Whether you are specific about your diet or not, there’s always a cheat day when you can relish with your favorite food! Tacos, a Mexican delight becomes even more tasty and appetizing when you serve them with the right kind of dishes. This 15 minute read will walk you through some of the best dishes that go well with tacos.
What to serve with tacos is quite a common query for all those foodies out there. Look no further because we are here to provide you with some of the most delightful recipes.
Salads for healthy foodies
If you are looking for healthy sides for tacos, salads are the way to go of course! Mix it up with some veggies or delicious fruits with your taco. We have few wonderful salad recipes up our sleeves to give you a start.
Corn, tomatoes and onions salad
With only three ingredients you can create a lovely and healthy combination of salad. Simply heat up the sweet corn and add chopped tomatoes and onions to it. Mix it for 10 minutes and you will have your appetizing salad ready to be served with tacos. You can add a bit of coriander leaf or avocado for dressing. In this particular salad, there is no right or wrong measurement. You have the liberty to mix up the quantities based on your taste palate.
Zesty mix of pineapple and cucumber
This is probably the easiest salad recipe that you will ever find. Shred some cucumber and cilantro in long and thin parts. Add small chunks of pineapple to it. If you like it spicy, you can top them with a bit of chili flakes based on your preference.
You can also add some pinch of lemon to add more flavors. When you have surprise guests to visit you, tacos with this salad is the most time efficient and tasty recipe you will find.
Aubergines and jalapeno
You would be amazed to see what wonders egg plants can do to your taste palate. First, start by creating aubergine semi-solid chips. This is a special Indian cuisine, favorites to many. Who would’ve thought you can prepare them easily at home without having to visit an Indian restaurant.
Chop the aubergines into round circular discs. Mix them with green chili, salt and onion sauce. Heat them up in the oven for 10 minutes or in the stove. You will have your aubergine chips ready. In the next phase, add chopped jalapenos to add a tangy flavor to it. You can also add some pickles if you like sour taste. Trust us; the final dish is even more mouth-watering than it sounds when you serve them with tacos.
Beans and sprouts
You didn’t think we would not include beans in our salad recipes, did you? Beans taste absolutely wonderful with tacos specifically the dried beans. The good part about dried beans is that you can easily refrigerate them. Add sprouts as well if you are a veggie lover. If you are not fond of vegetables, you can add some corn with the beans to dilute the flavor.
Dips for appetizing
Everyone knows tacos without dips or salsa is a complete turndown. Don’t worry we have some delicious dips’ recipe that goes perfectly with tacos.
Garlic Mayo sauce
A mixture of mayonnaise and garlic sauce works wonders. You can thank us later for this innovative mouth-watering salsa idea. Check out the garlic sauce recipe here. You can use any mayonnaise from popular brands here.
Naga Sauce
Naga is basically a special form of pepper found in South Asia. This is basically the spiciest form of paper. If you do not find them, simply extra spicy pepper sauce will do the work. You can add a bit of Mayo as well to dilute the spiciness if you want to. We love naga sauce with ketchup. This naga sauce served with some crispy tacos will make your cheat day an absolute delight.
Sour cream and onion
If you want to play with flavors, you should definitely try the sour cream and onion recipe as dip. The sour cream and onion recipe is pretty simple and easy. You can make things interesting by making it a seven layer dip if you want to. But you can stick to basic sour cream and onion sauce as well.
The quintessential salsa
If you want to stick to basics, the clichéd tomato sauce also tastes great with tacos. If you are a regular or occasional cook, we are sure that you know at least one tomato ketchup recipe. Our advice would be to add a pinch of lemon juice as well to give it a tangier flavor.
A little mix of carbohydrate
You know what else goes well with tacos? Some rice and potatoes! A bit of carbohydrate is not bad at all for a healthy diet. It sounds pretty surprising that something as Asian as rice goes so well with Mexican tacos. But you can rest assured, it tastes absolutely fantastic.
Indonesian Rice
Normal white rice with a fresh flavor of cilantro and lemon is the specialty of Indonesian rice. If you want to make it more interesting, you can also add green chilies and onions.
This will make the rice spicier with the tacos. Crispy tacos with a blend of special Indonesian rice are an absolute treat to your palate.
Basmati rice with beans
Save this one for special occasions only. You would want to surprise your guests with something different to serve on special occasions. Simply cook the normal basmati with half the amount of beans. You can have them even without tacos and they will taste delicious. But they complement the crispy tacos really well.
Potatoes and mushrooms
Cut square chunks of potatoes and heat them with some pepper and onions. You will love these cooked potatoes. Basically, they are softer than potato wedges. You know what else will taste great with them? Some garlic button mushrooms! A combination of potatoes and mushrooms is actually a right mix of unhealthy and healthy.
Mushroom makes up for your protein and fiber needs whereas potatoes will serve as the carbohydrate requirement for your body.
Something meaty
If you think tacos are only suitable for snacks, you are definitely wrong! Rightly served with some fresh quality meat can turn tacos into a fulfilling meal. Of course, you can skip this part of the article if you are a vegetarian.
Some juicy meatballs
We were just as pleasantly surprised as you are when we figured how great meatball tastes with crispy tacos. This meatball recipe contains both beef and pork. Therefore, make sure you have them on your cheat days only! We would recommend eating fewer amounts since too much red meat can be a bit unhealthy.
We are warning you beforehand not to eat much cause it’s absolutely delicious. You can also switch beef and pork to chicken in the recipe if you do not prefer eating red meat. You can also use this recipe as a complete meal and spread some tacos dipped in pieces or you can put the meatballs inside the tacos.
Bacon strips and sausages
Guess what? Tacos are such a versatile item on the menu that you can enjoy them during breakfast as well with some nice bacon strips and sausages. Our recommendation would be to make the sausages juicier by grilling them with some barbeque sauce.
The crispy bacons and tacos along with barbeque sauce marinated sausages will make you and your stomach extremely happy. You can have them separately or use them as taco filling as well. If calorie intake is not an issue for you, a bit of mozzarella cheese is a must to add more flavor to it.
Hot and spicy minced beef
This particular dish can be used both as a filling for tacos or as a dip. It goes great with any type of chips actually. It depends on you prepare it. How you serve them depends on how dry you prepare the meal.
More juicy and fluid like structure means you can use them as dip, a dry version goes better as filling. You can check out the minced beef recipe from here or you can get as creative as you want with the spices.
Relishing drinks to quench your thirst
Did you know that you can also serve tacos for house parties and turn them into three course meals as well? So, what to serve with tacos for a party? Some mocktails and lemonade would not be bad. Let’s talk about some of best drinks that will go just about right with tacos.
Classic Lemon Mint Mojito
A pro tip from us; lemon mint mojito goes well with all types of Mexican food. The spicy taste of authentic Mexican food needs something refreshing and zesty and that’s what lemon mint mojito provides you.
Some lime juice and mint are the key essentials of lemon mint mojito. Ice it up and create a refreshing drink to enjoy with tacos.
Lemon Iced tea
This recipe is specific to some palates only. People who are not that fond of ice tea shouldn’t try it. For those who love ice tea, you would understand how good it feels to drink it after having a fulfilling meal with tacos.
Red wine with orange
Enough with the healthy drink options! If you are all out for the day, some red wine is not a bad option at all. You can simply serve a tacos meal for dinner with a bottle of red wine or you can mix it up with some orange and brandy.
You can try this Sangria recipe for special occasions or you could go for something simple as well.
Always save a room for dessert
Like everyone says ‘dessert goes directly to the heart’, we know you will have some room for desserts. We have tried to cover some simple desserts to eat with the tacos. We have included some healthy choices and some not so healthy choices!
Fruit flavored ice-cream
Raspberry, guava, green apple or passion fruit flavored ice cream mixed with some sorbet would be great after tacos. This dessert is mostly suitable when you have the tacos with some meat or rice.
After a heavy meal, having fruity ice-creams will taste much better. Two heavy meals will is not good for your palate or your health.
Caramel custard
This caramel custard recipe will make you go awe with the flavor and taste. If you serve light-meal tacos, let’s say with some dips and salads, a bit of sugar rush wouldn’t hurt!
It looks elegant and can be served both warm and cold based on your preference. Our personal favorite is the cold version of this dessert but feel free to have the warm one as well.
Nutella cheesecake
If you are serving tacos just with some fancy dips, nutella cheesecake is our solution for you. Having the right mix is important. Hence, do not overkill with the meals. A heavy dessert does not go well with heavy meals.
Therefore, use this dessert only for light meal tacos. Basically with oven baked or no bake cheesecake, you add a layer of nutella as the icing. Mind you that this is a high calorie dessert and you should have them in fewer amounts only.
Final Takeaway
We have heard saying cooking is an art. We say cooking is more than art. It is a combination of both science and art in fact. Tasting different varieties, mixing and matching with right type of ingredients take time, effort, research and a lot of practice. With tacos, we would suggest to choose the servings based on the occasion.
For occasional purpose, go with rice and meat. For regular intake, it is better to stick to salads and dips. The fact about dessert is completely up to you. Desserts will bring in calorie intake; so if you are on a diet, go for fruit centric desserts with tacos.
