Tacos de chapulines

Tacos de chapulines are tacos filled with chapulines, grasshoppers that are cleaned, boiled and toasted with garlic, lime, salt and chile. Most strongly associated with Oaxaca, chapulines have been eaten in Mexico for thousands of years and are served in tacos with guacamole or salsa.

Chapulines

The Larousse dictionary of Mexican gastronomy derives chapulín from the Nahuatl chapolin and applies the name to some 66 species of grasshoppers and locusts eaten in Mexico, in both nymph and adult stages. It names Oaxaca, the State of Mexico and Guerrero as major areas of consumption, together with towns such as Jungapeo in Michoacán, Cuautla in Morelos and Atlixco in Puebla. In Oaxaca's central valleys the insects are taken from alfalfa fields. Grupo Animal notes that chapulines are most abundant in the rainy season, when they can be a crop pest, and Food Manufacturing places the Oaxacan season roughly from late May through September.

Food Manufacturing reports that grasshoppers have been a staple for thousands of years: one archaeologist estimates that pre-European harvests may have reached thousands of metric tons of insects and eggs a year, and the friar Bernardino de Sahagún recorded them in the sixteenth century. Oaxacans have also relied on them in hard times, from the Revolution to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Preparation and grades

Food Manufacturing describes Oaxacan chapulineras, women who catch the insects with nets in the fields in the cool early morning, dipping them in boiling water, which turns them red, then tossing them on a comal with garlic, lime, chile and sal de gusano. Grupo Animal's home method boils them about fifteen minutes, drains them, marinates them in lime, garlic, salt and chile and toasts them in clay pans until crisp.

Larousse explains that market vendors in Oaxaca sort chapulines into three baskets by size. The tiny ones, about the size of a grain of rice, are considered the finest. The medium and large ones, where the insect's shape is still clear, are the ones mainly used for taco fillings and are slightly cheaper.

In tacos

Larousse describes chapulines served in tacos with Oaxacan pasilla chile salsa or guacamole, as well as eaten by the spoonful as a bar snack. Grupo Animal's taco fills corn tortillas with toasted chapulines and nopal strips and tops them with mashed avocado, pickled red onion, cilantro, red salsa and lime. In Mexico City, chapulines are also offered at specialist restaurants such as La Casa de los Tacos in Coyoacán.

Recipe

Where to try it

• La Casa de los Tacos, Mexico City: Coyoacán taquería noted by Time Out México for chapulines and maguey worms
• Aquí es Texcoco (Chula Vista), Chula Vista, California
• El Tejate Gastronomía Oaxaqueña, Escondido, California
• La Casa de los Tacos, Mexico City
• Tacos Perla, San Diego, California

Reviews

See also

• Tacos de escamoles
• Tacos de chinicuiles
• Tacos de jumiles
• Tacos de nopales

References

1. "Chapulín". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Would You Eat a Grasshopper? In Oaxaca, It's Been a Tasty Tradition for Thousands of Years". Food Manufacturing. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "Tacos de chapulín: el sabor oaxaqueño". Grupo Animal. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
4. "La Casa de los Tacos". Time Out México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.