Cinco de Mayo is a fun and festive holiday perfect for enjoying your favorite Mexican foods. Did you know that Cinco de Mayo, is not Mexico's Independence Day? It's not even a federal holiday in Mexico.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the day Mexico's Army defeated the French in the state of Puebla back in 1862, and is primarily celebrated there as a regional holiday.
Here in the US, Cinco de Mayo has become a fun and festive holiday honoring Mexican heritage and culture, like St. Patrick's Day for the Irish.
You can celebrate Cinco de Mayo with most any Mexican food you favor from complicated moles to simple tacos. I've gathered some of my favorite Mexican recipes here for you.
Start your celebration off on the right foot with a selection of your favorite Mexican appetizers. I like to keep it simple with corn chips, fresh homemade salsa and easy guacamole.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes for Appetizers
Homemade Salsa Recipe
Easy Guacamole Recipe
If the weather is cool and you prefer a simple one pot meal, why not make up a big batch of Mexican soup for Cinco de Mayo. Two of my favorites are Mexican meatball soup (sopa de albondigas) and tortilla soup.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes for Soup
Mexican Meatball Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
An easy Mexican casserole is another easy option. This allows you to make dinner ahead leaving you free to enjoy your fiesta.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes for Easy Mexican Casseroles
Baked Chiles Rellenos Recipe
Chicken Tortilla Casserole Recipe
Another fun way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo is with a Make Your Own Taco Party. Prepare your favorite taco filling and add bowls of simple toppings like chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, sliced radishes, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. Warm big stacks of corn tortillas and let everyone mix and match as they want.
Shredded chicken, shredded beef, carne asada, grilled vegetables, and pork carnitas are all great choices for filling tacos. If time is short, pick up a rotisserie chicken to use as taco filling instead.
Cinco de Mayo Recipes for Taco Fillings
Pork Carnitas Recipe
Basic Shredded Chicken Recipe
Basic Shredded Beef Recipe
Carne Asada Recipe
End the meal with a luscious Mexican dessert. My favorite is flan but there are lots of other great choices including tres leches cake, Mexican wedding cookies, and Mexican hot chocolate cookies.
Cinco de Mayo Dessert Recipes
Flan Recipe
Mexican Wedding Cookies Recipe
Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe
Tres Leches Cake Recipe
You Might Need:
To make your Cinco de May celebration a complete success you may need....
A Large Tortilla Warmer
Fiesta Chip-n-Dip Set
