The 10 Essential Mexican Ingredients

To cook Mexican food properly, you need a well-stocked store cupboard with these ten basic ingredients. The good news is that most can be found in the US with a little searching, and once you have them, you'll be able to make dozens of authentic recipes. We've given rough prices and where to find each one.

1. Dried Chiles

Guajillo, ancho and chipotle are the three essentials. Guajillo for red salsas (the most used in Mexico), ancho for moles and adobos (sweet and deep), and chipotle for that addictive smoky flavor that transforms any dish.

Where to buy in the US: Latin shops (£3-5 for a 100g bag), Amazon (search for "Mexican dried chiles"), or the international section of larger supermarkets (limited selection but sometimes they have them).

How to store: in an airtight bag in a dry, dark place. They last up to a year without losing flavor. If they go too rigid and brittle, they're still usable — just soak them a little longer.

Basic use: toast for 30 seconds in a dry pan, soak for 15-20 minutes in hot water, blend with garlic and salt. You've got an incredible base salsa. See our guide to common mistakes to avoid burning them.

If you can't find them: smoked paprika (sweet, smoked or hot depending on the chile you're replacing) is the most accessible alternative. Read our full guide to substitutes.

2. Corn Masa (Nixtamalized Flour)

Maseca or fresh masa for making tortillas, sopes, tlacoyos, tamales and gorditas. It's the foundation of Mexican cooking — without corn there is no Mexico.

Important: it's not the same as Italian polenta or cornstarch. Nixtamalized flour has been through a process with lime (cal) that changes the texture and releases nutrients. It's that difference that gives corn tortillas their characteristic flavor and aroma.

Where to buy: Latin shops (£2-3/kg, the cheapest option), Amazon (Maseca 1kg for £4-5), or some specialist online shops.

How much you need: 1kg of Maseca makes around 60-70 tortillas. If you cook Mexican regularly, buy 2kg and keep it in a dry place — it lasts months.

First project: make home-made tortillas — it's easier than you think and the result is incomparable.

3. Beans

Black or pinto, dried or canned. Beans appear in almost every Mexican meal: breakfast (enfrijoladas, huevos rancheros), lunch (pot beans, refried), and supper (molletes, burritos).

Dried vs canned: the dried ones are cheaper (£2.50/kg, 10+ portions) but need soaking and a long cook (2-3 hours in a normal pot, 45 min in a pressure cooker). Canned ones (~£0.90) are perfect for quick recipes.

Which to choose: black beans for enfrijoladas, bean tacos and southern Mexican dishes. Pinto beans for refried, burritos and northern dishes. In practice, both are interchangeable in most recipes.

Yield tip: cook a big pot on Sunday and freeze in portions. You've got beans ready all week to improvise enfrijoladas, molletes or simply as a side.

4. Tomatillos

For authentic green salsa. Tomatillos are those green fruits wrapped in a papery husk that give Mexican green salsa its characteristic acidic, fresh flavor. They aren't green tomatoes — they're a completely different fruit.

Where to find them: fresh is hard in the US. Your best bet is canned tomatillos (La Costeña or other brands) available in Latin shops (£2-3) and Amazon. One can makes a good batch of green salsa.

If you can't find them: green (under-ripe) tomatoes + a good squeeze of lemon juice simulate the acidity. It isn't identical, but the resulting salsa is pretty good.

Main use: green salsa for green enchiladas, green chilaquiles, chicken tacos in green salsa. It's the other half of the Mexican salsa duo (red and green).

5. Cilantro

Fresh, always fresh. It's the finishing touch on tacos, salsas, ceviches, guacamole, soups and practically everything in Mexican cooking. If you had to choose a single herb for Mexican cooking, it would be this one.

In the US: easily found in any supermarket. It's sold in a pot (lasts longer) or cut in a bag. Greengrocers and markets often have bigger, cheaper bunches.

How to store: put it in a glass of water (like flowers) and cover loosely with a plastic bag. Keep it in the fridge and it lasts a week. You can also chop and freeze it in ice-cube trays with a little water — ready to add to hot salsas.

Genetic fact: some people perceive cilantro as "tasting of soap" — it's genetic and there's no fix. If you're one of them, substitute fresh parsley or simply leave it out. Mexican food is still good without it.

6. Lime (and Lemon)

In Mexico they use lime, but the lemon works perfectly in the vast majority of recipes. Citric acid is essential for balancing the flavors of Mexican cooking.

Uses: squeezing over tacos (compulsory), ceviches (the acid "cooks" the fish), aguas frescas, guacamole, salsas... It's a rare Mexican dish that doesn't have a touch of lime.

Lime vs lemon: lime has a more floral, less acidic flavor. If you find limes in the supermarket, use them for guacamole and tacos — the difference is subtle but pleasant. For cooking (salsas, ceviches), lemon works just as well.

Price: a net of limes/lemons costs £1-2 and lasts you a week of Mexican cooking.

7. White Onion

Milder than red onion, it's the one used in traditional Mexican cooking for salsas, sofritos and as a raw, finely chopped topping on tacos.

In the US: white onion is found in any supermarket. It's sometimes confused with sweet onion (which also works). Red onion is used for ceviches and salads.

Mexican trick: for tacos, chop the white onion very finely and soak it for 5 minutes in water with lime. This takes away the aggressive raw flavor but keeps the crunch. Drain well before serving.

8. Cumin

An essential spice for meats, beans and many salsas. Cumin is to Mexican flavor what saffron is to Spanish: small quantity, big impact.

Caution: cumin is potent. Always use less than you think you need. Half a teaspoon for a salsa serving 4 is generally enough. Overdoing the cumin ruins the dish because it dominates everything.

Ground vs seeds: ground is more practical for everyday use. If you want more aroma, buy seeds and toast them lightly in a dry pan before grinding. The aroma they release is incredible.

Price: a jar of cumin costs under £2 and lasts months.

9. Mexican Oregano

Different from the Mediterranean one you know. Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens) has a more citrusy, earthy flavor and is less intense than common oregano (Origanum vulgare). They're from different botanical families.

Where to find it: Latin shops (£2-3 a bag, lasts months), Amazon. Some shops label it generic "oregano" — ask if it's Mexican.

If you can't find it: use Mediterranean oregano but in a smaller quantity (about 30% less). Mixing oregano with a little marjoram gets close to the Mexican profile.

Uses: pozole (crumbled with the hands over the broth), beans, salsas, adobos. Never cook it for long — it's added at the end or sprinkled directly.

10. Fresh Cheese

For crumbling over chilaquiles, enchiladas, sopes, tostadas... Mexican fresh cheese is mild, moist and crumbles easily. It doesn't melt like mozzarella — its job is to bring freshness and softness to the dish.

In the US: a mild fresh cheese is the closest, easy-to-find substitute. Ricotta also works for a creamier texture. Both are in any supermarket for under £2.

For melting (quesadillas, queso flameado): you need Oaxaca cheese, which melts into strings like mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is the best available substitute.

Cotija cheese (for sprinkling on corn/esquites): it's dry and salty, similar to parmesan. Use finely grated parmesan as a substitute.

Where to Buy in the US

Here's a practical summary of where to get everything:

• Supermarkets: beans, rice, tomatoes, onion, lime, cilantro, cumin, oregano, cheese (substitutes). The basics for 60% of the recipes.
• Latin shops: dried chiles, Maseca, canned tomatillos, Mexican oregano, salsas, Mexican fresh cheese, epazote. Essential for authenticity. Find the nearest one in our guide.
• Amazon: Maseca, dried chiles, chipotles in adobo, a tortilla press. Convenient if you don't have a Latin shop nearby.
• Gourmet sections: sometimes they have premium Mexican products in the international food section.

Initial Investment for Your Mexican Store Cupboard

If you're starting from scratch, setting up a basic Mexican store cupboard costs around £25-35:

• Dried chiles (guajillo + ancho + chipotle): £10-12
• Maseca 1kg: £3-5
• Dried beans 1kg: £2.50
• Cumin + oregano: £3-4
• Canned tomatillos x2: £5-6
• Cilantro + limes + onion: £4-5

With this initial investment, you can make dozens of recipes over weeks. Most of these dry ingredients last months, so the recurring spend is minimal — you basically just replace the fresh items (cilantro, limes, tomatoes) each week.

Got your store cupboard ready? Start by exploring our catalogue of Mexican recipes and discover everything you can make with these ten fundamental ingredients.