5 Best Mexican Cookbooks (Reviews Updated 2022)

Enchiladas and meatballs for dinner? Or is it a Tex-Mex sandwich for lunch? If you are tired of eating the same food every day and are seeking a change, Mexican cuisine has a lot to offer you. But then, as soon as you hear of Mexican food, if you are reminded of Enchiladas, Tortillas, and more, you are not at the right place.  Solution? Get yourself a Mexican cookbook that goes beyond the Americanised style of Mexican food.

If you are thinking about which one to buy, here are our reviews of the five best Mexican cookbooks. We have studied each one in-depth to give you a detailed and unbiased review. We invite you to read our reviews and choose one that best suits your needs.

Best Mexican Cookbooks

Image	Best Mexican Cookbooks	Rating
	1. Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen	99%
	2. Mexico: The Cookbook	96%
	3. Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico	92%
	4. Chicano Eats: by E. Castillo	89%
	5. Easy Mexican Food Favorites: Mexican Cookbook for Taqueria-Style Home Cooking	85%

Want to learn more?

Here are our best Mexican cookbooks’ reviews:

1. Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen by G.Guzman and S.Adimando

Guzman and Adimando catch the true spirit of Mexican cooking, which has been missed by many authors, cooking with simple ingredients and using them well; from the husk to the grain; from animals/seafood – the fat to the tail of the fish.

The authors have explained Mexican cooking as flavourful, rich, with deep intricacies involved and layers of flavors added to Mexican food. This cookbook is the winner of the  2018 James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award in the “International” category. It is a must-have in your kitchen.  The authors give you more than a hundred recipes ranging from Mexican regional food to American Mexican dishes in San Francisco restaurants and cafes.

Guzman introduces the reader to the basic cooking methods in Mexican cuisine, deep insights into the Mexican food and culture, and favorite recipes from Nopalito.  This cookbook is filled with 256 pages of information and colorful pictures.

Our favourite? Tostadas De Tinga Poblana (Chicken Tinga Tostadas) or even the Pozole and the chicken tamales.

Why do we like it?

• Describes and utilizes three pillars of Mexican cooking
• Use of fresh ingredients
• Captures the essence of Mexican cooking

2. Mexico: The Cookbook

A New York Times best-seller in the past, this cookbook by Arronte is for intuitive chefs and those who have been exposed to Mexican cuisine in the past.  Offering you traditional recipes, the book directly links to more than six hundred recipes from various regions of Mexico.

Sharing well-written and detailed recipes starting from snacks to have between meals, street food and more, this culinary cookbook is a great starting point. While the book has more than two hundred pictures of colorful and flavourful food, unlike most beginners’ cookbooks, each recipe does not have a picture.

There is more to Mexican food than just enchiladas or Tex-Mex food. Arronte shows you her secrets of cooking Mexican food with the Drunken Chicken and more.  She has notes on recipe origins, techniques, and ingredients. Wll Known chefs such as E. Olvera and H. Ortega add commentaries to make dishes quickly and better.

This Mexican cookbook of seven hundred and four pages is a testimony of Arronte’s research for more than twenty-five years into Mexican food. She has taught and cooked Mexican cuisine. She has also served as the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture’s chef between 1996 to 2001.

Some users of this cookbook note that Arronte makes extensive use of “dry roasted” things like onion and cloves, amongst other ingredients. You may not know some of them in the Americas or your country, and perhaps an introduction to some ingredients is necessary.

Why do we like it?

• Traditional and authentic recipes
• Scope for your modification
• More than six hundred recipes

3. Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico by B. Lopez and  J.Cabral

Lopez and Cabral introduce you to the Mole cooking in Mexican food. Mole or concoction or gravy style of food is similar to the sauces used in the Americas. Being a temperate and humid zone, people staying in Mexico need more water content in their bodies. The Mexican cuisine reflects this.

This Mexican cookbook is labeled Oaxaca, on the lines of the city, Oaxaca in Mexico. Gateway to Mexican cooking, this cookbook offers you a hundred and forty authentic recipes from the region. This cookbook uses some of the most traditional and regional ingredients, that adds to the flavors. Some readers may find the ingredients difficult to find in their regions outside of Mexico, which is natural.

Oaxaca, the Mexican cookbook, offers 288 pages filled with food recipes that aim to turn your love for Mexican food far more than salsa and tacos. Some readers of this Mexican cookbook like the simplicity of the recipes from a family meal. This cookbook also introduces novices to the Mexican ingredients, techniques, and culture of Mexico.

How about some Taquitos de Picadillo de Pollo and a glass of Mescal!

Why do we like it?

• Available in Kindle and hardcover
• Simple homemade Mole recipes
• Intricate flavors

4. Chicano Eats: by E. Castillo

Castillo, a queer American-Mexican (Chicano), has been the blogger behind Chicano Eats.  Replicating the flavors of Mexico and from his blogs, he presents this Mexican cookbook.  Unlike many other Mexican cookbooks, the cookbook differs in its taste of immigrant families moving to the USA.

Filled with local flavors, his recipes are a delight in themselves. Castillo introduces his childhood memories and connects them to Mexican cuisine.  Most recipes have tempting colorful, and flavourful illustrations of the main ingredients and the finished food dish.

Through Chicano Eats, Castillo depicts his love for cooking and the culture of Mexico in the Americas.  What makes the cookbook interesting are the little stories woven around history and his upbringing, mixed with Latino food, voices, and recipes.

He provides more than eighty-five recipes to showcase the Mexican food from regions you would never have gone to before, taking myths away of tacos and bread as being Mexican good.  In this cookbook, Castillo puts together recipes that are easy to cook in less than 30 minutes.

Castillo has created a true melting pot, mixing Mexican food with American culture as a Chicano is brought up transitioning to American food. Viva Mexico!

Why do we like it?

• Available in Kindle and hardcover
• More than eighty-five flavorful recipes
• Simple to cook delightful food

5. Easy Mexican Food Favorites: Mexican Cookbook for Taqueria-Style Home Cooking by J. Olvera

This cookbook by Olvera is a representation of modernised Mexican foods that have become a hit with the Americans. While most know about tortillas, and enchiladas, there is more to the Mexican cooking which this book explains.  Olvera thinks from the modern reader’s perspective and introduces dishes that take less than thirty. The author has shared make-ahead tips and time saver notes for many dishes that make your time spent in the kitchen easy and lesser.

The recipes are flavorful and colorful, with proportionate traditional and modern-day recipes. Using authentic ingredients easily available in most local groceries, Olvera captures the readers’ attention with Mexican dishes that are easy to make and are well-known in a regular household.

The 228 pages are filled with easy-to-make recipes, including meals and in-between meals snacks. This is a great cookbook for simple recipes with all-time Mexican favorites that all elderly, kids, and the youth will ever want.

This Mexican cookbook introduces useful information about ingredients, cooking styles, Mexican regions, and their history. Most recipes are commonly known as kid-friendly, crowd-pleasing, or gluten-free for the health-conscious.

Why do we like it?

• A wide array of recipes
• Colorful and flavorful
• Popular recipes