What's the Difference Between Tex-Mex and Authentic Mexican Food? (2024)

Although Tex-Mex stems from Mexican cuisine, the two are not the same thing. For those unfamiliar with traditional Mexican dishes, it may not be simple to tell the two kinds of food apart. To make it easier for you to know what to look for when you select a menu, our taco truck catering business is here to explain the differences between our traditional menu and Tex-Mex.

What Is Tex-Mex?

Tex-Mex is a mixture of Texan and Mexican food. Some may go as far as to call it "American" Mexican food since it doesn't usually contain the same ingredients as traditional Mexican dishes.

Regionally, Tex-Mex hails from the border of Texas and Mexico, where the two countries' recipes collide.

Anglo Americans settled in Texas where they were first able to experience real Mexican food. The dishes were popular, but many Americans didn't know how to duplicate the taste. As a result, they used ingredients available in Texas to try to mimic the flavor of authentic Mexican cuisine. This led to the development of Tex-Mex.

Tex-Mex gained true popularity in the 1940s and continued to grow as its own kind of cuisine over time. Interestingly, many Mexican restaurants do use Texan ingredients to accommodate people who like Mexican food but also want the flavors they are familiar with from Texas.

Tex-Mex does have a similar flavor to Mexican cuisine, and that can make it hard to identify the differences. One of the major differences is that Tex-Mex tends to use beef, which is readily available in Texas, whereas authentic Mexican uses pork. Tex-Mex may also use other ingredients not typically found in Mexican dishes, such as:

So, while similar, the two types of dishes are truly not the same.

What Is Authentic Mexican Cuisine?

Authentic Mexican cuisine comes from Mexico and is typically cooked in a cast-iron skillet, fried, or steamed. Some common dishes served by authentic restaurants include:

  • Salsa

  • Tomatillos

  • Enchiladas

  • Tamales

While some of these dishes are also made in Tex-Mex restaurants, there are differences in the ingredients used and the way the dishes are presented. Remember, Tex-Mex is related to Mexican cuisine — but only loosely. Mexican dishes do have their own unique flavor compared to what is regularly available throughout the United States.

Authentic Mexican food tends to use corn tortillas rather than wheat tortillas. It also uses chili peppers, wild game, and fish. Onion is a staple ingredient in many dishes, as is cilantro.

Popular ingredients in Mexico include:

  • Pork

  • Dairy

  • Garlic

  • Chili peppers

  • Corn

Traditional Mexican menu items usually do not include queso dip, fajitas, nachos, chimichangas, or hardshell tacos. Why? They're inventions belonging to the Tex-Mex tradition.

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At Los Chilangos, we make authentic Mexican food fresh in our food truck, Taqueria Los Chilangos. We are here to deliver the Mexico City-style street food that you want to any location, so you can enjoy the real flavors of Mexico. Contact us today online to learn more or book our services.

What's the Difference Between Tex-Mex and Authentic Mexican Food? (2024)

FAQs

What's the Difference Between Tex-Mex and Authentic Mexican Food? ›

Tex-Mex dishes often feature ingredients like black beans and corn, adding depth to their creations. In contrast, Mexican cuisine showcases a rich and varied flavor spectrum with diverse salsas that include fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and an array of chili peppers.

What is the difference between Tex-Mex and authentic Mexican food? ›

Tex-Mex entrees typically come with black beans while Mexican dishes are served with pinto beans — and soupy ones at that. Then there's yellow cheese versus white cheese, fried corn tortillas versus soft ones and chili powder versus chile peppers.

What makes authentic Mexican food? ›

Here are a few key signature aspects of traditional Mexican cuisine to help you distinguish authentic Mexican from Tex-Mex dishes: fresh and healthy ingredients such as tomatoes, chiles, not jars of store-bought salsa for example. traditional spices (such as coriander and epazote) instead of cumin or dry oregano.

What are two typical Tex-Mex dishes ________ and ________? ›

Examples of Tex-Mex food include fajitas, nachos, and any dish that uses beef, black beans, canned vegetables, wheat flour, or yellow cheese.

How do you know if Mexican food is authentic? ›

You can look for traditional Mexican dishes on the menu. Examples of authentic Mexican dishes include tacos, enchiladas, chili con carne, and tamales. If the menu features Americanized versions of these dishes instead of the traditional recipes, the restaurant is likely, not authentic.

What are some authentic Mexican foods? ›

Top 20 Mexican foods to try
  • Tacos al pastor. These tacos are made with marinated pork that is cooked on a spit and then sliced thin. ...
  • Enchiladas. These rolled tortillas are filled with meat or cheese and topped with a flavourful sauce. ...
  • Tamales. ...
  • Chiles rellenos. ...
  • Pozole. ...
  • Guacamole. ...
  • Sopaipillas. ...
  • Tortas.
Jan 29, 2023

What is the difference between New Mexican food and Mexican food? ›

Another staple of New Mexican cooking is using vegetables more often than in traditional Mexican food. Also, whole corn kernels, ground meat, lots of yellow cheese, and black beans. And while these are used in standard Mexican kitchens as well, New Mexican cooks use them a lot more.

What is not authentic Mexican food? ›

Check out these seven other Mexican dishes that didn't originate from Mexico.
  • Burritos. Wait, does this mean Los Angeles gets to take credit?! They'll never let us live it down! ...
  • Churro. Mexico, you may want to send China a hand-written 'thank you' letter. ...
  • Tacos al Pastor. ...
  • Salsa. ...
  • Calaveras. ...
  • Rosca de Reyes. ...
  • Fajitas.

Are fajitas Mexican or Tex-Mex? ›

Fajitas are a quintessential Tex-Mex dish known for their sizzling presentation, bold flavors, and fresh ingredients. They have become a staple in many Tex-Mex restaurants, but their history and origin go way back.

Does authentic Mexican food have cheese? ›

What you may not realize is that cheese is not always included in Mexican dishes. Americanized versions of Mexican foods often do have some form of cheese or another, but authentic cuisine omits cheese a good portion of the time. Street tacos, for example, are not served with cheese in Mexico.

Are nachos really a Mexican food? ›

The common dish known today as nachos originated in Northern Mexico. Nachos are actually a relatively recent dish. So recent in fact that that researchers believe they have traced the original creator in the small Mexican city of Piedras Negras.

What is the difference between Mexican food and authentic Mexican food? ›

Tex-Mex cuisine leans on yellow cheese, beef, canned tomatoes, and flour tortillas, creating a hearty and flavorful combination. In contrast, authentic Mexican cuisine emphasizes fresh, locally sourced ingredients such as corn, diverse chilies, and indigenous vegetables, capturing the essence of regional flavors.

How do you make Mexican food taste authentic? ›

If you plan to kick your meal up a notch with authentic Mexican flavor, you should not miss adding chili powder. As one of the common Mexican spices, child powder is a combination of chili peppers and other seasonings such as garlic powder, oregano, and other traditional Mexican spices.

Does real Mexican food have rice? ›

In Mexico, different regions serve rice in different ways. If you order rice in northern Mexico, you most likely will get the rice cooked with chicken broth and tomato flavors—traditional Mexican (or Spanish) rice. However, in southern Mexico, ​plain white rice is more common.

What is an example of a Tex-Mex dish and Mexican dish? ›

Fajitas, chili, nachos—these are all cornerstones of Tex-Mex cuisine. To be fair, for years people living in Texas did refer to these as Mexican food, and it's only been in the past 40 years or so that the term Tex-Mex started to be widely adopted.

Is Taco Bell considered Tex-Mex? ›

Taco Bell is one of the most well-known Tex-Mex franchises in the world. In 1962, their first location opened in Downey, California. In the United States, Taco Bell and their franchisees operate over 7,200 restaurants that serve more than 40 million customers each week.

What is unique about Tex-Mex? ›

The three things that really “put the Tex in Tex-Mex,” according to Pat, were yellow American cheese (again, think Velveeta), chili con carne, and the corn tortilla, particularly the deep-fried corn tortilla that allows for the existence of both the crispy taco and the nacho.

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