10 typical Yucatan breakfasts that you have to try

Yucatecans like to have a good breakfast and, for this, they have specialties such as Motuleños eggs, eggs with chaya, eggs with longaniza and even with the tacos of what was left of the cochinita pibil that presided over the celebration of the last night.

Keep reading so you know what are the typical Yucatan breakfasts that you should order when you go to the state of the peninsula facing the Gulf of Mexico.

1. Eggs Motuleños

Motul is a municipality in Yucatan, whose capital –Motul de Carrillo Puerto– is located 44 km northeast of Mérida.

Motul is a Yucatec Mayan term that means “pheasant”. Motuleños eggs were invented in this town, currently one of the typical breakfasts of the state. They are two fried eggs that go on fried tortillas and have a chili and tomato sauce. Avocado and cheese are added.

In Merida, almost all restaurants that serve breakfast have Motulean eggs on the menu. Those prepared at the Restaurante Huevos Motuleños y Más are in great demand (Calle 41, 375, between streets 54 and 56, Colonia Francisco de Montejo II).

If you want to taste them in their place of origin, you can go to Doña Elvira Huevos Motuleños, in the Municipal Market November 20, located on Calle 24 in the center of Motul de Carrillo Puerto.

2. Panuchos and salbutes

The panuchos and salbutes are a famous couple of appetizers that form one of the typical breakfasts of Yucatan, although they are eaten at any time of the day.

They are refried tortillas with a filling of chicken, pickled red onion and beans, sauced with an onion and tomato dressing. They are accompanied with cheese, lettuce and avocado slices.

The salbutes are more tender, since they are fried for less time, while the panuchos are crispy.

In Mérida and other cities and towns of Yucatán, panuchos and salbutes are common in restaurants and street food stalls.

Those prepared at La Rosita Restaurant in the Yucatecan capital (Calle 34, Prolongación Paseo De Montejo) are large and delicious. Caldos de Pavo, Panuchos and Salbutes Don Lyis, located on Calle Miguel Hidalgo, Mérida, are also excellent.

3. Shrimp and fish tacos

Seafood breakfasts are typical of Progreso de Castro, a Yucatecan city located on the Gulf Coast, 44 km north of Mérida. Progreso has a deep-sea port and is home to the main fishing activities in the state of Yucatan.

Progreseños like to have breakfast with shrimp ceviche, breaded shrimp, crispy fish and other seafood specialties for snacks.

Óyeme Mamá, a traditional family restaurant in Progreso, serves delicious fish and seafood tacos, with fresh guacamole and other rich sauces. The place is very clean and the care is careful. It is located at Calle 78, No. 155D.

La Antigua Marisquería, located on Calle 21, Bulevar Turístico, has seafood tacos, fish ceviche and tuna tostadas on the menu.

4. Chilaquiles de mole

Although the moles made in Yucatan are not as famous as those from Puebla and Oaxaca, the peninsula is also fond of the intense flavors, textures and aromas of the famous Mexican dish.

Chilaquiles have traditionally been a morning meal in Mexico, usually served for breakfast, and these tortilla chips (dipped in a green or red chili sauce) have many sides, such as shredded chicken, flank steak, cecina, and even mole.

At Dalia Café (Calle 23, Plaza San Ángelo, Mérida, Yucatán) they prepare exquisite mole chilaquiles and their latte (coffee with milk) is one of the best in the Yucatecan capital. The place has a fantastic morning atmosphere and is always very lively at breakfast and brunch for those who are not so early risers.

El Barrio Restaurant (Calle 45, N° 493A, Santa Ana, Mérida) also serves fabulous chilaquiles.

5. Scrambled eggs with chaya

Another typical Yucatan breakfast is scrambled eggs with chaya. The states of the Mexican southeast are the ones that use this plant species the most, which they use to prepare tamales with pumpkin seeds, chaya soup, salty meat with chaya, scrambled eggs and even fresh water.

Chaya, also called spinach tree, is a shrub with a substantial evergreen leaf, which is used in the kitchen like a cabbage or like spinach.

Scrambled eggs with chaya are a powerful Yucatecan breakfast, since the large amount of minerals in the leaf, especially iron, as well as its vitamins and antioxidants, are added to the oviparous proteins, fats and vitamins.

An essential action to prepare this dish is to boil the chaya leaves for 10 minutes to eliminate a glycoside. After cooking, they should be dark green.

6. Papadzules

Papadzules are a symbol of Yucatecan cuisine and are widely eaten in Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán.

They are a type of enchilada with a chopped hard-boiled egg filling, seasoned with a sauce that has pumpkin seeds and epazote, although the sauce can be varied, including the typical preparations with chilies and tomato.

Fillings can also include chicken, pork, and cheeses. They are decorated with habanero chili and sliced onion.

In the restaurants and streets of the cities of the Yucatan Peninsula it is easy to find papadzules.

In Mérida, La Prospe del Xtup Restaurant is known for its papadzules. In this restaurant located on Calle 59, N° 530, in downtown Merida, you will feel at home due to its family atmosphere.

Another spectacular place in Mérida to eat papadzules, eggs with longaniza, panuchos, salbutes and other delicacies of Yucatecan cuisine is Los Almendros Restaurant (Calle 50-A, 493, Parque de la Mejorada, Centro).

7. Queen’s Arm

It is a huge tamale prepared for special occasions in community meals, from which portions are cut when served. It is made with corn dough and filled with chaya leaves, egg, tomato and pumpkin seeds. It is steamed wrapped in banana leaves.

Although it is not common to prepare it for breakfast, the parts that are left over from the previous day’s feast do not last the next morning.

The portions served are sauced with a preparation of tomato and epazote. The indigenous communities of Yucatan call it the Indian arm.

At La Chaya Maya Restaurant you can enjoy queen’s arm, panuchos, salbutes, cochinita pibil, lime soup, chicken pibil and many other specialties of Yucatecan cuisine. This house has two branches in Mérida: Centro and Casona. The Centro branch is located at Calle 62 x 57 in the city center.

8. Chicken mubil

It is a large baked tamale stuffed with chicken and other ingredients that began as a delicacy prepared for the Day of the Dead and is now eaten all year round and at all meals, including breakfast.

The traditional recipe calls for it to be made in the typical Yucatan earthen oven (the same one used to make the iconic cochinata pibil), but the dish has become so common that any baking medium is accepted.

The dough is made of corn and the tamale is wrapped in banana leaves to make it in the Mayan oven, over a slow fire underground. It is sauced with a preparation of habanero chili.

At La Chaya Maya Restaurant they prepare mucbil all year round and they make it with chicken, turkey and pork. Another great place in Merida to eat chicken mucbil and other typical Yucatan dishes is the Hacienda San Ildefonso Teya restaurant, located at km 12.5 of the Mérida – Cancún highway.

9. Eggs with sausage

Valladolid is a Yucatecan Magical Town located in the eastern part of the state of Yucatan, 160 km east of Mérida.

It is 156 km southwest of Cancun and 45 km from Chichen Itza, so it is usually part of the tours that depart from the capital of Yucatan and the tourist enclave of Quintana Roo to the famous Mayan archaeological city.

It is a beautiful colonial city with a rich gastronomic tradition around the longaniza, with which they prepare various dishes, including eggs with sausage, one of the typical Yucatan breakfasts in the eastern region of the state.

At Eleganzza Restaurant, located on Calle 39, No. 198 B in the center of Valladolid, they cook tasty eggs with longaniza. It is a nice restaurant with fast service and a good relationship between price, quality and portion size.

10. Cochinita pibil

Many Yucatecans like to start the day with a solid meal. Despite the fact that the cochinita pibil is not usually prepared to eat in the morning, the breakfasts made with tacos and toast from this star dish of Yucatan must be counted in the millions, especially on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, when what is left of the great celebration of the night before.

The Spanish brought pigs in their galleons and the indigenous Yucatecan Mayans marinated their meat with achiote, wrapped it in banana leaves and cooked it in their earthen oven, creating the dish that today symbolizes Yucatan cuisine.

The pibil cochinita is sauced with a preparation of habanero chili and red onion in a base of sour orange juice.

A typical Yucatan restaurant without cochinita pibil on the menu is a contradiction that does not exist, although gas and electric ovens have been replacing the earth oven.

Typical Yucatan breakfast : joroches

Joroches or joloches are stuffed buns that are eaten in several Yucatecan cities, especially in Valladolid and Ticul. Some not very thin tortillas are made and each one is given a teaspoon of a filling that can be vegetable or animal. The vegan filling is usually made from pumpkin flowers stewed with epazote and onion; the other can be a stew of minced meat or fish. The buns are closed, fried for a minute on each side and finished cooking in a strained bean broth.

With which of these dishes would you prefer to start the day during your visit to the state of Yucatan? Share the post with your friends so that they also know which are the most spectacular typical breakfasts of Yucatan.