5 Delicious Cinco de Mayo Appetizers using 6 Ingredients

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:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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:

1. Place the half and half and cheese into a deep pan and stir until cream is achieved.
2. Place all of the remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour the cheese mixture and stir.
3. 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

1. 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.
2. Stir in the jalapenos, green chiles, tomato, and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper for flavor.
3. 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:

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. For most potent flavor, cover and refrigerate overnight.