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American · regional cuisine

Tex-Mex

The Tejano cooking of Texas, mixing northern Mexican ranch food with American ingredients: chili con carne, enchiladas with yellow cheese, flour tortillas, fajitas and nachos.

Flavour character: Beefy, cumin-forward and cheesy: chili powder, cumin and garlic, melted yellow cheese, jalapeño heat, refried pinto beans and sour cream.

8 recipesBrowse recipes
Close-up of a flavorful homemade chili dish garnished with fresh parsley, perfect for a cozy meal.

History

Tejanos (Texans of Mexican descent) cooked northern Mexican ranch food with beef, wheat flour and cumin. In 19th-century San Antonio, the 'chili queens' sold chili con carne from plaza stands. Commercial chili powder (Gebhardt's, from around the 1890s) and canned chili spread the style nationally. Nachos are credited to Ignacio Anaya in Piedras Negras, Mexico, in 1943, and fajitas to vaqueros cooking skirt steak in South Texas. Diana Kennedy's books in the 1970s helped distinguish Tex-Mex from interior Mexican cooking.

Commonly told; not firmly documented

Geography and influences

Texas and the US–Mexico borderlands: cattle country, wheat and corn, chillies and pinto beans.

  • Northern Mexican (Norteño) ranch cooking
  • Anglo-American settlers and cattle culture
  • Commercial spice blends and processed cheese

Regional variations

San Antonio
Chili con carne heritage, puffy tacos, enchilada plates.
Rio Grande Valley
Closer to northern Mexican cooking: barbacoa, fajitas, flour tortillas.

Festive and seasonal food

  • Tamales at Christmas (Tejano tamaladas)
  • Chili cook-offs
  • Fajitas at backyard cookouts

Signature dishes

Not on the site yet: Fajitas, Nachos, Cheese enchiladas with chili gravy, Puffy tacos (San Antonio), Breakfast tacos

Tex-Mex recipes