A guide to Mexican street food- all gluten-free!
- Jana R
- Feb 8
- 2 min read
Mexican street food
Mexico is a paradise for gluten-free travellers! Unless you are travelling in the north of the country, where wheat flour tortillas are more common, it’s corn all the way! Apart from the infinite number of tacos, there is a line of street food sometimes referred to as garnachas or antojitos that offers a range of yummy gluten-free snacks.
Sopes, gorditas, tlacoyos, and huaraches are all made from corn dough (called masa), thicker than your usual tortilla, but vary in size, shape, fillings and toppings. Let's take a deep dive into Mexican street food and clear up any mix-ups between these tasty treats.
Sopes
A thick, round-shape corn dough base with pinched edges to hold the toppings. Lightly fried and usually topped with beans, cheese, sour cream, iceberg lettuce and salsa (green or red).
Sope topped with beans, lettuce and cheese
Gorditas
Similar round shape to sopes, but the filling is inside the dough! Deep-fried and filled with meat ( in Mexico City, usually with chicharrón- pork belly), beans, lettuce, cheese and salsa, gorditas are usually made from white corn. However, you can also find blue corn gorditas in some places, such as Peña de Bernal.
Tlacoyos
Tlacoyos are oval-shaped, thick masa cakes, often made of blue corn, grilled and stuffed with beans or cheese (requesón). They are usually topped with nopales (cactus), salsa, and cheese.
Huaraches
Named after pre-hispanic sandals, these large, shoe-shaped delicacies are fried or grilled, stuffed with beans and usually topped cheese and onion, meat or eggs and salsas.
Quesadillas
Mexican street-style quesadillas are almost always made with corn tortillas, which makes them a safe gluten-free choice.
Quesadilla Note: in some restaurants, and especially in northern Mexico, flour tortillas are used, so it’s better to double checks.
Quesadillas can be fried and come with a variety of fillings- cheese (although you can also get quesadillas without cheese!), huitlacoche (corn fungus) to flor de calabaza (squash blossoms), mushrooms, chicken, etc.
Tostadas
Tostadas are crispy corn tortillas topped with an infinite variety of meat, seafood, or simply beans and cheese.
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