cakes

Bocoles are breakfast across the Huasteca, the green hill country shared by Veracruz, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas, where they come off the comal at dawn to be split open and stuffed. The masa is enriched with fat (traditionally pork lard; vegetable shortening here keeps them vegetarian) so the cakes are tender and slightly crumbly. Fill them with beans, cheese and salsa, or with scrambled egg. If you keep a vegetarian kitchen, note that ranch-style fresh cheese is usually set with animal rennet; a vegetarian queso fresco or feta does the same job. Chef's tip: cook them slowly over a medium-low heat so the thick centre cooks through before the outside burns.

45 min

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PenequesCheese-filled masa pockets

Peneques are a Lenten and weekday favourite in the fondas of Mexico City and Puebla: thin masa pockets are cooked on the comal, stuffed with stringy cheese, coated in a fluffy egg batter, fried and then simmered briefly in a light tomato broth, like a chile relleno without the chile. They are soft, comforting and served with rice and beans. Oaxaca cheese is commonly made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian mozzarella or stretched-curd cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: dust the stuffed pockets with masa harina before battering so the egg clings instead of sliding off.

60 min

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Tortitas de papaPotato patties in tomato broth

Meatless Fridays in Lent turn Mexican kitchens toward tortitas: in Mexico City and across the Bajío, golden patties of mashed potato and cheese are fried, then slipped into a thin, warm tomato caldillo and eaten with rice, beans and tortillas. Children love them, and they stretch a few potatoes into a proper meal. Mexican fresh cheeses are often made with animal rennet; a vegetarian mozzarella or mild cheddar works well. Chef's tip: mash the potatoes while hot and let them steam dry, so the patties hold together without flour.

50 min

Mexican Breakfast & Brunch

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Huevos tiradosEggs with black beans

In the port of Veracruz and the coffee towns around Xalapa, morning cafés roll out a dark, savoury omelette that looks plain and tastes rich: eggs are 'thrown' into a pan of black refried beans and stirred, then rolled into a log and served with tortillas, fresh cheese and salsa. It keeps workers going till lunch. Chef's tip: the beans should be thick and fairly dry, like mashed potato, or the roll won't hold.

20 min

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MantecadasMexican muffins

Red pleated paper cups give mantecadas away at once on the bakery tray, from Monterrey to Mérida. Inside is a tender, golden, slightly orange-scented sponge, richer than a cupcake and topped with a domed crust, eaten for breakfast or merienda with milky coffee. They contain egg, butter and wheat. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 20 minutes before baking, which gives the tall, cracked dome bakery mantecadas are known for.

40 min