# The best traditional Mexican dishes

The Mexican dishes (UNESCO heritage since 2010) that come up most in guides and must-try lists, with their state of origin.

- 111 votes · 21 items
- Feb 22, 2025 · veggie.canalla
- https://even.best/en/l/16/the-best-traditional-mexican-dishes

## Top 20

1. **Tacos al pastor** (11 · ▲11 ▼0) — Marinated pork roasted on a vertical spit, with pineapple, onion, coriander and salsa; Mexico City's most famous taco.
2. **Cochinita pibil** (9 · ▲10 ▼1) — Pork marinated in achiote and sour orange, cooked in banana leaves in an earth pit; from Yucatán.
3. **Mole poblano** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — Thick sauce of chillies, spices, nuts and chocolate over turkey or chicken, from Puebla.
4. **Enchiladas** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Filled tortillas covered in chilli sauce; Swiss-style, green and mole ones are classics.
5. **Chiles en nogada** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — Poblano pepper stuffed with fruity picadillo, covered in walnut sauce and pomegranate; the colours of the flag, in season in August and September.
6. **Pozole** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — Hominy broth with pork or chicken, in red, white and green versions; from Guerrero and Jalisco.
7. **Tamales** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Corn dough with a filling steamed in corn husk or banana leaf; there are hundreds of regional varieties.
8. **Birria** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Goat or beef stewed in a chilli adobo from Jalisco; now also famous as tacos with consommé.
9. **Tortas ahogadas** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Birote roll filled with carnitas and drowned in tomato and chile de árbol sauce; from Guadalajara.
10. **Tacos de canasta** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Steamed 'basket tacos' with pork rind, potato or beans; a street breakfast in the capital.
11. **Tlayudas** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Big crunchy Oaxacan tortilla with pork lard, beans, quesillo and tasajo or cecina.
12. **Tortilla soup** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Tomato and pasilla chilli broth with fried tortilla strips, avocado, cream and cheese.
13. **Pambazo** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Bread dipped in guajillo sauce, filled with potato and chorizo and fried.
14. **Lamb barbacoa** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Lamb cooked in an earth oven wrapped in maguey leaves, typical of Hidalgo.
15. **Carnitas** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Pork confit in its own lard in a copper pot; those from Quiroga (Michoacán) are the most famous.
16. **Sopes** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Thick corn dough base with pinched edge, covered with beans, sauce, cream, cheese and meat to taste.
17. **Pescado a la talla** (1 · ▲3 ▼2) — Butterflied fish brushed with chilli adobo and grilled over embers; from Guerrero.
18. **Chilaquiles** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Tortilla chips in red or green salsa with cream, cheese and onion; the quintessential Mexican breakfast.
19. **Chiles rellenos** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Poblano peppers stuffed with cheese or picadillo, battered and served in tomato broth.
20. **Aguachile** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Raw shrimp cured in lime with chilli, cucumber and red onion; from Sinaloa.
21. **Guacamole** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Avocado mashed in a molcajete with onion, tomato, coriander, chilli and lime.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.