Foods native to Mexico

Mexico appears on Micela as the origin of 36 foods and among the top producers of 17 more.

Foods native to Mexico

Food	Origin	kcal / 100 g
🥑 Avocado	Mesoamerica: southern Mexico and Guatemala	160
🍅 Tomato	Wild in the Andes; domesticated in Mexico	18
🌽 Corn	Balsas river valley, Mexico	86
🎃 Squash	Mesoamerica	26
🫘 Bean	Domesticated twice: Mesoamerica and the Andes	132
🦃 Turkey	Mesoamerica	159
🌶️ Chili	Wild in Bolivia; domesticated in Mexico	29
🍫 Chocolate	Upper Amazon in Ecuador; the Maya and Mexica made it a drink	598
🫑 Bell pepper	Mesoamerica	20
🍠 Sweet potato	Central America and northwestern South America	86
🍿 Popcorn	The oldest popcorn, 6,700 years old, was found on the coast of Peru	387
🌮 Taco	Mexico	180
🌯 Burrito	Northern Mexico and the US border	193
🫔 Tamale	Mesoamerica, thousands of years ago	190
🥗 Salad	The Romans ate it; the Caesar was born in Tijuana, Mexico	59
🍞 Pan de muerto	Mexico; baked for the Day of the Dead	367
☕ Champurrado	Mexico: corn masa atole with chocolate	94
🥛 Atole	Mesoamerica: hot corn drink	79
🍫 Mexican hot chocolate	Mesoamerica drank cacao; milk and sugar came later	89
🎃 Candied pumpkin	Mexico, with pumpkin and piloncillo	97
🐟 Basque-style salt cod	Basque Country, Spain; a Christmas dish in Mexico	103
🍎 Christmas apple salad	Mexico, at Christmas dinner	149
🍹 Mexican Christmas punch	Mexico: fruit and piloncillo simmered in water, for the posadas	51
🫔 Enchiladas	Mexico	273
🧀 Quesadilla	Mexico	368
🫘 Refried beans	Mexico	156
🍚 Mexican rice	Mexico	185
🍩 Buñuelos	Spain; eaten at Christmas in Colombia and Mexico	462
🥣 Black bean soup	Cuba and Mexico	103
🍲 Tripe soup	Beef tripe soup from almost all of Latin America; in Mexico, menudo or pancita	74
🧀 Nachos	Piedras Negras, Mexico	343
🥑 Guacamole	Mexico, from Aztec times	121
🫔 Chilaquiles	Mexico	198
🍲 Pozole	Mexico, from pre-Hispanic times	82
🥤 Banana smoothie	Mexico; called batido elsewhere	70
🥖 Molletes	Mexico	241

What Mexico produces among the world's largest

Food	Origin	kcal / 100 g
🍓 Strawberry	A hybrid bred in France from a Chilean and a North American species	32
🍊 Orange	Southern China and northeastern India	47
🥭 Mango	India and Myanmar	60
🍋 Lemon	Northeastern India and Myanmar	29
🥦 Broccoli	Italy, from the wild Mediterranean cabbage	34
🟡 Chickpea	Southeastern Turkey	164
🥩 Beef	Cattle were domesticated in Anatolia and the Near East	257
🍗 Chicken	From the red junglefowl, Southeast Asia	165
🥚 Egg	Where the hen was domesticated: Southeast Asia	143
🐙 Octopus	Galicia, Morocco and Mauritania concentrate the catch	164
🍮 Dulce de leche	Río de la Plata; Argentina and Uruguay both claim it	315
🌰 Walnut	Persia and Central Asia	654
🍬 Sugar	Sugarcane was domesticated in New Guinea; India first crystallized it	387
🍋‍🟩 Lime	Southeast Asia	30
🥒 Cucumber	Himalayan foothills, India	15
🍺 Beer	The oldest recipes are from Mesopotamia; today its icon is Germany	43
🧃 Juice	No single origin; icon: Brazil, which makes more than half the world's orange juice	45

What Mexico's foods bring

Among the 53 foods on this page with a full profile, per 100 g. The lightest is cucumber, at 15 kcal.

Stands out for	Food	Per 100 g
Most calories	🌰 Walnut	654 kcal
Most protein	🍗 Chicken	31 g
Most fiber	🍿 Popcorn	14.5 g
Most vitamin C	🌶️ Chili	119 mg
Most potassium	🍫 Chocolate	715 mg
Most iron	🍫 Chocolate	11.9 mg

Origins and producing countries are approximate, under review against historical sources and FAOSTAT.

🗺️ See it on the map

Other countries

United States · China · India · Turkey · Spain · Brazil · Italy · Japan · Argentina · Indonesia · France · Russia · Germany · Egypt · all