12 Delicious Latin Dishes To Enjoy At Your Next Family Gathering

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We asked the BuzzFeed Community to share with us what Latin dishes were essential in their homes, and here's what they recommended.

1. A seasoned and juicy lechon asado for scrumptious Christmas dinners.

"My beloved abuela was from Cuba. She cooked. All day long. Every day. I loved everything she made: arroz con frijoles negros, ropa vieja, croquetas, sopa de fideo, boliche.

Christmas at her house with lechon asado, flan for dessert. She taught me how to cook so I keep her memory alive by recreating her dishes."

—lurleen22

2. An abuela-approved flan Cubano to round out a big meal.

"Cuban over here. I have never had pie for Thanksgiving or cake for my birthday. My abuelita and I always make our homemade famous flan cubano for every important event.

I know it isn’t the most Cuban dish but it’s been such a large part of my life as a Latina and my favorite memory from my entire life is when abuela taught me how to make it her way with our special trick to get the caramel perfect."

—Xo

3. A set of dual dishes to savor favorites from different countries.

"My mom is Dominican and my father is Salvadoran, so I have two dishes that my parents make that I just love. The first one is pastelon (from my DR side) and the second one is rellenos de guisquil (from my ES side). With such great foods on both sides, I couldn’t just pick one."

—dianacampos324

4. A batch of pasteles made with mom's love.

"We’re Puerto Rican and it’s the pasteles! We really only have them around holidays but I DREAM of them all year long.

This year is the year my mom is gonna teach me how to make them. And then forget it!!! I’m making batches to last me all year!"

—britbonilla329

5. A crowd favorite like pernil, perfect for big family events.

"My mom’s pernil. She makes it at every big family gathering or on special occasions for just us. Slow-roasted pork shoulder. Mmmm… Typically she makes it with arroz con gandules, which is another important staple."

—cassandramartinez923

6. A delish twist on traditional pozole recipe.

"Pozole. I’m New Mexican and we have as a culture altered traditional Mexican pozole. We cook hominy with pork all day and serve it with red chile, onions, cilantro, and lime. It doesn’t feel like Christmas until Mom makes the first batch."

—lonelypunk06

7. A big batch of arroz congri to fill up on (and ensure leftovers for later).

"Arroz congri. Big batch made most weeks. Still make it often to this day. My grandma’s recipe. Delicioso!"

—sbc67

8. A big pot of menudo with a few extras to share around the table.

"The one was menudo, then chicken pozole, then shredded beef picadillo, cooked with sauteed raw tomatillos, onion and tomatoes, then with a pasilla salsa roja, and with gorditas, and now beef birria with fried corn tortillas. ♥️"

—ameliaportillo

9. A special occasion calls for a special dish like enchilado de camarones.

"Enchilado de camarones is always a special night. And a medianoche / Cuban sandwich is always on the menus."

—Nina

10. A platter of enchiladas straight from mom's kitchen (cause nothing can beat her cooking).

"It’s hard to choose but if anything, I have to pick from my mom’s enchiladas or her pozole. 👩🏻‍🍳"

—diazcynthia

11. A helping of mangú for brunch, lunch, or even dinner.

"Mangú con los tres golpes. A meal that’s for any time in the day. Mangusito, cebollita por encima, salami dominicano, queso blanco de freír, huevito frito y un agacatico por el lado. Seriously HEAVEN in my mouth."

—ktsnt8

12. Sweet torrejas to balance a savory serving of tortilla Española at the breakfast table.

"Tortilla Española from my mom's side 🇪🇸 y torrejas from my dad's side. 🇭🇳"

—jennifer3jackson

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Images from Getty.