I love Mexican food because, well, it’s got all my favorite flavors, but also, because it has always shown up for vegans. Corn, beans, tomatoes, avocado — all hail from Mexico. Rice came later but is synonymous with Mexican cooking, and potatoes pulled up from a little south of there but made themselves right at home. Half the ingredients we cook with every day are either native to Mexico or popularized through its kitchens. You can walk into almost any Mexican spot in the USA and get yourself a good vegan meal with absolutely no problem.
There isn’t anything authentic about these recipes, it’s just food from the tastebuds of a fan who can’t get enough of these flavors. I love that the cuisine is bright and comforting at the same time. Cilantro, lime, chiles, oregano, peppers — flavors layered and landing together: fresh, smoky, salty, a little spicy, a little sweet. The kind of food where you keep going back for another bite because you want to figure out what just happened and make it happen again.
It is also generous food. Big platters, everyone reaching in, building tacos, and piling things high. It’s a table where the components are good solo but better as a collective. A scoop of beans, some rice, something crispy, something creamy. Everyone ends up with a different plate; the combinations are endless.
This is my version of that table. Some classics, some inspired-by, and all things I always want to eat. Put it all out, pass it around, and go back for seconds.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo vegan style <3
Here are 14 recipes to start.
You have to start with nachos. Loaded nachos with beans, cashew queso, pickled jalapeños, guac, and whatever else is in the fridge. Named after the college-era version where whoever got home first dumped the chips and everyone else built their own pile. Crowd-feeding mode activated.
Rice is the foundation of a Cinco de Mayo spread and this one deserves to shine. Jasmine rice baked in a cast iron skillet with lime zest, lime juice, and thin lime slices on top that soften into the rice as it bakes. Loaded with cilantro, golden from turmeric, toasty on the bottom from the oven. The side dish that makes the whole plate.
A creamy, pourable, warm and tangy blender cheese sauce. Good over nachos, with chips, drizzled over tacos, stirred into rice. Keep a jar in the fridge and half your meals get easier. But for now, keep it warm on your Cinco De Mayo table.
Mushroom Ceviche with Pineapple
A bright citrusy appetizer made with oyster mushrooms and chickpeas in a lime marinade with pineapple, red onion, and cilantro. The mushrooms go tender and a little briny, the pineapple adds sweetness, and the lime cures everything in a sharp, citrus bath. Serve with tortilla chips and plenty of avocado.
Potato Tacos with Corn, Black Beans, and Guac
Warm tortillas stuffed with roasted potatoes, black beans, charred corn, and a thick layer of guac. Carbs on carbs on carbs. Exactly the kind of taco I want at a party: fast, filling, easy, as tasty as can be and impossible not to love.
A fast and flavorful taco filling made with lentils and real ancho chile powder — not generic chili powder but the fruity, smoky kind. Tomato paste pulls the texture together into something meaty and juicy. Pile it into warm tortillas with avocado, cilantro, and a few dashes of Cholula.
A layered enchilada bake — corn tortillas, beans, vegetables, and red sauce stacked and baked until the edges crisp and the middle goes saucy. Feeds a crowd, reheats beautifully, looks super stunning with ribbons of cashew cream. If you only make one thing from this list, make this one.
Lime-kissed mashed red potatoes spread over a saucy stew of black beans, mushrooms, poblanos, tomatoes, and corn. Crushed tortilla chips folded into the filling bring the masa flavor. Comfort food with a Tex-Mex heart, feeds eight, leftovers hold beautifully.
A smoky, spicy, crumbly vegan chorizo made from toasted walnuts with ancho, smoked paprika, garlic, and vinegar. Use it in tacos, over nachos, in breakfast burritos, stirred into rice and beans. A building block recipe you can use in so many ways.
A crumbly, salty, tangy tofu version of Mexican cotija cheese. Crumbles over tacos, melts into hot beans, makes a bowl of rice look like it’s dressed up. Ten minutes and a block of tofu.
It’s Cinco de Mayo — of course you need sour cream. Cashew-based, blender-quick, tangy and thick. A cool dollop on tacos, nachos, enchiladas, or anything with heat. Keeps for a week in the fridge but never lasts that long.
Homemade Vegan Nacho Cheese Doritos
The famous Modern Love vegan Dorito recipe, finally in one place. Crispy corn tortilla chips tossed in a homemade Cheesy Dust with citric acid for that signature tangy snap. No, Doritos are not Mexican. But they are perfect for scooping up guac so they belong here.
Tequila is Mexican and limes are Mexican, so a cupcake made with both and finished with a salted sugar rim is naturally a Mexican cupcake. A legendary player in the vegan cupcake revolution, back on the site after 20 years. The dessert that’s also the cocktail.
Spicy Chocolate Cupcakes with Cayenne Pecans
Mexico has been pairing cacao with chile for centuries. These are deep chocolate cupcakes with a slow cayenne warmth, topped with candied spicy pecans that crack between your teeth. For anyone who thinks dessert should bite back.
