These Cinco de Mayo Recipes are a great way to get inspired and celebrate Mexican culture right at home. Each recipe is inspired or influenced by some of our favorite Mexican dishes. We wanted to showcase how bold and delicious Mexican food can be while making the recipes easy for you to do.
What is Cinco De Mayo and Why Celebrate?!
Cinco de Mayo is a Mexican holiday that celebrates the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla, which occurred on May 5, 1862. Traditionally, in Mexico, it is only really celebrated in Puebla, since that is where the battle took place. Mexican Independence Day is a bigger celebration as it honors the national battle for freedom, as this only celebrates one battle.
It seems that Cinco de Mayo is actually much more popular here in the United States. We love celebrating the victory in Battle of Puebla. It’s become a way for America to show appreciation for all the incredible rich things the Mexican culture has brought us.
Leave it to American advertisers to capitalize on it. Cinco de Mayo generates beer sales on par with the Super Bowl. However while advertisers want us to focus on buying tequila and beer, we think that there is a bigger opportunity to really celebrate this incredible culture.
As usual we love to use food as our way of diving in and learning about other cultures. Mexican food is bold and flavorful and is a party on your plate as well as your mouth.
Our Cinco de Mayo Recipe Ideas
Cinco de May was just here! It’s always the perfect excuse for tacos and margaritas! Here are a few of our favorite Cinco De Mayo inspired dishes to keep you feeling festive all month long. After all, Taco Tuesday is a given in our houses.
Shrimp Ceviche Verde
This Shrimp Ceviche Verde tastes just as delicious as it looks. Right away you notice the vibrant, refreshing and unique. It is the perfect combination of cilantro, lime, tomatillos and other ingredients that combine with the shrimp for a zingy and flavorful Mexican style ceviche dish. We bet it’s unlike most of the ceviches you’ve made before.
Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas is going to be a hit at your Cinco de Mayo party! It’s really easy to do. All you have to do is throw your shrimp and veggies on a sheet pan and roast. Taco night truly doesn’t get any easier.
Tropical Ceviche
This Tropical Ceviche is the cool light fresh bite to help you beat the heat. It has fresh fish, tons of citrus, a little mango, a dash red chile and avocado. It’s sweet with just the right amount of kick. You can serve it with a mariquitas, corn chips or just dig in with a spoon. You can’t go wrong.
Abuela’s Guacamole
Guacamole is crucial to a good Cinco de Mayo dinner. It’s something that can be made with ingredients you have on hand, and it’s always a hit. You can serve it with chips, veggies, or on the side of your tacos!
Enfrijoladas
Enfrijoladas is a dreamy traditional Mexican dish. This recipe originated in Mexico with a universal problem, leftover food and not wanting any of it to go to waste. Traditionally this dish was made using stale tortillas dipped in leftover frijoles from the night before. Leave no food behind. It’s the perfect thing to pop in the oven for Cinco de Mayo or any time!
Tajin Frozen Margarita
A Frozen Tajin Margarita is the ultimate festive cocktail. It screams celebration and summer with every sip. A traditional margarita is a tequila based cocktail usually mixed with triple sec and lime. This one blends it with ice, and has the perfect hit of spice with the tajin rim!
Sheet Pan: Chipotle Lime Salmon
Sheet Pan: Chipotle Lime Salmon recipe packs a punch of flavor. It’s a great introduction into your weekly rotation. It is a great twist on Salmon, which we know is good for us in many ways. It’s quick and easy prep, and quick and easy pick up. A thing of beauty.
Tacos with our Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or Pork
As you can see from all our taco recipes, we love tacos on Cinco de Mayo or any day of the week. This idea is no exception. We love the idea of using our Shredded Chicken or Shredded Pork recipes for taco night. We would suggest adding a little taco seasoning to the pot, and we think you are going to love what you find!
Pickled Red Onions
We think the little touches can sometimes have the biggest impact. We find that pickling onions, takes almost no time or effort and leaves you with a great topping for taco night, salads, or almost anything. Our How to Pickle Red Onions will help you make this delicious side in no time!
Tomatillo Sauce
This Tomatillo Sauce is perfect for your Cinco de Mayo party! It’s such a great light sauce, that people are going to love. It’s so good drizzled over Shredded Chicken Tacos, on Enfrijoladas or your Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas!
Avocado Crema
This is another delicious idea for a sauce to serve at your Cinco de Mayo dinner party! It’s another example of a little touch making a big impact. It’s going to go so perfectly with your tacos, or quesadillas. A great easy recipe that you will love!
Find some of Our Other Delicious Recipe Ideas
