Mexican spices greatly contribute to the unique flavor of many Mexican recipes. Popular spices include chili powder, coriander, oregano, and cumin. Garlic is frequently used too, minced, sliced or in powder form. There are also various spice blends available such as recado rojo, which you can buy or make yourself. Different Mexican recipes vary widely in their use of spices.

For example, the spices for Mexican refried beans would be different from the spices used to make a Mexican beef casserole. When following a recipe, you can alter the amount of spices depending on your preferred flavor and spiciness level. Some recipes just use one or two spices and others can use more than ten different ones.