Our Methodology

Our recipes are born from real Mexican culinary tradition, not from social media trends or context-free “fusion” versions. Each recipe is researched from primary sources: classic Mexican gastronomy books, regional cookbooks, interviews with traditional cooks and the personal family experience of our founder, originally from Puebla, one of the cradles of Mexican cuisine.

We prioritize regional diversity. Mexico has 32 states and each one contributes unique dishes: from Oaxacan moles with over 20 ingredients to Yucatecan cochinita pibil, Sinaloan seafood, Michoacan carnitas and Veracruz-style tamales. Our goal is for our recipe catalog to reflect that richness, not just the dishes best known internationally.

Before publishing a recipe, we verify its regional origin, the traditional ingredients and the authentic preparation techniques. If a recipe has regional variations (such as red, green or white pozole), we document the differences so the user understands the cultural context of what they are cooking.

The biggest challenge of cooking Mexican food outside Mexico is finding the right ingredients. That is why every recipe we publish has been adapted for the US market: we indicate where to find specific ingredients such as dried chiles, nixtamalized corn masa, banana leaves or epazote in verified stores from our directory.

When an ingredient is hard to find, we suggest tested substitutions that maintain the original flavor profile. We never suggest substitutes that denaturalize the dish. In the US you can also find many ingredients at major supermarkets and Latin grocers, and we link to verified Mexican stores where you can buy the products you need, from corn tortillas to sauces imported directly from Mexico.

The Mexican restaurants in our directory are not added automatically or by unfiltered request. We use an anonymous evaluation system we call the Secret Judge: evaluators who visit restaurants without prior notice, pay their bill like any other diner and assess the experience objectively.

Evaluation criteria include the authenticity of flavors (it is not enough to put “Mexican” in the name), the quality of ingredients, presentation, service and value for money. A restaurant that serves Tex-Mex style burritos may appear in the directory, but it is clearly indicated that it is not traditional Mexican cuisine, so the user knows what to expect.

Evaluations are updated periodically. If a restaurant drops in quality or significantly changes its offering, the listing is updated to reflect reality. Restaurants cannot pay for a better score or to appear highlighted in results.

Every store that appears in our directory has been manually verified. We confirm that it physically exists (or has an operational online store), that it sells authentic Mexican products and that the contact details, opening hours and address are correct.

Store owners can claim their listing and keep it up to date through our management panel. To verify ownership, we request official documentation (proof of identity and proof of business such as a license, invoice or lease agreement). This process protects both users and legitimate businesses.

Additionally, we periodically review that stores remain active and that the published information is correct. If we detect that a store has closed or no longer sells Mexican products, we deactivate it from the directory to avoid wasted trips.

Recetas Mexas was created by Edmond Bojalil, a Mexican software engineer originally from Puebla. Edmond is not a professional chef, but he is passionate about Mexican gastronomy, having grown up surrounded by one of Mexico’s richest culinary traditions: Pueblan cuisine, the birthplace of chiles en nogada, mole poblano and tamales de rajas.

The motivation behind the project is personal: finding authentic Mexican ingredients and restaurants that served real Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) was a constant challenge. Recetas Mexas was born to solve that problem, first as a personal resource and then as an open platform for the entire Mexican community in the US and for anyone interested in authentic Mexican cuisine.

Today the project combines technology (built in-house with Next.js and Supabase), verified editorial content and a growing community of collaborators, secret judges and business owners who help keep the information up to date and reliable.