Host a taco bar party for Cinco de Mayo, graduation, a birthday, or any occasion! Get some delicious food inspiration and decorating ideas for your next fiesta.
Living in San Diego definitely has its’ perks… the beach, the perfect weather, wearing flip-flops year round, and the delicious Mexican food.
Talk about spoiled!
We are all HUGE Mexican food fans, so I put together a backyard taco bar party for Cinco de Mayo.
I served tons of delicious food choices for everyone.
Print our FREE Cinco de Mayo printables for your next fiesta.
It was a hit!
How to Plan a Taco Bar Party
Hosting a taco bar party isn’t as hard as you think.
Provide a couple of meat choices, tortillas, and delicious sides, then everyone can help themselves.
The best part is that everyone can make their own food just how they like it!
Taco Bar Set Up
Added height, colorful decorations, and more make a more interesting taco bar set up for guests.
A favorite trick is to height to food tables for a party.
I used a large wooden crate and two medium crates to create more interest.
I placed the taquitos and chips on the wood crates.
This gives the food in the back some extra height, which makes the food easier to access and more aesthetically pleasing.
The food table was covered in a white tablecloth, with a long piece of vibrant lime green fabric that I used as a runner.
I love the extra pop of color this gave the table!
Colorful Decorations
For the backdrop, I hung brightly colored paper fans that went perfectly with the fiesta.
The fans added such bold color to the table!
I also added a few small colored tissue paper fans to the wood crates in front of the taquitos for even more color.
Taco Meat Choices
I included beef, chicken, and refried beans on the table to go in our tacos.
I cooked fajita beef and shredded chicken breasts in the slow cooker all day with lots of seasoning.
Talk about the perfect taco base!
Here are more delicious meat choices:
- ground beef
- pollo asado
- shredded beef
- barbacoa beef
- slow cooker carnitas
- pollo asado
- shredded chicken
- al pastor (marinated pork)
- shredded pork
- grilled fish
- fried fish
- shrimp
Guests chose beef and or chicken, then placed the meat inside their choice of corn tortillas, flour tortillas, crunchy taco shells, or on top of chips.
Taco Bar Sides
Party guests have lots of choices for their taco bar toppings!
- refried beans
- black beans
- pinto beans
- Mexican rice
- shredded cheese
- lettuce
- olives
- salsa verde
- pico de gallo
- chopped tomatoes
- cilantro
- avocado
- guacamole
- sour cream
- cilantro
- corn
- diced onions
- bell peppers
- jalapeños
- queso (our 5-minute queso is so delicious!)
- sliced radishes
- lime wedges
The toppings were all served in medium-sized white bowls, all in a uniform size and shape.
Want to Save Time?
Save yourself time like I did by purchasing pre-cut items for the toppings.
Purchasing shredded lettuce, shredded Mexican cheese, sliced olives, pre-made guacamole, and salsa, are all great time savers!
The best thing about a taco bar is that there is something for everyone.
Adults can add lots of toppings to their creations, while the pickier kids can have just the meat and a tortilla if they want.
Everything is made custom by them, so they get their food just the way they like it.
Side Dishes for Taco Bar
Along with your taco ingredients, it’s also nice to serve a few extra side dishes.
Our taquitos looked great served on two white long serving dishes.
I used my favorite wood slice platter to serve beef tamales.
Tamales are SO convenient and easy to make, which means less time in the kitchen and more time with family!
Other Mexican Side Dish Ideas
- Chipotle cheese enchiladas
- Cilantro lime rice
- Elote (Mexican street corn)
- Street corn salad
- My favorite bean salad
- Watermelon slices
- 7 layer dip
- Pickled red onions
- Empanadas
- Chicken tortilla soup
Taco Bar Drinks
I filled up small glass bottles with limeade, which my husband lovingly refers to as ‘nectar of the gods.’
A small lime slice was added to the top of each bottle, along with a cute striped straw.
The kids all LOVED the fact that they each had their own little fancy glass to drink out of, along with a fancy lime on top.
Striped straws just make any drink taste better, don’t they?
More Taco Bar Drink Ideas
Guests will love these tasty drinks at your taco bar!
- Horchata
- Jamaica
- Limeade (you’ll love our Brazilian limeade!)
- Lemonade
- Watermelon agua fresca
- Strawberry agua fresca
- Tamarind agua fresca
- Cucumber agua fresca
I hope these gave you some great food ideas for hosting your own Cinco de Mayo fiesta with family and friends.
What’s your favorite Mexican food?
I’m such a fan of all of it that picking a favorite would be like picking a favorite child.
I just can’t do it!
This article was updated in April 2025 and was originally published in April 2015.
