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Vegetarian Mexican recipes

Tacos, enchiladas, beans and salsas without meat or fish. (212 recipes)

JericallaVanilla custard

Jericalla belongs to Guadalajara: legend says a nun at the city's Hospicio Cabañas orphanage made it in the 19th century to feed the children something nourishing. It is a firm baked custard of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, between a flan and a crème brûlée, with no caramel underneath; the top is left in a hot oven until it blisters and darkens in patches. Tapatíos buy it in little glass pots from street carts and in the markets of Jalisco. Chef's tip: let the top darken properly under the grill at the end; those scorched spots are what makes it a jericalla rather than a plain custard.

60 minMexicanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CorundasTriangular corn tamales

Corundas come from the Purépecha people of Michoacán, around Lake Pátzcuaro and Morelia, and they look nothing like a usual tamal: small, plump and triangular or star-shaped, wrapped in the long green leaves of the corn plant rather than dried husks. The masa is soft and fluffy, usually plain or with a little cheese and poblano inside, and corundas are eaten with crema, salsa roja and crumbled cheese, often for breakfast or at fiestas. Traditional dough uses pork lard; we use vegetable shortening or butter. Cheese may be made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: beat the fat until it is white and fluffy before adding the masa; a spoonful of dough should float in water when it is light enough.

105 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

UcheposFresh corn tamales

When the summer corn comes in across Michoacán, families in Morelia and the Tierra Caliente grate the young kernels and make uchepos: soft, moist tamales of fresh corn, milk and a little sugar, wrapped in the green husks they came from. They taste like the sweetest corn pudding, and are eaten for breakfast or supper with cream, crumbled cheese and a tomato salsa, sweet and savoury together. Cotija or queso fresco may be made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian cheese if needed. Chef's tip: use the freshest, milkiest corn you can find (a kernel should spurt when pressed); old corn is starchy and the uchepos come out dry.

100 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sopa tarascaBean and tomato soup

Named after the Tarascan (Purépecha) people of Michoacán, sopa tarasca is the soup served in the restaurants around the plazas of Pátzcuaro and Morelia, especially on cool highland evenings. It is a smooth, brick-red purée of beans, tomato and ancho chilli, poured over crisp tortilla strips and finished with cream, fresh cheese and fried chilli rings. Some versions use chicken stock; this one uses vegetable stock and loses nothing. Fresh cheese may be made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: fry the blended soup base in hot oil before adding the stock; it cooks out the raw tomato taste and deepens the colour.

50 minMexicanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Enchiladas placeras with potato and carrot

Under the arcades around Morelia's plazas, cooks sell enchiladas placeras in the evenings: tortillas dipped in guajillo sauce, fried on a griddle, folded over crumbled cheese and onion, then buried under fried potato and carrot cubes, shredded lettuce and pickled chillies. In Michoacán they usually come with a piece of fried chicken on the side; we leave that out, as the potatoes and carrots fried in the chilli-stained oil are the part everyone fights over. Cheese may be made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: fry the potatoes and carrots in the same pan after the tortillas so they pick up the red chilli oil.

55 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ate de membrilloQuince paste

Morelia is Mexico's city of ates, the firm fruit pastes sold in long blocks at the Mercado de Dulces beside the old Jesuit college, in guava, mango, quince and more. Quince (membrillo) is the classic: cooked slowly with sugar until it turns from pale yellow to deep amber-red and sets firm enough to slice. In Michoacán it is eaten in thin slices with a fresh or aged cheese, or on its own as an afternoon sweet. Most cheeses here use animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: cook the fruit with its cores and peel tied in muslin; they carry most of the pectin that makes the paste set.

150 minMexicanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Agua de chía con limónLime and chia water

In the markets of Michoacán, especially in Uruapan and Morelia, the glass barrels of agua fresca often include one cloudy, speckled with tiny seeds: agua de chía, limeade with soaked chia seeds that swell into soft little pearls. Chia has been grown in central Mexico since long before the Spanish, and the drink is light, sharp and very refreshing, with a gentle texture from the seeds. It is drunk with lunch or on hot afternoons. Chef's tip: stir the seeds into the water twice in the first ten minutes; otherwise they clump into jelly-like lumps.

10 minMexicanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ensalada de nopalesCactus salad

In the markets of Milpa Alta, south of Mexico City, the nopal growers sell paddles already scraped of their thorns, stacked in towers, and the salad they become is on the side of every comida corrida in the region. Cooked cactus tastes a little like green beans with a lemony edge; dressed with tomato, white onion, chilli, coriander and lime, it is cool and crisp, and the crumbled cheese softens the sharpness. Serve it with rice and beans, inside tacos, or on a tostada. Chef's tip: cook the nopales with a few onion slices and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda; they keep their bright colour and the slime washes away faster.

25 minMexicanSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tacos de canastaSteamed basket tacos

From about nine in the morning, bicycles with a wicker basket strapped behind the seat roll into Mexico City offices and street corners, and the cry of 'tacos de canasta' goes up. Inside the basket, wrapped in cloth and plastic, a hundred small tacos have steamed in their own heat for hours, so the tortillas turn soft, glossy and slightly sticky with chilli-red oil. They are cheap, sold by the handful, and eaten with green salsa from a jar on the bike. The usual fillings are potato, refried beans, adobo and chicharrón prensado (pressed pork rind); this recipe makes the two vegetarian ones and leaves out the pork. Chef's tip: an insulated cool box lined with a tea towel does the same job as the basket and keeps them hot for two hours.

75 minMexicanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GuajolotaTamal in a bread roll

Commuters in Mexico City grab a guajolota at the tamal stand by the bus stop at seven in the morning: a crusty bolillo roll split open with a whole steaming tamal pushed inside, sometimes with a smear of green salsa, eaten with a cup of atole. It is starch in starch, cheap and filling enough to last until lunch. The name means 'turkey hen', a joke about how stuffed it is. This recipe makes eight vegetarian tamales of roasted poblano strips and melting cheese (rajas con queso); four go into rolls and the rest freeze well. Shop-bought vegetarian tamales work if you are short of time. Chef's tip: warm the bolillo on the comal while the tamal rests, so the crust crackles against the soft masa.

120 minMexicanBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quesadillas de huitlacocheCorn mushroom quesadillas

Huitlacoche is a fungus that swells the kernels of rain-soaked corn into silvery-black, inky lobes, and in central Mexico it is a delicacy prized for its deep, mushroomy, slightly smoky taste. In the rainy months, the quesadilla stalls of Mexico City and Coyoacán fry it with onion, chilli and epazote and fold it into fresh masa turnovers; in the capital you ask for cheese separately. Fresh huitlacoche turns up at Mexican grocers from July to October, and tinned or frozen works the rest of the year. Chef's tip: cook it until the black juices have mostly evaporated; a wet filling makes the masa soggy and grey.

40 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AlegríasAmaranth and honey bars

Amaranth has been grown on the chinampa gardens of Xochimilco and Tulyehualco, in the south of Mexico City, since Aztec times, and each February Tulyehualco holds a fair in its honour. Its tiny seeds are popped on a hot comal and bound with honey or piloncillo syrup into alegrías ('joys'), crunchy, light bars sold at bus stops, school gates and church doors and studded with pumpkin seeds, peanuts or raisins. They are naturally gluten free and full of protein for a sweet. Chef's tip: use bought puffed amaranth; popping it yourself works but takes patience and a lidded pan, as the seeds jump everywhere.

30 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Café de ollaSpiced clay-pot coffee

In ranch kitchens and roadside fondas across central Mexico, coffee is not dripped but boiled in a tall clay pot (olla de barro) with a cone of piloncillo and a stick of soft Mexican cinnamon, then strained into clay mugs. It is sweet, spiced and earthy, and is served with pan dulce at breakfast, on cold evenings, and to visitors on Day of the Dead. A saucepan works fine if you have no olla. Chef's tip: turn the heat off before adding the coffee and let it steep rather than boil, or it turns bitter.

15 minMexicanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Picadas veracruzanasMasa cakes with salsa

Breakfast in the port of Veracruz and in Xalapa often starts with picadas at a market fonda or a café by the harbour: palm-sized rounds of fresh masa, cooked on the comal, then pinched all around while hot (picar means to pinch) to make little ridges that catch the salsa. Half are spooned with red salsa and half with green, then scattered with onion and crumbled cheese, and eaten with black coffee. Cooks there drizzle them with hot pork lard; this recipe uses a little oil instead. Chef's tip: wet your fingertips in cold water before pinching, so you can work the hot masa without burning yourself.

35 minMexicanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gordas de frijol negroBlack bean masa cakes

In the Sotavento region of southern Veracruz, around Tlacotalpan and Los Tuxtlas, cooks knead well-fried black beans straight into the corn masa, so the little cakes come out speckled grey-black, then fry them until they puff up like balloons. Gordas de frijol are a supper snack from street stalls and fiesta tables, split and topped with salsa, chopped onion and, for a non-vegan version, a crumble of fresh cheese. Avocado leaf in the beans gives a faint aniseed note. Chef's tip: the beans must be very thick and cooled; warm, wet beans make a sticky dough that will not puff.

40 minMexicanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torito de cacahuatePeanut drink

Torito is the party drink of the port of Veracruz and the Sotavento, poured at weddings, saints' days and the Tlacotalpan Candelaria fair: a thick, cold, milkshake-like blend of peanuts, condensed and evaporated milk and cinnamon. The traditional version is spiked with aguardiente, the local cane spirit. This recipe is the alcohol-free version, so children can drink it too; adults who want the original add a measure of cane spirit to each glass. It contains peanuts, so check for allergies. Chef's tip: toast the peanuts until just golden before blending; raw ones taste flat and beany.

15 minMexicanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dulce de tamarindoTamarind sugar sweets

Tamarind trees shade the coast of Guerrero, and around Acapulco and the Costa Chica the sticky pulp is cooked down with sugar into tangy little balls sold in paper twists at beaches, bus stations and corner shops. Children love the sharp sweet-sour pucker; adults buy the ones rolled in chilli and salt. They are naturally vegan and keep for weeks. Chef's tip: use blocks of seedy tamarind pulp from an Asian or Mexican grocer, not the thin concentrate in jars, which will not set.

45 minMexicanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tamales de chipilínChipilín leaf tamales

Chipilín is a small-leaved wild legume that grows along the fields of Chiapas and Tabasco, and its grassy, faintly bitter leaves turn up in soups, rice and, most of all, these tamales. In Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal they are sold from steaming pots in the early evening and taken home for supper with hot chocolate or atole: soft, pale green-speckled masa wrapped around a cube of fresh cheese, often with a spoon of tomato salsa. Cooks there beat the masa with lard; vegetable shortening gives the same light texture. Frozen chipilín is sold at Central American grocers; spinach with a few watercress leaves is a fair stand-in. Chef's tip: strip the leaves from the stems by pinching and pulling down; stems make the masa stringy.

125 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sopa de panLayered bread soup

This is not a thin soup but a 'dry' one, baked in layers in a deep dish, and in San Cristóbal de las Casas it belongs to fiestas, weddings and the meatless days of Holy Week. Toasted bread is stacked with fried ripe plantain, green beans, carrot, potato, boiled egg and a tomato sauce, then soaked with a saffron and thyme broth until the bread swells into something like a savoury bread pudding. It is served in deep plates with a spoon. Families in the highlands use chicken stock; a good vegetable stock keeps it vegetarian. Chef's tip: dry the bread hard in the oven first; fresh bread dissolves into mush when the broth goes in.

75 minMexicanSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pozol de cacaoCold corn and cacao drink

In the heat of Villahermosa and the Chiapas lowlands, farmers carry a ball of corn dough in a banana leaf and mix it with water in a jícara (a gourd bowl) at midday: that is pozol, a cold, thick, filling drink that has been made since Maya times. The cacao version is the favourite, sold from big clay pots at market stalls with ice, sometimes slightly fermented so it turns pleasantly sour. This home version uses masa harina and cocoa nibs, so it is ready in minutes; leave it to ferment if you want the tang. Chef's tip: stir it every time before pouring, as the corn settles to the bottom fast.

23 minMexicanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TascalateToasted corn and cacao drink

Tascalate is the drink of the Chiapas central valley, sold in Chiapa de Corzo and Tuxtla in tall glasses at markets and given to guests at fiestas. A powder of toasted tortillas, cacao, pine nuts, sugar, cinnamon and a little achiote is whisked into cold water or milk, so it is orange-brown, thick and nutty with a sweet chocolate finish. The powder keeps for weeks, so make a jar. Made with water it is vegan. Chef's tip: toast the tortillas until they snap cleanly; any softness leaves the powder clumpy.

22 minMexicanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Plátanos fritos con cremaFried plantain with cream

Tabasco grows more plantain than almost anywhere in Mexico, and in Villahermosa homes fried ripe plantain arrives with breakfast eggs, alongside rice and black beans at lunch, or on its own as a sweet-savoury supper. The local touch is to finish the hot, caramelised slices with a spoon of tangy crema and a snow of crumbled fresh cheese, so you get sweet, salty and sour in one bite. Chef's tip: wait until the skins are almost black; yellow plantains taste starchy and never caramelise.

17 minMexicanSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortillas de harina sobaquerasGiant flour tortillas

In Sonora, wheat is the grain, and the pride of Hermosillo kitchens is the sobaquera: a flour tortilla stretched over the backs of the hands and arms until it is almost see-through and as wide as a serving tray (the name comes from sobaco, armpit, because it reaches that far). It cooks in seconds on a big comal and is folded around beans, cheese or machaca, or torn and eaten with caldo de queso. Sonoran cooks use lard; vegetable shortening works the same. A 30–35 cm tortilla is a realistic home size. Chef's tip: the long rest is what makes the dough stretch; do not cut it short.

80 minMexicanBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CoyotasPiloncillo-filled turnovers

Coyotas were first baked in the Villa de Seris neighbourhood of Hermosillo, and today Sonorans buy them by the dozen in paper bags to eat with morning coffee or take as a gift when they travel. They are flat, round, pale pastries with a crisp, crumbly crust and a thin layer of molten piloncillo inside, like a giant cookie with a toffee middle. Some bakers add guava or cajeta, but brown sugar loaf is the classic. Chef's tip: pinch the edges firmly and prick the tops; otherwise the hot sugar bubbles out and burns on the tray.

50 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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