Our Favorite Picks of Oaxacan Cuisine

Ok, so we’re going to avoid clichès like tacos and quesadillas, as there is no secret they are delicious. Instead, we’ll focus on some of the interesting and fantastic foods we were either unaware of, or had never been exposed to until our trip to Oaxaca

Quesillo: The most famous Oaxacan cheese; a semi-hard mozza-like stringy cheese, quite salty and very delicious. Although it’s found at nearly every grocery store, we’ve found the better quality (and price) at smaller local markets or individual cheese shops.


Chocolate: I don’t even know how to describe this other than if you haven’t had it, get it in you. In a cup. With milk or water. YUM.


Chapulines: Simply put, fried crickets with spices and lime. While not the first time we’ve eaten fried bugs on our travels, I had a hard time getting the mind over matter. They don’t actually taste bad, the flavor was actually quite nice, I just don’t like cricket legs sticking between my teeth. You’ll typically see these sold on the side of the road either in bags, or quesadillas; we chose the bagged version and made our own. Check the video here: (copy and paste the link( https://youtu.be/WwMqoHa5rxQ


Mole: They say there are seven varieties, but overall each kitchen or Abuela’s recipe will give seemingly infinite variations. Given such a wide selection, it often takes many tries to find one you really love. While we had a few nice ones around town, buying mole base from the market and bringing it home to cook and try out ourselves was our favorite method. Being able to tweak the flavors slightly more to our tastes with a little lime, salt or chili's really allowed us to see the versatility of this Oaxacan classic.


Memelas: A toasted tortilla covered in re-fried beans and a creamy cheese, usually eaten earlier in the day as a snack.


Tlayudas: One of the greatest things we enjoyed while in Oaxaca, and a staple in Central Mexican cuisine. Often referred to as a Mexican pizza, it’s a large-diameter tortilla, grilled over charcoal. While heating, it’s topped with re-fried beans, lard, the famous Oaxacan quesillo, meat of choice, avocado, and tomato. There is no way to eat this fantastic meal without getting messy, so just embrace it. Check out tlayuda construction here: (copy and paste the link https://youtu.be/rBHcXksYchM )

Hungry yet?

There are more Oaxaca only dishes that we missed I’m sure, but everything we ate we ended up loving (besides the chapulines) and had to return several times for more. After learning a little about how some of our favorites were made, we eventually began purchasing the ingredients and making them ourselves at home. Although we were never able to make anything nearly as perfect as the locals, it was still fun to try!


Anyway, writing this post has made me hungry, so I’m off to get something to eat!