Serve These 21 Dishes With Your Margaritas On Cinco De Mayo

Whether you are enjoying your margaritas frozen or on the rocks this Cinco de Mayo, you will need some fiesta-worthy snacks to enjoy alongside your drinks. 

From snacks for a crowd — like guacamole, spicy queso, and fresh salsas — to proper meals, like this chilaquiles dish with lots of Mexican flavor and easy burritos, we have the recipes you need to throw a proper Cinco de Mayo party this year.

Impress guests with this elevated dish of quail, chorizo, and beans, a refined twist on classic Mexican cuisine or stick to classic tamales and enchiladas for the main course.

When your sweet tooth beckons, fry churros and serve with a chocolate or caramel sauce. If it's hot outside, make this frozen Mexican-chocolate mousse recipe to keep cool.

Let's celebrate the anniversary of the unlikely victory of the Mexican army over the French at the Battle of Puebla the only way we know how — with friends, family, and plenty of chile peppers to bring the heat.

Skip the crowded bars and restaurants, fire up the grill, and let the soothing sound of the blender humming put you in the mood for Mexican classics this holiday.

This simple side dish of zucchini cooked with garlic, tomato, and scallion, topped with queso blanco cheese, is a delicious accompaniment to just about any Mexican-inspired meal. I put my own spin on it with a zippy Cilantro-Cotija Pesto. — Aarón Sanchez

For the Calabacitas Con Queso recipe, click here.

Sometimes when that fast food craving hits, all you want is to hit the drive-thru. Instead, lighten up and make this version of a fast food Taco Bell favorite at home! This recipe has a homemade fajita seasoning and spicy Mexican rice that will make you forget all about the drive-thru. — Lisa G. Cooks

For the Chicken Burrito recipe, click here.

Enjoy this hearty bean and cheese dip with warm tortilla chips for the perfect start to any meal on Cinco de Mayo.

For the Chorizo Bean Dip recipe, click here.

Who doesn't enjoy churros? One of the best snacks we grew up with in amusement parks, festivals, and carnivals, they're something we can't say no to. Now you can make them at home! Eat them plain or with a cup of hot chocolate to dip in. — Patricia Stagich

For the Churros recipe, click here.

These outstanding chilaquiles from chef Enrique Olvera feature pulled chicken, fried eggs, and two kinds of salsa.

For the Divorced Chilaquiles recipe, click here.

Mash ripe avocados, fresh lime juice, tomatoes, onions, and hot sauce for the perfect spicy guacamole dip to serve this Cinco de Mayo.

For the Fiesta Guacamole recipe, click here.

Serve this salsa as an appetizer, with your favorite grilled meats, or enjoy it as a spicy side salad. — Hannah Hoskins

For the Fire-Roasted Poblano and Corn Salsa recipe, click here.

Don't be fooled — even though it's frozen, this dessert packs some heat. Serve à la mode to mellow out the fire. If you can't find Mexican chocolate (such as Ibarra), adding equal parts cinnamon and cayenne pepper to regular baking chocolate is a good substitute. — Will Budiaman

For the Frozen Mexican Chocolate Mousse recipe, click here.

This heavenly steak is the kind of treat you'd get in tacos at the little stands in Mexican markets, tucked into warm tortillas and topped with spicy salsa. I love the beefy flavor, the chew, and the low price of skirt steak, but you can use any type of steak you'd like. If it's a thick cut, just sear it in a hot pan, then finish it in an oven preheated to 350 degrees F. — Roberto Santibañez

For the Grilled Adobo-Marinated Skirt Steak recipe, click here.

These Mexican-style grilled steak sandwiches are a great weeknight or cookout party option. Flat iron is a super-flavorful cut from the shoulder; it's quite lean, so cook it no further than medium-rare to ensure that it's tender and juicy. — Whole Foods Market

For the Grilled Flat Iron Tortas recipe, click here.

The traditional from-scratch way to make tortillas is to buy field corn, soak it in slaked lime, wash it thoroughly, and then grind it by hand into fresh masa. In an effort to make this recipe accessible to everyone, I've called for masa harina. It will yield tortillas that are vastly superior to grocery store tortillas for relatively little work. Masa harina is a flour made from dried masa. You can sometimes buy fresh masa made the traditional way from Latin American grocery stores. — Vanessa Barrington

For the Homemade Corn Tortillas recipe, click here.

Spicy, sweet, and tangy these pork tacos pair perfectly with a frozen margarita for Cinco de Mayo.

For the Jalapeño Pork Tacos With Pineapple Salsa and Pickled Onion recipe, click here.

Marinate whatever fish is freshest in a spiced fruit juice marinade for a delicious, flavorful fish tacos topped with a crunchy radish salsa.

For the Marinated Fish Tacos With Goat Cheese Guacamole and Heirloom Tomato-Avocado-Watermelon Radish Salsa recipe, click here.

This recipe for quail cooked in a sous vide machine uses all the classic flavors and ingredients found in traditional Mexican cookery, but in a highly refined way.

For the Quail, Chorizo, Bean, and Heirloom Avocado recipe, click here.

This tostada is all about fresh ingredients and good-quality tuna. Pile diced ahi tuna, guacamole, crema, and radishes on top of a crisp corn chip, and add a slice of jalapeño to make it extra spicy.

For the Roadside Ahi Tuna Tostada recipe, click here.

"This kind of Mexican barbecue isn't smoky. It tastes more steamed because the meat is cooked in a pit in the ground," says chef Kevin Gillespie of barbacoa-style cooking. Here he mimics that traditional technique by wrapping the pork in tinfoil with spices and hot peppers before baking in the oven until fork tender.

For the Slow-Cooked Pork Barbacoa recipe, click here.

This spicy chili highlights the flavors of a steak enchilada, all the way down to using flour tortillas to make the tortilla chips served with the chili. — Debbie Reid

For the Steak Enchilada Chili With Flour Tortilla Chips recipe, click here.

This lamb barbacoa taco is made with homemade chile poblano corn tortillas that give it an extra kick of flavor.

For the Suckling Lamb Barbacoa Taco recipe, click here.

Famed chef Enrique Olvera gives tamales, a classic Mexican street food an update with fresh herbs, spices, and three delicious fillings: cochinita pibil, green salsa chicken, and goat cheese and red salsa.

For the Tamales recipe, click here.

Make a meal that takes little to no time to make at all: chicken fajitas. This chicken fajita recipe is loaded with chicken, cheese, and spices. — Milagros Cruz

For the Ultimate Chicken Fajitas recipe, click here.

Go all out with your nachos this year and serve this ultimate version. You'll find the ground beef mixture is good enough to use in your favorite chili, but you won't be able to resist it spread on a crunchy chip and topped with oozing cheese, either. — Dean Corbett

For the Ultimate Nachos recipe, click here.