The spices and seasonings that show up most often in Mexican food are garlic, onion, Mexican oregano, cumin, chiles (fresh and dried), cinnamon, and coriander along with its leafy form, cilantro. Cloves, allspice, black pepper, achiote and herbs like epazote fill out the pantry in many regions. Mexican cooking usually leans on a handful of seasonings used well rather than a long list, and chiles do most of the heavy lifting.
The mix changes from region to region and from family to family. What follows is a plain look at the spices in Mexican food that you’re most likely to taste, where they came from, and how cooks tend to use them.
What are the most common spices in Mexican cooking?
Garlic and onion come first. They aren’t spices in the strict sense, but almost every savory Mexican dish starts with them. White onion is the usual choice in Mexico, and it shows up raw as a topping, charred on a comal for salsas, or cooked down at the start of a stew. Garlic is often roasted in its skin until soft and sweet, then blended into sauces. Both arrived in the Americas with the Spanish and became so central that it’s hard to picture the cuisine without them.
Mexican oregano is next. Despite the name, it comes from a different plant than the Mediterranean oregano most people keep in the cupboard. It has a stronger, more citrusy and slightly earthy flavor that holds up well next to chiles. Cooks often crumble the dried leaves between their palms right over a pot of beans, a stew, or a bowl of pozole or menudo.
Cumin is the third of the everyday spices. It’s warm, earthy and a little bitter, and a small amount goes a long way. Cumin came to Mexico by way of the Spanish, and you’ll usually find more of it in northern Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking than in the kitchens of central and southern Mexico, where it tends to be used lightly. We wrote a closer look at cumin, Mexican oregano and epazote in our piece on the three most flavorsome Mexican spices, if you’d like to know more about any of them.
Are chiles a spice or a vegetable?
Both, depending on how they’re used. Fresh chiles like jalapeño, serrano and poblano are chopped, roasted, stuffed and sliced like vegetables. Dried chiles are toasted, soaked and ground, which puts them squarely in spice territory. Many chiles go by one name fresh and another dried. A dried poblano becomes an ancho. A jalapeño that has been smoked and dried becomes a chipotle. Guajillo and pasilla are two more dried chiles you’ll see in red sauces and moles.
Chiles bring more than heat. Some taste fruity, some smoky, some almost like raisins or chocolate. That range of flavor is a big reason chiles anchor so many sauces. Our guide to the top chiles used in Mexican cooking goes through the most common ones.
At El Chubby’s, chili is the heart of the menu. Our green chili is made fresh every day, and you can choose from three: hot green, mild green and red. The hot green is what we’re best known for. It’s what goes inside and on top of our burritos, which come five ways, from Plain (no chili or cheese) to Deluxe (smothered with green chili and cheese, then topped with lettuce and tomatoes).
Why is cinnamon used in Mexican food?
Cinnamon surprises some people, but it has been part of Mexican cooking for centuries. It arrived through Spanish trade routes, and cooks in Mexico generally prefer the soft, flaky variety often sold as Ceylon cinnamon, known in Spanish as canela. It’s milder and more floral than the harder cassia cinnamon common in American grocery stores.
You’ll find cinnamon on both sides of the menu. On the savory side it adds warmth to complex sauces like mole, often alongside cloves, black pepper and allspice. Allspice, by the way, is native to the Caribbean and parts of Central America and southern Mexico, so it was in the neighborhood long before the Spanish showed up. On the sweet side, cinnamon is traditional in horchata, Mexican hot chocolate, café de olla and champurrado. It’s also the classic coating for churros and a natural match for sopapillas and honey. Our dessert menu has cinnamon churros, sopapillas, horchata bites and fried ice cream if you want to end a meal on that note.
What is the difference between cilantro and coriander?
They come from the same plant. In the United States, “cilantro” means the fresh leaves and “coriander” means the dried seeds. The leaves taste bright, green and a little citrusy, and they’re everywhere in Mexican food, from salsas and guacamole to the handful sprinkled over street tacos. The seeds taste warmer and more floral and show up less often, usually in spice blends, pickles and some sauces.
Cilantro is another import that Mexico made its own. It came with the Spanish and took root so completely that most people now think of it as a native ingredient. If cilantro tastes like soap to you, you’re not imagining it. Researchers have linked that reaction partly to genetics, and plenty of people share it. That’s one more reason we cook everything to order, so you can always ask us to leave it off.
A few more seasonings round out the picture. Achiote, made from ground annatto seeds, gives a red-orange color and a mild, earthy flavor to dishes from the Yucatán. Epazote, a pungent herb, is a classic partner for black beans in central and southern Mexico. Vanilla is native to Mexico, though it belongs mostly to desserts and drinks. And black pepper, cloves and bay leaves turn up in plenty of stews and braises.
Where can you taste these flavors in Aurora?
The best way to understand Mexican seasoning is to eat it. At El Chubby’s, the place to start is our green chili, made fresh every day in our kitchen on South Abilene Street. Try it on a smothered burrito, over a plate of enchiladas, or on top of a burger, since any of our burgers can be smothered with your choice of chili.
If you like bold flavor, look at our specialties. Our carne asada is thin strips of steak grilled with jalapeños, onions and tomatoes, and Carne Asada Fries is our signature dish. The Carne Asada Bowl and Carne Asada Plate are good choices too, and our beans are made in the pot.
We’ve been cooking in Aurora since 1991, and we’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner with dine-in, takeout and a drive-thru. When you’d rather eat at home, you can order online for pickup or delivery. Come hungry, and ask for the hot green if you’re feeling brave.
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