5 Delicious Cinco de Mayo Appetizers using 6 Ingredients
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Cinco de Mayo, or the Fifth of May, is a national Mexican holiday, which celebrates the victory of Mexico in the Franco-Mexican war under the leadership of General Zaragoza. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has grown into a traditional celebration-filled day that honors and commemorates Mexican heritage and culture.
Hosting holiday parties does not have to be stressful – with 6 basic shared ingredients (and additional special ingredients for each recipe), you can create some of your favorite traditional and delicious Mexican dishes for Cinco de Mayo. You’ll need a red onion, limes, jalapenos, cilantro, green chiles, and garlic as your basic ingredients, for all 5 recipes!
So, treat your guests to appetizers that they will love and remember, and that won’t cause you stress! These 5 recipes are not only perfect for the 5th of May, but are great to bring to summer barbecues and picnics.
Best Cinco de Mayo Guacamole
Ingredients:
- 4 avocados
- 1 tomato (diced)
- ½ red onion (diced)
- Juice of 1 lime (+ few drops of lemon for flavor)
- Fresh minced cilantro (2 tablespoons)
- Cumin (1 teaspoon)
- Chili powder (1/2 teaspoon)
- 1 jalapeno (finely diced)
- kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
Directions:
Mash the avocados with a fork and combine with the red onion, tomato, japaleno, cilantro, lime juide, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro on top before serving.
Cilantro-Lime Chicken served with Spicy Tomatillo Sauce
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts, grilled (cut into cubes)
- 1 cup cilantro (diced)
- red wine vinegar (2 tablespoons)
- olive oil (2 table spoons)
- juice of 1 lime and lime zest from 1 lime
- minced garlic (3 tablespoons)
- red pepper flakes (about ½ teaspoon)
- paprika (about ½ teaspoon)
- salt and pepper (sprinkled)
Tomatillo Sauce Ingredients:
- olive oil (2 tablespoons)
- 1 poblano (1/2)
- 1 chili pepper (diced)
- 4-5 tomatillos
- red onion (1/4 cup, diced)
- minced garlic (2 tablespoons)
- ¼ cup cilantro
- lime juice (3 tablespoons)
- salt and pepper (sprinkled)
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400°F
- Spread olive oil on a baking sheet and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Place the red onion, tomatillos, chili pepper, and poblano on the baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Add cilantro, lime juice, minced garlic, and the baked goods from step 2 into a blender and blend until smooth and homogeneous consistency is reached.
- In a big bowl, add 1 cup cilantro, red wine vinegar, olive oil, lime juice and lime zest, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, paprika and salt and pepper. Mix until smooth and homogeneous. Add the chicken.
- Pour the mixture from the blender over the chicken in a big bowl and toss to cover all of the chicken with the Tomatillo sauce. Spread the chicken on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Serve with tomatillo sauce on the side.
Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dip
Ingredients:
- 1 can of sweet corn
- 1 diced red onion
- 1 yellow bell pepper (finely diced)
- 3 jalapeno peppers (finely diced)
- 1 can (small) of chopped green chiles
- 1 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese
- ¼ cup half and half
- ½ cup sour cream
- lime juice of ½ lime
Directions:
- Place the half and half and cheese into a deep pan and stir until cream is achieved.
- Place all of the remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour the cheese mixture and stir.
- Serve with sprinkled chopped cilantro.
Restaurant-Style White Queso
Ingredients:
- ½ lb white American cheese (shredded)
- ½ lb fontina cheese (shredded)
- ½ sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup half and half
- jalapenos (finely chopped 2 tablespoons)
- green chiles (finely chopped 2 tablespoons)
- red pepper flakes (1/2 teaspoon)
- salt and pepper (sprinkled)
- ½ tomato (diced)
Directions
- Heat half and half in a deep skillet. Do not let the half and half boil, but bring to a simmer. Add in the cheeses and stir until homogeneous.
- Stir in the jalapenos, green chiles, tomato, and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper for flavor.
- Top with chopped cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Pineapple Mango Salsa
Ingredients:
- 2 cups pineapple (diced)
- 2 cups mango (diced)
- ¼ cup jalapeno (finely diced)
- ¼ cup green chiles (finely diced)
- ¼ cup red onion (diced)
- lime juice of ½ lime
- salt (1 teaspoon)
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
- For most potent flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight.