Vegetarian Food in Mexico – A Yucatán Food Guide

Must-try vegetarian food in Mexico: A Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.

When I was planning my holiday, I thought it would be very easy to find vegetarian food in Mexico. After all, you can get a vegetarian version of burritos, fajitas, quesadillas and tacos pretty much in any Mexican restaurant in London. Imagine my surprise when I found myself in Merida in the Yucatán state, struggling with ordering some vegetarian food for myself.

In the first restaurant I went to (well, it was a kiosk in a food market), the only vegetarian dish I was able to get was an empanada for breakfast. And ordering that empanada was no mean task either. Turns out if you are in Merida (or any non-touristy place in Mexico), you must speak basic Spanish. And before you roll your eyes, let me tell you I did learn a few basic words and phrases. So, I knew that “I am vegetarian” in Spanish is “soy vegetariana”. However, no matter how many times I said it, they wouldn’t understand me. After a few minutes, I was somehow able to order a cheese empanada.

So, why didn’t my translation work? Well, what I didn’t learn was how to pronounce it! I know, go ahead and roll your eyes now 😀 A few hours later, I ended up talking to a Mexican guy while waiting at the bus stop and he taught me the correct way of saying it – “soy behetariana”. Once I learnt the correct way, there was no looking back.

Mexican food is delicious and exciting, full of colours and flavours. Here’s a list of some mouth-watering dishes that I tried in the Yucatán, and would highly recommend that you must try them when you visit Mexico.

Must-Try Vegetarian Food in Mexico


Empanadas de Queso

Empanada is a stuffed, fried (or baked) pastry originally from Spain. Empanadas de Queso are basically empanadas filled with cheese and garnished with some chopped onions and hot sauces.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Empanadas de Queso


Tacos

Taco is a traditional Mexican dish which consists of soft, round tortillas served with vegetables or meat toppings, along with a tomato and onion salsa.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Tacos with sweet potatoes


Salbute

Salbutes, a Yucatán speciality, are deep-fried, puffed tortillas, topped with cabbage, onion, and tomato.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Salbute


Panucho

Panuchos, another Yucatán speciality, are essentially similar to salbutes except that they are stuffed with refried beans and are topped with tomato, pickled red onion, avocado, and pickled jalapeño pepper.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Panucho


Torta

Torta is a sandwich made with an oblong white and crusty sandwich roll. The filling can be boiled eggs, cabbage, onions, tomatoes and chillies. I forgot to click a picture 😀


Chilaquiles

Generally eaten for breakfast, the base of Chilaquiles is corn tortillas that have been cut into quarters and lightly fried. The crispy tortilla chips are served with a green or a red salsa and garnished with cheese, cream, onions and fried eggs.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Chilaquiles


Huevo Rancheros

A popular breakfast dish, Huevo Rancheros are fried eggs served on lightly fried corn tortillas topped with a tomato-chili sauce and refried beans on the side.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Huevo Rancheros


Chile Relleno Queso

Chile Relleno Queso consists of a fresh poblano pepper stuffed with shredded manchego cheese, coated in egg batter and deep fried. It is served with Mexican rice and refried beans on the side.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Chile Relleno Queso


Papadzules

Papadzules are a classic Mayan dish from the Yucatán. Soft, warm tortillas are filled with hard boiled eggs, served on a bed of pumpkin seed sauce topped with a tomato sauce.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Papadzule


Mole Poblano

Mole Poblano is a dark, rich and complex sauce made with peppers, spices, nuts and most importantly chocolate. I ate mushrooms in Mole Poblano sauce in Tulum and it was stuff made of dreams. You can read more about it here.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Mole


Pibil

Pibil is a cooking technique in which meat is marinated in bitter-sour orange juice and achiote sauce (which gives it the burnt-orange colour), wrapped in banana leaves and baked underground. Traditionally made with pork (Cochinita Pibil), I got a chance to eat the mushroom version on tacos.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Mushroom Pibil


Sweet Treats

No trip to Mexico is complete without trying Churros, the fried dough pastry coated with cinnamon sugar and Agua de Jamaica, a tart and refreshing juice made from the hibiscus flower. And of course, fresh colourful fruits from the market with some lime juice and chilli for the zing!

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Fruits with a dash of lime and chilli

Having lived in the US and the UK, the food that I ate in Mexico was completely against my idea of Mexican food. The burritos, fajitas and nachos were not on any menus. Tacos were everywhere, I admit. However, they were soft, light-coloured, little rounds of corn tortillas that were nothing like the hard-shelled ones I had seen earlier.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Fresh hand-made Tortilla

I ate local, authentic delicacies that I had never heard of before, and that’s why I think travel is so important. It breaks myths, draws you out of your comfort zone and opens your eyes and minds to new worlds and cultures.

Must-try Vegetarian Food in Mexico | Vegetarian Mexican Food | Yucatan Food Guide | Mexico Food Guide. Read more on www.ayewanderful.com.Pin this image on Pinterest

Pin it for Later!

Do you like Mexican food? Which of these dishes do you find the most tempting? I’d love to know!

Cheers,

Ameeta xx

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18 Comments

  1. May 20, 2017 / 10:05 am

    wow everything looks super yummy and tasteful! I might change my travel plans to eat my way around Mexico.

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      May 23, 2017 / 7:52 pm

      You will love the food while in Mexico. It is so simple yet exciting, full of flavours. 🙂

  2. May 20, 2017 / 3:15 pm

    I would love to eat my way through Mexico. This all looks amazing. Great post

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      May 23, 2017 / 7:54 pm

      Thanks Louise, a big part of my Mexico trip was the food itself. I had made a list before-hand of everything I wanted to eat there 😀

  3. May 21, 2017 / 3:26 pm

    I LOVVVVEE this guide – such a great breakdown. So many of the dishes look so good. Going to order some Mexican food now. 🙂

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      May 23, 2017 / 7:56 pm

      Thank you SOOOO much Cheryl, it means so much to me. I put a lot of effort in this post and it feels great that it’s appreciated. I hope you enjoyed your Mexican food 🙂

  4. May 23, 2017 / 5:28 am

    So yummy looking…beautiful new design of website too…

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      May 23, 2017 / 7:58 pm

      Thanks Abhiruchi <3 A vegetarian food guide is something that I definitely find very useful before travelling somewhere and I am sure you will agree with me 🙂

  5. May 24, 2017 / 6:25 am

    Oh my god, I am so hungry now 😀 I’m not even into Mexican food that much to be honest, but from looking at your pictures, maybe that’s just because I never had proper Mexican food in my life! The pictures are great, although I chuckled at the one you forgot to snap 😀 Would happen to me every time! Safe travels to you!

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      June 4, 2017 / 2:41 pm

      I hope that you give Mexican food another chance after this 🙂 I felt compelled to admit my mistake and make that disclaimer about forgetting to click 😉

  6. May 29, 2017 / 8:29 pm

    I’ve definitely come to see that the rest of the world’s take on “Mexican food” is often rather different to anything even remotely authentic – this all looks AMAZING & what a great range of veggie choices you found!

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      June 4, 2017 / 2:38 pm

      I was amazed by the varied veggie choices as well, so much that I decided wanted to write an entire post on it.

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      June 5, 2017 / 11:55 am

      I know! It’s lunch time and I’m craving for a salbute myself 😉

  7. Aai
    June 5, 2017 / 2:39 pm

    Ameeta wonderful pics of Mexican vegetarian delicacies!would like to taste these mouth watering dishes someday😋

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      June 11, 2017 / 9:20 am

      Thank you, you will love all of them I bet 🙂

  8. June 11, 2017 / 2:40 am

    mexican is one of my fav cuisines. Mushroom Pibil look delicious!

    • ayewanderful
      Author
      June 11, 2017 / 9:20 am

      We have that in common Ria 🙂

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