I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again….if I had to choose one cuisine to eat for the rest of my life, I would easily pick Mexican food. Yes, I would miss Italian, mainly for the pizza, but there are SO many different directions you can take with Mexican food, and they are ALL delicious!
Plus, I have found that Mexican food is easily adaptable for a Paleo/Gluten Free diet, without sacrificing any flavor or variety, and as a whole, it is super easy to prepare!
With that said, Cinco de Mayo is definitely one of my favorite “Food Holidays” because I get to embrace my love of Mexican food and celebrate accordingly! Plus…Margaritas! With Cinco de Mayo falling on a Saturday this year, I feel like the celebration should be even bigger and better!
I mentioned in my post on Monday that we have a fundraising event for the Kentucky Derby at my work on Saturday, so to be completely honest, there is a really good chance that we will be going out to dinner afterwards and I am actually a little bit excited to brave/embrace the crowds at our favorite Mexican food restaurant in town. It just feels right to join the fun to commemorate the Mexican Army’s win at the Battle of Puebla…and again, Margaritas 😉
However, I can’t miss out on the chance to recreate some of my favorite Mexican food recipes from my own collection! I finally landed on the decision to make a variation of my Chicken Enchilada Stack for Cinco de Mayo Eve, but it was a tough choice between that and a sweet potato version of “Irish Nachos”.
While I was scrolling through my repertoire of Mexican food recipes for inspiration, I decided to share them here with you…because what’s better than a bunch of yummy Cinco de Mayo recipes all in one place!?
Side Note: Although my blog has only been live for about 9 months, it is already so fun for me to see where I started and how far we’ve come! I am sure that one day I will remake some of the “early” recipes for better pictures and more organized recipe descriptions, but for now, I think it’s fun to see the progression!
Without further ado, here are all the recipes you could ever need to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! (Or just enjoy on a random weeknight any day of the week 😉 )
Breakfast
(Because why not start the day off right!?)
Instant Pot Chorizo & Egg Breakfast Casserole 
Chicken
This is a great way to make a whole chicken with very minimal effort. While the chicken itself doesn’t exactly scream “Cinco de Mayo”, I would add a little cumin, chili powder, extra paprika, and the juice of a lime to give it that bolder Mexican flavor. It would be wonderful to eat as is, but you could also use the chicken to make tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or a big tostada!
Ok, I know the title reads “Irish” and I shared these for St. Patrick’s Day, but this meal is just TOO good not to reshare for Cinco de Mayo. It was probably a stretch to call them Irish anyway 😉 You could totally stick with the white potato base, or switch it up and use sweet potatoes or go totally standard and use regular ol’ tortilla chips. Either way, it will be DELICIOUS! Keep in mind you could also totally use steak as the topping instead of chicken. So many options!
Homemade Chipotle Burrito Bowl 
Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Stack
This recipe is a great way to make a favorite Mexican dish go grain-free/Primal. Thinly sliced sweet potatoes are used in place of tortillas and easy crockpot chicken breast and this enchilada sauce help the dish come together in a flash. I used green sauce in this recipe, but feel free to switch it up and use red sauce! We will be feasting on a similar version of this dish to kick of our weekend!
Enchilada Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
This is one of the first recipes I posted on the blog! It is very fitting, because it is one of my favorites…I LOVE the combination of chicken, enchilada sauce, and of course, cheese! I love this red sauce…I buy it in bulk from Amazon and it’s pretty much ALWAYS in my pantry!
Beef
Grilled Steak Kebabs with Chimichurri Sauce 
Similar to the crockpot chicken shown above, this is a very basic recipe, but you could spice it up to make it the perfect marinade for carne asada. I would add extra paprika, cumin, and chili powder and then pour it over flank steak or a tri-tip before grilling. Use the steak for nachos, tacos, salads, etc!
Pork
This chorizo recipe is such a favorite, and you can do a lot of different things once you have seasoned the pork. Here we have sliders, but you could make full-sized burgers, or break it up and cook in a pan to use in tacos, eggs, frittatas, etc!
Sides/Appetizers
Look familiar? This was just posted earlier this week, but it deserves its spot on the Cinco de Mayo recipe round-up never the less 😉 The PERFECT side/appetizer to serve with your dinner or bring to a party. The best combination of flavors and totally healthy!
Will you be embracing the crowds and heading out to your favorite Mexican food establishment, or will you be staying close to home and cooking up some delicious Cinco de Mayo inspired food? It’s a tough call, because it’s so easy to create delicious, healthy, inexpensive Mexican food at home…but then again when you live in southern California and the best margarita in town is waiting for you just down the street, you might as well join the party, right?
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