What people mean by Mexican recipes on a weeknight is usually one of six things: tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, or rice and beans. Those six are not interchangeable. Fajitas are a fifteen-minute skillet. Enchiladas are an assembly job and a bake. Birria is an afternoon.

So these twenty-five are grouped by dish, and inside each group sorted by time. Nothing here is a seasoning mix or a dessert dressed up as a taco. Every entry lists the real total time, the servings and the ingredient count, so you can tell the twenty-minute shrimp tacos from the four-hour birria before you commit.

Tacos

Five tacos across beef, shrimp, fish, chicken and chuck roast. The first four are weeknight dinners; the last is a weekend project.

Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

A pound of large shrimp with chili powder, cumin and paprika, piled into eight corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, cilantro, red onion, salsa and avocado. Twenty minutes, and the shrimp cook in about three of them. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 15 ingredients

Homemade Ground Beef Tacos

A pound of ground beef with two tablespoons of taco seasoning and half a cup of water simmered down, then eight tortillas with lettuce, tomato, sharp cheddar, sour cream, jalapeno and guacamole. Serves eight. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 8 servings · 10 ingredients

Grilled Fish Tacos

A pound of white fish marinated in lime juice, garlic and chili powder, grilled, then served with a sour cream and mayonnaise crema, cabbage, pico de gallo and avocado. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 14 ingredients

Baked Chicken Tacos with Refried Beans and Green Chiles

Ten hard shells stood up in a dish, filled with shredded chicken, refried beans, diced tomatoes and green chiles, then baked with two cups of Mexican blend cheese. Ten servings and the easiest to make for a crowd. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 10 servings · 14 ingredients

Cheesy Beef Birria Tacos

Two pounds of chuck roast braised nearly four hours with dried guajillo and ancho chiles, a cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin and oregano, then shredded into tortillas with Monterey Jack and crisped in the consome. The most ambitious recipe on this page and worth the afternoon. View the full recipe — 3 hours 50 minutes · 6 servings · 15 ingredients

Quesadillas

Three quesadillas from fastest to slowest. The cheese is always freshly grated in these, which matters more than it sounds.

Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas

Two large flour tortillas with a cup of shredded chicken, a cup of Monterey Jack or cheddar, bell pepper, black beans, corn and jalapenos, cooked in butter. Eight ingredients, twenty minutes, serves two. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 2 servings · 8 ingredients

Crispy Ground Beef Quesadillas with Two Cheeses

A pound of ground beef cooked down with tomato paste and beef broth so the filling is not wet, then three cups of freshly grated cheddar and Monterey Jack between four flour tortillas. The dry filling is what keeps the tortilla crisp. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Simple Steak Quesadilla

Sixteen ounces of flank steak marinated in olive oil, lime and cumin, sliced thin with peppers and onion into four tortillas. Ten ingredients. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Fajitas

Chicken, shrimp and steak. The first two are under forty minutes; the steak version spends most of its time in the marinade.

Skillet Chicken Fajitas with Peppers and Lime

Sixteen ounces of chicken with two bell peppers and an onion in one skillet, seasoned with chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne. Eight tortillas, lime and cilantro. Twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 15 ingredients

Easy Shrimp Fajitas with Peppers and Onions

Eight ingredients: a pound of shrimp, two bell peppers, an onion, olive oil, fajita seasoning, salt and pepper, tortillas and lime wedges. The shortest ingredient list in this group. View the full recipe — 37 minutes · 4 servings · 8 ingredients

Lime Marinated Steak Fajitas

A pound of flank steak in a marinade of olive oil, three tablespoons of lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin and smoked paprika, with peppers, onion, avocado, salsa and sour cream. Ninety minutes, mostly marinating. View the full recipe — 1 hour 30 minutes · 4 servings · 16 ingredients

Enchiladas

Four enchiladas: red sauce, green sauce, a creamy sour cream version and a shrimp one. Three of the four are done in fifty minutes.

Shredded Chicken Black Bean Enchiladas

Seven ingredients and the shortest route here: three cups of rotisserie chicken, two cups of cheese, nineteen ounces of red enchilada sauce, eight tortillas, black beans and bell peppers. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Classic Ground Beef Enchiladas

A pound of ground beef seasoned from scratch with chili powder, cumin and paprika, rolled in ten corn tortillas under twenty-eight ounces of red enchilada sauce with cheddar and Monterey Jack, jalapenos and olives. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 5 servings · 14 ingredients

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Nine ingredients built on green chile enchilada sauce, three quarters of a cup of sour cream, diced green chiles and two cups of Monterey Jack, in twelve small corn tortillas. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 6 servings · 9 ingredients

Creamy Shrimp Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

A pound of shrimp with a from-scratch cream sauce: butter and flour cooked into vegetable broth with sour cream, green enchilada sauce and green chiles. Twenty-one ingredients and the most involved enchilada here. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 8 servings · 21 ingredients

Burritos

One for breakfast, one for dinner, and one deconstructed into a casserole so you do not have to roll anything.

Bacon Egg and Cheese Breakfast Burrito

Seven ingredients: four eggs, four slices of thick cut bacon, butter, cheddar and two large tortillas. Thirty minutes, serves two, and it freezes well. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 2 servings · 7 ingredients

Cheesy Beef and Potato Burritos with Nacho Drizzle

Three large russets and a pound of lean ground beef with a cup of nacho cheese sauce in six large tortillas, then crisped in oil. The potato is what makes these filling enough to be dinner on their own. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 6 servings · 11 ingredients

Creamy Burrito Casserole

A pound of ground beef with taco seasoning, refried beans and salsa layered with eight tortillas, a sour cream and condensed soup sauce and two cups of cheese. Serves six and needs no rolling. View the full recipe — 1 hour 5 minutes · 6 servings · 11 ingredients

Rice, Beans and Casseroles

The things you serve alongside everything above, plus one casserole that is a full dinner.

Homemade Mexican Rice

Seven ingredients: a cup of long grain white rice toasted in oil, then fourteen ounces of chicken broth and half a cup of tomato sauce with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. The toasting step is why it comes out fluffy rather than sticky. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans

Sixteen ounces of dried black beans with onion, four cloves of garlic, bay leaves, cumin and a jalapeno in six cups of water. No soaking, no cans, and far better than canned. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 6 servings · 10 ingredients

Fajita Chicken Rice Casserole

A pound of cooked chicken with three cups of instant rice, condensed soup, sour cream, a frozen pepper and onion blend, diced tomatoes with green chilies and two cups of Mexican cheese blend. Nine ingredients, one dish. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 6 servings · 9 ingredients

Soups

Two soups: the pantry one you can make from cans, and the one built on fire roasted corn.

Easy Taco Soup

A pound of lean ground beef with four cups of broth and four cans, corn, black beans, chili beans in sauce and crushed tomatoes, plus green chiles and seven seasonings. Seventeen ingredients, almost all of them shelf-stable. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 6 servings · 17 ingredients

Mexican Street Corn Soup with Chicken

Twelve ounces of fire roasted frozen corn with two chicken breasts, jalapeno, chili lime seasoning and four cups of broth, finished with a cup of full fat sour cream, Monterey Jack, lime and crumbled queso fresco. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 6 servings · 18 ingredients

Two Sides to Make First

Both take twenty minutes or less and both go with everything above.

Salsa Verde Guacamole

Three ripe avocados with salsa verde, lime juice, jalapeno, red onion, cilantro and a small tomato. Ten minutes and ten ingredients. View the full recipe — 10 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Mexican Street Corn Salad

Four ears of fresh corn with a full cup of cotija, half a cup of mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, scallions, jalapeno and cilantro. Elote off the cob, in twenty minutes. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Questions About Cooking Mexican at Home

What is the fastest dinner on this page?

Shrimp Tacos with Cabbage Slaw at twenty minutes, with the chicken and cheese quesadillas tied at twenty for two people. Skillet Chicken Fajitas is twenty-five minutes and serves four.

Corn tortillas or flour tortillas?

The recipes here follow the usual split: corn for tacos, enchiladas and birria, where the tortilla is meant to soften and hold sauce, and flour for quesadillas and burritos, where it needs to fold and crisp without cracking. Warm corn tortillas before you fill them or they will split.

Do I need to make my own taco seasoning?

No, but it changes the result. The classic ground beef enchiladas and skillet chicken fajitas season from scratch with chili powder, cumin and paprika, which lets you control the salt. The faster recipes use a packet, which is fine.

What makes a quesadilla crisp instead of soggy?

A filling that is not wet. The crispy ground beef quesadillas cook the beef down with tomato paste and only a quarter cup of broth for exactly that reason. Grate the cheese yourself too, since pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch and melts less cleanly.

Which of these can I make ahead or freeze?

The breakfast burritos freeze well wrapped individually. All four enchilada recipes and the burrito casserole can be assembled a day ahead and baked when you need them. Taco soup is better the second day.

What is birria and why does it take four hours?

Beef chuck braised in a sauce of rehydrated dried chiles with cinnamon, cloves and oregano until it shreds. The time is almost entirely unattended braising, and the leftover braising liquid, the consome, is what you dip the finished tacos in.

Which recipes feed the most people?

Baked Chicken Tacos at ten servings, then homemade ground beef tacos, creamy shrimp enchiladas at eight each. For a party, the baked tacos and taco soup scale the most easily.