The 15 Best Puerto Vallarta Cooking Classes for Foodies

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

3. Authentic Jalisco Cooking Class with a Local Chef

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 4 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Escape the ordinary for a day with this unique Private Cooking Class in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Journey to Helene’s enchanting hacienda for a memorable gastronomic adventure.

During the class, you’ll learn about local food, ingredients, culture and lifestyle, as you prepare two to three different traditional Mexican dishes.

After you’ve cooked your meal, you’ll sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Join this Authentic Jaliscan Cooking Class for a unique chance to step into a local’s house, where you’ll learn all about traditional Mexican food and culture.

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

4. Private Authentic Mexican Cooking Class with Chef Manuel

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 2 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Flamed plantains, mahi mahi ceviche, sopes, and cream of corn soup are some of the fabulous dishes your group can make and enjoy during this top-rated cooking class in Puerto Vallarta.

Join Chef Manuel at his home and spend about an hour making several different dishes.

This mouth-watering food fuses authentic Mexican flavors with Asian and Mediterranean influences. The result? A party in your mouth!

You’ll end the class indulging in your self-made meal, taking home a collection of new cooking techniques to spice up your kitchen routines.

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

5. Mexican Cooking & Raicilla Tasting

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 2 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience during this Mexican Cooking Class and Raicilla Tasting.

You’ll learn awesome recipes and cooking techniques, and get to do it in a spectacular location. The class takes place at La Dulce Vista, a mountain location known for its stunning volcanic hot springs.

You’ll have a blast preparing local favorites such as salsa molcajete, creamy guacamole, and scrumptious chicken enchiladas. Don’t worry, there’s a tasty vegetarian alternative too.

After cooking, indulge in a tasting of artisanal raicilla. It’s tequila’s less-known cousin, but just as delightful.

After your class, the experience doesn’t stop there. The location offers a swimming pool, jacuzzis and hammocks spread across beautiful green areas — the perfect way to unwind after a day filled with new tastes and skills.

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

6. Learn How To Make Mole in Puerto Vallarta

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 3.5 hours | 🌶️ Check Rates and Availability

Unleash your inner chef in this hands-on Mole Poblano workshop, nestled in the heart of Puerto Vallarta.

Held at the ChocoMuseo, a local sanctuary for handcrafted, organic chocolate, this experience combines the rich flavors of Mexico’s beloved dish and the artisanal mastery of chocolate making.

Starting with a visit to a local market, you’ll handpick fresh ingredients, learning about the origins and history of Mole Poblano along the way.

Then, dive into creating your own Mole using a blend of chilies, nuts, spices, vegetables, and of course, cacao beans, a chocolatey touch that makes this dish uniquely Mexican.

The reward? Savoring a mouthwatering Mole meal you’ve prepared yourself and taking home a jar of your own Mole Poblano.

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

7. Bean to Bar Chocolate Workshop in Puerto Vallarta

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 2 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Delight your senses with the food of the gods: chocolate! In this One-of-a-Kind Chocolate Puerto Vallarta Workshop, you’ll learn how to convert cacao beans into luscious bon-bons.

During this workshop, you’ll learn the history of chocolate and make your own. You’ll roast, grind, and prepare traditional chocolate beverages, then make chocolate bars flavored however you like them.

The best part? You’ll get to take home these delicious creations, tailored to your preferred flavors – a sweet memento of your unique journey.

What a great way to make memories and delicious sweet treats all at once!

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

8. Local Market & Traditional Mexican Cuisine Workshop

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 3 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Dive deep into the heart of Mexican cuisine in this immersive From Market to Table Mexican Culinary Journey.

Starting at a local market, you’ll uncover pre-hispanic foods and intriguing legends. Next, you’ll visit a tortilleria (tortilla shop), learning the journey of corn to tortilla, through the nixtamalization process.

You’ll then venture into a Vallarta neighborhood untouched by tourism, where a passionate chef awaits in his quaint family restaurant.

Here’s where the fun begins — you’ll get to make tortillas azules de maiz (blue corn tortillas) and prepare your own meal. If you’ve never had a fresh corn tortilla before, you’re in for a treat.

Savor your creations and toast to your successful cooking adventure with a complimentary house mezcal.

With vegetarian and vegan options available, everyone’s catered for. This is more than just a meal; it’s a feast for the senses, and everyone’s invited!

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

9. Puerto Vallarta Churros Cooking Class

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 2 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Dive into the sweetness of a Mexico culinary tradition as you master the art of crafting sugary, crispy churros. You’ll cook churros under a chef’s guidance in this unique Churro-Making Class in Puerto Vallarta.

Join Rafael or Mario in their traditional Mexican kitchen to whip up churro batter, fry them to perfection, and eat them with Mexican hot chocolate. Just reading about this class gets the chocolate craving roaring!

This churro-making class is a fantastic rainy-day activity for families or groups. You’ll also leave with your very own recipe that you can use back at home.

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

10. Cook With Puerto Vallarta Private Chef Marla at Your Place

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 3 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Treat yourself to a decadent evening without leaving the comfort of your lodging on this Taste the Sea Private Chef Experience — the best Puerto Vallarta cooking class that comes to you!

Chef Marla will arrive at your doorstep armed with all the ingredients she needs to make an exquisite multi-course dinner in your kitchen.

You can cook alongside the chef and learn the secrets behind the recipes or simply sit back and enjoy a memorable meal. Spectacular service, splendid food, and no cleanup? Oh yeah!

Looking to book a cooking class in Nuevo Vallarta? Ask ahead, and Chef Marla can usually drive to Nuevo Vallarta to accommodate — making this the best cooking class Nuevo Vallarta has (as it’s one of the only options).

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

12. Puerto Vallarta Chocolate Making Class: From Bean to Bar

⭐️ Rating: 4.88 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 2 hours | 🍫 Check Rates and Availability

Chocolate lovers, rejoice! It’s time for one of the best not-so-secret food tours Puerto Vallarta has available, this Making Chocolate from Bean to Bar Workshop.

During this workshop, you’ll learn the history of chocolate and make your own.

You’ll roast, grind, and prepare traditional chocolate beverages, then make chocolate bars flavored however you like them.

The fascinating history of the food of the gods is sure to come alive in a whole new way as you learn, taste, and make chocolate yourself.

Plus, you’ll get to use all of your senses during the workshop.

puerto vallarta cooking class

13. Taste Puerto Vallarta with Private Chef Isaac

⭐️ Rating: 4.95 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 3 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Are you in Puerto Vallarta for your anniversary, a birthday or special occasion? If you want a way to make your vacation extra special, then book this Private Puerto Vallarta Cooking Experience with Chef Isaac.

Chef Isaac will ring your doorbell as you turn over your kitchen, and prepare to be wowed. You can either let the chef do all the work, or you can don an apron and learn from the master.

At mealtime, the chef will explain each dish as he serves it, making it even more meaningful. Buen provecho!

puerto vallarta cooking class

15. Rosie’s Cooking Class Puerto Vallarta

⭐️ Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars | ⏳ Class Time: 6 hours | 🧑🏼‍🍳 Check Rates and Availability

Rosie’s is another signature cooking class in Puerto Vallarta. Start your experience at the Galerias Vallarta, where you’ll meet Rosie.

Next, you’ll visit a local market to buy all the supplies for the meal of the day.

Next, head to Rosie’s home where she’ll show you how to make various wonderful dishes like fresh tortillas, salsa molcajete, guacamole, agua fresca, and a Mexican dessert — and you’ll even get to sample tequila.

You’ll make Mexican appetizers, and the main dish will vary depending on the season and the day of the week.

They can include birria, tacos al pastor, chiles rellenos, red snapper, tamales and almond chicken.

Best Puerto Vallarta Cooking Classes: FAQ

Thanks to its perfect seaside location on the Bay of Banderas, fish, shrimp, oysters, fish and more, feature heavily in Puerto Vallarta cuisine.

What really makes these dishes stand out is their preparation.

Fish tacos, ceviche, fish stew, and pescado zarandeado (shaken fish), one of the most unique Puerto Vallarta dishes, are only a few of the excellent options.

Not a fan of seafood? Don’t worry!

You can enjoy birria (slow cooked adobo beef stew, or lamb stew) and tortas ahogadas (a pork carnita sandwich doused in red chile sauce).

Best puerto vallarta cooking classes

Street food, microbreweries, creative cocktails, and fabulously spiced food await. 

The best way to find the best food in Puerto Vallarta is through a food tour.

These tour companies and guides know all the best spots to eat, taking you to places it’d be hard to find on your own.

Another fun option is to take cooking classes in Puerto Vallarta Mexico! Learn to make a dish you can prepare once you’re back home.

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

However, this city in the state of Jalisco Mexico is an epicenter for incredible Mexican food — namely, birria, tortas ahogadas and pescado zarandeado.

Some food you should try: birria tacos, tortas, birria de chivo (goat meat stew in adobo sauce), fish seasoned with chiles and grilled on hot coals (known as “al carbon”), ceviche, shrimp sopes, and more.

Some dishes are specific to the Jalisco region, like tortas ahogadas (drowned sandwiches) and pescado zarandeado (shaken fish); others offer regional twists on Mexican classics, with Spanish, French and Italian influences.

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

All of these drinks are consumed throughout the state of Jalisco and are favorites in Puerto Vallarta. They are definitely worth trying during your visit!

• Tuba is a drink made from local palm tree sap, apple cider vinegar, walnuts, and apple chunks.
• Raicilla is a liquor made from a different agave species than tequila.
• Pacifico beer is made in Sinaloa Mexico, and is another popular choice.
• Tejuino is a non-alcoholic beverage made from corn masa and raw cane sugar. This mixture is boiled, and then served on ice.

best puerto vallarta cooking classes

Consider giving the following drinks a sip:

For alcoholic beverages, sample some of Puerto Vallarta’s up-and-coming microbrews as well as tequila, raicilla, and Pacifico beer.

For non-alcoholic drinks, try tejuino (made from fermented corn), tuba (made from fermented coconut sap), and agua fresca, or fresh fruit waters.

Jamaica (hibiscus flower), tamarind, and horchata (made from rice and nuts) are popular and delicious agua fresca flavors.

However, you can also find them made with various fruits, like melon, pineapple and mango.

puerto vallarta cooking class

The markets are teeming with fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, herbs, and all the makings of an awesome meal.

If you aren’t sure what to do with these exotic ingredients, consider taking one of the best cooking classes Puerto Vallarta Mexico has to offer!

You’ll learn how to make fabulous dishes ranging from complex Mexican mole sauces and roasted snapper freshly-caught from the Pacific Ocean, to birria stew and sweet, crunchy churros for dessert.

My Final Thoughts on the Best Puerto Vallarta Cooking Classes

A Mexican culture cooking class is by far one of my favorite things to do in Puerto Vallarta — and if you’re coming by cruise ship, some of these experiences are great for cruise ship passengers who are short on time.

Sopes, mole, flame-roasted plantains, birria stew, and even chocolate truffles and bon-bons have all made this list of potential cooking class experiences.

Still not sure which one to pick? I recommend this Puerto Vallarta Cooking Experience with Market Tour & Tastings — which has a perfect 5 Star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Join Gaby’s Puerto Vallarta Cooking Class, Rosie’s Vallarta Cooking School, learn from Cookin Vallarta or Traveling Spoon Puerto Vallarta, or directly from chefs like Manuel, Erik, Marla, and Rafael (all mentioned in this article).

👩‍🍳 Looking for cooking classes near Puerto Vallarta? This Cooking Class Sayulita and these Cooking Classes Nuevo Vallarta are a great option (just let the host know you’re in Nuevo Vallarta).

The takeaway is that no matter your tastes, dietary restrictions, or even your pickiness factor — there’s an awesome Puerto Vallarta cooking class for you.

All you have to do is pick one, or, join as many as you want (there’s no judgment here 🤣)

My hope is that you enjoy your Puerto Vallarta adventures, from cooking classes and food tours, to boat tours and snorkeling trips!