Looking for Cinco de Mayo recipes? Here are 40+ main dishes, drinks, sides, appetizers, and desserts perfect for your celebration. There’s a mix of traditional Mexican recipes plus Americanized ones, too, and all of them are delicious!
What You’ll Find in this Post!
If it’s Cinco de Mayo, it’s time for all the enchiladas, chips and salsas, margaritas, and taco recipes, so I’ve gathered all of my favorites for you to browse. Whether it’s Mexican-inspired, Tex-Mex, New Mexican, or authentic Mexican dishes, there’s a little bit of everything in this list. So take a browse and find some inspiration!
Main Dishes
Chicken Fajita Bowl
Chicken fajitas served up bowl-style with rice, colorful bell peppers, and a sour cream sauce. This is a quick and easy recipe when you’re craving fajitas or make it ahead to have on hand for easy meals during the week.
Creamy 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.
Easy Shrimp Tacos
These shrimp tacos are ready in 30 minutes! The shrimp are coated in a sweet and spicy sauce made with chili seasonings, honey, lime juice, and garlic. For a great weeknight dinner, serve the shrimp and sauce on warm tortillas with a simple creamy cabbage slaw.
Salsa Verde Chicken (Slow Cooker)
This Salsa Verde Chicken 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. Spoon it over rice and add your
Black Bean Enchilada Pie
Layers of flour tortillas, black beans, and sauce is a fun twist on traditional enchiladas. Serve it with all of your favorite toppings for an easy-to-make weeknight 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.
Chile Colorado
Chile colorado 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.
Easy Enchiladas with Black Beans & Spinach
Easy enchiladas with black beans and spinach – no pre-cooking required! Just mix, roll, and bake.
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!
Chipotle Chicken Tacos
These chipotle 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.
Instant Pot Braised Beef Tacos
Tender seasoned beef wrapped up in tortillas with all the toppings, including a simple creamy salsa-inspired sauce, is totally doable on a weeknight, thanks to an Instant Pot. These beef tacos are easy to prep and are ready to go in less than an hour.
Easy Ground Turkey Taco Bowls
Easy 30-minute ground turkey taco bowls for two with all the toppings! Ground turkey seasoned with spices, corn, and pinto beans spooned over rice. Topped with sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, queso fresco, and sour cream.
Sweet Potato and Ground 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 make and assemble them a day advance to bake later for an easy dinner.
Beef Fajitas
These beef fajitas take about 20 minutes to prep and about 20 minutes to cook, making it an easy dinner. Add some chips and salsa for a great Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Taco Salad
Ground beef 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 and a creamy slaw. It’s an easy 30 minute dinner!
Shrimp Fajita Bowls
Seasoned shrimp with cilantro rice and fresh peppers. These fajita bowls are a light and easy dinner.
Chicken Tinga (Tinga de Pollo)
This recipe is ready in about 30 minutes. It’s a combination of tomatoes, shredded chicken, and chipotle peppers for a spicy, smoky kick. Use it to make delicious tacos or as a topping for tostadas.
Beef and Cheese Enchiladas
Beef and Cheese 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
Easy Homemade Salsa
Homemade salsa that’s not watery, not too thick, and full of fresh flavors from tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno. This is a cooked salsa recipe that is ready to go in less than 30 minutes. It’s full of fresh flavors and so easy to make.
Cowboy Caviar 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.
Homemade 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.
Avocado Salsa Verde
Avocado Salsa Verde is a fresh salsa recipe with creamy avocado, tomatillos, serrano pepper, and fresh cilantro and lime juice. It’s so easy you can make a batch in about 10 minutes!
Corn Salsa
This fresh and fast corn salsa is the perfect appetizer or side dish for so many occasions. It has really simple ingredients and only takes 15 minutes to make.
Simple Guacamole Recipe
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. Add some tortilla chips and a cold margarita for the happiest happy hour ever.
Green Chile Pork Quesadillas
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.
Easy Homemade Salsa
Homemade salsa that’s not watery, not too thick, and full of fresh flavors from tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno. This is a cooked salsa recipe that is ready to go in less than 30 minutes. It’s full of fresh flavors and so easy to make.
Queso Blanco (Easy Slow Cooker Recipe)
This easy Queso Blanco is a creamy white cheese dip made with two kinds of cheese, spices, and garnished with tomatoes and cilantro. Make it in your slow cooker for an easy dip for parties, game day, or any time you’re craving chips and queso!
Side Dishes
Mexican Caesar Salad
Mexican Caesar salad is a twist on a classic and can be served as a side dish or as a main dish. Crisp romaine, sweet corn, creamy avocado, and sliced jalapenos tossed together in a creamy cilantro Caesar dressing.
Black Bean and Corn Salad
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
Fresh and light Mexican fruit salad is a combination of summer fruits dressed in 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 cilantro-lime rice is so quick and easy. 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
Quick and easy avocado shrimp salad with a zingy cilantro-lime dressing, bell pepper, corn and lots of creamy avocado. It’s a no-cook, 20-minute recipe!
Drinks
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. It’s light, refreshing, and perfect on a hot day.
Citrus Margaritas
Ice-cold citrus margaritas made with fresh-squeezed juice are refreshing, boozy, and perfect for an at-home happy hour. This recipe makes four small drinks and can easily be scaled up or down.
Margarita Wine Spritzer
Wine spritzers get a margarita twist! These cold and refreshing drinks are easy to make and easy to sip on especially on a hot summer day. As with any drink, feel free to adjust to your tastes.
Desserts
If you want a sweet finish for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta, here are some amazing dessert recipes I found that you might want to try. I definitely have them on my list this year!
- CHURROS – from My Latina Table | These crispy fried treats are a lot like donuts and completely irresistible!
- TRES LECHES CAKE – from Pati Jinich | This cake is popular for a reason – it’s delicious! The cake is soaked in three kinds of milk for a rich, cold slice of cake you won’t forget.
- MEXICAN PALETAS – from Budget Delicious | These fruity popsicles are easy to make with simple ingredients and a great way to finish your meal!
Whether you’re having a Cinco de Mayo party or a gathering for a few, I hope you’ve found some new recipes to try!
Happy Cooking,
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Post updated from the archives. First published in April 2017.
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