Discover Mexico Through Its Flavors
From street-side antojitos to regional specialties, Mexican cuisine is a feast of history, ingredients, and technique. Enjoy the short videos below and explore our A–Z glossary of common terms you’ll see in recipes and on MexGrocer.com.
Video: Gastronomy in Mexico (VisitMexico.com)
Mexican Food Glossary (A–Z)
Click around and learn the vocabulary of Mexican cooking. Where helpful, we’ve linked to products and recipes on MexGrocer.com.
- Achiote
- Yucatán-style paste made from ground annatto seeds, spices, and citrus or vinegar.
- Adobo
- Smoky chile sauce with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and spices.
- Albondiga / Albondigas
- Meatball(s).
- Al carbón
- Any meat cooked over charcoal or wood coals.
- Al Pastor
- Spit-roasted meat inspired by Middle Eastern shawarma. See also Tacos al Pastor Adobo Oven.
- Anaheim
- Long green chile used for rellenos; turns red when ripened and often dried in ristras. Also called Chile California or Chilaca in some regions.
- Recommended Video: Some Like It Hot: Cuisines of Chili Climates (with Rick Bayless)
- Explore chile-forward cooking traditions.
- Ancho
- Dried poblano chile; mild to medium heat with raisin-like sweetness.
- Annatto Seeds
- Small seeds (achiote) used to color and flavor Yucatán’s Achiote Paste.
- Asada
- Broiled or grilled—e.g., carne asada cooked over hot coals.
- Agave
- Iconic Mexican plant; the blue agave’s heart (piña) becomes tequila. See also Miel de Agave (Agave Nectar).
- Barbacoa
- Meat slow-cooked in an underground pit, often wrapped in banana or agave leaves.
- Birria
- Jalisco’s barbacoa specialty—traditionally lamb or goat.
- Bolillos
- Crispy, football-shaped white rolls. Try Bolillo.
- Borracho
- “Drunken” dishes/sauces made with beer, wine, or other alcohols.
- Burrito
- Anything delicious wrapped in a large flour tortilla—breakfast to late-night.
- Cajeta
- Goat’s-milk confection (dulce de leche). Try Cajeta Coronado.
- Carne
- Meat—often beef or pork in this context.
- Carne Asada
- Skirt or flank steak seared quickly over hot coals.
- Carnitas
- Michoacán’s famous pork simmered in citrus—perfect for tacos/burritos. ES: Carne (generalmente de puerco) frita; tacos de carnitas son muy populares.
- Ceviche
- Raw fish “cooked” in lime juice with tomato, onion, chiles, and spices.
- Cerveza
- Beer. Try MicheMix Michelada Beer Mix.
- Chayote
- Crisp, mild squash common in soups and salads.
- Chicharrones
- Crunchy fried pork rinds.
- Chilaquiles
- Crispy tortilla pieces with red (or green) sauce and cheese—classic breakfast.
- Chile(s) Relleno(s)
- Roasted ancho or Anaheim chiles stuffed with cheese/meat, battered, and sauced.
- Chilorio
- Sinaloa’s shredded pork sautéed with chile and spices. ES: Carne de puerco desmenuzada con chiles y especias.
- Chimichanga
- Deep-fried, meat-filled burrito.
- Chipotle
- Smoked, dried jalapeño—sweet heat for marinades and salsas.
- Chorizo
- Fresh, spiced sausage flavored with chiles.
- Cilantro
- Coriander leaves; bright herbal note in salsas and guacamole.
- Comida
- Meal (often the main midday meal).
- Conejo
- Rabbit.
- Cordero
- Lamb.
- Cotija
- Crumbly, salty aged cheese—great for sprinkling.
- Crema
- Mexican-style cultured cream.
- Dulce
- Sweet or candy.
- Elote
- Fresh corn; grilled elotes are a beloved street snack.
- Empanadas
- Turnovers filled with savory meats or sweet fruits—popular across Latin America and Spain.
- Enchilada
- Lightly fried tortilla dipped in sauce and rolled around cheese or shredded meats.
- Epazote
- Pungent wild herb for beans, soups, and stews. ES: Hierba aromática usada en salsas, frijoles y tamales.
- Escabeche
- Pickling mix of oil, vinegar, herbs, and spices—think jalapeños en escabeche.
- Esquite
- Cup of corn kernels with toppings like Tajín, lime, salt, crema or mayonnaise.
- Flauta
- Long, tightly rolled fried taco (corn or flour) filled with chicken or beef.
- Frijoles
- Beans—pinto, bayo, black, and more.
- Guacamole
- Mashed avocado, onion, chile, tomato, lime, and spices—party essential.
- Guajillo
- Medium-hot dried chile with berry notes.
- Gusanos de Maguey
- Agave larvae—fried delicacy; also seen in some mezcals to denote variety.
- Habanero
- Fiery Yucatán chile—small but mighty.
- Harina
- Flour (for flour tortillas and baking).
- Helado
- Ice cream.
- Horchata
- Refreshing drink of rice (sometimes seeds/nuts) blended with water and spices.
- Huitlacoche / Cuitlacoche
- Corn truffle; smoky-sweet kernels prized in quesadillas and soups.
- Hueso
- Bone.
- Huevo
- Egg.
- Jalapeño
- Medium-hot green chile; the fresh form of chipotle once smoked.
- Jícama
- Crisp, juicy root—great with lime and chile powder.
- Langosta
- Lobster.
- Leche
- Milk.
- Leche quemada
- “Burnt milk”—another name for cajeta.
- Lechuga
- Lettuce.
- Legumbre
- Vegetable.
- Licor
- Liquor.
- Maguey
- Agave; source of nectar, pulque, mezcal, and tequila.
- Mariscos
- Seafood. Love abalone? Try Royal Crown.
- Masa
- Nixtamalized corn dough for tortillas, tamales, and more.
- Menudo
- Hearty soup with tripe, hominy, onion, and spices.
- Mezcal
- Agave spirit (not just blue agave); smoky, complex.
- Mojo de ajo
- Garlic-rich cooking sauce.
- Molcajete
- Lava-stone mortar for grinding chiles and spices. Shop a Molcajete.
- Video: Salsa en Molcajete (Chef Ana Martorell)
- Mole
- Complex sauce of chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, fruit, and often chocolate. Shop Mole Sauce.
- Mollete
- Toasted bolillo topped with refried beans, cheese, and salsa. Also called birote in some regions.
- Nixtamal
- Corn kernels treated with lime (cal); base for masa.
- Nogada
- Creamy walnut sauce for chiles en nogada.
- Nopalitos
- Chopped tender pads of prickly pear cactus. Shop Nopalitos.
- Pambazo
- Bread dipped in guajillo sauce, filled with potato, chorizo, lettuce, and crema.
- Panela
- Fresh, semi-soft cheese made from whole curds.
- Papadzules
- Yucatán rolled tortillas filled and topped with pumpkin seed and tomato sauces.
- Pasilla
- Long, dark dried chile with deep, earthy flavor.
- Pato
- Duck.
- Pavo
- Turkey.
- Pepitas
- Pumpkin seeds; key in mole verde and pipian.
- Piñones
- Pine nuts.
- Pipian Sauce
- Seed-based “mole” made with ground pepitas and nuts (also “pepian”).
- Poblano
- Dark-green chile used fresh (rellenos) or dried as ancho.
- Pozole
- Hominy stew with pork or chicken and vibrant garnishes (also “posole”).
- Postre
- Dessert.
- Pulque
- Traditional fermented agave beverage.
- Rompope
- Rich, sweet egg-based liqueur with vanilla.
- Salchicha
- Sausage.
- Salsa
- Sauce—from fresh pico de gallo to slow-cooked moles.
- Sangría
- Wine punch with brandy, orange liqueur, fruit juice, and fresh fruit.
- Sangrita
- Tequila companion made with orange juice, grenadine, chile, and often tomato juice.
- Serrano
- Small, very hot green chile popular in northern Mexico.
- Sopa / Caldo
- Soup or broth.
- Taco
- Corn (crispy or soft) or flour tortilla folded/rolled around flavorful fillings.
- Tamale
- Masa filled with meats, veggies, or sweets; wrapped in husk and steamed.
- Taquito
- Small, rolled, fried taco; a shorter cousin of the flauta.
- Tequila
- Blue-agave spirit produced in specific regions around Jalisco.
- Tiburón
- Shark.
- Tomatillo
- Tart green husk tomato—essential for salsa verde.
- Torta
- Hearty sandwich on a bolillo roll.
- Tortilla
- Thin flatbread—corn (masa) or flour (harina); the backbone of Mexican cooking.
- Tostada
- Crisp fried tortilla topped with beans, meat, veggies, and salsa.
- Vino
- Wine.
Hungry to try something new? Visit our Top Mexican Recipes for step-by-step inspiration.