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Mexican food recipes are extremely varied. The nation has rich food history, every settler or intruder made his contribution to the Mexican cuisine. Aztecs and Mayans introduced beans, tomatoes, corn, and chile peppers into mexican menu, Spanish conquerors brought wheat, herbs and spices.

Corn is now a cornerstone of  the Mexican cuisine. It is used almost in every dish, including desserts, soups and even drinks. Mexicans have special ways of treating corn, depending on the recipe and meal. Treated corn is essential in enchiladas, tortillas, tamales, tacos and sopapillas (click to see mexican food cooking tips). Along with corn, rice is also a very important grain in mexican food. Mexicans use red rice (boiled with tomatoes) for paella and achiote, green rice (with chiles and parsley) for arroz con pollo and sweet rice (with sugar and cinnamon) for a popular drink horchata.

And of course, one cannot imagine Mexican cuisine without spicy sauces, the chief ingredients of which are chile peppers. There are more than 60 kinds of chile peppers that are actively used in Mexican food recipes starting from mild Anaheims ending with burning hot habaneros.

A comestible very peculiar to Mexican cuisine is avocado. It is used mashed (in guacamole), sliced (in soups) and its leaves flavor sauces and stews.

Two more products frequently appearing in Mexican food recipes are beans and tomatoes. Tomatoes are essential in many stews, salsas and rice dishes both fresh and cooked. Beans may be served separately, fried or simmered in water.

In the Mexican food recipes of sweets and desserts vanilla and chocolate take an important place, although they can also be added to sauces. Both products are genuinely Mexican in origin. Vanilla with best flavor is made from the bean of the edible orchid, first discovered in Mexico. As for chocolate, many centuries ago Mexicans used cocoa beans to make a foamy drink, which was not originally sweet, but bitter.