Mexican Gorditas Recipe

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Indigenous Mexicans originally made gordita filled with vegetables, such as squash, and beans.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.

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