Mexican Recipes To Make in Portugal

Recipes With Mexican Ingredients & Sources

Hello my friend! I’m so happy to see that you love Mexican food! Probably as much as I do 😊.

I can’t believe the hubby and I have been in Portugal for over 4 years! Where did time go? After reading Facebook groups and meeting people from different places, I still see that the number #1 cuisine people miss the most is Mexican food! It warms my heart to know there are so many Mexican food lovers all over the world.

Even though there are not real Mexican restaurants in Setubal (where I live), the good news is that you can make amazing food at home yourself! One of the requirements about moving abroad, it was very important for me that I would be able to cook my favorite Mexican recipes and also continue developing recipes for this blog.

This website is my bread and butter, after all, and how I got my D7 visa approved after all.

Buying Guide

We are fortunate that Portugal has MANY ingredients available year round that make making Mexican food at home very easy! Cilantro? not a problem, you can find cilantro everywhere! Limes? you can buy year round. Fresh peppers? there are a few you can buy to substitute on many dishes.

After 1 year of living in Portugal, I can confidently say that you can find most ingredients that will allow you to cook real Mexican food. Here is what I have found so far in Lisbon and Setúbal (where I live with my hubby).

Fresh Peppers

There are a few local peppers you can use to make Mexican salsas without compromising much of the flavor. You can find them at the markets and grocery stores.

• Pimento Padrão – can be used instead of jalapeños or anaheim pepper.
• Pimento Picante – use instead of jalapeños or anaheim serrano pepper.
• Piri Piri – use instead of serranos or combine with other peppers to add a kick.

Staple pantry items

• Pickled Jalapeños – Auchan or Continente
• Tortilla Chips – Aldi, Auchan or Continente (I must admit that the Continente brand are my favorites!).
• Flour Tortillas – Homemade are better but in a pinch I like the ones from Aldi the best. I also like wheat tortillas from Auchan.
• Pinto Beans – I buy them at local Frutarias where they have them in buckets. They look like regular pinto beans although they have a little red tint. The flavor is close enough. Store bought
• Hard Shell Tacos – Pingo, Auchan or Continente. Not really for authentic tacos but once in awhile I like to make “American tacos” lol!
• Lard – I mostly use vegetable oil but if you prefer lard in some of the recipes get Banha de Porco Preto found in the refrigerators at most grocery stores.
• Mexican Crema (sour cream in the U.S.) –  Creme Freiché or even Greek yogurt will do. Also, Natas Acidas from Aldi.
• Queso fresco – Known as queso fresco as well. It’s more liquidy here but you can squeeze some of the liquid out to make it more like Mexican queso fresco. Or just make your own!

Source for authentic Mexican ingredients

• Martha Tome & Casa Mexicana – Great sources for everything you need! Including dried peppers like chile de arbol, delicious corn tortillas, maseca, canned tomatillos, chipotle peppers, spices and even treats! Both are based in Lisbon with a little store you can visit. They also ships all over Portugal.
• Pop Tortillas. Corn tortillas made with nixtamal. Based in Sintra! These tortillas are so delicious. I buy a few kilos and freeze to use as needed.
• The Chili Experience – Great source for seasonings, fresh peppers and dry peppers like my beloved guajillo, pasilla and New Mexico. Alan’s farm is located in central Portugal where he grows all of this peppers. Follow his Facebook page where he’ll announce when fresh peppers are available. He’s also offering many Mexican products now. Check out his online store!
• Chiles mexicanos en Portugal – Adelita and her husband are a lovely Mexican couple growing peppers like jalapeños and chile poblanos, tomatillos andnopales (cactus). They ship all over Portugal when in season. I stalk their page in the summer since that’s when they harvest their chiles. I freeze them to use as needed throughout the year.
• Jalapeños Gitana – currently has very large poblano peppers. Just bought a bunch of peppers from them. Expensive shipping but worth it to me. They’re in Spain but also ship to Portugal.

Mexican Recipes

With the sources I mentioned above, I’m confident to say that you can make almost every Mexican recipe while living in Portugal. Feel free to explore my recipes and if you have any questions, just ask in the comments section below or email me at ana@muydelish.com

Here are just a few recipes to inspire you to make a Mexican feast!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Let’s start with the staple of all recipes. Once you master this recipe, you can make anything you want! If you plan on making flour tortillas often, I highly recommend getting a stand mixer as making the masa will be so much easier! It will saves a lot of time.
After playing around with different local ingredients, I like the texture of tortillas made with Planta (sabor a manteiga) the best. These are the measurements I use:

• 500g All purpose flour T55
• 3/4 Tablespoon table salt (sal fino de mesa)
• 100 grams “Planta” (butter flavor) vegetable shortening.
• 1 cup hot water (not boiling hot)