Substitutes for Mexican Ingredients in Spain

Cooking authentic Mexican food in the UK comes with one big challenge: you can't always find the original ingredients. But after years of cooking Mexican food, we've discovered that with the right substitutes you can achieve flavours very close to the original. This guide will save you frustration and unnecessary trips.

Dried Chillies: The Biggest Challenge

Dried chillies are the soul of Mexican cooking and probably the hardest thing to substitute in the UK.

Guajillo Chilli

Substitute: sweet smoked paprika + a pinch of cayenne. It isn't the same, but it brings red colour and a similar smoky touch. Use 1 tablespoon of paprika + 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne for every 3-4 guajillo chillies the recipe calls for.

Better option: buy it from Latin shops where they cost between £3-5 for a 100g bag. They almost always have them in stock.

Ancho Chilli

Substitute: dried choricero pepper (where you can find it) has a similar sweetness and body. Soak it just like the ancho and blend for salsas. Mix with a little smoked paprika to get closer to the flavour.

Where to find the original: Amazon sells bags of ancho chilli for around £6-8. Also at online shops such as MexGrocer.

Chipotle Chilli

Substitute: hot smoked paprika is the closest thing you'll find in any supermarket. For the texture of chipotle in adobo, mix smoked paprika with a little tomato purée and vinegar.

Better option: tins of chipotle in adobo are easily found in the international food aisle of larger supermarkets (La Costeña brand, around £3). A tin lasts a long time because you use little each time.

Serrano and Jalapeño Chilli

Substitute: fresh green birds-eye chilli or Italian peperoncino. The heat is similar although the flavour isn't identical. For pickled jalapeños, Italian pepperoncini work reasonably well.

Trick: the hottest padrón peppers (there's always a few in each batch) can substitute for serrano in a pinch.

Corn Tortillas

Corn tortillas are the base of tacos, enchiladas, chilaquiles and dozens of dishes. In the UK you can find several options:

Option 1 - Make them at home: buy nixtamalised corn flour (Maseca) in Latin shops (£2-3 a kilo). With a tortilla press (£15-20 on Amazon) and a comal (or cast-iron pan), you can make fresh tortillas in 30 minutes. Here's our complete guide.

Option 2 - Buy them ready-made: most supermarkets sell wheat (flour) tortillas. For corn, look in the international section of larger supermarkets or in Latin shops. "Mission" corn tortillas are sometimes found for around £3 a pack.

Option 3 - Tortilla chips: if you need tortilla chips (for chilaquiles or nachos), plain unsalted tortilla chips are a decent alternative. Better still, cut tortillas into triangles and fry them yourself.

Herbs and Spices

Epazote

Substitute: there's no perfect substitute because its flavour is very unique (earthy, slightly minty). In a pinch, use a mix of Mexican oregano + a little fresh mint. For black beans, simply leave it out and add more onion and garlic.

Where to find it: some Latin shops sell it dried. You can also grow it in a pot — it grows well in a warm climate and is a very hardy plant.

Mexican Oregano

Substitute: Mediterranean oregano (the common one) works, but use about 30% less because it's more intense. The Mexican one is from the Lippia family, milder and more floral.

Pro tip: mix oregano with a little marjoram to get closer to the Mexican profile.

Coriander

Good news: fresh coriander is easily found in any supermarket. It comes in a pot (~£0.99) and lasts longer. At greengrocers and markets it's usually fresher and cheaper.

Note: British coriander is sometimes milder than Mexican. Use a little more to compensate.

Avocado Leaf

Substitute: bay leaf + a touch of anise. It's used mainly for tamales and some beans. The difference is subtle and most diners won't notice.

Mexican Cheeses

Cheeses are another tricky point, but the UK has surprisingly good alternatives:

Oaxaca Cheese (for quesadillas)

Substitute: fresh mozzarella. It melts just as well and has a very similar texture. It's the best alternative we've found. Available in any supermarket for £1-2.

Fresh Cheese (for sprinkling)

Substitute: crumbled mild fresh cheese or ricotta. Both have the soft texture and neutral flavour of Mexican fresh cheese. Found in any supermarket for under £2.

Cotija Cheese (for tacos and enchiladas)

Substitute: grated parmesan or finely grated mature hard cheese. Cotija is salty and dry, similar to parmesan. Use less because these cheeses are more intense.

Other Key Ingredients

Tomatillo

Substitute: green (under-ripe) tomatoes + a splash of vinegar or lime to simulate the acidity. It isn't the same, but for a home-made green salsa it works acceptably. Another option is tinned tomatillos, available in Latin shops and Amazon (around £4).

Nopales

Substitute: green beans cut into strips. The texture is different, but in a stew or salad they bring a similar green note. Some markets sell fresh nopales sporadically.

Black Beans

Easily found in any supermarket (in the tinned pulses section) for under £1 a tin. Also dried. For refried beans, the tinned ones work perfectly.

Mexican Crema

Substitute: soured cream or single cream mixed with a little lemon juice. Cooking cream let down with a little lime gives a pretty good result.

Quick Substitutes Table

Here's a practical summary to keep to hand:

• Guajillo chilli → sweet paprika + cayenne
• Ancho chilli → choricero pepper + paprika
• Chipotle chilli → hot smoked paprika (or a tin from the supermarket)
• Oaxaca cheese → fresh mozzarella
• Fresh cheese → mild fresh cheese
• Tomatillo → green tomato + lime
• Epazote → oregano + mint (or grow your own)
• Mexican crema → soured cream or cream + lime

Our Final Advice

In our experience, the best thing is to combine strategies: keep a basic store cupboard with substitutes (paprika, mozzarella, oregano) for everyday use, and do a monthly shop at a Latin shop for the ingredients that really have no substitute, such as nixtamalised corn masa, dried chillies and bottled salsas. Over time, your Mexican store cupboard will be so complete that you won't miss a thing.

Got a substitute that works brilliantly that we haven't mentioned? We'd love to hear it — write to us at [email protected].

More Creative Substitutes That Work

As well as the classic substitutes, there are lesser-known alternatives that can save your recipe in a pinch. The key is understanding what role each ingredient plays — bringing heat, acidity, texture or flavour — and finding a local equivalent that fulfils that same role.

Epazote: the hardest herb to substitute

Epazote has a unique flavour, slightly minty and aniseedy. Although no substitute replicates it exactly, you can use a combination of Mexican oregano and a few mint leaves. Use half the stated amount of each. Another option: look for epazote seeds in online garden shops and grow it at home. It grows well in a pot on a sunny balcony, even in a cooler climate.

Corn masa: alternatives when there's no Maseca

If you can't find nixtamalised corn flour (Maseca), you can use very fine instant polenta as a base, though the result won't be identical. Add a teaspoon of food-grade lime (cal) per kilo of polenta to get closer to the nixtamalisation process. For tamales, some cooks mix fine polenta with wheat flour in a 3:1 ratio with good results.

Quick emergency table

When you're mid-cook and missing something, remember this rule: acidity for acidity (lime for lemon), heat for heat (serrano for fresh chilli), smoke for smoke (chipotle for smoked paprika). Keeping to this logic lets you improvise with confidence without ruining the balance of the dish.

Want to avoid improvising? See our directory of Mexican shops to find authentic ingredients near you. And discover our step-by-step recipes with substitution tips included.

Cheeses: from Oaxaca to mozzarella

Oaxaca cheese (quesillo) is fundamental for quesadillas and tlayudas. Its perfect substitute is fresh mozzarella: it has the same melting texture and elastic strings. For Mexican fresh cheese, use ricotta or crumbled mild fresh cheese. Cotija cheese, dry and salty, can be substituted with grated parmesan or crumbled feta. Italian ricotta salata also works very well as an alternative to cotija for sprinkling over corn, esquites and enfrijoladas.

Aromatic herbs: local adaptations

Fresh coriander is fortunately easy to find, in both markets and supermarkets. If you ever can't find it, flat-leaf parsley isn't an ideal substitute but it can work mixed with a little fresh mint. For Mexican oregano, which has citrusy notes distinct from the Mediterranean kind, you can use oregano mixed with a pinch of marjoram: the combination gets fairly close to the Mexican profile.