Mercado Benito Juarez chapulines row ★ 4.3
The chapulines row outside Mercado Benito Juarez on Miguel Cabrera lines a dozen vendors selling grasshoppers fried with garlic, salt and chile to take home.
Try: Chapulines
History
Chapulines (grasshoppers) are a pre-Hispanic Oaxacan protein, harvested across the Valles Centrales after the rains and roasted with garlic, salt, lime and chile. They sell year-round from the row of vendors on Calle Miguel Cabrera outside Mercado Benito Juarez, sized small to large by the gram. Modern restaurants such as Casa Oaxaca serve them tableside on guacamole; traditional rooms put them on the standard salsa selection.
Common allergens: Insects (allergen for shellfish-allergic people)
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 200g cleaned grasshoppers (frozen, from a Mexican grocery)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp chile de arbol powder
- Sea salt
Method
- Thaw the grasshoppers and pat dry.
- Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over high heat.
- Add the grasshoppers in a single layer; toss to crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
- Lower the heat; add garlic and stir 1 minute.
- Off the heat, add lime juice, chile powder and salt to taste.
- Serve in small bowls with guacamole, on tlayudas or as a botana with mezcal.
Tip from the editors. Keep the heat hot through the first minute or two; chapulines steam and turn rubbery if the pan is too cool.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat chapulines
Chapulines in Oaxaca
Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante ★ 4.6
Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante is Alejandro Ruiz's 18th-century townhouse in the shadow of Santo Domingo, the room that built modern Oaxacan technique.
Tip: Book the rooftop terrace for sunset; the guacamole prepared at the table with grasshoppers is the canonical opener.
Origen ★ 4.7
Origen in Oaxaca is Rodolfo Castellanos's Benito Juarez flagship since 2011, a Michelin-Guide-listed room where modern technique meets criollo corn and mole.
Tip: The duck enchiladas in mole and the catch-of-the-day with clam risotto headline the a la carte; book the small inner courtyard.
Tierra del Sol ★ 4.8
Tierra del Sol on Reforma is Olga Cabrera's three-floor Oaxaca room, named Mexico's Restaurant of the Year for 2026, with a rooftop comal of tetelas.
Tip: Skip the prix fixe and graze through the rooftop comal section; the chichilo and mole amarillo are the headlines.
Itanoni ★ 4.6
Itanoni in Reforma serves the Oaxacan breakfast canon from 07:00 daily: memelas with frijol, tetelas with hierba santa and a chocolate or atole de granillo.
Order: Memelas with frijol and quesillo, atole
Tlayudas Libres ★ 4.7
Tlayudas Libres on Calle de Los Libres opens at 21:00 and runs to 03:00 with wood-fire tlayudas, tasajo and quesillo, the canonical Oaxaca late-night stop.
Try: Tlayuda
More cities are in research. Want chapulines covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.