Mexico: A Rising Culinary Star

According to TasteAtlas, Mexico’s most popular dishes are mainly street food favorites, starting with tacos, the nation’s unofficial national dish. Special attention was called to quesabirria, a fusion between birria (a traditional Mexican meat stew) and quesadillas. “The dish originates from Tijuana and typically consists of large tortillas filled with birria-style cooked meat (usually beef) and a generous amount of melted cheese,” TasteAtlas reported. Quesabirria is often accompanied by a side of broth (or consommé) for dipping, adding an additional layer of flavor to the dish.
Another street food favorite is esquites, usually consumed as a snack on the go. “It is made with mature corn kernels, epazote (a culinary herb) and salt,” according to TasteAtlas. Corn is either grilled and shaved, or cooked with epazote, and is then typically served in small cups topped with chili peppers, lime juice or cotija cheese. Sour cream, mayonnaise, and pequin chili powder are sometimes served on the side so everyone can add the ingredients according to personal preferences.” The name esquites is derived from the Nahuatl word izquitl, meaning toasted corn.
In order of preference, other leading Mexican foods include cochinita pibil, a pork dish that originated in the Yucatan. Pork is marinated in a combination of annatto paste, bitter orange juice and garlic. It is slowly baked and then shredded and served on tortillas, tacos or on its own with shallots, pickled onions, salsa and various roasted vegetables.
Next is chilorio, a Sinaloan dish consisting of fried pulled pork cooked in chili sauce and spices such as oregano, garlic and cumin. Originally, it was used as a way to preserve meat, but today chilorio is usually used as a filling for tacos or enchiladas.
Other mainstays of award-winning Mexican cuisine: sopa tarasca, a hearty bean soup from the state of Michoacán cooked with tomatoes in a simple chicken broth and seasoned with both fresh and dried chili peppers; and barbacoa, which refers to the ancient technique of cooking meat in underground ovens. Regional varieties abound throughout Mexico, with common options including lamb, goat or mutton.
Rounding out the list of the Top 10 dishes of the world’s third-ranked cuisine is carnitas, a flavorful Michoacán dish made from pork (usually front sections or pork shoulder) that is braised, roasted or slow-cooked in its own fat for a long time until fully tender and succulent; chilaquiles, an assemblage of fried tortilla pieces drenched in chili sauce and mixed with meat, vegetables or eggs; and sopa de lima, a traditional soup from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula flavored with bittersweet Yucatan limes and spicy habanero peppers.
Ex-pats, take note: American cuisine, noted for its must-try lobster, salmon (smoked or wild) and South Texas-style barbecue, came in at No. 13 on the TasteAtlas Best Food 2024/25 ranking.