11 Not to Miss Street Foods in Oaxaca to Try on Your Next Trip

Oaxaca is known as Mexico’s Culinary Capital and has a street food scene like no other! I loved transversing Oaxaca’s local markets full of regional favorites like Chapulines (roasted grasshoppers), Tejate (fermented Cacao drink), and Oaxacan Chocolate, fresh mixed with all sorts of spices and nuts.

Top 11 Street Foods in Oaxaca

1. Chapulines: Crunchy Dry-Roasted Crickets

Chapulines, plural for chapulín, are toasted grasshoppers flavored with garlic, chiles, lime juice, and salt in various combinations. Most commonly consumed in Oaxaca but popular all over Mexico, they taste a bit like Doritos and have a good crunch.You’ll see women on the street selling Chapulines, as well as in Mercado Benito Juárez.

2. Tlayudas: “Mexican Pizza”

Tlayuda, sometimes spelled Clayuda, is also referred to as “Mexican Pizza”. The Tlayuda photographed above has been folded over, making it look less like a pizza but a lot easier to eat. Tlayuda consists of a crunchy tortilla (usually charred or grilled, rather than fried) a spread of refried beans, Asiento (literally translates to “seat”, but it’s a pork lard spread), vegetables, meat or protein, Oaxaca cheese, and a salsa. You can find these all over Oaxaca, especially around the Zócalo or in and around the famous markets.

3. Aguas Frescas: Sweet & Often Fruity Drinks Sold Everywhere

Aguas Frescas, translated literally to “fresh waters”, is a very popular cold drink in Oaxaca. It’s honestly impossible to explain Aguas Frescas because there are at least 10 different varieties, and each flavor combination is wildly unique. For example, Horchata is a classic flavor of Aguas Frescas, but so is chilacayota water, which is made from squash. My favorite was the watermelon flavor, although the Horchata con Tuna (local fruit, not the fish) is also great.

4. Pasillo de Carnes Asadas (the Meat Hall) at Mercado 20 de Noviembre

Truly a unique experience; the Pasillo de Carne Asadas (otherwise known as the Meat Hall) is the best lunch spot in Oaxaca. You’ll see more locals than tourists coming to have lunch in the “Meat Hall” The hall is super smokey because the meat you order (by the kilo) raw is then flame-grilled right in front of you – Side dishes, condiments, drinks, and bread are also pay-per-portion and ordered independently.

5. Tejate: Pre-Colombian Fermented Drink

Care for an ancient refreshment? Tejate pre-dates Spanish colonialism in Mexico and is unique to the region. Made from local ingredients like corn and Cocoa; it’s then fermented into a foamy creamy drink. Tejate doesn’t taste like other fermented drinks I’ve had, there’s no acid, instead, it’s very creamy from the cocoa butter. I’ve seen people have it in a cup and drink it or in a bowl with a spoon. You can get Tejate all over Oaxaca but the photo above is from Mercado Benito Juárez.

6. Oaxacan Chocolate: Gritty, Sweet & Sometimes Spicy

Usually dark, the chocolate in Oaxaca is made from grinding the beans whole with a bunch of other ingredients; these include corn, nuts, cinnamon, coffee, chilis, sugar, and pretty much anything else you can think of. My favorite was the cinnamon – the chocolate is slightly gritty from the sugar and it’s usually very sweet. I would recommend trying a bit of all the different flavors, but if you have food allergies watch out because the same grinder is used for all the products.

Known by the Aztecs as the “Drink of the Gods”, cocoa was first cultivated in Mexico by the Olmec people. Chocolate is still very central to Oaxacan cuisine, it’s used as a snack and a drink, as well as a key ingredient in the famed Mole sauce. Trying hot chocolate while in Oaxaca is a must; usually made in an olla de barro, or clay pot – the hot liquid is frothed with a wooden disk called a molinillo, and then a piece of chocolate is dissolved in the water (traditionally) or milk.

7. Oaxacan Mole

Mole (pronounced mol-ehh) is a sauce, usually sold dehydrated in a paste like the one I pictured above, that involves many ingredients and is paired with savory dishes. There are a TON of ingredients in Mole and everyone has a different (closely guarded) recipe. Mole comes in a ton of different flavors, with red (Rojo), black (Negro), and green (Verde) being the most common.

8. Street Tacos

The street food scene in Oaxaca is out of this world! Made fresh right in front of you, usually on a large wok-like pan, the tacos come from a selection of meats and vegetables. They also give you an option of salsas, fresh lime, grilled Nopal (cactus), and usually a crema of some sort.

9. Nieves Oaxaqueñas (Oaxacan Ice Cream)

Nieves Oaxaqueñas translates literally to “Oaxaca Snow”. It has the texture of shaved ice with the creaminess of ice cream, you can find this everywhere in Oaxaca but I went to the stall in Benito Juarez market. Some of my favorite flavors include Besos de Oaxaca (Oaxacan Kisses), Elote (corn), and Leche Quemada (burnt milk).

10. Piedrazo: Vinegary Dish Made from Stale Bread & Hot Sauce

More of an acquired taste, Piedrazo is an Oaxacan dish that when translated literally means “stone” due to the stale bread used as a base. It’s very vinegary and spicy, topped with Cheese, and unique to Oaxaca.

11. Mexican Coke

Coca-Cola usually comes in a nice glass bottle (which gets recycled religiously) in Oaxaca, while in America we only get plastic. Coca-Cola is also way more popular in all of Mexico than in America, Oaxaca especially, so I would consider having a glass-bottle Coke with your street tacos in Oaxaca as a not-to-miss pairing!