Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Main Dishes

Poblano Chicken Enchiladas | Chicken rolled up in corn tortillas and topped with a creamy poblano-cilantro sauce. The richness of the sauce is balanced by the fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime juice just before serving. A store-bought rotisserie chicken makes these easy to make.

Shrimp Fajita Bowls | Seasoned shrimp with cilantro rice and fresh peppers. These fajita bowls are a light and easy dinner.

Steak Taco Salad | This fast and fresh steak taco salad for two has tender pan-seared sirloin, creamy diced avocado, black beans, pepper jack cheese, and a super simple 3-ingredient salsa verde dressing.

Pork Enchiladas | Enchiladas with a savory pulled pork filling rolled up in corn tortillas, topped with enchilada sauce, and finished with a creamy cheese sauce. Add your favorite enchilada toppings, and you get a hearty and delicious dinner loaded with flavor.

Salsa Verde Chicken | This is an easy slow cooker recipe! The chicken, tomatillos, poblano peppers, jalapenos, and other simple ingredients go right in the slow cooker – no precooking steps are needed. A few hours later, you get tender, juicy chicken coated in a bright, flavorful verde sauce.

Chile Colorado | This is a simple chili dish made with pork, dried chile, and a few other simple ingredients that simmer together until the pork is tender. You can make it mild or hot depending on the type of chiles you use, and it’s delicious served over rice or with tortillas. 

Chipotle Chicken Tacos | These chicken tacos are a little spicy, a little smoky, and a whole lot of deliciousness. The chicken is marinated in a simple chipotle sauce and tucked into tortillas with a cool and crunchy cilantro-lime coleslaw.

Beef Burrito Bowls | Easy beef burrito bowls with all the toppings, including a creamy burrito sauce and super simple cilantro-lime rice. It’s full of fresh flavors, can be prepped ahead, and is ready in 30 minutes!

Black Bean Enchilada Tortilla Pie | Layers of flour tortillas, black beans, and sauce are a fun twist on traditional enchiladas. Serve it with all of your favorite toppings for an easy-to-make weeknight dinner.

Sweet Potato Beef Enchiladas | These hearty beef and sweet potato enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, savory beef, and quick-cooking frozen diced sweet potatoes. They’re ready to go in under an hour, or you can make and assemble them a day ahead to bake later for an easy dinner.

Ground Beef Taco Salad | Taco salad tossed in a homemade Catalina dressing with a chili twist. Loaded with veggies, beans, and cheese, this taco salad is a 30-minute weeknight dinner that’s full of fresh flavors.

Shrimp Taco Bowls | These shrimp taco bowls have everything you love about tacos without the tortillas. The shrimp are cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce and piled on rice with a creamy slaw. It’s an easy 30-minute dinner!

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas | Enchiladas with a savory ground beef filling rolled up in corn tortillas, topped with enchilada sauce, and finished with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce.

Appetizers

Steak Quesadilla | Easy quesadillas, featuring gooey melted cheese and tender steak in every bite, are perfect for game day, parties, or dinner paired with chips and salsa. This oven method is an easy way to make four at a time, plus the prep work is quick, too.

Queso Blanco | This easy queso blanco is a creamy white cheese dip made with two kinds of cheese, spices, and garnished with tomatoes and cilantro. It’s an easy slow cooker recipe!

Chorizo Nachos | These are great for parties, game days, or whenever you want to make a big batch of nachos to share. The combination of crispy tortilla chips. Creamy cheese sauce, spicy Mexican chorizo, and pico de gallo are so delicious.

Guacamole | Irresistibly scoopable homemade guacamole! This is my go-to simple guacamole recipe – you’re just four ingredients and 10 minutes away from this bowl of goodness.

Homemade Salsa | The best salsa is neither watery nor too thick, but full of fresh flavors from tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos. This is a quick and easy cooked salsa recipe that’s ready in under 30 minutes. It’s full of fresh flavors and so easy to make.

Cowboy Guacamole | Cowboy caviar combined with creamy guacamole is a quick and easy dip recipe loaded with fresh flavors. It has avocado, beans, corn, peppers, tomatoes, and fresh lime juice all mixed up and ready for a big bowl of tortilla chips to go with it. 

Green Chile Pork Quesadilla | These pork quesadillas with green chile are cooked in the oven on a sheet pan. This is an easy way to make four quesadillas at a time – the tortillas crisp up under the broiler so they’re hot, cheesy, and toasty when they come out of the oven.

Avocado Salsa | This fresh salsa recipe is made with creamy avocado, tomatillos, serrano pepper, fresh cilantro, and lime juice. It’s so easy you can make a batch in about 10 minutes!

Pico de Gallo | This homemade pico de gallo (salsa fresca) is full of fresh flavors from tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. It’s great with chips or serve it with tacos, nachos, burritos, and eggs – basically, anything that needs a pop of fresh Mexican flavors.

Steak Nachos | These nachos have layers of chips, thin-sliced steak, cheese sauce, and jalapeno.

Side Dishes

Mexican Caesar Salad | This salad is a twist on a classic and can be served as either a side dish or a main course. Crisp romaine, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and sliced jalapenos tossed together in a creamy cilantro Caesar dressing.

Black Bean Corn Salad | A fast and fresh black bean and corn salad with a zippy lime dressing. This is a great summer side dish for all the potlucks, BBQs, block parties, or anytime you want a light and delicious salad.

Mexican Fruit Salad | This easy fruit salad combines summer fruits with a spicy-sweet dressing. It’s a great cold side dish for any meal, or make it for your summer potlucks, BBQs, or cookouts.

5-Minute Cilantro-Lime Rice | This quick and easy rice recipe is a must-try. You only need a few ingredients to make it, and it cooks in the microwave in just a few minutes. It’s one of my favorite fast side dish recipes and is great for burrito and taco bowls.

Avocado Shrimp Salad | A quick and easy avocado shrimp salad with a zesty cilantro-lime dressing, bell peppers, corn, and plenty of creamy avocado. It’s a no-cook, 20-minute recipe!

Drinks

Pink Margarita | This easy margarita, also known as a Pink Senorita, is a quick and refreshing cocktail. This recipe yields one drink, but it can be easily scaled up to make a pitcher. 

Margarita Wine Spritzers | Wine spritzers get a margarita twist! These cold and refreshing drinks are easy to make and perfect for sipping on, especially on a hot summer day.

Pineapple Agua Fresca | A refreshing aqua fresca made with fresh pineapple, lime juice, and a touch of honey is an easy drink to make for the spring and summer seasons.

Citrus Margaritas | Ice-cold citrus margaritas made with four kinds of fresh-squeezed juice are refreshing, boozy, and perfect for an at-home happy hour. This recipe yields four small drinks and can be easily scaled up or down.

Post updated from the archives. First published in April 2017.