Eating Mexican food is one of the ways baby boomers feel like they’re on vacation, even when they’re at home. Whether it’s eating at a restaurant or cooking a meal at home, Mexican food gives baby boomers the feeling that they’re taking exotic trips to warm paradises. There are plenty of places to get authentic food from south of the border these days. Baby boomers also love cooking Mexican food for their friends and family when they come over.
One of the most popular Mexican foods baby boomers love is fajitas. Even though it’s considered a Mexican dish, fajitas were actually first created in Texas. The dish is comprised of meats, onions, and other toppings people add to tortillas on the side. It’s crucial to be careful whenever fajitas are served to you. Typically, fajitas come on a skillet and are incredibly hot. Baby boomers enjoy deciding their portion sizes for each bite.
Another Mexican dish baby boomers can’t get enough of is salsa. There are plenty of great times to bring salsa to parties and wonderful times to order it at dinner. Because it’s easier to transport, baby boomers enjoy bringing salsa to different events they attend. Most Mexican restaurants start the evening off with chips and salsa for their guests. For more baby boomer content, click here to read about the classic American dishes that the generation enjoys. (Also See 20 of the Absolute Best Southern Seafood Dishes)
To compile this list baby boomers’ favorite Mexican dishes, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a survey conducted by YouGov.
1. Fajitas
Whenever you’re out at a Mexican restaurant, it’s easy to know exactly when fajitas are coming out from the kitchen. The sizzling food on the skillet makes people turn their heads to see who was smart enough to order the dish. For baby boomers, fajitas are the most popular Mexican food for them to order or make for themselves. There are plenty of ways to make fajitas, which is one of the reasons why baby boomers love them so much.
They come with a meat, usually steak or chicken, veggies, and sides like sour cream and cheese to add to a tortilla. The fantastic part about fajitas is that the person eating them gets to decide their portion size in each tortilla. Be careful whenever ordering fajitas at a restaurant, though. The meat has to stay hot, so it’s typically served on a skillet. The skillet can burn you if you’re not vigilent when reaching for your next side.
2. Salsa
Few foods bring people together like salsa. People from nearly every age group enjoy adding the dip to their chips as a way to kick off their meals. There are also tons of different spice levels salsa can be at. Some people don’t like spicy food, which means they don’t like salsa that’s too hot. Others want to feel like they’re sweating with each bite. Salsa can be made at both levels and easily served to both people.
At get-togethers, salsa is a common food for baby boomers to bring along with them. It’s easy to make fresh, and tons of companies sell pre-packaged salsa at grocery stores. In 2024, there are chips made specifically to hold salsa in the middle of them. The scoop chip design prevents salsa from falling off of the flat surface a chip usually has. Because of the popularity of eating chips and salsa on social media, it doesn’t look like the Mexican food will be going anywhere anytime soon.
3. Nachos
It’s normal for people to make nachos during large group events. Nachos are an easy snack for baby boomers to make at home. A basic plate of nachos only needs chips and cheese. Once they’re heated up and the cheese melts, you have yourself a perfect plate of nachos. However, there are plenty of different foods to add to a plate of nachos. Most baby boomers enjoy adding guacamole, sour cream, and shredded chicken.
Nachos are a great meal to share as an appetizer when going to Mexican restaurants with friends and family. Most of the time, one person doesn’t order nachos for themselves. There are some times when people do, and the rest of the table looks at them with slight jealousy. Nachos are a fantastic dish that are easy enough to make. They also provide a great source of protein to baby boomers.
4. Burritos
Baby boomers love chowing down on burritos. Like nachos, burritos can be filled with anything the person eating it enjoys. Most burritos have beans in them. Whether they’re black or pinto is completely up to the person making the burrito. Another ingredient plenty of burritos have is cheese. There are a plethora of different flavors of cheese in the world that people combine when making their burritos.
Some people like adding meat to their burritos before eating them. Steak and chicken are the two most common types of meat added, but anyone can add anything they like. Baby boomers enjoy calling the shots when it comes to their burritos by only adding the ingredients they prefer. While burritos typically aren’t something to bring to a party or get-together, they’re still wonderful to make for yourself at home. They’re also great to order while dining out.
5. Quesadillas
Another delicious Mexican food baby boomers enjoy is quesadillas. While at home, quesadillas are an easy snack or meal to make for yourself. Most quesadillas only require putting butter on a pan and filling a tortilla with cheese. Once you flip the tortilla a couple of times, it should be good to go to eat. The cheese will melt into the tortilla and the butter will absorb onto it as well. Quesadillas are a common item to order when dining at a restaurant.
Like burritos, quesadillas can have plenty of different ingredients inside of them. Some people enjoy adding meat to the inside of the quesadilla. On the outside, it’s normal for people to dip their quesadilla into sour cream or guacamole. For some baby boomers, quesadillas are an simple food to make when their grandchildren and other loved ones spend time with them.
6. Chili con carne
Based on the name, it’s safe for people to assume chili con carne is a type of Mexican chili with steak in it. Anyone guessing that would be correct. The famous dish is known for having an extra kick to it with the various spices added. Baby boomers who aren’t fans of spicy foods likely won’t be eating chili con carne anytime soon. However, as is the case with plenty of other Mexican dishes, anyone can add any spice they want to chili con carne to bring the spice level down.
Be ready to let the food cook for a while, though. It only takes around 10 minutes to prepare, which is nice. However, since there’s steak in the food, it must be on the stove for at least one hour beforehand. Once it’s finished, you’ll have access to a delicious Mexican delicacy. It’s rare to find a Mexican restaurant that makes chili con carne because of the cook time that’s required to get it just right.
7. Guacamole
Guacamole is a dish that’s welcomed at every gathering of friends and families. At Mexican restaurants, it’s so popular that most places charge separately for guacamole, while offering salsa for free alongside chips. Guacamole is added to foods like burritos, nachos, and quesadillas, which are all things that are on the list of baby boomers’ favorite Mexican dishes. However, guacamole isn’t only added to Mexican dishes.
Plenty of burger places add guacamole and bacon to their cheeseburgers. The extra kick of flavor guacamole provides burgers is second to none. It’s important to eat guacamole quickly after it’s made. The food doesn’t stay fresh for too long once it’s in the refrigerator. Tons of baby boomers love bringing fresh guacamole to their get-togethers. Like salsa, the popularity of guacamole doesn’t appear to be going anywhere in the near future.
8. Chimichangas
In 2024, seemingly everything is deep fried. However, chimichangas have been doing this for a long time. A woman running a restaurant accidentally put a burrito in a deep fryer. When she took it out, it tasted amazing. As time went on, the legend of the food spread throughout the United States. The ironic part of the name is that the Spanish word “chimichangas” essentially translates to what English speakers mean when they say “whatchamacallit.” The name stuck over time.
Since it’s a deep-fried burrito, baby boomers love that they can add whatever flavors they want to the food before putting it in the fryer. Most chimichangas are filled with chicken, beans, and cheese. Like most Mexican dishes, it’s served alongside guacamole and sour cream. People also enjoy eating chimichangas with lettuce and tomatoes.
9. Huevos Rancheros
The first Mexican breakfast dish on this list is huevos rancheros. The meal consists of eggs, salsa, tortillas, and guacamole. At its core, huevos rancheros is a vegetarian dish, which allows baby boomers the chance to enjoy something delicious while also making a nutritous choice. It’s a filling food and oftentimes doesn’t have anything served alongside it to enjoy. Huevos rancheros is a dish that’s commonly found in brunch places that serve all kinds of food. It stands alone without requiring accompaniment.
People who have a sweet tooth in the morning likely won’t enjoy huevos rancheros very much. The food is considered incredibly savory by those who eat it. Folks who don’t like spicy foods should avoid ordering huevos rancheros. Because of the amount of vegetables and salsa in each bite, the spice level can occasionally get pretty high. For more baby boomer content, click here to read about the generations favorite holidays and events.