The short answer: The best Mexican desserts are flan, tres leches cake, churros, arroz con leche, conchas, sopapillas, buñuelos and paletas, plus holiday treats like pan de muerto and rosca de reyes.
Our picks for mexican desserts
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Below are 30 Mexican dessert ideas grouped by type, a table of which ones are easy, make-ahead or party friendly, an easy starter menu and food safety tips for the custards and milk-soaked cakes. To start with the classic, follow our homemade flan recipe.
I love cooking, and desserts are where family recipes tend to live longest, so I've added a note at the end on keeping them.
Quick guide to Mexican desserts
| Dessert | What it is | Difficulty | Make ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flan | Baked egg custard with caramel | Medium | Yes, best next day |
| Tres leches | Sponge cake soaked in three milks | Medium | Yes, best next day |
| Churros | Fried dough in cinnamon sugar | Medium | Best fresh |
| Arroz con leche | Cinnamon rice pudding | Easy | Yes |
| Mexican wedding cookies | Butter and nut cookies in powdered sugar | Easy | Yes |
| Sopapillas | Fried or baked dough with honey | Easy | Best fresh |
| Paletas | Fruit or cream ice pops | Easy | Yes |
Cakes and custards
- Flan napolitano
- Tres leches cake
- Chocoflan (chocolate cake and flan baked together)
- Pastel de elote (sweet corn cake)
- Cajeta flan
- Coconut tres leches
- Mexican chocolate cake with cinnamon
Fried and pastry desserts
- Classic churros
- Churro bites
- Buñuelos with piloncillo syrup
- Sopapillas with honey
- Empanadas de calabaza (pumpkin)
- Conchas (sweet bread with a shell topping)
- Orejas (puff pastry "ears")
Puddings and warm desserts
- Arroz con leche
- Capirotada (bread pudding with piloncillo, cheese and raisins)
- Champurrado (thick chocolate corn drink)
- Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon
- Arroz con leche with mango
Cookies and candies
- Mexican wedding cookies (polvorones)
- Cajeta-filled cookies
- Alegrías (amaranth and honey bars)
- Cocadas (coconut candies)
- Mazapán-style peanut candies
Frozen and fruit desserts
- Paletas de fresa (strawberry ice pops)
- Mangonada (mango sorbet with chamoy and chile-lime)
- Fresas con crema (strawberries and cream)
- Fruit cups with chile-lime seasoning
- Nieve de garrafa-style lime sorbet
Holiday breads
- Pan de muerto for Día de los Muertos and rosca de reyes for Three Kings Day
An easy Mexican dessert starter menu
If you're hosting and want one make-ahead dessert, one fresh treat and one easy drink:
| Role | Dessert | When to make it |
|---|---|---|
| Make-ahead centerpiece | Tres leches cake | The day before |
| Fresh treat | Churro bites | Right before serving |
| Easy add-on | Fresas con crema | An hour before |
| Warm drink | Mexican hot chocolate | While guests arrive |
Make-ahead desserts free up your oven and your attention on the day. Our holiday party planning checklist walks through the rest of the timeline. For the rest of the spread, pair them with a few easy appetizers you can set out early.
Budget-friendly Mexican desserts
Many of the classics were built on pantry staples, which makes them some of the cheapest desserts you can serve a crowd. Arroz con leche is a good example: it's a cinnamon rice pudding made from rice, milk and sugar.
| Dessert | Main ingredients | Why it's budget friendly |
|---|---|---|
| Arroz con leche | Rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon | Pantry staples, one pot |
| Sopapillas | Flour tortillas, cinnamon sugar, honey | A pack of tortillas serves many |
| Capirotada | Day-old bread, piloncillo, raisins | Uses up stale bread |
| Fresas con crema | Strawberries, cream, sugar | No baking |
| Paletas | Fruit, sugar, water or milk | Uses ripe or frozen fruit |
Buy cinnamon sticks, piloncillo and evaporated milk once and you can make several of these over the season.
Tips for flan and tres leches
- Use room-temperature eggs and milk so the custard bakes evenly.
- Bake flan in a water bath and pull it when the edges are set and the center still jiggles slightly.
- Chill overnight. Both flan and tres leches need time to set and soak.
- Poke tres leches all over with a fork, then pour the milk slowly in stages.
- Keep them cold. Egg and milk desserts shouldn't sit out longer than 2 hours, because bacteria grow fastest in the temperature "Danger Zone" between 40°F and 140°F.
Baked egg dishes like flan should reach 160°F, the temperature listed in the safe minimum internal temperature chart. Store leftovers in a fridge set at 40°F or below, as the USDA refrigeration guide recommends.
Save the recipes your family loves
- Family Recipe Binder, $6.99. Write down the flan or tres leches recipe the way your family makes it, with notes on who it came from.
- Meal Planner & Grocery List, $3.99. Plan the party menu and buy everything in one trip.
- Budget Planner Printable, $5.99. Keep hosting costs inside your monthly budget.
Browse all our Printables.
More dessert and hosting ideas
Want more sweet ideas? Our list of the best desserts covers easy bakes, no-bake treats and crowd favorites.
Family Recipe Binder
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$6.99 · Instant download. Print at home or fill it in on screen. Or browse the full Home & Organizing collection.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular Mexican desserts? The most popular Mexican desserts include flan, tres leches cake, churros, arroz con leche, conchas, sopapillas, buñuelos, pan de muerto, capirotada and paletas. Flan and tres leches are the classic party desserts, while churros and paletas are favorite street treats.
What is the easiest Mexican dessert to make at home? Arroz con leche is one of the easiest Mexican desserts, because it only needs rice, milk, sugar and cinnamon simmered in one pot. Mexican chocolate brownies, sopapillas made from tortillas and fruit with chile-lime seasoning are also beginner friendly.
What is a traditional Mexican dessert? Traditional Mexican desserts include flan, arroz con leche, capirotada, buñuelos, cajeta, alegrías, pan de muerto and champurrado. Many of them are tied to holidays, such as pan de muerto for Día de los Muertos and buñuelos and champurrado at Christmas.
What's the difference between flan and tres leches? Flan is a baked custard of eggs, milk and sugar topped with caramel, while tres leches is a sponge cake soaked in three milks (evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and cream or whole milk). Flan is dense and silky; tres leches is light, moist and usually topped with whipped cream.
What Mexican desserts are good for a party? Tres leches cake, churro bites, Mexican wedding cookies, flan baked in a sheet pan and a paleta bar are great for a crowd. They can be made ahead, cut into portions and served without much last-minute work.
What Mexican desserts can I make ahead? Flan, tres leches, arroz con leche and Mexican wedding cookies all hold well. Flan and tres leches actually taste better after a night in the fridge, and the cookies keep for several days in an airtight container.
How long does flan last in the fridge? Homemade flan keeps for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge when covered. Because it's made with eggs and milk, it shouldn't sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Are churros Mexican or Spanish? Churros came to Mexico from Spain and are now one of Mexico's best-known street desserts. Mexican churros are often coated in cinnamon sugar and served with thick hot chocolate or filled with cajeta.
What is cajeta? Cajeta is a Mexican caramel sauce made by slowly cooking goat's milk with sugar. It's drizzled over churros, crepes, ice cream and fruit, and dulce de leche made from cow's milk is a common substitute.
What Mexican desserts are served at Christmas? Buñuelos, champurrado, tamales dulces, rosca de reyes (on January 6) and ponche, a warm fruit punch, are traditional Christmas-season treats in Mexico. They're popular for posadas and family gatherings.
How do I keep track of family dessert recipes? Write them down while the cook who makes them best is still in your kitchen. The Family Recipe Binder ($6.99) from HomeBase Paper Co. gives you printable recipe pages to record each step, the measurements and who the recipe came from.
Is tres leches supposed to be soggy? Tres leches should be moist and soaked through but not falling apart. Let the cake cool, poke it all over, pour the milk mixture slowly and chill it for several hours so the sponge absorbs it evenly.
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Sources
- USDA FSIS: "Danger Zone" (40°F to 140°F) fsis.usda.gov
- FoodSafety.gov: Safe minimum internal temperatures foodsafety.gov
- USDA FSIS: Refrigeration and food safety fsis.usda.gov