Food is one of my favorite ways of exploring a new culture. Like Italian or Japanese food, Mexican cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines around the world – and if you ask me one of the best! However, meat is one of the main components of almost every Mexican dish. But don’t worry, I assure you, you won’t starve and will still have plenty of options after reading my Veggie Food Guide for Mexico City!
Dorilocos
Booths offering dorilocos are everywhere in Mexico City! You can customize them with anything: from a variety of chips – Doritos or spicy Rancheritos – to an even bigger selection of toppings like queso fresco, corn, mango, jícama, carrots or cucumber. The bag of chips will be sliced open and the vendor layers all your toppings with plenty of salsa and lime. You eat it right out of the bag – messy endeavor!
Elote and Esquites
Elote is steamed corn on the cob slathered with butter, mayonnaise, garlic, chili powder, Cotija cheese, and lime juice. Esquites have the corn kernels shaved off the cob and are served in a cup.
Empanadas
Originally from Spain, you can find them anywhere in Latin America from savory to sweet! Empanadas are half-moon-shaped turnover pastries. Again, there are countless variations in size, fried or baked, but also with the filling: peas, mashed potato, tomato, hard-boiled egg, raisins, cheese and Nutella. Eat them right from a stand when they’re still warm.
Insects
Technically insects are not considered as meat! You can find them at many stands around CDMX. They are a great provider of protein. Chapulines (grasshoppers) are the most common but you can also find scorpions, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, maguey worms, and hormigas chicatanas (leaf-cutter ants).
Memela
Although originally from Oaxaca, memelas are masa disks: tender on the inside but nicely crispy on the edges. The toppings can vary but usually include beans, salsa, and cheese.
Molletes
Molletes are opened sandwiches with refried beans and melted cheese served with pico de gallo. I love pico de gallo – so simple and good! It consists of red tomatoes, white onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime!
Tacos
There are countless taco versions: de pescado (fish), camaron (shrimp), de guisado (stewed meat) etc. In Mexico City tacos are mostly made of corn instead of flour. To be honest, if you eat meat and fish you will find thousands of options, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of tacos for you too! You can eat them with beans or potatoes for example! Be sure to check out Por Siempre Vegana Taquería – they tasted like heaven!
Tacos de canasta – are bathed in melted butter or oil. To keep them warm, they’ll be stored in a basket, that’s where the name comes from (canasta). They are super cheap – more or less 5 pesos!
Taco soup – the name basically says it: a soup out of the main ingredients of tacos. Ask the waiter if they do it without the beef – mine was!
Quesadillas
You will think easy: tortilla and cheese, duh. But, these bigger fried or baked tacos can also be filled with mushrooms or squash blossoms besides cheese. I highly recommend trying them with the squash!
As you can see, you don’t have to limit yourself. There are countless meat and fish-free options and I didn’t even include classics like fajitas or enchiladas. If you know a bit about Mexican cuisine, this list could go on and on but I wanted to point out my favorite options. Now that you know what to eat, you might look for restaurants. Check out my top five recommendations for Mexico City here!
