Tex-Mex vs Mexican: What is the difference? | MegaMex Foods | Foodservice Division (2024)

FAQs

Tex-Mex vs Mexican: What is the difference? | MegaMex Foods | Foodservice Division? ›

Tex-Mex entrees typically come with black beans while Mexican dishes are served with pinto beans — and soupy ones at that. Then there's yellow cheese versus white cheese, fried corn tortillas versus soft ones and chili powder versus chile peppers.

The taco can indicate if your food is from the north or south of the border. Tex-Mex tacos feature ground beef, a flour tortilla, salad, and yellow cheese. A Mexican taco is always served in a corn tortilla, filled with slow-roasted pork or barbecued meat, and topped with lime, onion, and cilantro.

Dishes such as enchiladas can be authentic or of the Tex-Mex variety. Authentic Mexican enchiladas have a variety of ingredients wrapped and often fried. They can be topped with cheese, chicken, lettuce, or sauces. Tex-Mex enchiladas are typically baked and are made with beef and cheese.

Even fajitas are a Tex-Mex invention (offered to tourists in Mexico now because so many Americans associate fajitas as authentic). Tex-Mex is a cuisine only very loosely related to Mexican cuisine.

Authentic Mexican dishes also find uses for spices such as cinnamon, cocoa, and cloves that are often not seen in North American or even Tex-Mex dishes. The use of spices in abundance is one of the key differences that sets authentic Mexican food apart from its Tex-Mex counterparts.

Tex-Mex entrees typically come with black beans while Mexican dishes are served with pinto beans — and soupy ones at that. Then there's yellow cheese versus white cheese, fried corn tortillas versus soft ones and chili powder versus chile peppers.

Burritos are a traditional food of Ciudad Juárez, a city bordering El Paso, Texas, in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, where people buy them at restaurants and roadside stands.

Examples of Tex-Mex food include fajitas, nachos, and any dish that uses beef, black beans, canned vegetables, wheat flour, or yellow cheese. These ingredients are not popular south of the Rio Grande or the Mexican border.

Condiments. Tex-Mex opts for shredded yellow cheese, sour cream, and jarred salsa, while Mexican cuisine features crumbly queso fresco, Mexican crema, and freshly made salsas. The contrast in dairy choices and condiments reflects the distinct flavor profiles of each culinary tradition.

Taco Bell is one of the most well-known Tex-Mex franchises in the world. In 1962, their first location opened in Downey, California. In the United States, Taco Bell and their franchisees operate over 7,200 restaurants that serve more than 40 million customers each week.

Is Guacamole Mexican or Tex-Mex? ›

Although this delicious snack and ingredient was originally discovered in Mexican food, it has since become a popular food across all of America.

Just like barbecue, grilling, and tailgating, Tex-Mex is part of our identity. For many us, Tex-Mex comfort foods such as tamales, tacos, and fajitas are filled with nostalgia.

Both types are made with pork, vinegar, and spices such as paprika, oregano, and garlic. But Spanish chorizo is traditionally air-dried, fermented, and sliced, while Tex-Mex-style chorizo is sold fresh, uncooked and packaged in natural hog casings.

All of the citrus

The acidic tang complements the meat - whether it's fried fish or carnitas. When Mexicans marinate carne asada, they soak the beef in orange juice to tenderize the meat and boost the flavor profile.

From the corn tortillas they make the crispy tacos, soft tacos and taquitos. With the flour tortillas they make soft tacos, taquitos,burritos and chimichangas (toasted burritos). People out of Mexico have an extra meaning for the word “taco” which will be the heel of the shoes and in Mexico it is called “tacones”.

Mexican cuisine is famous for its fiery, rich flavors that come from aromatic spices like cumin, chilli powder, and paprika. In contrast, Italian cuisine is known for subtler flavors that come from seasoning herbs like oregano, basil, and parsley.

Examples of Tex-Mex food include fajitas, nachos, and any dish that uses beef, black beans, canned vegetables, wheat flour, or yellow cheese. These ingredients are not popular south of the Rio Grande or the Mexican border. This means Tex-Mex food is available in numerous places in Atlanta.

Tamales are a great example of Mexican street food, though you will find them in many restaurants as well. Consisting of steamed pockets of dough made from corn and stuffed with a variety of fillings, they are usually wrapped in cornhusks or banana leaves when steamed.

Authentic Mexican food and drinks are more than tacos and margaritas. Here are our favorite Mexican recipes—including elote, micheladas, posole and churros. Explore some of the most famous Mexican food (and drinks!) from various regions.