Mexican Christmas Dinner: Nochebuena Dishes and Where to Shop
Nochebuena is the main holiday meal in Mexico City, and reheating the leftovers on the 25th is a tradition of its own. A dish-by-dish guide and a shopping plan.
Mexican Christmas dinner is the Nochebuena meal, eaten late on December 24. The classic Mexico City table has bacalao a la vizcaína (salt cod stew), romeritos in mole with shrimp patties, roast turkey or pork leg, a beet salad and hot fruit punch, with buñuelos for dessert. December 25 is a quiet day of reheated leftovers, the recalentado.
When do Mexican families eat Christmas dinner?
Families sit down late on December 24, often close to midnight, and toast and hug when the clock strikes twelve. Some go first to the midnight mass (misa de gallo), others open presents at midnight or on Christmas morning. December 24 is not a legal rest day, and in 2026 it falls on a Thursday.
December 25, a Friday in 2026, is an official rest day. It is quiet: late breakfasts, the leftovers and visits to relatives. The rest of the season, from the posadas to Día de Reyes, is laid out in our guide to Christmas in Mexico City.
What dishes are on a Mexican Christmas table?
Mexico’s Ministry of Culture lists bacalao a la vizcaína, romeritos with shrimp patties and stuffed turkey as the usual Nochebuena dishes, with ponche and buñuelos as the drink and dessert of the season. Families mix and match.
| Dish | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bacalao a la vizcaína | Dried salt cod stewed with tomato, olives, capers, potatoes and pickled yellow chiles (chiles güeros) | A Spanish dish adopted in Mexico. The fish needs a day or more of soaking, with the water changed several times, to remove the salt. |
| Romeritos | Sprigs of a fleshy wild green (Suaeda) cooked in mole with patties of dried shrimp (tortitas de camarón), often with potatoes and nopales | Much of the crop is grown in the south-eastern boroughs, especially around San Andrés Mixquic in Tláhuac, and in Xochimilco. |
| Pavo | Roast turkey, often stuffed (relleno) with ground meat, fruit and nuts, or with bread and chestnuts | Supermarkets sell frozen turkeys in December; thaw one in the fridge, which takes days. |
| Pierna | Roast pork leg, marinated in a chile adobo or fruit juice | Often ordered cooked from a butcher, bakery or restaurant. |
| Ensalada de Nochebuena | Beets, jícama, orange, lettuce and peanuts, sometimes with pomegranate or small sugar candies | The beet juice turns the whole salad pink. |
| Ponche navideño | Hot punch of guava, tejocote (a small Mexican hawthorn fruit), sugar cane, cinnamon and piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar) | Adults add a shot of rum or brandy, the piquete. |
| Buñuelos | Thin, crisp discs of fried dough | Served with piloncillo syrup or dusted with cinnamon sugar. |
| Tamales | Corn dough steamed in husks or leaves | Served by some families, though they belong more to posadas and February’s Candelaria. |
Nuts, nougat (turrón), marzipan and dried fruit fill the side tables. The meal often repeats on December 31, with the same bacalao and romeritos.
What is the recalentado?
The recalentado is the reheated leftovers eaten on December 25, and the Ministry of Culture calls it traditional. The best-known form is a torta de bacalao: leftover salt cod stew in a white bread roll (bolillo). Turkey and pork leg go into tortas too, and romeritos reappear with fresh tortillas.
A late dinner and a big pot mean food sits out for hours. Cool leftovers and put them in the fridge within two hours of serving, the standard food-safety advice, and reheat bacalao and romeritos until they are steaming.
Where do people buy the ingredients in Mexico City?
Markets sell everything for the meal, and each has a specialty:
- Mercado de San Juan: the specialty food market on Calle Ernesto Pugibet in the Centro, a short walk from Metro Salto del Agua (Lines 1 and 8). It is known for imported cheeses, cured meats, game and seafood, and its stalls sell turkeys, pork legs, romeritos and salt cod in December.
- La Merced: one of the city’s largest traditional markets, next to Metro Merced on Line 1. The city’s tourism office describes the Nave Menor building as specialized in produce, meat and fish, while the larger Nave Mayor has mostly dried foods: chiles, nuts, dried fruit, piloncillo and spices. Press price checks there in December 2025 put dried salt cod at about MXN 450 a kilo.
- Central de Abasto: the wholesale market in Iztapalapa. In recent Decembers romeritos growers from Tláhuac have sold there, and it suits large orders.
- Neighborhood markets and street markets (mercados and tianguis): tejocotes, sugar cane, guavas and romeritos appear in the weeks before Christmas.
- Supermarkets and warehouse clubs: frozen turkeys, hams, imported salt cod and ready-to-heat dishes. Our comparison of Mexico City supermarkets covers the chains.
Buy dried and canned items early in December and leave fresh greens and fruit for the last days. Markets get crowded close to December 24, so carry cash in small bills, keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket and bring your own bags.
Can you order dinner or eat out on December 24 and 25?
Yes, with planning. Supermarkets, delis, bakeries and restaurants commonly take orders for cooked turkey, pork leg, bacalao and romeritos in December, and popular places can sell out of slots before Christmas Eve. Order early in the month and confirm the pickup time, since lines on December 24 can be long.
Restaurants vary: some close early on December 24, others serve a set Nochebuena menu that needs a reservation, and some close or open late on December 25. Hotel restaurants are the likeliest to stay open, since they serve guests. Check opening hours and book ahead. Shops and transport run on reduced hours on the 25th, as our list of Mexico’s public holidays explains.
Bottom line
Order a cooked turkey or pork leg in the first half of December, and start soaking the salt cod two days before you cook it. If you are invited to a Nochebuena dinner, bring ponche ingredients, a bottle or dessert, and expect to eat late.
FAQ
What do Mexicans eat on Christmas Eve?
The classic Mexico City Nochebuena includes bacalao a la vizcaína, romeritos with shrimp patties, roast turkey or pork leg, ensalada de Nochebuena, ponche and buñuelos. Menus vary by family and region.
Is bacalao a Mexican dish?
It came from Spain, where salt cod Biscay style is an old dish, and became a Christmas staple in central Mexico. Mexican versions add pickled yellow chiles.
What are romeritos?
Romeritos are the tender sprigs of a wild green plant, cooked in mole with dried-shrimp patties. Despite the name, they are not rosemary.
What comes after Christmas dinner?
The leftovers on December 25, another big meal on December 31 and the sweet bread of January 6. Our guide to the rosca de Reyes covers that last one and the tamales it leads to on February 2.
