In our house, every time Mexican night rolls around, we all get excited. Whether it’s quick-and-easy bean tacos or something more special, you won’t find a dirty plate in the house.
Comforting, spicy, hearty, filling – Mexican food hits all the right notes and is particularly good at feeding the masses.
If you are looking to cook up a mighty Mexican feast but aren’t quite sure what side dishes will go best with your beef fajitas or chicken tacos, you have come to the right place.
Each of the side dish recipes in this article is Mexican by nature, delicious by design, and can be whipped up at a moment’s notice to feed the family tonight!
1. Cilantro Lime Rice
No Mexican feast is complete without rice, and this cilantro lime recipe is a tantalizing idea indeed (see also ‘25 Lime Recipes That Are Full of Flavor‘). It is fresh, it is vibrant, and it will give your main that extra burst of flavor it so very deserves and craves.
All you need to whip this rice recipe up into existence is cilantro, lime, rice, garlic, and a little olive oil. The best part? It’s super easy and just as quick.
2. Mexican Street Corn
Known in Mexico as elote – corn on the cob, off the street, is a quintessential Mexican experience that everyone must try, at least once in their lives.
Until you take that well-deserved trip south of the border, you can bring a little smokey slice of Mexican street life into your home with this Mexican street corn recipe.
Creamy, cheesy, spiced, and delightful, you won’t have a hard time shifting a big plate of these tonight.
3. Homemade Flour Tortillas
Every Mexican night needs a stack of tortillas on the table, and all the better if they are homemade right? These flour tortillas are super easy to prepare and are the perfect sidekick to just about any Mexican dish.
Whatever you’ve got on the boil, whip up a stack of these puppies to slide underneath them, and your family will be singing your praises.
4. Pico De Gallo Chunky Salsa
When you’re in a bind, time-wise, and need to bring a zesty flair to the dinner table, look no further than this pico de gallo chunky salsa recipe.
You can make this in under five minutes, and with everyday ingredients like tomato, cilantro, onion, and lime juice in the mix, you may already have all the ingredients that you need.
5. Mexican Stuffed Peppers
The beauty of these Mexican stuffed peppers is that they can be a side dish to tonight’s enchiladas just as easily as they can be the star of this evening’s show.
What we mean is that they are loaded with enough goodness to convincingly turn into the main course, without a qualm about it.
Seasoned ground beef, Tex Mex cheese, rice, corn, beans, stuff it all in half-cut red bell peppers and you will have a seriously scorched side dish (or main) on your hands.
6. Tangy Mexican Slaw
Is it just us or is slaw the world’s greatest side dish? There’s just something about its crunchy, tanged-out nature that helps to elevate any feast straight to “GOAT” (greatest of all time) status.
This tangy Mexican take on the classic takes the meaning of “tang” to a whole other level.
Instead of coating your finely-sliced cabbage and red onions in too-much mayo, this recipe leans on a fresh, citrusy dressing that has no equals.
7. Mexican Roasted Zucchini
We love zucchini for a few reasons, but the biggest one is ease. This Mexican-inspired zucchini side is a delicious dish that can be cooked up in about five minutes and devoured in even less than that.
The perfect side dish to any meal when you are watching your carb intake, this fiery zucchini is paleo, Whole30, and a whole lot of deliciousness.
8. Guacamole
No Mexican night is complete without a big ol’ bowl of guacamole on the table.
Avocados, red onions, cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, fine sea salt, ground cumin, and diced tomatoes get blended into a creamy perfection that nobody can turn their back on.
Served alongside an even bigger bowl of tortilla chips to really complete the Mexican street food scene.
9. Black Beans
Sometimes it’s nice to spend all afternoon preparing your Mexican side dish arsenal, ready for your ravenous family to get home.
Sometimes, however, it is just as nice to whack some black beans in a bowl and call it a side dish.
This black bean recipe is prepared in five minutes, cooked in ten, and requires just five household ingredients to be perfect.
10. Refried Bean Dip
Refried beans get turned into one of the most delicious dips we’ve ever had the pleasure of trying thanks to this quick and easy recipe.
All you will need to re-create this gift from above is beans, cream cheese, cheese, sour cream, salsa, cumin, and chili powder.
Though this recipe only takes 10 minutes to put together, remember to factor in an entire hour for it to bake. Do this, and you will have a refried bean dip on your hands that will be remembered.
11. Mexican Pozole
Pozole is a fresh and hearty authentic Mexican soup that goes big on flavor. Pork, hominy, red chiles, and a plethora of spices get slow-cooked into a big broth of goodness.
Seriously, pozole is an institution down in Mexico, with bowls of the stuff being served up ready to go on every street corner in every corner of the country.
Top with fresh bits like shredded cabbage, radish, cilantro, and lime for an even better dining time.
12. Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Though this side dish may not be quite as authentic as pork pozole, it is still just as heavenly. Gooey jalapeno poppers wrapped in slices of crunchy bacon?
It doesn’t take much imagination to know that this is a seriously delicious combo.
Pick up some cream cheese, shredded Pepper Jack, and garlic (along with the jalapenos and bacon) and make these poppers straight away. The finger food game has officially been raised.
13. Salsa Verde
Salsa verde goes pretty hard out of the jar, but the homemade stuff is a completely different thing.
With just 15 minutes of prep time, this seductive salsa recipe is a great one to bookmark, for, well, all occasions.
Chicken, fish, veggies, pork, whatever protein you are cooking tonight, a good smothering of salsa verde can only elevate it.
14. Shrimpo De Gallo
Keeping it oh-so-fresh and zesty is this irresistible shrimpo de Gallo.
Serving eight and taking just 10 minutes to prepare, this is one of those side dish recipes that doesn’t ask for much and offers a lot.
Your only essential task is to source the freshest and biggest shrimp that you can find – the rest will then be easy.
The perfect company for a saucy stack of enchiladas, shrimpo de Gallo will bring an authentic edge to any and every Mexican night (sombrero not included).
15. Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
The slow cooker and Mexican food are just meant to be. Giving spices time to infiltrate the tenderized chicken, it makes perfect sense why this chicken tortilla soup hits so hard.
The cool thing about this recipe is that it will only take 15 minutes of your time, your slow cooker will do the rest.
You do have to fetch quite a few ingredients to create this slow-cooked perfection, but that will all be behind you once you are sitting down with a bowl of this in front of you.
16. Keto Taquitos
Sticking to a keto diet and eating Mexican food rarely lineup, so, to make it work, you have to get a little creative.
Swapping out tortillas for cheese may sound like a simple enough prospect but we certainly hadn’t thought of it.
Shredded cheddar and shredded Monterey Jack have been called up to the tortilla-imitation plate and, together, they hit a home run. These taquitos have a spiced chicken filling, but you could swap that out for whatever tickles your fancy – the sky is the limit!
17. Mexican Sweet Potatoes
This is another one of those special recipes that can make it as the star of the show just as it can slip into a formidable supporting role.
Also, all the keto-taquito eaters have officially/accidentally found the perfect sidekick that caters to their cheesy dish. Halved sweet potatoes get stuffed with everything that is Mexican and everything that is good.
Beans, corn, bell pepper, avocado, cilantro – the list goes on and on, but you catch the drift, and that drift is delicious.
18. Mexican Street Corn Salad
When you are cooking for all of your nearest and dearest, bulking out the table with salads is essential. When a Mexican evening of feasting is on the cards, you must bring this street corn salad to the table.
There is nothing out of the ordinary with this salad and that is the point.
Corn, bell pepper, black bean, jalapeno, and red onion, chop it all up as fine as you can, and smother it in the recipe’s tangy dressing for the corniest salad this side of Tijuana.
19. Mexican Cornbread
If you are thinking but why did you need to make cornbread Mexican? We counter your question with why not!
This cornbread recipe takes all the fluffy, buttery feels of a classic cornbread, marries them with Mexican corn, jalapenos, cheese, and green onion, and it is a very good thing.
20. Deep-Fried Mexican Corn Fritters
Deep-fried Mexican sweet street corn fritters doused in a spiced and creamy dipping sauce really are as naughty as it sounds.
We aren’t going to lie, this recipe isn’t the kind of recipe that can be put together in 10 minutes.
Make it on an evening when time is on your side, you’re excited to try something new, and the margaritas are already flowing. These corn fritters will know what to do.
21. Black Bean & Rice Skillet
Anything done in a skillet is alright by us. Skillet dishes are the O.G champions of the one-pot arena, and this black bean & rice recipe does the skillet proud.
Using (mostly) pantry staples, this gluten-free veggie delight is a perfect side dish to bring out on Mexican night to impress you first and your guests second.
22. Tater Tot Nachos
Nobody is trying to get between you and your favorite tortilla nachos recipe, this is just a quirky alternative. Swapping out tortilla chips for tater tots gives nachos a whole new meaning.
Crunchy, golden tater tots get baked underneath too-much cheese and it is all so very “muy bein”.
Throw the calorie counter out the window (figuratively) and get some tater tot nachos in your life, there will be no regrets.
23. Grilled Mango Salsa
Having an arsenal of salsa recipes at your ready is a major part of being a foodie who takes Mexican night seriously.
Mango is perfect on its own, without being grilled, there is no question about it. But, when it does get frilled and mixed into a salsa, its sweet and fleshy flavors really do come out of their skin.
24. Mini Nachos
If you couldn’t quite get on board with tater tot nachos, we have a nachos idea that feels more familiar.
Mini nachos can be a fun and funky starter to get your guest’s appetite in gear, and ready for the main course. Recipes really don’t come any easier than this mini nachos one and, for that, we salute it.
Tortilla chips, shredded chicken, black beans, Monterey Jack, scallions, jalapenos, avocado, ready-made salsa, and sour cream are all you need to make these nachos that are mini in stature but mighty in the heart.
25. Vegetarian Calabacitas Quesadillas
This vegetarian calabacitas quesadilla recipe may have a lengthy name but thankfully that’s where the hard part starts and ends.
You may not believe it, but these veggie quesadillas can be prepared in 10 minutes and cooked in the same amount of time, so that’s 20 minutes until you feel the crunch.
Perfect as an easy lunch or a quick dinner, whatever time of day you had in mind, these quesadillas can do no wrong.
26. Mexican Caesar Salad
Caesar is a classic salad for a reason but even classics need to be challenged once in a while. This Mexican caesar takes what has been adored for close to a century and gives it a big kick of flavor.
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, toasted pepitas, fresh and crumbled cotija cheese, fried tortilla strips, and avocado get tossed with a Greek yogurt salad dressing and two types of lettuce.
Sounds pretty perfect, doesn’t it?
27. Homemade Chipotle Salsa
If we have said it once then we will say it again – you can never have too many salsa recipes.
This homemade chipotle salsa comes together in a blender in under five minutes and can be spread on just about everything.
Its sweet and spicy flavor will work just as well over nachos as it would grilled chicken.
After the ingredients have been blended, as tempting as it may be to just gobble it up right there and then, giving it time in the fridge will really make this salsa special.
28. Beef Empanadas
Beef empanadas are another authentic Mexican food that can be found and devoured all across Mexico and Latin America (see also ‘24 Of The Most Popular Latin Foods‘).
There really isn’t too much to say about the beef empanada that hasn’t already been said (see more empanada recipes here). It is warm, it is filling, it is crunchy, and you just know it’s full of flavor.
This recipe leads you through making your own homemade empanada pastry. If, however, you haven’t got the time to make the pastry, the shop-bought stuff will do just fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Sides Go Well With Tacos?
Tacos are one of the most popular foods in both America and Mexico. It has been estimated that Americans consume around 4.5 billion tacos every year which is a startling fact but we believe it.
All this taco consumption means we need some side dish ideas that suit being served next to tacos.
A few of the classics include chips and salsa, Mexican coleslaw, Spanish rice, Mexican sweet corn, and Mexican black beans.
What Mexican food Is Eaten In The U.S?
We all know that tacos are eaten en masse in the U.S, but what other Mexican foods are our favorites?
Fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, nachos, and chili are some of the most popular Mexican foods loved and eaten by millions of us every year.
Conclusion
So there you have it. 28 of the most delicious Mexican side dishes found online.
Whether you are looking to fill the entire dining table with Mexican-inspired bites or you just want a quick dinner idea, we hope you found some cooking inspiration in this article.
Mexican food is big on flavor and bigger and heart and we Americans can’t get enough of the stuff.
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