15 Essential Mexican Food Cookbooks Everyone Should Have In Their Kitchen

Perhaps the greatest ambassador of modern Mexican cuisine, chef Enrique Olvera is known for his iconic Mexico City restaurant, Pujol — currently #13 on The World's 50 Best Restaurants — as well as international endeavors like New York's Cosme and Los Angeles' Damian. But before Olvera was a household name, he did something nobody had done before. When he opened Pujol in 2000, it was absolutely groundbreaking. Olvera dared to elevate Mexican cuisine to innovative, contemporary levels – something never seen before in a city where steakhouses or French restaurants were considered the epitome of fine dining.

Published by Phaidon in 2015, Mexico from the Inside Out reflects Olvera's unique views on Mexican cuisine, with a deep love and respect for traditional recipes and ingredients, yet an ever-growing curiosity and will to evolve. The book features more than 65 recipes, ranging from sophisticated dishes from the Pujol kitchen to casual meals that the chef enjoys at home, accompanied by stunning photographs. Recipe highlights include a lobster taco with longaniza and his now iconic corn husk meringue.

We're always told not to judge books by their covers, but this stunning tome, published by Phaidon in 2014, is hard not to fall in love with. Inside, you'll find more than 700 recipes, easily organized into chapters such as Street Food, Vegetables, Drinks, and Desserts. From complex dishes like chile en nogada and mole to refreshing fruit aguas frescas, these recipes are meant to be easily prepared at home and are illustrated with gorgeous photographs. Another fun highlight: The Chef Menu section, featuring recipes from renowned Mexican chefs.

Putting together a "bible of home cooking from Mexico" is no easy feat, but if someone was up for the task, it was Margarita Carrillo Arronti. One of Mexico's most renowned culinary promoters, Chef Carrillo's impressive resume includes teaching at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio and at Mexico's CESSA, as well as being named a culinary ambassador by Mexico's Foreign Relations Ministry since 2016. 

Chef Alejandro Ruiz is one of Oaxaca's foremost culinary champions. His flagship restaurant, Casa Oaxaca — #63 in Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants — is an icon of local cuisine and hospitality in the state's capital, while his second project, Oaxacalifornia, blends local cuisine with fresh ingredients from Baja California. In Mexico City, he shares the flavors of his home at the casual and welcoming Guzina Oaxaca. If someone is qualified to guide you along the state's rich, fascinating gastronomic landscape, Ruiz is the man.

Originally published in Spanish as Cocina de Oaxaca, The Food of Oaxaca features 50 recipes covering traditional Oaxacan dishes, coastal specialties, and original creations by Ruiz, such as duck tacos with mole coloradito and corn-based memelas with beans and cheese. The book also features helpful essays and a glossary to help you navigate the depth of Oaxacan cuisine, as well as a foreword by Pujol's Enrique Olvera.

Located in the heart of Mexico City's Colonia Roma, Rosetta has become one of the most beloved restaurants since it opened its doors in 2010. Helmed by chef Elena Reygadas, Rosetta celebrates Mexican ingredients through a menu based on seasonal and sustainable ingredients. In her first book, published in 2019, Reygadas shares some of the most iconic recipes from the restaurant, as well as her thoughts on topics like Mexican ingredients and the environmental impact of our eating habits. On this journey, Reygadas will show you how to make dishes like pickled oysters with horseradish and borage flower, as well as her iconic guava roll.

Today, Reygadas has built an empire in Mexico City, with Rosetta as its flagship, that expands to two casual eateries, Lardo and Café Nin; two outlets of her uber-popular Panadería Rosetta; the Italian spot Bella Aurora; and the bar Salón Rosetta. She's also in charge of Coyul, the gorgeous restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo. It's no wonder that Reygadas was named Best Female Chef at the 2023 World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Fans of Chef Rick Bayless know him for his stellar career, which includes several James Beard Award nominations and wins, as well as his humanitarian projects. They know that his deep passion for Mexican cooking is on display at this Chicago eateries, which include Frontera Grill, Bar Sótano, and even Tortas Frontera at O'Hare airport. They're also aware of his long-running PBS show, Mexico One Plate at a Time, now on its 12th season, and his nine popular cookbooks. Given Bayless' incredibly prolific career, picking one of his books was a bit of a challenge, but we opted for his 2005 classic, Mexican Everyday.

Just as the title promises, Bayless' Mexican Everyday translates the depth and richness of Mexican cuisine into practical recipes that can be swiftly prepared in 30 minutes – lifesavers on busy weeknights. The collection of 90 recipes is divided into chapters like Salsas & Skills, Quick Meals from the Grill, and Desserts and includes delights like shrimp ceviche salad, chipotle steak with black beans, and green chile chicken tacos.

The Guelaguetza, or the "feast of Mondays on the Hill," is one of Oaxaca's most important traditions – a series of celebrations, performances, and rituals that dates back to 1932. The name is fitting from Los Angeles' beloved Mexican restaurant, founded more than 25 years ago by the López family, who immigrated from Oaxaca and have been sharing the exquisite food from their home ever since.

In this book, published in 2019, restaurant co-owner Bricia López and co-author Javier Cabral will lead you along some of the state's precious culinary secrets, including its indigenous techniques and its types of chilis. With more than 140 recipes, you will get a sense of Oaxaca's soulful flavors in dishes such as huevo en frijol (eggs with beans), tacos de chapulín y chicharrón (fried grasshopper and pork rinds tacos), mole negro, and chilaquiles. The book earned López and Cabral a James Beard Award nomination, while Guelaguetza was recognized with a James Beard America's Classics Award in 2015.

Masa is the heart of dozens of traditional Latin staples, from tortillas to arepas to tamales. Understanding the historical and agricultural importance of heirloom corn for creating masa (dough) is the driving force behind Masienda, a Los Angeles-based masa purveyor founded in 2014. Its goal is to provide better masa to chefs and home cooks and better conditions to farmers.

Now, Masienda founder Jorge Gaviria has published Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, which will give you incredible insights into the history of masa across Mesoamerica, North and South America and, of course, Mexico. It will also teach you about nixtamal, the ancient process of turning corn into masa, and how to make your tortillas puff – the magical moment when homemade tortillas fill with air on the comal. Masa features 10 recipes, courtesy of renowned chefs, that confirm this ingredient's versatility. Try your hand at making Gerardo González' lamb birria with masa gnocchi or Sean Brock's shrimp and masa grits.

With a deep love for Mexican food as our compass, we made this selection considering a variety of authors, from Mexican-born chefs and personalities like Elena Reygadas and Pati Jinich to foreign authors like Diana Kennedy, who devoted her career to the country's cuisine. We also made sure to feature books that ranged from user-friendly, like Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday, to more sophisticated tomes, like Enrique Olvera's Mexico From the Inside Out.