9 Must-Try Mexican Christmas Foods for a Feliz Navidad (2024)

Catholicism was brought to Mexico by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s, and today 82.7% of the total population of Mexico is Catholic.

Although Christianity has ostensibly dominated Mexican culture, they have made the religion their blend of indigenous and Christian beliefs reflected in their unique Christmas celebration and foods.

Mexican Christmas foods include hearty fares such as bacalao navideno and pozole with traditional sides such as the romeritos made of sea blite. Tamales take center stage over the season along with Mexican sweets such as buñuelos, rosca de reyes (Three Kings Bread), and the chocolate drink called champurrado.

Christmas is central to the Mexican culture, where songs, art, faith, and food bring families and friends together in celebration.

The Mexican culinary traditions of Christmas are an eclectic blend of Spanish, European, and Mesoamerican influences unique to their culture.

Read on to discover the most traditional Mexican Christmas foods and recipes and everything you need to know about the best Mexican dishes.

How Do Mexicans Celebrate Christmas?

Mexican Christmas celebrations are not limited to Christmas eve and Christmas.

The festivities begin on December 12th with the start of Los Posadas or “The inns,” which celebrates Jesus and Mary’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

Nochebuena or “the Good night” is the traditional Mexican Christmas eve celebration before Navidad or Christmas.

Festivities continue through January 6th with Dia de Los Reyes or “Day of the Wise Men.”

This extended Christmas season is filled with music, family, and of course, the best of all, the delicious traditional foods.

Mexican food displays a wide variety of cultural influences, mainly Spanish and European, while still retaining the heart of their Mesoamerican heritage.

It is no surprise that food is at the center of Mexican Christmas celebrations. Although traditions vary from area to area, certain Mexican foods are ubiquitous in this festive time.

We have found seven of the most loved fare that you will typically find on Mexican tables at Christmas.

1. Tamales

Tamales are said to have been part of Mexican culture as far back as 8,000 to 5,000 BC.

The Olmecs and Toltecs fed their armies with tamales and often brought the easily stored tamales to hunting excursions.

Today they are a central part of Christmas fare and are central to Nochebuena celebrations.

The word tamale or tamal comes from the Nahuatl word tamalli, meaning “carefully wrapped and is made from corn masa steamed in a leaf wrapper.

They are typically filled with cheese, meat, vegetables, chilies, or even sweet varieties with raisins, fruit, and cinnamon sugar.

Tamales are so iconic in Mexican culture that recipes are often passed on from mother to daughter over hundreds of years.

The lengthy process of tamale-making is filled with female family rituals and lore.

You can find a fabulous recipe for making authentic tamales in A Step-by-Step Guide to the Ancient Art of Making Tamales if you want a traditional flair to your Mexican celebration.

2. Romeritos

Romeritos is central to the Christmas eve feast and is a cherished part of Mexican cuisine.

Unlike Christmas in the west, Noche Buena is celebrated after mass on Christmas eve and eaten late at night as the central culinary Christmas feast.

Romeritos, meaning “Little Rosemary” in English, is made of a Mexican green with small leaves from the family of plants called sea blites consumed in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times.

Romerito looked similar to Rosemary and said to have a spinach-like taste.

Romeritos are often served as romeritos en revoltijo and served with shrimp cakes and covered in a delicious mole.

Saveur has an excellent recipe for romeritos en revoltijo if you care to try your hand at some authentic Mexican fare.

3. Bacalao

Bacalao was brought to Mexico with the Spanish and is closely associated with religious festivals and rites.

This salted cod delicacy became popular when the Catholic church forbade meat on holy days, and fish was eaten instead.

Across Mexico at Christmas time, an enormous amount of cod begins to be desalted in preparation for Christmas eve dinner.

Once the fish is reconstituted, the bacalao is prepared in various ways, the most popular being the bacalao navideno, a delicious fish stew made with olives, chiles, garlic tomatoes, and onions.

You may find an excellent recipe for bacalao Navideño, which can be found on Pati Jinch’s website.

4. Pozole

Pozole forms the heart of the Mexican Nochebuena or Christmas eve. It os without a doubt one of Mexico’s most popular stews.

It is a hearty stew that takes hours of preparation and is a staple dish in the yuletide celebrations.

Pozole dates back to Aztec times and has a rather Hannibal Lecteresque history of originally being made with human flesh after ritual sacrifice.

Happily today, chicken or pork is generally used even though the preparation is passed over generations in families.

Poloze may have white (pozole blanco), green (pozole verde), or red (pozole rojo) broth and a variety of spices to give the stew is a unique flavor.

The traditional stew is made with tender pork and hominy and topped with cabbages, lime, cilantro, or radishes according to regional preferences.

Here is an excellent recipe from A Spicy Perspective for Authentic Mexican Pozole Rojo.

5. Champurrado

Champurrado is a traditional Mexican beverage that is a much-loved ingredient of Christmas celebrations.

With its origins set deep in Aztec history, this popular Mexican beverage is particularly important to the Dia de La Virgencita or the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe festival.

Champurrado is a type of atole. In Mexico, atole contains masa or corn hominy flour, unrefined sugar cane, cinnamon, and fruit or chocolate.

Served warm, is loved by children and adults alike.

6. Rosca de Reyes

Unlike Western children who wait for Santa, Mexican children traditionally wait for Los Reyes Magos or the “Three Wise Men.”

These wise men are believed to bring them gifts just as they bought baby Jesus gifts in Bethlehem.

As a novel spin on our western stockings left out on Christmas eve, Mexican children leave out their empty shoes for their gifts on January 5th.

The cornerstone of the Dia de Los Reyes or “Day of the wise men’’ is an extraordinary and colorful cake called Rosca de Reyes or “Three Kings Bread.”

This much-loved cake holds the surprise of a Rosca, which is a small plastic doll representing baby Jesus.

Those who are lucky enough to find the Rosca in their slice usually have to host Candelaria Day or “Candlemas Day” on February 2nd.

This oval-shaped cake with bright decorations is filled with dried fruit spices and almonds. If you wish to bake one, you may find the recipe in Mexico in My Kitchen site.

7. Buñuelos

Buñuelos are found everywhere in Mexico around Las Posada time, both in homes and on the streets.

Buñuelos are a thin Mexican dessert made from yeasted dough and flavored with anise and drenched in syrup or brown sugar, guava, and cinnamon.

There is still a tradition in Oaxaca wherein you throw your clay plate at your feet when you finish your Buñuelos.

This tradition stems back to pre-Hispanic festivities where plates were broken at the end of the year celebrations.

Isabel Eats has a delicious recipe for cinnamon sugar buñuelos if you would like to taste this Christmas Treat.

8. Mexican Wedding Cookies

Interestingly enough, even though these go by the name of Mexican Wedding Cookies, these Mexican treats are more commonly eaten during the Christmas holidays than at weddings.

Also referred to as Polvorones, Mexican Wedding Cookies are the Mexican version of shortbread cookies.

Along with another traditional shortbread cookie, hojarascas, Mexican Wedding cookies are prepared with flour, sugar, and butter (or pork lard). Some people like to add almonds and other nuts to enrich the flavor.

A favorite Mexican Christmas dessert.

9. Ponche Navideño

Mexican Christmases are filled with special traditions, including festive beverages like ponche navideño.

Ponche navideño is a warm Mexican fruit punch made by simmering fruits and spices over a hot stove.

Sometimes tequila or brandy are added as well, but not always.

Conclusion

With its rich culture and history, Mexico has made Christmas entirely their own, and their food reflects their spirit of family and faith.

The Christmas feast is a colorful one with much dancing, singing, and expressions of celebration with food at its heart.

We hope you have found some ideas to explore next Yuletide, to bring a little bit of Mexico into your home and hearth.

Sources

Jorge Garcia

Our blog is all about sharing our love of Latin American foods & drinks. We’ll bring you articles and recipes of the very best Latin American & Spanish cuisine. Amigofoods was founded in 2003 and is the largest online grocery store offering a wide variety of hard to find freshly imported foods & drinks from all over Latin America and Spain.

Read more about the author & Amigofoods on our About Us page.

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