Mexican-style Cooking Guide

Across the United States, you'll find cuisine touched by the flavors of Latin America. Especially popular in Southwestern states such as Texas and New Mexico, Mexican-style cooking blends ingredients from Mexico including varied flavors, spices and colorful decoration with a distinctive Southwestern kick. These recipes introduce a bevy of delicious ingredients to your table and are perfect for tempting friends on a hot night.

Starters and sides
The whole enchilada — main courses
Southwestern sweets

Starters and sides

Spice up happy hour with a shrimp cocktail makeover. Grilled Shrimp Cocktail with Yellow Gazpacho Salsa presents seafood beautifully, with a Southwestern flair.
The Basque region of Europe, nestled between Spain and France, introduced new culinary delights to the world. Take your Spanish rice recipe to the next level with this colorful and delicious recipe for Basque Vegetable Rice, which is flecked with vegetables and chile pepper accents.
Albóndigas means "meatball" in Latin American nations. This lean and hearty Turkey Albóndigas Soup recipe features large chunks of vegetables and generous spice accents — but the savory turkey albóndigas steal the show.

The whole enchilada — main courses

Try this unusual take on traditional Mexican staple chilaquiles, a fried mixture of tortilla quarters, beans, cheese and often, meat or eggs. This Chilaquiles Casserole incorporates healthful ingredients like zucchini and corn to add flavor and fiber.
You'll see the Tex-Mex Taco Salad, an authentically American creation, on popular restaurant menus around the country. This lighter version provides great gourmet flavor with fewer calories and grams of fat.
Deep-fried tortillas form the base for tostadas, an open-face taco-like dish widely popular in Latin America. Turkey and Vegetable Tostadas make good use of leftover turkey, and the fresh cilantro adds a juicy flavor twist.
Seafood provides a versatile and nutritious cooking base in Spain. Try this recipe for Shrimp Enchiladas Verde made with green enchilada sauce for an unexpected take on a seafood favorite.
Make workday lunches special with a new sandwich idea. The Tijuana Torta, made with nutrient-rich black beans and accented by ground cumin, brings Tex-Mex flavor to a substantial vegetarian sandwich.
The pride of the Lone Star state, Chili Con Carne makes quick work of dinner, combining easy pantry staples for big, bold spicy flavor. Serve this simple dish with crackers or cornbread and call it a meal.

Southwestern sweets

A treat throughout Latin America — and equally popular in the American Southwest — horchata, or sweetened and spiced milk, makes dessert simple. This Frozen Horchata recipe cools you off with a cinnamon kiss and you can make it with regular or rice milk.
Flan, a type of sweet tart made with milk, appears in several manifestations throughout Latin America and Europe. This classic Flan de Queso recipe is crust-less and flavored with sweetened condensed milk.
You'll see them at carnivals and on the menus of Mexican restaurants. They're fun, they're tasty and they require just a few ingredients. Churros, or fried-dough sweets, taste great alone or when served with powdered sugar and jam.