Around 9% of Mexico’s people identifies as vegan (the same as India). Around 20% of Mexicans are vegetarian and 15% only occasionally eat meat. That means that nearly half the population is ‘almost or always meat-free’. And in a country of 130 million people, that’s good news for animals!
Home cooking makes this shift simple. Many classic dishes already lean on beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. With a few smart swaps, you can enjoy tacos, enchiladas, and salsa that feel true to the roots, just without animal products.
Ultimate Vegan Chilli (So Vegan) is so good, that Lieutenant Columbo would be impressed! The two ‘secret ingredients’ are a little dark chocolate, and yeast extract. Serve with fresh coriander and plain vegan yoghurt.
Don’t eat cooked rice after 24 hours. It’s easier to use tinned kidney beans (fresh ones require boiling to remove a toxin before cooking). Wear gloves when handling fresh chillies (don’t touch your eyes, until you’ve washed your hands!)
Read up on food safety for people and pets (spices and corn-on-the-cob are not safe near animal friends). Just bin allium scraps (garlic, onion, shallots, chives, leeks) as like citrus/rhubarb, acids could harm compost creatures.
Key Ingredients for Mexican Dishes
Make your own tacos with Tiba’s sweet chilli Tempeh
- Beans: Black, pinto, and kidney beans give protein and body. Use tinned for speed, or invest in a multi-cooker to cook dried beans.
- Grains and corn: Long-grain rice, short-grain rice, and corn tortillas form the base of many meals. Keep a bag of cornmeal for quick tostadas.
- Fresh tomatoes: Choose ripe plum or vine tomatoes for salsa and sauces. They bring acidity and sweetness.
- Onions and garlic: The backbone of savoury flavour. Red onions for salsa, white or brown for cooking.
- Chillies: Jalapeños for gentle heat, serranos for kick, chipotle in adobo for smoke.
- Herbs and citrus: Fresh coriander and limes add a clean finish. Use lime zest as well as juice.
- Spices: Cumin, smoked paprika, ground coriander, and oregano. Toast lightly to wake them up.
What’s the Controversy with Avocado?
Avocados are full of nutrition (and good for your skin). And a main ingredient in the popular side dish of guacamole. But this thirsty crop is not local, and like palm oil in Indonesia, pine-oak forests in South America have been linked to deforestation, land grabs and even organised crime.
If you buy avocado, choose organic from known farms. A better idea is to simply sub with smashed peas, which when combined with lemon juice and herbs, has a similar flavour and texture. Peas are also high in protein.
Some plant-based Mexican recipes use hearts of palm (choose multi-stemmed for better sustainability). Or even better, just sub with local canned artichokes.
Beans and Grains: Your Protein Powerhouses
Black beans suit tacos and bowls, pinto beans love refrying, and kidney beans hold shape in stews. If cooking from dry, soak overnight, then simmer with a bay leaf until tender. Salt near the end for a soft skin.
Rice makes sauces sing. Rinse long-grain rice, toast in a pan with a little oil, then add stock and tomato puree for quick Mexican-style rice. For corn tortillas, warm them in a dry pan until soft and a little charred.
Vegetables, Herbs, and Spices for Authentic Flavour
Start with onions and garlic, cook them until sweet. Add cumin and smoked paprika, let them bloom. Stir in chillies for heat, then balance with lime and fresh coriander.
- Onions, diced small for even cooking.
- Garlic, crushed or grated to spread flavour.
- Chillies, remove seeds for less heat, keep them for more.
- Cumin, earthy and warm, great with beans.
- Smoked paprika, adds gentle smoke without meat.
- Coriander, stems for cooking, leaves for garnish.
- Lime, juice for acidity, zest for aroma.
Aim for a mix of smoky, zesty, and fresh. If your dish tastes flat, add lime and salt. If it is too sharp, add a pinch of sugar or more tomato. Build, taste, adjust.
Simple Plant-Based Mexican recipes
These three recipes fit real life. Each takes under 30 minutes and uses familiar items.
Crispy Vegan Tacos with Bean Filling
Crisp shells, creamy beans, fresh toppings, quick to assemble and fun to eat.
Ingredients:
- 8 corn tortillas or taco shells
- 2 cups refried beans (avoid those with lard)
- 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 cup of drained peas
- 1 tomato, diced
- Lime wedges, fresh coriander, and salt
Steps:
- Warm tortillas in a dry pan until pliable, or bake taco shells for crunch.
- Heat refried beans with cumin and smoked paprika, add a splash of water for spreadable texture.
- Layer beans on each tortilla, add lettuce, tomato, and avocado.
- Finish with coriander, a squeeze of lime, and a pinch of salt.
Customise with pickled onions for tang, sliced jalapeños for heat, or grilled corn for sweetness. Serve with simple rice for a fuller plate.
Cheesy Plant-Based Enchiladas
Soft tortillas, rich tomato sauce, and a creamy cashew cheese, all baked until bubbling at the edges.
Ingredients:
- 10 small corn tortillas
- 1 tin black beans, drained
- 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 2 cups passata or blended tomatoes
- 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano
- Olive oil, salt, and pepper
Cashew cheese sauce:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 150 ml oat milk or water
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- Pinch of salt and smoked paprika
- Or use vegan cheese sauce.
Steps:
- Make the sauce. Blend soaked cashews with nutritional yeast, oat milk, lime, salt, and smoked paprika until smooth.
- Cook onion and garlic in a little oil until soft. Add passata, cumin, and oregano, simmer for 5 minutes. Season.
- Warm tortillas until pliable. Mix black beans with spinach, season lightly.
- Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in a baking dish. Fill each tortilla with beans and spinach, roll, and place seam-side down.
- Spoon over more tomato sauce, drizzle cashew cheese in lines, then bake at 200°C for 12 to 15 minutes until edges crisp.
Fresh Pico de Gallo Salsa
Bright, juicy, and quick, ideal on tacos or with tortilla chips.
Ingredients:
- 4 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- Handful of coriander, chopped
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- Salt, to taste
Steps:
- Mix tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and coriander in a bowl.
- Add lime juice and zest, then salt. Stir gently.
- Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes so the flavours meld.
Mexico’s Vegan ‘three milks’ Cake
Vegan Tres Leches Cake (Rainbow Nourishments) is a take on Mexico’s favourite dessert, which translates as ‘three types of milk cake’. Most stores now sell van condensed and evaporated milks. Top with vegan whipped cream, ground cinnamon and sliced strawberries or raspberries.
Agua Fresca (like natural Slush Puppies!)
Strawberry Agua Fresca (Broke Bank Vegan)
Agua Fresca is the national drink of Mexico, which mixes tropical fruits with water and sugar, and sometimes a little fresh lime juice. It’s really easy to make, and a wonderful alternative to chemical Slush Puppies sold in stores (if the raspberry drink is bright blue, something is seriously wrong)
You can easily adapt recipes using local seasonal fruits like strawberry, raspberry, apple, peach, plum or cherry.
Avoid unpasteurised juice for pregnancy/nursing or weak immune systems. Just bin citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures.
Simple Agua Fresca Recipe
This recipe makes about 4 to 6 servings.
Shopping list:
- 4 cups fresh fruit, chopped (melon/mint or strawberry/basil)
- 4 cups cold water
- 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar or agave
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- Ice, to serve
Always wash fruit well to remove dirt and pesticides.
- Prepare the fruit
Chop 4 cups of ripe fruit into chunks. Add half the water to the blender, then the fruit. Blend until smooth. If your blender is small, work in batches to avoid spills. - Strain for a smooth finish
Pour the mixture through a fine sieve or nut milk bag into a bowl or jug. Use a spoon to press out the liquid. Discard the pulp or save it for baking or smoothies. - Mix, sweeten, and add lime
Transfer the strained liquid to a large pitcher. Stir in the remaining water. Add sugar or agave to taste, starting with 2 tablespoons. Squeeze in lime juice for brightness. Taste, then adjust. If it is too strong, add a splash more water. - Chill and serve
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavours settle. Serve over plenty of ice. Garnish with a slice of fruit or a sprig of mint.
A Margarita Drink (from Cornwall!
Pentire Margarita is a Cornish sustainable drink, with no-booze. An ideal alternative to conventional margarita (if you prefer the boozy version, know that most tequila bottles don’t have a ‘worm in the bottle’, but their cousin mezcal may).
The drink is also sold in cans. You don’t have to crush cans for recycling, but do pop the ring-pull over the top before doing so, to avoid wildlife getting trapped inside.
Plant-Based Mexican REcipe Books
Comida Casera is by a Mexican-born chef, who shares over 100 plant-based Mexican recipes. This is a love letter to her food and culture, with recipes for:
- Almond Queso Fresco
- Green Chilaquiles
- Chilorio Burritos
- Pumpkin Seed Enchiladas
- Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
- Bean and Nopal Tostadas
- Potato & Poblano Stuffed Corn Cakes
- Mole Poblano Enchiladas
- Tres Leches Cake
- Vanilla Flan
Plantas is a celebration of traditional Mexican recipes, with a vibrant vegan twist for a modern audience. Pairs with the author’s own photography, this book is full of weeknight meals, snacks, salsas and cocktails, to inspire your next taco night!
- Guacasalsa!
- Dairy-Free Chipotle Crema
- Ceviche Tostadas
- Cauliflower Al Pastor
- Tres Leches Cake
- Churros
- Chocoflan
Vegan Mexico is a super book by a Mexican-American chef, who also gives you a history of Mexican food along the way. You’ll come away with a new admiration of the flavours of Mexico, and be inspired to make the book’s main dishes, soups, sandwiches, breads and desserts. The recipes capture the essence of:
- The moles of Oaxaca
- The Mayan legacy of the Yucatan
- The smoky chile flavours of Zacatecas
- The fruit-centric Southern regions
- The Spanish influence of Veracruz
- The street food of Mexico City
Mexico is Doing Good Green things!
As well as being mostly plant-based, Mexico (a large country in central American that borders the USA) is also home to a stunning coastline (including the world’s second-largest coral reef), and at the forefront of protecting its country from deforestation, air pollution and lack of clean water.
Home to over 200,000 species of wildlife and plants, there is a real urgency now. Local legislators are upping their game, with moves to ban over-tourism, which is harming marine life (snorkelling alongside whale sharks etc).
And a ban is imminent on performing dolphin shows, something that their friends over the border in the USA could learn from.
