Cafe Rio Recipes - All the Best in One Place! (2024)

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Our Cafe Rio Copycat Recipes has been a huge hit, so we thought we would compile them ALL in one post! Our salad, beans, rice, soup, burritos, and more!

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Featured with this post
  1. What is Cafe Rio
  2. Meat Choices
  3. Cafe Rio Burrito
  4. Cafe Rio Salad
  5. Enchiladas
  6. Tacos
  7. Cafe Rio Soup
  8. Cafe Rio Copycat Recipes

Here they are! All our Cafe Rio copycat recipe dishes all in one easy-to-find post! You will find quite a few Cafe Rio copycat recipes floating around out there, however, we are proud to be the home of the ORIGINAL Copycat Cafe Rio Recipes. Cooking them is simple with an instant pot, crock pot, or oven. All the Mexican flavor with quick and easy recipes!

We love Cafe Rio and it can be expensive going there often. When we start craving the sweet pork burrito or the tortilla soup we just get the recipe and create it right at home! Now we have several more options to choose from and make when we have that craving! Cafe Rio pork recipes have been one of our favorite family meals!

What is Cafe Rio

Cafe Rio is a quick-serve Mexican grill where you can create burritos, salads, enchiladas, and more. You start with the tortilla or lettuce, then choose your meats, and toppings. It is delicious and a great experience to individualize your meal while everyone enjoys the same eating place. It is similar to Chipotle or Costa Vida but served enchilada style not wrapped in foil and hand-held.

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Meat Choices

Most of the menu items at Cafe Rio or Costa Vida begin with some kind of meat. Your meat choices consist of sweet pork, shredded chicken, grilled chicken, shredded beef, or grilled steak. All the meats are flavorful, tender, and juicy!

  • Sweet pork – The most popular meat at Cafe Rio is shredded sweet pork. Take a pork shoulder, pork roast, or pork butt to make this sweet pork. This is made with enchilada sauce, brown sugar, and co*ke soda ingredients. We love this recipe in the slow cooker.
  • Beef – Our Mexican Shredded Beef is very similar to the shredded beef they serve at Cafe Rio. Any time we make Cafe Rio recipes using shredded beef we will use this recipe.
  • Shredded chicken – You can find our Cafe Rio Shredded Chicken recipe in our first cookbook but we will be adding it soon to the website! Keep an eye out for it!
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Cafe Rio Burrito

Cafe Rio burritos are made with a giant homemade tortilla and served with lettuce and pico de gallo. They are filled with your favorite meat, cilantro lime rice, black bean or pinto beans, enchilada sauce, and Mexican blended shredded cheese. The enchilada sauce comes in red enchilada sauce, medium green, or mild green flavors.

Once your burrito is assembled, you can make it “enchilada style” by adding more enchilada sauce, topping it with more cheese, and heating it in the oven until the cheese is melted. Add shredded lettuce and pico de gallo to the side and you are ready to go!

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Cafe Rio Salad

Cafe Rio Salads also start with a large tortilla on the bottom. This is a fun twist that I love. It is always nice to have a little more substance with the lettuce. As you are enjoying the salad you can pull some tortilla bites off to give more texture. It also is a blocker from the liquid of the meat seeping out. Add a little cheese to the tortilla and place in the oven until the cheese melts.

Start by adding your favorite meat, cilantro lime rice, black bean or pinto beans, chopped green or romaine lettuce, guacamole, pico de Gallo, tortilla strips, and cotija cheese. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges. They have these three dressings tomatillo ranch, cilantro ranch dressing, or cilantro lime vinaigrette which is always hard to choose from. Blend them for a zesty, light, and tasty dressing over your salad!

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Enchiladas

If you are making enchiladas for your family, it is more practical to make enchiladas family-style. We just call them Family Style Burritos. You can assemble a bunch at once and then serve! This is our favorite way of making them.

If you are wanting to stay authentic to Cafe Rio, you can make them individually by assembling them with your favorite meat, enchilada sauce, and cheese wrapped in a flour enchilada-sized tortilla. The beans and rice are served on the side along with lettuce and pico de gallo.

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Tacos

The tacos are served with your favorite meat in a small flour tortilla and topped with lettuce, pico, and cheese. The rice and beans are served on the side. You can order or make these with softened corn tortillas as well.

Cafe Rio Soup

The tortilla soup at Cafe Rio is one of my very favorite soups EVER! It is so easy to make! You just get a bowl and add in chicken, pico de Gallo, guacamole, pinto beans, cheese, and chicken broth. Top with tortilla strips, cilantro, and lime for a garnish.

“Love these recipes!! So tasty & love to make these when we don’t feel like going out!”

-Jennifer

Cafe Rio Copycat Recipes

Need more Cafe Rio recipes!? These delicious recipes are perfect for family dinners and staying in. Enjoy all the flavor and delicious taste that Cafe Rio has to offer all in your own home.

Dressings

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Dinner

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burrito

Soups

Cafe Rio Tortilla Soup

Dinner

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe

Cafe Rio Recipes - All the Best in One Place! (2024)

FAQs

What is enchilada style at Cafe Rio? ›

Burrito Enchilada Style

A fresh, homemade tortilla is packed full with black or pinto beans, cilantro lime rice and your choice of protein. Then, we smother it with cheese and one of our signature sauces and bake it to perfection. Your life will never be the same.

What is the difference between Cafe Rio tostada and salad? ›

Also, I learned a few Cafe Rio hacks: if. you want the salad, just get the tostada and request a flour tortilla instead of the hard corn shell. You end up with literally the same thing as the salad, but slightly less tortilla and slightly less dressing.

What's the difference between salsa and enchilada sauce? ›

Salsa vs Enchilada Sauce

These two sauces might overlap in their ingredients, but the key difference is that enchilada sauce is thin, smooth, and served hot. It's also considered an important part of dishes like enchiladas, while salsa roja is a cold table sauce that can be added to anything.

What is red vs green enchiladas? ›

Most green enchilada sauces use green chilis, which includes jalapenos and serrano, tipping off the spicy scale. As with any color chili, green sauces range from mild to hot. Red enchilada sauce, on the other hand, is typically made from a variety of red chilies, vinegar, onions, garlic and spices.

What is the difference between a burrito and a salad at Cafe Rio? ›

A burrito is a salad all rolled up, a salad is a burrito not rolled up, and a tostada is a corn tortilla salad instead of flour. Pretty much all tastes the same. If you take advantage of the daily specials then you get a incredible vale on solid decent fresh food.

Who is a competitor to Cafe Rio? ›

Cafe Rio Mexican Grill vs competitors
CompanyFounding Date# of Locations
Chipotle Mexican Grill19933
Rubio's Restaurants19831
Qdoba19952
Baja Fresh19901
17 more rows

What is a queen tostada? ›

Queen Tostada

Crispy flour tortilla bowl filled with refried beans, shreded lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream & salsa, your choice of beef, or chicken.

What is the difference between enchilada style and chimichanga style? ›

A Chimichanga is a deep-fried burrito made with a flour tortilla, while an enchilada is a baked dish that uses corn tortillas and is smothered in a chili sauce. Q2: Are enchiladas healthier than chimichangas? A: Yes. Enchiladas are lower in calories than deep-fried chimichangas.

What's the difference between fajitas and enchiladas? ›

Fajitas and enchiladas both commonly have tortillas stuffed with a variety of toppings, but the sauce is the primary distinction between the two dishes. The traditional sauce for fajitas is garlic butter, while the normal sauce for enchiladas is chili pepper.

What is the difference between Mexican food burrito and enchilada? ›

One of the main differences between enchiladas and burritos is that the enchilada is usually made with corn tortillas and the burrito is made with flour. The second difference between the two is that you eat enchiladas with a fork. They are covered in (smothered with) sauce. Burritos can be hand held food.

What is considered an enchilada? ›

Enchiladas are a classic Mexican entrée consisting of rolled-up soft corn tortillas stuffed with different ingredients (typically proteins like chicken, cheese, or beef), covered in a savory sauce (often salsa or chili sauce), and baked in the oven.

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