Tacos de papa
Tacos de papa are tacos filled with potato, usually boiled and mashed or diced and fried, served soft, steamed in basket tacos or fried until crisp as tacos dorados. Potato is one of the cheapest and most common taco fillings in Mexico.
Potatoes in Mexican cooking
The Larousse dictionary of Mexican gastronomy describes the potato as a common ingredient of soups, broths, stews, purées, antojitos and fried dishes, and notes that the white potato is the most frequent and the cheapest. Boiled, peeled and mashed white potatoes are made into tortitas and used to fill molotes, empanadas, fried tacos, chiles rellenos and quesadillas. Larousse also describes papas con chorizo and papas con longaniza, and regional potatoes such as the small papa de monte of San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas and Monterrey.
Formats
In basket tacos, potato is one of the four traditional fillings. Excélsior describes it mashed into a dense purée, with or without chorizo, and México Desconocido adds that it is seasoned with salt, pepper and dried parsley. Mexico News Daily mentions potatoes, with refried beans, as the filling of the miners' tacos that preceded steamed tacos, and of the Sonoran tacos de nada, which are filled only with a light potato mixture.
As a fried taco, potato is equally popular. La Opinión's recipe boils diced potatoes for about fifteen minutes, sautés them with onion and tomato until lightly browned, optionally adds Oaxaca or cotija cheese, then rolls the mixture in softened tortillas, secures them with toothpicks and fries them until crisp. They are served with sour cream, shredded lettuce, avocado, crumbled cheese, cilantro and salsa, typically three to a plate.
At guisado stands, potato appears in tortitas de papa, small fried potato patties that El Universal lists among the typical stews, and in combinations such as potatoes with sausages, described by Time Out México at a market in Milpa Alta.
Seasonings and serving
Because potato is mild, the seasoning makes the taco. Basket-taco cooks keep it simple with salt, pepper and dried parsley so the potato can stand up to the chile-flavored fat poured over the tacos, while home cooks frying tacos dorados often fold in sautéed onion and tomato or a little cheese. Potato is also the partner of chorizo in papa con chorizo, one of the most popular fillings of all. Fried potato tacos are usually dressed generously with cream, lettuce, fresh cheese and salsa, which turn an inexpensive filling into a complete meal.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon oil, plus oil for frying
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 large tomato, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- 50 g crumbled cotija or queso fresco (optional)
- 12 corn tortillas
- Toothpicks
- To serve: crema, shredded lettuce, avocado, salsa
Steps
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, about 15 minutes; drain and mash roughly.
- Cook the onion in 1 tablespoon oil until soft, add the tomato and cook 3 minutes.
- Fold in the potatoes, season and cook until slightly dry. Stir in cheese if using.
- Warm the tortillas until pliable, fill each with potato, roll and pin with a toothpick.
- Fry in 1 cm hot oil until golden and crisp; drain on paper.
- Top with crema, lettuce, avocado and salsa.
For soft tacos, skip frying and simply fill warm tortillas. For basket style, fold, brush with hot chile oil and steam in a towel-lined pot.
Where to try it
- Angelou's Mexican Grill, San Jose, California
- Cilantros Tacos, Whittier, California
- Sonoma Eats, Sonoma, California
- Tacolicious, Palo Alto, California
- Tacos de Canasta Los Especiales, Mexico City
- Tacos Piedra 1, Monterrey
- Taquería El Zamorano, Santa Ana, California
- Viva La Vegan Tacos, Los Angeles, California
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Papa". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Ricos tacos de papa para una cena rápida y llenadora". La Opinión. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "De Tlaxcala para el mundo: La verdadera historia de los tacos de canasta". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Tacos de canasta, todo lo que necesitas saber sobre esta delicia popular mexicana". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "What's in a name? Terrible-sounding tacos that taste great". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿De dónde son los tacos de guisado?". El Universal. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Tacos de guisado del Mercado de San Pablo Oztotepec". Time Out México. Retrieved 2026-10-10.