I will never turn down Mexican food. Never! It’s always been one of my favorite cuisines and I love going out for the whole Mexican meal night experience.
My daughter Kylie and I like to get a plate of nachos together.
I’m not talking about the kind you can get at baseball or football games… I’m talking about crisp tortilla chips covered in gooey cheese, ground meat, and a whole bunch of vegetables.
Related: Easy Recipes for Your Summer Corn
So why am I bringing this up now? Because it’s National Fajita Day! And while I found a tasty sheet pan fajita recipe below, I figured you’d like to have a few Mexican Meal Night recipes to choose from.
So throw yourself a fun fiesta at home with these appetizers, meals, and refreshing drinks!
Best Mexican Meal Night Appetizers and Sides
Sometimes, I get stuffed on chips and dip before my meal comes to the table! But those crunchy tortilla chips paired with refreshing salsa are hard to resist…
Here are a few more appetizers you can whip up for your Mexican Meal Night.
Guacamole
You can’t go wrong with this super simple 2-step guacamole recipe created by by good friend, Tara Tesher.
Ever since I tried this recipe, I haven’t made guacamole any other way.
It’s not too smooth or too chunky, and it has just the right amount of garlic. It has a great texture and thanks to the spices, it bursts with flavor.
You can check out the recipe HERE.
Fresh and Easy Zesty Shrimp Salsa
My shrimp salsa is packed with so many layers of flavor, making it perfect for a Mexican Meal Night.
In the past, I’ve served it with chips, baguette slices, and sturdy pita chips, but it’s also great wrapped in a tortilla or on top of a salad!
If you’d like to give it a try, you can follow the full recipe HERE.
Wonton Taco Cups
In my opinion, tacos are great in any form which is why I’m sharing these Wonton Taco Cups from Confetti and Bliss.
They’re like little tacos in a bite-sized form… how cute! And while the cuteness is one of the reasons they’re in this lineup, they’re also pretty healthy.
Don’t believe me? Check out all of the ingredients below.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound extra-lean ground beef
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 envelope taco seasoning
- 1 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chilies
- Cooking spray
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 18 medium-sized black olives
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Brown the ground beef in a cast-iron pan over medium heat with avocado oil and taco seasoning (while breaking it up as it cooks). When the meat is no longer pink, remove the pan from the heat and add the drained tomatoes to the mix.
After, spray two cupcake pans with cooking spray and place a wonton wrapper in each of the wells of the pans (18 total). Add a tablespoon of meat to each wonton wrapper and add two teaspoons of cheese over the meat. Place another wonton wrapper over the top of each taco cup, making sure that the edges of the wrapper are slightly offset from the bottom one. Repeat with another meat and cheese layer.
Bake the wonton taco cups for about 8 minutes in the oven but make sure to keep an eye on them! They brown quickly. And when they’re cooked, remove them from the pans and garnish each with freshly-diced tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, sliced green onions, and olive.
Perfect finger food for your Mexican Meal Night!
Main Courses To Prepare For Your Fiesta
Tacos are a go-to when it comes to Mexican food. But the truth is that there are so many options to choose from!
So I did some browsing and found a few delicious dishes you’ll have to try—from rice bakes to carnitas.
Crockpot Shredded Chicken
Crockpot recipes are my favorite types of recipes. They’re simple and they typically feed a good amount of people!
One of the reasons this crockpot chicken is so easy to make is it’s a “dump and cook” meal.
All you have to do is place the ingredients in the pot, set the timer, and go about your day!
The result? Tender and tasty chicken that you can use in SO many ways.
One of my favorite ways to use this chicken is in tacos or burritos. It’s also fun to set out a taco bar with chicken, cheese, beans and other fun toppings.
Want to give it a try? Find the full recipe HERE.
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
If you’re looking for a classic Mexican dish, you can’t go wrong with Fajitas.
These ones from Tastes Better From Scratch take just 15 minutes of roasting before they’re ready to go!
And they also can’t get simpler. All you have to do is put your ingredients on a pan and pop them in the oven.
Fajita Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
- 3 bell peppers, cored and sliced into strips
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 8-10 small tortillas,
- Fajita toppings (sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado, cheese, etc.)
Seasoning Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions: Lightly grease a sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut chicken and vegetables into strips. Lay the vegetables evenly on the pan and place the chicken on top of them. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine seasoning ingredients together in a small bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle most of it over the chicken and vegetables, and spoon minced garlic on top of the chicken. Drizzle olive oil over the entire pan and toss everything to evenly coat the ingredients.
Cook for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees if you test with a thermometer). Wrap the tortillas in foil and place them in the oven to warm during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Remove everything from the oven. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the chicken and vegetables and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve in warm tortillas with toppings.
Mexican Lasagna
Rachael Ray’s Mexican Lasagna is unique and fairly simple to prep.
Between gathering ingredients and baking, it only takes 30 minutes! Here’s what you’ll need to make it at home:
Ingredients:
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds grilled chicken breast
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 pack of medium-heat taco sauce
- 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 can of black beans, drained
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 8 8-inch spinach flour tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- Salt
Instructions:
Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees F. In the meantime, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil to the pan. Next, add chicken and season with chili powder, red onion, and cumin. Brown the meat for approximately 5 minutes.
Now, add taco sauce, black beans, and corn. Heat the mixture (2-3 minutes) and season with salt to taste.
Get a shallow baking dish and coat it with the remaining olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer. Then, build the lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat this pattern again. Finally, bake the dish for 12-15 minutes until the top layer of cheese is brown and bubbly. Top it with scallions and enjoy!
Southwestern Rice Bake
Here’s another unique recipe that I make pretty often in my own home.
I call it my Southwestern Rice Bake and it incorporates all of the flavors of a Mexican meal in an entirely new way.
I actually came up with this one when I was bored with making plain tacos.
So, I took out all of the basic ingredients I use to make tacos and threw them together in a casserole.
The best part about the recipe is that it’s extremely versatile. In the recipe HERE, I stuff the mix into peppers. But you can also use it as a taco filling or as a dip with tortilla chips!
Instant Pot Carnitas
Do I have any Instant Pot fans here? If so, you’ll enjoy this pork carnitas tacos recipe from OMG! Yummy.
This dish takes a little longer to make but the result is super delicious and tender. You can find everything you need to make them below.
Ingredients:
- 8 pounds bone-in pork butt
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
- Juice of 2 limes
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 6 oz beer
- 1/2 cup salsa (any type of red will work)
- 2 Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 8 whole cloves of garlic, smashed
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped
Instructions:
Begin by trimming excess fat off of the pork butt and cut it into smaller pieces. Place the meat in the Instant Pot. Next, grab a medium bowl and mix the next 13 ingredients together, pouring the mixture over the pork butt in the Instant Pot after. Set the pot on high pressure for 75 minutes, making sure the vent is in a sealing position.
Let the pressure release for about 20 minutes naturally, and release any more pressure before opening the lid. Remove the pork and place it on a large cutting board to cool. Once cool, shred it with a couple of forks and remove any large chunks of fat you find.
On a foil-covered sheet pan, place a single layer of the shredded pork and drizzle it with some of the cooking juice. Then turn on the broiler and place the pork in the oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up (set at 450 degrees).
Finished! Serve it with corn or flour tortillas and whatever taco toppings you’d like.
Don’t Forget The Drinks!
They’re for some people and not for others… but margaritas are a popular drink and you can find them at almost any restaurant.
Want to make some at home? I found a couple of recipes you can follow that will give you that little buzz with a punch of flavor.
Simple Margarita
We’re going to start off with a simple margarita recipe from Berly’s Kitchen.
That way you’re sure to please everyone in attendance. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce Lime Juice, (fresh squeezed)
- 1/2 ounce triple sec
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 1 cup ice
- 1 1/2 ounces tequila, (gold or silver)
- Coarse salt (for the rim of the glass)
- Lime wedge for garnish
Instructions:
Run a lime wedge around the rim of a cocktail glass and dip the rim in coarse salt. Next, fill the glass with ice and set it aside. In a drink shaker, combine the tequila, lime juice, triple sec, and simple syrup. Shake to combine.
Pour the mix into the cocktail glass over ice and garnish it with extra lime wedges. Cheers!
Strawberry Margarita
The great thing about margs is that you can change them up to your liking for your Mexican Meal Night!
If you’re looking for a refreshing twist on the original, this strawberry marg from Miss In The Kitchen could be a good choice.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sliced strawberries (frozen or fresh)
- 1/2 cup tequila
- 1/4 cup triple sec
- 1/4 cup simple syrup cup ice
- 1 Tablespoon coarse salt for rim
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Fresh lime slices and strawberries for garnish
Instructions:
For this recipe, you’ll need a blender. Add strawberries, triple sec, simple syrup, tequila, and lime juice to the blender and blend until smooth. On the side, mix salt and lime zest together in a shallow dish. With a lime, wet the rim of two glasses and dip both glasses in the lime salt.
Fill the glasses with ice and pour the margarita mix inside. Next, finish the drinks with fresh lime slices and strawberries!
Oh, and I also found some festive dishes and table accessories you can use for your Mexican Meal Night. Just click on the images below to find my favorites. Enjoy!
From my home to yours,
Jill
Did you know I have my own online shop? Check it out HERE!
