A Foodie's Notes on Oaxacan Cuisine
Oaxaca is one of the major foodie cities in Mexico and has a wide variety of traditional foods as well as fresh takes of Mexican cuisine. From fancy sit-down restaurants to street-food vendors to homestyle restaurants in the middle of nowhere, the food in Oaxaca is wide-ranging in style and delicious almost anywhere you go.
On the travel study class trip I took over spring break, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to try foods from the Oaxaca city as well as small towns in the country and jungle (often the only one in the entire village). I've provided a lengthy list with some short descriptions of some of the food we had on our trip below. It may seem long but honestly I've probably forgotten several things we tried. I'm one of fifteen that went on this trip and if I complied everyone's experiences the list would be much longer. Hopefully you enjoy this little tour of Oaxacan cuisine and maybe try some of these foods yourself!
Drinks
Hibuscus tea
Chilacayote, a drink made out of squash served cold
Café, coffee often flavored with cinnamon and occasionally cacao
Hot chocolate from cacao, often flavored with cinnamon and sugar as well
Horchata, a rice tea that can also be made with oats
Tejate, a chocolate drink made with foamy flour on top
Fresh squeezed or blended fruit juice
Mango
Pineapple
Watermelon
Coconut (whole or just the milk)
Mezcal (14 varieties) either straight up or found in various mixed drinks. Mezcal has a very smoky flavor to it and a certain 'heat' as well. Often served with orange slices and salted chili powder.
Snacks
Peanuts roasted with salt, chili, and whole garlic cloves (yum-this was so good I bought a bag the last evening and snacked on it all the way back to the US)
Pineapple or mango with chili powder
Fresh fruit
Pineapple
Mango
Sapote, a fruit that tastes like a mix between an apricot and papaya with a slight pudding texture
Starfruit
Bananas
Tomatilllos! Small relatives of tomatoes that one girl on the trip bought an entire grocery bag of at one of the markets and we were eating the entire trip...
Chapulines (roasted grasshoppers) in various flavors.
The markets had so many different things to offer, chocolates, chilies, fruit, sweet breads, and so much more! It was overwhelming but so fascinating to see all of the different options.
Processed snacks (many more that listed below)
Chocolate covered malt balls
Oreo imitations
Funky Doritos, seemingly normal nacho flavors but with much more of a kick
Berry bars with a shortbread-like base and raspberry or other fruit filling
Meals
Lots of eggs, beans, cheese, and tortillas...I don't think I've eaten as much of these foods in my entire life as I did during this week abroad.
Quesadillas, often homemade tortillas filled with local Oaxaca cheese, sometimes with beans or meat, served with a side of salsa. (One time I had three quesadillas in a day, one for every meal since it was the only vegetarian option available)
Huevous, beans in various forms, often black seasoned with chilies or garlic and salt.
Frijoles, which were tortillas served in soupy bean sauce topped with cheese and fried eggs.
Empanadas
Tlayudas, which are slightly fired tortillas topped with beans, cheese, vegetables, and salsa. Meat eaters can add chicken, tasajo (thin sliced beef cuts), and so on. Vegetarians can go for the cheese version or add cactus or fried squash blossoms. These are VERY good and kind of remind me of pizza...
Chile relleno, fried poblano chiles stuffed with cheese and served with a side of beans, salsa, and tortillas
Salsa! So many different flavors, everyone has their own recipes. They're as diverse as moles. Salsa verde, cilantro, red, etc.
Nopal, edible cactus pads served as a side or with rice and beans.
Sopa of various flavors, my favorite was a vegetable stew we made with the women's co-op.
Simple meat or beans with rice and vegetables, sometimes in a mole. Mole is a traditional sauce, often with chilies, that meat (sometimes beans) are sautéed in. Oaxaca has 7 famous moles.
Elotes, which is a common (delicious) street food of grilled corn with mayo, cheese, chili and lime.
Pastries/desserts
Pan dulce (sweet bread) in many forms
Nut bread, plantain ‘banana’ bread, and other loaf breads that you can buy by the slice at a cafe
Apple and almond croissants or other flavors...we found some croissants in a small cafe which are definitely not the traditional Mexican food, but possibly the best croissant I've ever had.
Ice cream/sorbets, one little shop had crema (cream) that you could add flavors in and they would mix it for you on a freezing surface and you could add toppings (I tried passionfruit and mango-delicious!)
Cookies and custard filled items from street vendors, something that looked like roll up crepes that I unfortunately did not get to try...
Fried plantains-probably my favorite dessert of the trip
Las Alegrais, similar to a granola bar made with Amaranth seeds and honey
And so much more....
Oaxaca has much to offer for the foodie explorer and we just got a bit-sized taste during this trip as most of the food we ate were from small, local restaurants with one or two options at each meal and there were many repeat meals as we were on the road or in the jungle. I hope this snapshot of some of the food I tried in Oaxaca inspires you to try some new foods and make some of the meals listed above, since (physical) travel right now is not advised you can still take a cultural trip by exploring the cuisines of far-away places.
Happy eating!