Crispy, salty, toasted grasshoppers actually add a nice crunch to a cheesy quesadilla. (Never though I'd say that!) Have you ever tried eating grasshoppers? [Skip to recipe.]
Yup, and they were actually quite tasty.
When my friend Christine said she and her husband Gilbert had brought some grasshoppers back from Mexico and they were having us over for dinner so we could try them, I kinda gulped. As a 'foodie', I now have a reputation to uphold. I need to be open-minded about all kinds of food. But INSECTS?!!!!
I couldn't look like a wuss, so I gamely (and kind of weakly) said, Sure, I'm into eating grasshoppers. However, all week, Raymond and I kept thinking, Maybe we should make up an excuse not to go, and Well, how bad can they really be? and I mean, they're considered a delicacy in Mexico, right?
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Certainly not a big tray filled with the crunchy, mahogany-hued critters - looking very . . . um . . . 'grasshoppery'.
Called chapulines, they are a popular snack in certain areas of Mexico, sold in big piles in markets during summer and early autumn. To prepare them, the grasshoppers are thoroughly cleaned, then toasted on a comal (flat clay cooking griddle) with salt, and other spices like garlic, lime juice, or guajillo chilis. The end result is an extra crispy, tasty little snack that's high in protein and low in fat - beats potato chips, hands down, in the nutrition department. In Mexico, roasted or fried grasshoppers are a bar snack eaten with beer, sold at sporting events in some areas (like Oaxaca), and just munched on for a crunchy treat.
I did try a couple grasshoppers just like that, and they weren't that bad - salty, a bit yeasty, and spicy from the flavourings. When Christine added them to crusty quesadillas oozing melted cheese and zippy salsa, those grasshoppers became stars. They added a wonderful crunch and another layer of subtle flavour. The verdict: Delicious!

. . . or Substitute Pumpkin Seeds for the Grasshoppers
Though, if you're just not into eating grasshoppers, or don't have connections to the Mexican insect-importing black market, you can substitute crunchy roasted and salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) for a good quesadilla variation.


(If you're really into grasshoppers you can pile them up much more thickly than this.)

I'm glad I tried eating grasshoppers. It was a new frontier for me - this eating of insects. Though my friends tell me that ant larvae are another real delicacy in Mexico. That's a whole different story entirely. I don't think I could eat those . . .
But, shhhhh, I'll let you in on a secret . . . . they sent me home with a bag of roasted grasshoppers, and I'm going to serve grasshopper quesadillas to my mom, sister, and her family, who are coming to spend some of the Christmas holidays with us.
We'll see if they're as brave as me 😉
* * * * *
Grasshopper (or Pepita) Quesadillas
- small corn tortillas (or flour tortillas)
- slices of a good melting cheese - like Fruilano or cheddar
- roasted, salted grasshoppers (or roasted, salted pumpkin seeds/pepitas)
- green tomatillo salsa or red tomato salsa, for serving
- sour cream, for serving (optional)
Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Dip the tortillas into water, wetting both sides, or wet them under running water from the faucet. Heat the tortillas in the skillet until brown spots appear, flipping them to cook both sides.
Lay a thick slice of cheese onto one side of each tortilla in the skillet, then fold the other side over it like a book cover. Cook until the bottom is crispy and the cheese is starting to melt, then flip the folded tortilla over to cook the other side.
Remove the tortillas to a plate, open each one up and add a small handful of roasted grasshoppers or pumpkin seeds on top of the melted cheese. Add a drizzle of red or green salsa down the center and close the tortilla back up.
Serve with sour cream and additional salsa for dipping.
Guten Appetit!
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Deborah Ross
I bow to you, brave woman! And aren't you the best of friends! It is tough to get past our North American aversion to eating all things unrecognizable and icky. I have eaten grasshoppers and grubs in Hong Kong, crickets in Thailand and chocolate covered ants in, of all places, St. John's, Newfoundland. While, I recognize their nutritive value and acknowledge that I will never starve as long as insects are crawling on this green planet, I can also say I will never eat them again because I enjoy them. ? (Nor reptiles, or amphibians... tale for another day, haha)
I need to find out where my foodie daughter found a tee-shirt she sometimes wears when exercising..."I have eated all the things." I think we deserve them, lol!
Wonderful post, Cheers! Deborah
Margaret
Hi Deborah - you have certainly snacked on a smorgasbord of bugs yourself! The grubs you mentioned made my stomach lurch, though. I'm guessing the crickets were crunchy like the grasshoppers? And chocolate-covered ants! Cover anything in chocolate and it's got to be pretty edible (if you get your mind set to it). But the grubs - oh, no. Not me. They sound squishy and anything squishy and slug-like makes me have to fight to keep my dinner down. I don't think I could try them even if they were covered in chocolate. You definitely get the award for adventurous eating! (And I'd love to travel to those places yet, too - though not for the insect edibles 🙂 )
Sabine Macleod
Hi Margaret,
You are a brave one. I think I would politely say NO thanks.
Hope to see you soon.
hugs
S.
Margaret
My curiosity got the better of me 🙂 and I didn't want to wimp out, so I bit the bullet . . . er . . . grasshoppers. They actually weren't too bad - not that I'd be rushing to eat them every day, though! Cheers to you!
Alex Vanden Brand
Hi Margaret,
I am sitting in Houston airport, having survived a 4 day trek through the Andes Mountains with crazy high elevations, volatile weather and treacherous never ending slippery, cobblestone paths bordering 100+ foot cliff drop offs. Every step was an adrenalin rush that ended with the beauty of Machu Picchu.
Gotta admit, I didn't even try Peru's delicacy deep fried ginnea pig. I did take pictures of egg sized beatles and 4 inch long fat, juicy millipedes. I bet you could have made a tasty snack out of them just like the grasshoppers!
Wish I was as adventurous as you!
See you soon.
Alex
Margaret
Wow, wow, and wow, Alex. That sounds like an amazing adventure. I think we need to go there one day, too! Can't wait to hear all about it.
As for adventurous - eating a few dry, crunchy grasshoppers is pretty tame compared to those fat juicy insects you describe - makes me shudder to think of eating them. I would love to have seen a picture of you chomping into one, though! 😉 I don't think any recipe would get me past the idea of their squishy insides.
But guinea pig must just be like pork, or maybe rabbit, right? (I'm hoping.)