Arizona food is heavily influenced by Mexico as the southern part of Arizona was once part of the Mexican state of Sonora. Below are our recommended foods to try in Arizona. If you don’t want to explore on your own, just contact us to organize a food tour with a local guide.
We love going on food tours when we visit a new city. These tours are a unique way to learn about the place we are visiting and find our way around, all while trying local foods. They are a perfect way to discover unique, local, and delicious restaurants that we would not have found on our own. LBL Travel recommends going on the tour at the beginning of your vacation so that if you love a restaurant you can go back for dinner!
1. Sonoran hotdog
Photo © Alex Farnum
The Sonoran hotdog is popular in southern Arizona and consists of a bacon-wrapped hotdog in a bolillo-style bun, and topped with pinto beans, avocado, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, and jalapeno salsa.
2. Mesquite bread
Mesquite trees produce oddly shaped pods that can be grounded into flour, which subsequently can be used to make bread. Mesquite flour smells and tastes like a mix of hazelnuts, cinnamon, and molasses.
3. Salsa made with chiltepin peppers
The chiltepin peppers are tiny, round or oval shaped, red to orange, and very hot chili peppers. They measure up to 100,000 Scoville Heat units. Compared to an average jalapeno pepper at about 5,000 Scoville Heat units, the chiltepin is up to 20 times hotter. So, if you love hot food, you should try Chiltepin salsa.
4. Cheese crisp
Zekerags, , via Wikimedia Commons
Cheese crisp is like an open-faced quesadilla (a flour tortilla with layers of melted cheese). It can be topped with green chile or meat.
5. Navajo taco
Photo Christine Johnson 2016
The Navajo taco was voted the State Dish of Arizona in 1995 by the Arizona Republic newspaper. It is made with puffy, slightly sweet fry bread topped with refried beans, red or green-chile beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and salsa.
6. Chimichanga
jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A chimichanga is a large burrito, deep-fried, and served with lettuce, cheese, and sauce. I know chimichangas are a popular Mexican restaurant dish and can be found in other states, but they were invented in Tucson, Arizona. The founding chef, Monica Flyn, of El Charro Cafes accidentally dropped a burro (a big burrito) into the deep fryer in the mid-1950s and the chimichanga was invented.
Are you thinking about exploring Arizona? Be sure to consider exploring Arizona food on your trip. Contact us today to plan your trip!