Typical Food In Merida Mexico You Won’t Want To Miss

Mérida Mexico is often called the gastronomic capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. And undoubtedly, one of the highlights from our recent month spent in Merida Mexico was the food! Merida is the perfect place for exploring the wonders of Yucatán cuisine – a cuisine that has its roots in ancient Mayan recipes and techniques. While I didn’t get a chance to eat every classic Yucatán dish while in Mérida, I definitely made it a point to sample as much as I could. Here’s a look at some of the best of what I discovered while exploring all the great food in Mérida Mexico.

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. If you buy something after clicking one of these links, I may earn a small commission.  This does not cost you anything extra and helps support this blog.

First, A Few Word On Ingredients

Before I launch into this tour of the food in Mérida though, I want to highlight four of the most important ingredients in Yucatán cuisine. These tend to appear frequently in any description of the region’s food…including mine.

Achiote Seeds

These seeds come from the achiote trees that grow abundantly in the Yucatán. They are ground into a red powder (called annatto), other spices are added, and a paste is created by adding citrus juice. The resultant mixture is named Recado Rojo. Rojo is the Spanish word for Red, and as you can see below, this paste is very red indeed. It is the most popular seasoning in Yucatán cuisine.

Sour Oranges

Yucatán cuisine prominently features citrus. And while lime juice is common, the most important citrus used for cooking is the Sour Orange (called the Seville Orange in Europe). These were brought by the Spanish to the New World, and the trees thrived in the Yucatán. The oranges themselves are too sour to eat, but the juice is the most common source of acidity in Yucatán marinades.

Habanero Chile

While Mexico is famous for all kinds of chiles in its cuisine, the habanero is the most important Chile in the Yucatán. Yucatán cuisine is not typically spicy on its own. But most meals are served with a side of habanero salsa. And it is Fire!! I could only ever handle a few drops. But it does enhance the flavor of the food in Mérida.

Masa

And finally, we can’t forget Masa. Though Masa is used throughout Mexico and Latin America, Maize (corn) was so important to the Mayans that they worshipped it as Deity. I would then think this makes Maize the single most important ingredient in Yucatán cuisine.

Masa is dough made from the flour of nixtamalized maize – kernels that have been soaked in an alkaline solution. This process improves their flavor, aroma, and nutritional value. Tortillas and tamales are made from Masa. And the tortillas and tamales I ate in Mérida were unquestionably the best I’ve ever had.

Conchinita Pibil

Now, let’s start our look at the food in Mérida with the most renowned item in Yucatán cuisine – Conchinita Pibil.

Conchinita Pibil is pork that has been slow-roasted in a marinade of Recado Rojo and sour orange juice. Traditionally the marinated pork is wrapped in banana leaves and then roasted in an underground pit (called a piib in Mayan). This imparts a smoky flavor to the succulent tender meat. It’s typically served with a generous helping of pickled red onions and a raw habanero Chile – as in the presentation below. Along with some tortillas of course.

I ate a lot of Conchinita Pibili in Mérida. But the best was the version pictured above – at a restaurant called Manjar Blanco. This restaurant’s Conchinita Pibil was featured on Netflix’s popular Taco Chronicles. And when we tasted it, it became obvious why Manjar Blanco was chosen to represent this Yucatán and Mayan classic on the show. Fortunately for us, Manjar Blanco was located only a few blocks from our Airbnb, and we ate there often.

If you don’t eat pork or red meat, you can find a version of this dish using chicken instead. In that case, it’s called Pollo Pibil. I didn’t see it on menus as often as Conchinita Pibil, and they don’t serve it at Manjar Blanco, but I did order it for lunch on a day trip to a nearby town. And it was equally delicious.

Tikin Xic

Tikin Xic is very similar to Conchinita Pibil and Pollo Pibil. But the dish uses Fish instead (usually a white fish like grouper or snapper). The fish is marinated in the Recado Rojo and sour orange; topped with peppers, onions, tomatoes, and other fresh herbs; wrapped in banana leaves, and either cooked underground in the Piib (traditionally) or steamed (more practically).

I enjoyed the version pictured above at a hole-in-the-wall seafood restaurant named El Marlin Azul. It’s located very close to Mérida’s central plaza, and became my favorite Mérida restaurant for cheap, fresh, no-frills seafood. When I ordered the Tikin Xic, they warned me I would have to wait 30 minutes for it to cook. But it was most definitely worth the wait! This dish is a great choice for seafood lovers looking for traditional Mayan food in Mérida.

Relleno Negro

The photo below shows three different tacos that I ordered at a popular Mérida restaurant called La Chaya Maya. And while I’m not yet talking specifically about tacos (don’t worry…I will), I want you to focus on the black one. It’s another very popular item in Yucatán cuisine called Relleno Negro.

Remember the red achiote paste called Recado Rojo? Well, in Yucatán cuisine there’s another paste too called Recado Negro. And yes, it’s black. The black color comes from the charred chilis that are used to make it (along with various other spices like black pepper, cumin, and cinnamon).

Relleno Negro is a stew made with that black recado and usually features shredded turkey, hard-boiled egg, and sometimes a pork meatball. Relleno Negro tacos are a popular food in Merida, but you can also find Relleno Negro as a stand-alone dish in many restaurants. I ate Relleno Negro tacos several times and found them surprisingly sweet with very little spicy heat.

Sikil Pak

When I was first served Sikil Pak, which is sometimes included as a complimentary starter in Mérida restaurants, I thought they were flavorful refried beans. I was very wrong. There are no beans whatsoever in Sikil Pak.

Sikil Pak is a classic Mayan dip that’s made from roasted Pepita (squash seed) flour. The other major ingredient is chargrilled tomatoes. I love Sikil Pak. It is earthy smokey deliciousness. We learned how to make it in a cooking class. I will write a separate blog about that great cooking experience, but here’s a link to the class in the meantime. And I have already successfully reproduced Sikil Pak at home. (The version above is from Taqueria de la Union – another of my favorite places to get food in Mérida.)

Sopa de Lima

Sopa de Lima is the most popular soup in Yucatan cuisine, and you will find it on almost every menu in traditional Mérida restaurants. It’s a simple soup. Usually either chicken or turkey meat, along with their respective broths, and a healthy dose of lime juice which adds some great flavor. You can then throw in tortilla chips (as you would for tortilla soup) for crunch and additional flavor.

The version above is from a popular Yucatán cuisine restaurant called Los Almendros. I want you to also notice the green drink in the photo. This is called Chaya con Pina. The Chaya plant is another hugely important ingredient in traditional Mayan and Yucatán cuisine. It often called “Tree Spinach” as it is a broad green tree leaf that when cooked can resemble spinach. And like spinach, it is considered a superfood.

Chaya is commonly blended with fruit juices into what is a delightfully refreshing and nutritious drink. Pineapple (Pina) or Lime are the most common versions. Chaya con Pina was always my #1 drink choice to enjoy along with my food in Mérida.

Tacos, Salbutes, & Panuchos

Mérida is Taco Nirvana. Truly!! Just take a look at the photos below…

The tacos in Mérida are so good that you could easily spend all your time in town trying all the varieties and toppings – without even trying all the other amazing types of food in Mérida

Yucatán cuisine actually features three different types of tacos. Simple Tacos with a regular tortilla. Salbutes – featuring a puffy refried tortilla. And Panuchos – featuring a refried tortilla stuffed with a thin layer of refried beans. Both Salbutes and Panuchos often include lettuce, tomato, and avocado as in the photo above

I tried them all, but preferred the regular tacos. As I mentioned earlier, the masa tortillas in Mérida were amazing and I loved their simplicity.

I spent many of my lunches in Mérida on a quest for the very best taco in town. And there will be a blog post coming on that (akin to my previous post A Quest for the Best Churros in Madrid). So stay tuned to learn of my findings.

Papadzules

Another fixture of Yucatán cuisine are Papadzules. It’s fair to think of these as Mayan enchiladas. They consist of rolled tortillas, filled with chunks of hard boiled eggs, and topped with two sauces – one a creamy pepita sauce and the other a tomato sauce. You can find Papadzules on just about every menu in Mérida. The version below is from the previously-mentioned Los Almendros.

Honestly, whenever I tried Papadzules, they underwhelmed me. All the flavors are pretty bland. However, if you really want to get a full sense of the most popular Yucatán food in Mérida, then you should still give them a try and see what you think.

Tamales

But here’s a photo of a dish that absolutely did not underwhelm me. It’s the best tamale I’ve ever eaten! Yucatán cuisine features a couple different types of tamales. This is a type called a Colado Tamale. This one is from La Chaya Maya (making a second appearance in this post – I found that it was one of the best restaurants in Merida for finding a broad array of Yucatan favorites).

To make this type of tamale, the masa dough is strained. This results in an incredibly soft and pillowy texture after it finishes steaming in the banana leaf. Mine was stuffed with shredded turkey and topped with a mild tomato salsa.

Poc Chuc

This is another one of those classic Mayan dishes that you will see on almost every menu in Mérida. It consists of thinly sliced pieces of citrus-marinated pork, grilled over an open flame. Various seasonings can also be used in the marinade, including Recado Rojo or Recado Negro. We prepared the version below ourselves in that aforementioned cooking class, using a marinade of sour orange and Recado Rojo.

Longaniza De Valladolid

If you look closely in the photo above, you will notice that in addition to the Poc Chuc, there is a spiral of sausage. This is a specific type of Yucatán sausage called Longaniza De Valladolid. And over the course of our time in Mérida, both me and Mrs TT concluded that this is the most flavorful sausage we’ve ever eaten anywhere in the world.

It originated in the Yucatán city of Valladolid. It gets its red color and some of its flavor from Achiote. Unsurprisingly, there is some sour orange involved. And it’s a smoked sausage – so charcoal smoke adds lots of additional flavor. It’s very crumbly when removed from its casing, so we often found it sprinkled over other foods, or in tacos, or mixed with eggs for breakfast…

Huevos Motuleños

Speaking of eggs, here’s a look at one of most traditional Yucatán breakfasts. It’s called Huevos Motuleños, and it typically consists of a lightly fried tortilla, refried beans, fried eggs, tomato salsa, cheese, ham, peas, and plantains. The version below is from Manjar Blanco. This Yucatán favorite is quite the mish-mash, but I enjoyed it very much.

Other Mexican Favorites in Mérida

While most traditional Yucatán Mayan cuisine is different than the rest of the country, you won’t struggle to find your favorite Mexican food in Mérida. Here are 4 very common examples

Guacamole

Guacamole came to the Yucatán from elsewhere in Mexico, but it is omnipresent in Mérida – both as an appetizer and a garnish. However, the guacamole in the Yucatán is often made with a different type of avocado than the more universally common Haas. It’s called a Butter Avocado. It’s larger and has a higher water content than Haas avocados. But it still makes a great batch of guacamole…

Esquites

Esquites is a corn salad with ingredients that include butter, mayo, lime juice, chili powder, and cheese. It’s very rich and flavorful, and a very common appetizer at Mérida restaurants. You will also see street vendors selling esquites in cups.

Aguachile

Aguachile can be considered the Mexican version of Ceviche. Ceviche originated in Peru, but is now common throughout Latin America. In Mérida, you will find that many restaurants offer both aguachile and ceviche.

The difference? The seafood in ceviche is “cooked” in its citrus marinade for around 30 minutes or longer. With Mexican aguachile, the raw seafood is quickly tossed in its citrus marinade upon serving. So the seafood (shrimp in the most traditional version) is still basically raw upon eating. And the aguachile marinade is much spicier too. After all, “chili” is in the name.

Al Pastor

Al Pastor is one of Mexico’s most well-known types of tacos. And while Al Pastor originated in central Mexico, you can easily find it throughout the country, including the Yucatán.

Al Pastor is marinated slices of pork, cooked on a giant spit. And by now you can probably guess that, based on the red color, achiote paste is involved. Al Pastor tacos almost always include slices of grilled pineapple too. These spits of Al Pastor are a very common site in Mérida’s food markets, especially at Mérida’s central Mercado San Benito where I would always get mine.

And Finally for Dessert…Marquesitas

Marquesitas are the favorite dessert and street food of the Yucatán. Nighttime in Mérida is marked by the arrival of many mobile Marquesita vendors in the city’s most popular gathering places.

So what is a Marquesita? It’s a thin, crispy, cooked-to-order crepe stuffed with your choice of fillings. And the most popular filling? An unusual combination of Nutella and shredded Dutch Edam Cheese. I did think it a strange mixture of flavors, but it actually tasted pretty good. The cheese cut the sweetness of the Nutella, and was not nearly as overpowering as I expected.

If that combination sounds a bit too unusual for your own palate, then you can also choose from various fruits and jams.

Final Thoughts

This certainly isn’t an all-inclusive list of all the great food In Mérida. But these were my personal favorites. And at least it should give you an idea of some typical food that you really shouldn’t miss while visiting. I could have happily continued to further sample Yucatán cuisine and other Mexican favorites for several more weeks had we not run out of time.

Also, I want to mention that if you need a break from the local cuisine, you can easily find alternative types of food in Mérida as well. Italian food is especially popular, with multiple places serving excellent pizza and pasta. In fact, Trattoria La Pasta Montejo served Mrs. TT the best Lasagna she’s ever eaten. And we both agreed that the pizza from Pizza E Core will be included with the best we’ve ever had…anywhere.

Finally, you may have surmised that I love to eat when we travel. If you would like to read about other favorite food from around the world, then check out these posts:

Typical Food in Cartagena Colombia You Won’t Want to Miss

The Best Portuguese Food in Lisbon You Need To Try

My Favorite Costa Rican Foods

And if you would like to read more about our time in Merida, then be sure to check out this post:

A Frustrating Day Trip to Chichen Itza from Merida

Using Uber in Merida Mexico & Other Tips for Getting Around