33 Mexican Appetizers To Kick Off A Party

In 1943, some wives of U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan in Eagle Pass, Texas, were on a shopping trip in the bordering city of Piedras Negras, Mexico. They stopped at a just-closed restaurant. Not wanting to disappoint his customers, the maître d’, Ignacio "El Nacho" Anaya, was determined to whip something up for them. He made due with what was left in the kitchen—tortillas, cheese, and pickled jalapeños—and served what would go on to be called "Nacho's especiales".

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Everyone has opinions about Mexico's most famous avocado-based dip: guacamole. Some, like us, keep it simple. We prefer to let the flavor of our avos shine. Others like to go crazy on the mix-ins: spices, tomatoes, garlic, etc. If that's your thing, this guacamole is the perfect jumping off point. Add whatever you like!

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This filling is loosely based on a very traditional Mexican (top-secret!) recipe. It’s delicious as is, but if you want to give it even more pizzaz, we highly recommend adding a splash of red wine vinegar, finely chopped capers and green olives, and a good squeeze yellow mustard. Once you've got the pastry down, you can pretty much stuff them with anything!

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Queso fundido is a true party trick. It’s likely the lowest effort, highest reward party dip. Go for Mexican chorizo here instead of the Spanish, which is usually dried.

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Making a whole recipe on one sheet pan is perfect for a party. For these chicken fajitas you simply toss all of the ingredients in an easy marinade of avocado oil and taco spices like cumin and chili powder and then bake it all together on a sheet pan. SO EASY.

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Tostada shells can be tricky to find, so we made our own! Hot and fresh, there's so much more flavor. All that said, these insanely creamy beans + quick pickled onions would taste amazing on anything, including a packaged tostada shell. 😉

Get the Best-Ever Mexican Tostadas recipe.

A taquito is essentially a rolled taco with many of the topping like guacamole and sour cream on the outside. They are traditionally shallow fried to get that beautifully crisp exterior, but ur version is baked with an option to make them in the air fryer!

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This dip has EVERYTHING, from 4 types of cheese (including our dip secret weapon, cream cheese), refried beans, and taco seasoning and a jalapeño for spice.

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When you have an easy churro recipe this delicious, it's absolutely worth it to get a deep fry going. They only take a few minutes to fry and will actually still taste good at room temp, making them a great party dessert!

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Elote is an unbelievably popular antojito (little craving) that you can find sold on the street in Mexico. It's often served on a stick, though you could skip the skewer and make it the same way you'd boil or oven bake regular corn on the cob.

Get the Elote: Mexican Street Corn recipe.

The fish here marinates in a mixture of lime juice, chili powder, and cumin that will become your standard. But the real gem of this recipe is the red cabbage slaw—don't skip it. It takes just a few minutes to toss together and its brightness is the perfect condiment to the spiced cod.

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Tamales aren’t just fun to eat, they’re a great solo or group project for anyone who loves to cook. Make it a party by involving your friends, enlist your partner or spouse for a different kind of date night, or get the whole family involved. Tamale making is a joy, and tamales are a great canvas for different kinds of fillings.

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Everyone loves a good queso dip. We love this Mexican street corn variety, it's got crunch, spice, and even MORE cheese as garnish.

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You can always add on additional toppings like corn salsa, avocado ranch, or endless crunchy veggies like radishes or pickled red onions, but here we keep things simple. With ingredients you're likely to have on hand, these tostadas make for a last minute, easy meal you'll have on repeat.

Get the 5-Ingredient Black Bean Tostadas recipe.

Think of this as a medley of the most exciting parts of a vegetarian burrito bowl, unadulterated by rice, and hyped up by a little honey-lime action.

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Salsa has been around for a very very long time. The origins date back to the Incas and Aztecs. To make ours the most flavorful salsa ever, we use both cherry tomatoes and fresh off-the-vine tomatoes. We also roast some of the ingredients to intensify their flavors and make this salsa POP!

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This Taco Bell copycat isn't actually Mexican, nor is it a pizza. It's actually more of a Tex-Mex quesadilla, and we love it for a lightning fast party food. The ease of flour tortillas straight from the bag can't be beat, but if you want to be true to the Taco Bell recipe, shallow fry them in vegetable oil!

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Instead of rolling your chicken enchiladas individually, this casserole speeds up the process by layering everything together in the pan. Skip the store-bought and make your own homemade enchilada sauce so you can adjust the heat up or down according to your preference and the flavor is 10x better.

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This slow-cooker chicken falls apart and becomes immensely tender, flavored with the familiar flavors of chunky salsa and taco seasoning, and brightened up with bursts of lime juice. Set a pot of this and some tortillas out on your party spread and have guests serve themselves!

Get the Crockpot Salsa Chicken recipe.

You could just serve tortilla scoops as a chip alongside guacamole and shrimp, OR you could combine all three into one adorable, bite-size appetizer. We kept out shrimp tails on for aesthetics, but feel free to remove for serving.

Get the Shrimp Tostada Bites recipe.

We provide both traditional instructions (cooked in citrus) and poaching options, so you can choose how you prefer to cook the shrimp. No need to be suspect of the traditional way, though—people have been making ceviche that way for thousands of years!

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Looking for ways to use up that sweet summer corn? Look no further! This simple salad hits all the right notes: creamy, spicy, salty, and citrusy, just like the beloved Mexican street food dish elote (grilled sweet corn coated in mayo, cotija cheese and spices) that it's inspired by.

Get the Mexican Corn Salad recipe.

You might not think to add taco seasoning on shrimp recipes—but think again: Marinated in a mix of taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, and lime juice, these shrimp are seriously bangin'.

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We're big fans of salsa verde here at Delish. Salsa verde chicken, salsa verde queso, salsa verde taquitos... the list goes on. We don't mind using the canned stuff for cooking, but homemade is always better if you're serving it straight-up.

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The onion, garlic, jalapeño, tomatoes, and green chilis add all of the flavor and makes this queso the best. If you are more of a queso purist, then try it out with just less of the veggies called for first before knocking all of them to the curb!

Get the Best Queso Dip recipe.

Make your own salsa verde and taco seasoning here, or use store-bought to make this extra stress-free.

Get the Salsa Verde Queso recipe.

Don't want the hassle of assembling chicken enchiladas? Make this easy dip instead!

Get the Chicken Enchilada Dip recipe.

These nachos are so loaded you won't even realize they're vegetarian! The queso cheese sauce is EPIC.

Get the Ultimate Nachos recipe.

Frying your own chips is easier than you'd think (and a great way to use up old tortillas!). We turned ours into nachos, but you can use yours for anything from chips and dip to chilaquiles.

Get the Homemade Tortilla Chips recipe from Delish.

This recipe has the perfect proportions of each layer, so you get the total combo in every scoop. Check out our guacamole and refried pinto beans recipes if you wanna make yours from scratch. We think it makes a good dip even better. 🙌

Get the 7-Layer Dip recipe.