22 Copycat Mexican Restaurant Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How to make Mexican food taste like Mexican restaurant? ›

Boost Flavor with Dry Roasting

Many Mexican recipes include a step that involves roasting tomatoes, chiles, tomatillos, onions, cloves of garlic, or other ingredients on a comal or in a skillet over low to medium heat. This is called dry roasting because it does not involve oil or any other fat.

Skip the restaurant fajitas and make them at home instead.

"I would never order fajitas at a restaurant. They're really nothing more than sautéed onions and peppers with a protein. Nothing exciting," said Montiel.

Today, most cooks will use vegetable oil, but the more traditional fat to cook with is lard. Lard, which is pig fat, gives a wonderful flavor to refried beans and the masa (cornflour dough) used for tamales.

Any kind of long grain rice works well for making Mexican rice. You can use generic “long grain rice”, or basmati, or jasmine, anything like that.

With garlic and onions as the savory cornerstone, the most common Mexican spices and herbs are coriander, allspice, cloves, thyme, Mexican oregano, Mexican cinnamon (ceylon), cumin and cacao which showcase the breadth of Mexican food.

Some of the most common spice blends used in Mexican cuisine include chili powder, which typically includes cumin, garlic powder, and paprika, and achiote paste, which is made from annatto seeds and gives dishes a vibrant red color.

Worst: Chimichanga

This is code for “deep-fried burrito.” Think that sounds unhealthy? You're right. The dish has more than 1,500 calories and 93 grams of fat. Factor in toppings like guacamole and sour cream, and you'll get most of your day's calories and sodium in one meal.

Add just enough water to cover the meat, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for about an hour. Every 15 minutes or so break up the meat with a large spoon or a potato masher so that it isn't lumpy. Be sure always to keep just enough water to cover the meat.

Mix and match healthy options like grilled meat (chicken, fish, shrimp), ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lemon or lime juice and other seasonings), black beans, brown rice, avocado salad, sautéed veggies, or tortilla soup.

The most popular Mexican ingredients are beans, rice, avocado and limes. They're utilized in nearly every dish, from hearty enchilada casseroles to creamy drinks like horchata. Read on to learn the top ingredients in Mexican cooking and to find some recipe inspiration for your next taco or burrito night at home!

What is Mexico's national dish? ›

Mole poblano is perhaps the best known of all mole varieties. An ancient dish native to the state of Puebla, it has been called the national dish of Mexico, and ranked first as the most typical of Mexican dishes.

When rendered at a high temperature, as it is in Mexico, lard has a roast pork flavor that is part of the traditional taste of tamales, refried beans and moles.

How do restaurants keep rice warm? A restaurant that serves a lot of rice probably uses a large crock-pot or slow cooker to keep the rice warm until it's ready to be served.

WHAT RICE IS BEST FOR MEXICAN RICE? I highly recommend basmati rice for this easy Mexican Rice recipe for the same reasons I raved about it in my Greek Lemon Rice. Not only does basmati boasts a light nutty flavor but basmati grains are long and slender like other white rices but they cook up lighter and fluffier.

One of the main differences between these two rice dishes is that Mexican rice is fluffier and tends not to stick together. Whilst Spanish Rice is known for that rich yellow color, Mexican Rice is best known for its reddish orange hue that it gets from being cooked with cumin.

Spices and herbs

Cumin, cayenne, and black pepper are popular seasonings used to give Mexican food its familiar zesty taste. In Tex-Mex cuisine, spices and herbs are used with great care to create the bold, distinctive flavors that make this style of cooking so unique.

To ensure your plate stays warm on busier days, the plates with your meal can be placed under a heating lamp to ensure your food stays nice and hot and fresh. Not only are some plates heated, often the plate and meal might be placed in a boiler or oven.