A gordita is a Mexican dish consisting of a thick corn flour tortilla, which is made into a pocket to be stuffed with meat and cheese. The gordita dough is prepared, shaped and fried in hot oil before it is filled with meat, and served with salsa. Traditionally, these are filled with chicharron, a spiced pork rind stew, but can also be stuffed with other fillings like chicken stew or shredded beef.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Gordita literally translates to “little fat one” or “chubby” in Spanish. They are called this due to the thickness of the dough; this thicker dough means that gorditas are able to hold fillings that regular tortillas wouldn’t be able to, such as stews.
Gorditas are generally served as a light lunch or dinner, or as an appetizer before another main dish. There is also a sweet version of the gordita which contains sugar and spices in the dough, and is served with fruits and whipped cream.
Indigenous Mexicans originally made gordita filled with vegetables, such as squash, and beans. When the Spanish settlers arrived, they adapted the recipe to fill the gordita with meats like beef and pork.
Over the years, the recipe has been developed differently in some regions of Mexico. For instance, gordita dough is usually made with masa harina flour, a type of corn flour also used to cook tortillas; however, in Northern Mexico it’s common for gorditas to be made of wheat flour, resembling pita bread.
Northern Mexican gorditas also tend to be large and flat, whereas central and southern Mexican gorditas tend to be smaller, and round. The most common cooking technique is to fry the dough, but in some parts of Mexico gorditas are baked instead.

Mexican Gordita Recipe
Ingredients
- Water - 1-2 cups
- Masa Harina Flour - 2 cups
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Shredded pork, beef or chicken to fill - 1 cup
- Cheese, grated - 1 cup
- Salsa, to serve - ½ cup
- Sour cream, to serve - ½ cup
Instructions
- Combine together the masa harina flour, water and salt to form a dough. Kneed for 5 minutes, until smooth.
- Allow the dough to rest for around 30 minutes.
- Roll the dough into 10-15 small balls.
- Place plastic wrap on your surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Lightly flatten each dough ball using the base of a frying pan, or a tortilla press. Do not press too hard or the dough will be too thin.
- Place in a hot frying pan or for 2 minutes and flip to cook the other side for the same amount of time to allow the dough to inflate.
- Remove from the pan and cover with a tea towel until cool enough to handle.
- Use a knife to cut an incision in the side, opening the gordita to create a pocket just large enough to insert the filling.
- Once all of the gorditas have been fried and cut, fill with a large spoonful of your meat and cheese fillings.
- Repeat this until all of your gorditas are generously filled and serve with sour cream and salsa on the side.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 571Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 1068mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 29g