The genre is "magical realism." Magical realism has its origins in Latin America, appropriate for this Mexican author. Magical realism is a technique that infuses fantastic or dreamlike elements with realism.

What is the genre of Like Water for Chocolate?

The genre of the work is that it is a novel, and it is written in the Latin American style called magical realism. The author mixes in elements of the supernatural and fantastic among the realistic storyline. For example, when Tita cooks the wedding cake and cries into the cake batter because she is so sad to be losing her lover to her sister, the wedding guests become violently ill after consuming the cake.