Tacos de flor de calabaza
Tacos de flor de calabaza are tacos filled with squash blossoms, usually sautéed with onion, chile, epazote and sometimes corn or cheese. The flowers are a seasonal ingredient of central Mexico, more commonly found in quesadillas and soups but also used as a vegetarian taco filling.
The flower
The Larousse dictionary of Mexican gastronomy describes the flor de calabaza as the trumpet-shaped yellow or orange flower of the squash plant. Squash flowers are unisexual: the male flowers are picked for cooking, while the female flowers are left on the vine to develop into squash. Larousse advises buying them on the day they will be cooked because they wilt quickly, and keeping the bulbous calyx, which many cooks wrongly remove believing it is bitter; it adds flavor and texture.
México Desconocido explains that squash blossoms are considered quelites, the tender edible greens of the Mexican diet, and that squash has been cultivated in Mexico for more than ten thousand years as part of the milpa with corn and beans. The pre-Hispanic name was ayoxochitl, from the Nahuatl words for squash and flower. Citing Larousse, the magazine says pre-Hispanic people ate the flowers chopped, in tortillas and in soups. In the Sierra Tarahumara the flowers are also dried for winter.
Uses
In central Mexico the best-known preparation is the quesadilla de flor de calabaza, with or without cheese, followed by soups and creams; Larousse and México Desconocido both single these out, and México Desconocido adds blossoms stuffed with cheese. The same sauté used for quesadillas, flowers cooked briefly with onion, chile and epazote, makes a delicate taco filling, and the flowers are often combined with corn kernels, squash or melting cheese. Because they are mostly water, a large pile of blossoms cooks down to a small amount of filling.
México Desconocido notes that squash blossoms are easy to find in markets, milpas and quesadilla stands in central Mexico, and describes them as a good source of calcium, phosphorus and potassium.
Cleaning
Before cooking, the stems are trimmed and the green sepals around the base are usually pulled away. Larousse's view is that the calyx and stamens can stay. The flowers are rinsed quickly, shaken dry and torn or roughly chopped.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large bunches squash blossoms (about 30 flowers)
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter
- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 serrano or poblano chile, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup corn kernels (optional)
- 2 sprigs epazote, leaves chopped
- Salt
- 100 g Oaxaca cheese or queso fresco
- 8 corn tortillas
- Salsa verde
Steps
- Trim the stems and outer sepals of the blossoms, rinse briefly and chop roughly.
- Cook the onion in oil until soft; add garlic, chile and corn and cook 3 minutes.
- Add the blossoms and epazote and stir just until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt.
- Warm the tortillas on a comal, add a little cheese so it softens, then top with the blossom mixture.
- Fold and serve with salsa verde.
Cook the flowers the day you buy them. Do not overcook or they turn stringy.
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See also
References
- "Flor de calabaza". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Flor de calabaza". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.