Papas a la Mexicana (oil-free Mexican-style breakfast potatoes)

Spicy and flavorful, papas a la Mexicana are breakfast potatoes with jalapeño, onion, garlic, tomato and cilantro. A popular vegetarian breakfast taco filling, this easy, Mexican-inspired recipe is vegan, whole food plant-based and oil-free.

Papas means "potatoes" in Spanish. And, a la Mexicana means "Mexican style" literally. Usually, when you see something on a menu with "a la Mexicana" at the end, it will have spicy chile peppers (jalapeño, serrano, etc.) and possibly onion and tomato in it. So, papas a la Mexicana roughly translates to "Mexican style potatoes with spicy chile peppers, onion and tomato".

To make this recipe fast, we're using pre-cooked potatoes. I typically steam a big batch of potatoes in my Instant Pot each week and use those potatoes for meals throughout the week. Here's how to steam potatoes in the Instant Pot.

🧄 Ingredient notes

• Potatoes - Pre-cooked or pre-steamed potatoes make this meal cook up really fast without the need for any oil. Russet potatoes and yukon gold potatoes both work well for this recipe. To steam potatoes easily: Instant Pot Steamed Potatoes.
• Jalapeño - Jalapeño pepper adds spiciness and flavor to these breakfast potatoes. We remove the seeds to tame the heat level. Feel free to keep those in, if you like it spicier. Or, use serrano pepper, which is hotter than jalapeños.
• Tomatoes - Fresh roma tomatoes work best for this recipe.
• Onion - Choose a yellow onion or sweet yellow onion for this recipe.

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Pre-cooked potatoes - instead of pre-cooked or steamed potatoes from the refrigerator, you can use raw potatoes or frozen cubed hash brown potatoes. If you choose to use raw or frozen cubed potatoes, the cooking time will be longer and you'll likely have to add a little water to help the potatoes steam/cook in the pan. It's also helpful to cover the pan while the potatoes are cooking to lock in the moisture so they will cook all the way through.
• Yellow onion - instead of yellow onion or sweet yellow onion for this recipe, you can use white onion or red/purple onion.
• Roma tomatoes - instead of roma tomatoes, you can use any fresh tomato, even cherry tomatoes that have been sliced or quartered (if they're large).
• Jalapeño - instead of jalapeño pepper, use serrano for more heat and spiciness. To reduce spiciness, use ½ a green bell pepper or omit the peppers altogether.
• Garlic - instead of fresh garlic, you can use canned minced garlic or crushed garlic.

Switch things up with these variation ideas!

• Add bell peppers - add mixed bell peppers to the dish
• Extra spicy - double the jalapeño, include the seeds or use serrano peppers to make it extra spicy
• Tofu scramble a la Mexicana - substitute all or some of the potatoes for crumbled firm or medium tofu. Use tofu scramble seasoning to give the tofu flavor, along with the jalapeño, tomato, onion and garlic.
• Cheesy - add 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast to the potatoes at the end of cooking to inject a cheesy flavor to the dish.
• Breakfast burrito - stuff a large flour tortilla with papas a la Mexicana along with beans for a breakfast burrito.
• Make it in the air fryer - Make these oil-free papas a la Mexicana in the air fryer, as an alternative method of cooking them

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for how to make oil-free papas a la Mexicana using pre-cooked potatoes.

🍳 Equipment

• Large non-stick skillet - this is the most important piece of equipment for this recipe. This allows you to cook the potatoes without having to use a large amount of oil. We don't use any at all, in fact.

🥡 Make ahead and storage tips

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This dish can be made ahead and then reheated in the microwave for breakfast.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

These Mexican-inspired breakfast potatoes go really well when served with corn tortillas, flour tortillas, salsa, sour cream, pico de gallo and avocado.

Or, go unconventional and serve it with steamed broccoli.

❓ FAQ

🗺 Cultural influences

Breakfast tacos are very common and popular in Houston, Texas, as well as other parts of Texas. They are a delicious way to start the day.

Most authentic fillings for breakfast tacos include meat or egg. However, papas a la Mexicana is one of the few (if not the only!) common breakfast taco filling that is vegan, plant-based and vegetarian.

You do have to check to make sure it's vegan, since some food trucks, taquerias and restaurants may cook their potatoes in butter or lard. Also, some flour tortillas have lard or butter in them, so opt for corn tortillas if you don't know for sure.

This recipe is inspired by food experiences in my diverse hometown of Houston, Texas and by the strong cultural influences of my family and friends from Mexico. See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.

💜 More recipes you'll love

If you love this papas a la Mexicana recipe, check out these other TexMex and Mexican-inspired plant-based recipes!

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