What Tex-Mex term describes a platter combining items such as an enchilada, taco, rice, and beans?

A combination plate is the Tex-Mex term for a platter combining items such as an enchilada, taco, rice, and beans.

Combination plates became a defining restaurant format because they let diners sample several familiar dishes in one meal. A typical plate may include an enchilada, crispy taco, tamale, chile relleno, Spanish rice, and refried or charro beans.

The exact contents are not standardized. Restaurants often number their combinations or allow customers to choose a set number of entrées, so one restaurant’s “combination plate” may differ substantially from another’s.

The term describes the serving format rather than one fixed recipe. That makes it different from a named dish such as a burrito or quesadilla, which has a more specific construction.