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.

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.

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.

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.

Put the ground chuck in a large pot or Dutch oven and add seasonings. 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.

Oregano and cumin bring a lot to that signature Mexican flavor. They are two of the main herbs used to spice up dishes. Mexican oregano gives dishes a rich, earthy flavor.

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.

What to avoid in Mexican restaurants? ›

Try to avoid deep fried dishes like chalupas, taquitos and chimichangas. Opt for healthier items like grilled chicken or shrimp and chicken or veggie fajitas. If you're in the mood for a taco salad, order it without the deep-fried taco bowl. It's basically one, big, fried tortilla chip!

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 oily texture is from the oil. The normal way to heat corn tortillas for tacos, to make them soft and foldable without weakening them, is to briefly heat them on an oiled flattop grill.

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!

The optimal way is on a cast-iron comal — the flat top griddle Mexicans and Central Americans have used to heat their tortillas for over 2,000 years. Tortillas need a direct, flat heat you can monitor with a quick flip that a microwave or conventional oven never can nail.

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.

Making Restaurant Style Mexican Ground Beef:

The secret to many of those simple ground beef dishes is to slowly cook the ground beef with a little water; the fat renders out and the beef, when finished, will be just right. And that works with this taco/burrito beef, too.

It is known that Mexican dishes always involve herbs and spices that make them very tasty. Think about Chili con Carne. This dish uses a lot of ingredients like garlic, onion, pepper, and tomatoes. So with the combination of these spices, you can expect the resulting food to taste and smell so good.