Tex-Mex

Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words Texas and Mexico) is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United States to the rest of the country. It is a subtype of Southwestern cuisine found in the American Southwest.

Some ingredients in Tex-Mex cuisine are also common in Mexican cuisine, but others, not often used in Mexico, are often added, such as the use of cumin, introduced by Spanish immigrants to Texas from the Canary Islands, but used in only a few central Mexican recipes.

Tex-Mex cuisine is characterized by its heavy use of shredded cheese, beans, meat (particularly chicken, beef, and pork), chili peppers, and spices, in addition to flour tortillas.

Sometimes various Tex-Mex dishes are made without the use of a tortilla. A common example of this is the "fajita bowl", which is a fajita served without a soft tortilla.

Generally, cheese plays a much bigger role in Tex-Mex food than in mainstream Mexican cuisine, particularly in the popularity of queso, which is often eaten with tortilla chips (alongside or in place of guacamole and salsa), or may be served over enchiladas, tamales, or burritos.

Nachos, although invented in the US-Mexico border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, became extremely popular in Texas before spreading across the US. They were named after its inventor, Nacho Anaya.

Tex-Mex circa the 1950s relied on combination platters using American-style cheeses, did not often have margaritas, and involved pecans in desserts.

The cuisine that would come to be called Tex-Mex originated with Tejanos as a mix of native Mexican and Spanish foods when Texas was part of New Spain and later Mexico.