Favorite Southwestern, Mexican and Tex-Mex Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 common Tex-Mex dishes? ›

For many us, Tex-Mex comfort foods such as tamales, tacos, and fajitas are filled with nostalgia.

The taco can indicate if your food is from the north or south of the border. Tex-Mex tacos feature ground beef, a flour tortilla, salad, and yellow cheese. A Mexican taco is always served in a corn tortilla, filled with slow-roasted pork or barbecued meat, and topped with lime, onion, and cilantro.

The Tex-Mex meaning can be most simply summed up by the different types of ingredients used. Tex-Mex recipes feature the use of chili powder, a savory mix of ground chile peppers with spices including cumin, oregano, and black pepper. Alternatively, Mexican recipes call for chile peppers, not the chili seasoning blend.

The staple ingredients of Southwestern cuisine are corn, squash and beans. Called the "three sisters", they have been staples of North-American agriculture since ancient times. Beans are served whole or refried, and both styles can be used as filling for tostadas, tacos, burritos and similar dishes.

Examples of Tex-Mex food include fajitas, nachos, and any dish that uses beef, black beans, canned vegetables, wheat flour, or yellow cheese. These ingredients are not popular south of the Rio Grande or the Mexican border.

Even fajitas are a Tex-Mex invention (offered to tourists in Mexico now because so many Americans associate fajitas as authentic). Tex-Mex is a cuisine only very loosely related to Mexican cuisine.

One of the major differences is that Tex-Mex tends to use beef, which is readily available in Texas, whereas authentic Mexican uses pork. Tex-Mex may also use other ingredients not typically found in Mexican dishes, such as: Yellow cheese.

The quesadilla has its origins in colonial Mexico. The quesadilla as a dish has changed and evolved over many years as people have experimented with different variations of it. Quesadillas are frequently sold at Mexican restaurants all over the world.

Dishes such as enchiladas can be authentic or of the Tex-Mex variety. Authentic Mexican enchiladas have a variety of ingredients wrapped and often fried. They can be topped with cheese, chicken, lettuce, or sauces. Tex-Mex enchiladas are typically baked and are made with beef and cheese.

Condiments. Tex-Mex opts for shredded yellow cheese, sour cream, and jarred salsa, while Mexican cuisine features crumbly queso fresco, Mexican crema, and freshly made salsas. The contrast in dairy choices and condiments reflects the distinct flavor profiles of each culinary tradition.

Is Southwest the same as Tex-Mex? ›

Yet the defining characteristics of Southwestern cuisine are a mystery to most Americans, a reality further complicated by the fact that the line between Tex-Mex and Southwestern food is fuzzy. To be sure, there are similarities: Both traditions share core ingredients like corn, beans, and chiles, for instance.

The horseradish adds a slightly sour tang that wonderfully compliments the beef. A “fajita” is a generic term used in Tex-Mex cuisine, referring to grilled meat served on a flour or corn tortilla with condiments. Though originally only beef was used, popular meats today also include chicken, pork and shrimp.

When it comes to food, Arizona is known for Fry Bread and the invention of Chimichangas.

Throughout Texas and the entire United States, the use of beef, yellow cheddar cheese, sour cream, canned tomatoes, wheat tortillas, crispy-shelled tacos, and dried chili powders like Gebhardt's distinguish Tex-Mex cuisine from traditional Mexican fare.

Taco Bell is one of the most well-known Tex-Mex franchises in the world. In 1962, their first location opened in Downey, California. In the United States, Taco Bell and their franchisees operate over 7,200 restaurants that serve more than 40 million customers each week.