Christmas in Mexico isn't just a day. It’s a marathon. If you’re asking what do mexican people eat on christmas, you have to understand that the "big meal" actually happens on Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve. By the time Christmas Day rolls around, everyone is mostly focused on the recalentado—the leftovers that somehow taste better after sitting in the fridge for twelve hours.
Food is the glue. It’s messy, loud, and usually involves someone’s grandmother standing over a steaming pot for three days straight. You won't find a dry turkey as the centerpiece in most homes. Instead, you'll find a spread that mixes pre-Hispanic ingredients with Spanish colonial influences, resulting in a menu that is heavy on spice, corn, and tradition.
The Tamal Marathon
Tamales are the undisputed kings. Honestly, Christmas without tamales in a Mexican household feels like a mistake. But making them is an ordeal. This is what's known as a tamalada. It’s a social event where the aunts, cousins, and grandkids gather to spread masa (corn dough) onto dried corn husks or banana leaves.
The fillings vary by region. In the north, you’ll mostly see shredded pork or beef in a red chili sauce. Move toward the south, like Oaxaca, and you’re looking at tamales de mole wrapped in banana leaves, which gives them a completely different, earthier flavor profile.
Why do they eat them? Because they’re portable, they feed a crowd, and they symbolize the community effort of the holiday. It’s not uncommon for a single family to make 200 tamales in one weekend. They get steamed in giant metal pots called vaporeras, filling the whole house with that distinct, sweet smell of cooked corn.
Bacalao and Romeritos: The Divisive Classics
Now, we get into the stuff that people either love or absolutely hate.
Bacalao a la Vizcaína is a salt cod stew. It’s a heavy Spanish import. The fish is salted and dried, so it has to be soaked for ages to get the salt out before it's cooked down with tomatoes, olives, capers, and chiles güeros. It’s salty, acidic, and very intense. It’s one of those dishes that actually gets better as a sandwich the next day.
Then there are Romeritos.
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If you’ve never seen them, they look like sprigs of rosemary but taste a bit like spinach. They are served in a thick, dark mole sauce, usually with patties made of dried shrimp and boiled potatoes. This dish has deep roots in central Mexico, particularly Mexico City. It’s a "Lenten" style dish that transitioned into the Christmas season. It’s an acquired taste. The shrimp patties have a very strong, pungent ocean flavor that cuts through the sweetness of the mole.
The Main Event: Beyond the Bird
While some families have adopted the American-style turkey (pavo), it’s rarely just roasted with butter. It’s usually injected with white wine or brandy and stuffed with a "picadillo"—a mix of ground meat, raisins, almonds, and olives.
However, many families opt for Pierna or Lomo.
We're talking about a massive leg of pork or a pork loin. It’s often marinated in a sauce made from dried ancho and guajillo chiles, orange juice, and spices. It’s slow-roasted until it’s falling apart. The result is a sticky, sweet, and spicy crust that makes a standard honey ham look incredibly boring.
Ensalada de Nochebuena
You need something to cut through all that grease and spice. That’s where the Christmas Eve Salad comes in. It’s weirdly beautiful.
It’s a bright red salad made with:
- Beets (this gives it the color)
- Jicama
- Oranges
- Apples
- Peanuts
- Sometimes pomegranate seeds
It’s crunchy and refreshing. It’s the only "light" thing on the table, though some families ruin the health factor by adding a dollop of crema or a bunch of sugar.
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Drinking the Holidays: Ponche Navideño
You can’t talk about what do mexican people eat on christmas without mentioning what they drink. Ponche Navideño is a hot fruit punch brewed in massive quantities.
It’s not like the powdered stuff. It uses real, whole fruits:
- Tejocotes: These are small, yellow Mexican hawthorns. They look like tiny apples and have a tart, apricot-like flavor.
- Guavas: For that floral scent.
- Sugar cane stalks: These act as stir sticks and you chew on them once you finish the drink.
- Tamarind and Hibiscus: For acidity and deep red color.
- Cinnamon and Piloncillo: Raw cane sugar for sweetness.
If you’re an adult, you’ll likely add a piquete—a "sting" of tequila, rum, or brandy. It’s served hot and keeps everyone warm during the Posadas (the nine days of parties leading up to Christmas).
The Sweet Finish
Dessert is usually Buñuelos. These are essentially giant, paper-thin flour tortillas that are deep-fried until they’re golden and bubbly. While they’re still hot, they get drenched in cinnamon sugar or a syrup made from piloncillo and guava.
They are incredibly fragile. In some parts of Mexico, like Oaxaca, there’s an old tradition where you eat your buñuelo from a clay plate, make a wish, and then smash the plate on the ground.
The Recalentado: The Hidden Secret
Ask any Mexican person what their favorite part of Christmas food is, and they’ll say the recalentado.
This happens on December 25th. No one cooks. You just take the leftover turkey, bacalao, or pierna and stuff it into a bolillo (a crusty bread roll) to make a torta. The flavors have had 24 hours to mingle and intensify. It is, quite literally, the best meal of the year.
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Summary of the Christmas Menu
To keep it simple, here is a quick look at the staples you’ll find across the country:
- Main Savory Dishes: Tamales, Bacalao, Romeritos, Marinated Pork Leg.
- Sides: Ensalada de Nochebuena, Picadillo stuffing.
- Drinks: Ponche Navideño, Champurrado (a chocolate-based atole).
- Sweets: Buñuelos, Panetón (though this is more of a global import), and Arroz con Leche.
Actionable Steps for Your Own Mexican Christmas
If you want to recreate this experience or are attending a Mexican Christmas dinner, keep these tips in mind:
1. Don't skip the Tejocotes
If you’re making Ponche, try to find frozen or jarred tejocotes at a Latin market. They are the soul of the drink. Without them, it’s just hot fruit juice.
2. Learn the Torta Technique
For the 25th, get some high-quality bolillos. Toast them with a little butter, spread some refried beans on the bottom, and pile on the leftover pork leg. It’s a game-changer.
3. Pace Yourself
Mexican Christmas dinner usually starts late—sometimes as late as 10:00 PM or midnight. If you eat a huge lunch, you won't make it to the tamales.
4. Respect the Mole
If someone serves you Romeritos, try them with an open mind. The combination of the seep-sea saltiness of the shrimp and the chocolatey spice of the mole is a complex flavor profile that represents centuries of culinary evolution.
5. Prepare for the Steam
If you're making tamales for the first time, remember that they take a long time to steam—usually 60 to 90 minutes. Don't open the lid too often or you'll lose the heat and end up with "soupy" masa.
The food of a Mexican Christmas is about patience. It's about dishes that take days to prep and hours to consume. It’s not meant to be fast; it’s meant to be shared.