Mexican Antojitos Explained: A Complete Street Food Glossary

What Are Antojitos?

The word antojito comes from "antojo," meaning craving or whim. Antojitos are Mexico's street foods and snacks - the small, intensely flavourful dishes sold from market stalls, street carts, fondas (informal eateries) and roaming vendors from dawn until well past midnight in every city, town and village across the country. They are the beating heart of Mexican food culture, more important to understanding the cuisine than any restaurant meal or cookbook recipe.

Most antojitos are built on a foundation of masa - nixtamalised corn dough - shaped, cooked and garnished in dozens of different ways. The genius of Mexican street food lies in how many fundamentally different dishes can be created from this single base ingredient. The same corn dough that makes a tortilla can also make a sope, a gordita, a tlacoyo, a huarache, a memela, a tostada, a tamal, a quesadilla or an empanada - each with a different shape, texture, thickness and relationship to its filling.

This glossary covers the major antojitos you will encounter in Mexico, arranged from most to least familiar to British palates. For each, we explain what it is, how it is made, what typically fills it, and where in Mexico it is most popular.

Tacos

The most famous antojito of all - a small corn tortilla (or flour, in the north) folded around virtually any filling. Tacos are Mexico's universal food, eaten at every meal, across every social class, in every corner of the country. The varieties are effectively infinite: al pastor (spit-roasted pork), carnitas (braised pork), barbacoa (slow-cooked beef or lamb), suadero (brisket), lengua (tongue), cabeza (head meat), tripa (intestine), birria (spiced braised meat), guisado (home-style stew), pescado (fish), camarón (prawn). Each region has its specialities, and serious taco culture involves heated debates about which taquería is best.

Quesadillas

In most of Mexico, a quesadilla is a tortilla folded around melted cheese. In Mexico City, however, a quesadilla can contain any filling and does not necessarily include cheese (this is the source of Mexico's most passionate culinary argument). Mexico City quesadillas are often made from fresh blue or white corn masa, filled and cooked on a comal or deep-fried. Popular fillings: quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese), huitlacoche (corn smut), flor de calabaza (courgette flowers), chicharrón prensado (pressed pork crackling), papas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo), tinga de pollo (chicken in chipotle-tomato sauce).

Sopes

A sope is a thick, round disc of corn masa (about 8-10cm in diameter and 1cm thick) that is cooked on a comal, then pinched around the edges while still warm to create a raised rim - like a small, edible plate or shallow bowl. This rim holds the toppings: a spread of refried beans, then shredded meat or stewed vegetables, lettuce, crema, cheese and salsa.

Sopes are one of the most satisfying antojitos because the thick masa base is substantial and filling, with a slightly crispy exterior and a soft, cornbready interior. The pinched rim prevents the toppings from sliding off, making them surprisingly tidy to eat. They are popular across central Mexico, particularly in Mexico City, Puebla and Guerrero.

Gorditas

Gorditas ("little fat ones") are thick, round patties of corn masa that are cooked on a comal or fried, then split open like a pitta bread and stuffed with fillings. The masa is thicker than a tortilla but thinner than a sope, and the split-and-stuff construction creates a pocket that holds generous quantities of filling. Popular fillings: chicharrón en salsa verde, rajas con crema (roasted poblano strips with cream), nopales (cactus), picadillo (spiced minced beef), frijoles con queso (beans with cheese).

Gorditas vary by region. In San Luis Potosí, they are made particularly large and are deep-fried until crispy. In Mexico City, they tend to be smaller and cooked on a dry comal. In the north, gorditas de harina (wheat flour gorditas) are common.

Tlacoyos

A tlacoyo (sometimes spelled clacoyo) is an oval or diamond-shaped patty of corn masa with a filling pressed inside before cooking. Unlike gorditas, which are split open after cooking, tlacoyos have their filling sealed within the masa. The most traditional fillings are refried beans, requesón (fresh ricotta-like cheese) or habas (broad beans). After cooking on a comal, tlacoyos are topped with salsa, nopales, onion and crumbled cheese.

Tlacoyos are one of Mexico's oldest foods - archaeological evidence suggests they were eaten in the Valley of Mexico at least 2,000 years ago. They are still a daily food in Mexico City's markets and street stalls, particularly for breakfast and lunch.

Huaraches

Named after the traditional Mexican sandal they resemble, huaraches are large, elongated, oval-shaped masa bases (roughly 25-30cm long) cooked on a comal and topped generously with beans, meat, cheese, lettuce, salsa and crema. They are essentially very large, flat sopes, and the sheer size of them makes them a meal in themselves.

Huaraches are particularly associated with Mexico City, where they are a popular market and street food. A single huarache topped with carne asada (grilled beef), beans, cheese, lettuce and salsa is a formidable lunch that will sustain you through an entire afternoon.

Tostadas

A tostada is a flat corn tortilla that has been fried or baked until completely crispy - essentially a large, round tortilla chip. It is used as a base for toppings rather than wrapped around a filling. Classic tostada toppings: tinga de pollo, ceviche, pata (pig's trotters in vinaigrette), beans and cheese. The joy and the challenge of eating a tostada is the same: the crispy base shatters dramatically when you bite into it, sending toppings in all directions. Eating a tostada neatly is essentially impossible; the trick is to embrace the mess.

Tamales

Tamales are parcels of seasoned corn masa, spread onto corn husks or banana leaves, filled with meat in sauce, cheese, chillies, vegetables or sweet ingredients, wrapped and steamed. They are one of Mexico's most ancient and ceremonial foods - pre-Hispanic civilisations made tamales for festivals, religious ceremonies and long journeys. Today, tamales are eaten daily but are particularly associated with celebrations: Christmas, Dia de la Candelaria (2nd February), Dia de Muertos and birthday parties.

Every region of Mexico has its own tamale tradition. Oaxacan tamales are wrapped in banana leaves and filled with mole. Yucatecan tamales (vaporcitos) are delicate and steamed in banana leaf packets. Northern tamales tend to be smaller and spicier. Mexico City tamales verdes and rojos are the workhorse varieties sold from bicycles and carts every morning.

Pambazos

A pambazo is a sandwich (torta) made with a specific type of white bread roll that is dipped in guajillo chilli sauce and then fried on a griddle until the exterior is crispy and deep red. The filling is typically papas con chorizo (potatoes fried with chorizo). Once assembled with lettuce, crema and cheese, the pambazo is a spectacularly messy, deeply satisfying street food that stains everything it touches bright red.

Pambazos are particularly popular in Mexico City and central Mexico. They are comfort food of the highest order - carbs on carbs, dipped in chilli sauce and fried.

Tortas

Tortas are Mexican sandwiches, made with bolillo or telera bread rolls and filled with virtually anything: milanesa (breaded, fried meat), jamón (ham), al pastor, carnitas, eggs, beans. The bread is typically spread with refried beans on one side and mayonnaise or avocado on the other, then loaded with the filling plus lettuce, tomato, onion, pickled jalapeños and, often, a slice of queso Oaxaca. A good torta is substantial enough to be a full meal. The most famous is the torta ahogada from Guadalajara - a pork-filled roll "drowned" in a fiery tomato-chilli sauce.

Elotes and Esquites

Elote is a whole ear of corn, boiled or grilled, skewered on a stick and coated with mayonnaise, crumbled cheese (cotija), chilli powder (or Tajín) and lime juice. It is Mexico's most iconic street snack. Esquites are the off-the-cob version - the same corn kernels, cut from the cob and served in a cup with the same toppings plus a squeeze of lime and, sometimes, epazote herb. Both are available from vendors who push their carts through residential streets in the evening, calling out "elotes, elotes!" to announce their presence.

Flautas and Taquitos

Flautas ("flutes") and taquitos ("little tacos") are rolled, filled tortillas that are deep-fried until crispy. The distinction between them is debated endlessly, but generally flautas use flour tortillas and are larger, while taquitos use corn tortillas and are smaller. Both are filled with shredded chicken, beef or potato, and served with lettuce, crema, cheese, salsa and guacamole on top.

Molotes

Molotes are torpedo-shaped parcels of corn masa, filled (typically with potato and chorizo, or beans and cheese), pinched shut and deep-fried until golden and crispy. They are particularly popular in Oaxaca and Puebla. The fried exterior shatters when you bite through it, revealing the soft, savoury filling inside.

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles are fried tortilla chips (totopos) simmered in salsa - either verde (green, tomatillo-based) or roja (red, tomato-chilli-based) - until the chips soften slightly while retaining some crunch. Topped with crema, cheese, onion and, often, a fried egg or shredded chicken, chilaquiles are Mexico's ultimate breakfast food and the country's go-to hangover cure. The texture should be neither completely crunchy nor completely soft - the ideal is somewhere in between, where the salsa has penetrated the chips but they still have structural integrity.

Cemitas

Cemitas are the signature sandwich of Puebla - large, round, sesame-seeded bread rolls filled with breaded meat (milanesa), avocado, Oaxacan cheese, onion, pápalo herb and chipotle salsa. The pápalo herb (an intensely aromatic leaf with a flavour somewhere between coriander, rocket and mint) is essential and unique to cemitas. In Britain, you can approximate the flavour with a mixture of rocket and coriander, but the real pápalo has no true substitute.

Finding Antojitos in Britain

The UK's Mexican food scene has improved dramatically in recent years, and many of the antojitos described above can now be found at Mexican restaurants across Britain. Street food markets in London, Manchester, Birmingham and other cities frequently feature Mexican vendors selling tacos, quesadillas, burritos and tamales. For making antojitos at home, the essential ingredient is masa harina - available at Mexican shops and online.

For authentic recipes, browse our recipe collection, which includes many traditional antojito recipes adapted for British kitchens.