Make Mexican chilaquiles by simmering deep fried corn tortillas in salsa and serving with cheese, eggs, or beans. A simple and filling breakfast!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
chilaquiles. Chee-lah-KEE-less! I mentioned that I recently wanted to make chilaquiles for a Mexican friend and you should have seen the smile and look of delight on his face.
What are chilaquiles?
Chilaquiles are basically pieces of corn tortilla that are fried, simmered in salsa, and sprinkled with cheese. They are often served for breakfast with eggs and a side of beans or nopalitos.
Growing up with her mom, my mom made them with green chili tomato salsa and shredded longhorn cheese, a Tex-Mex version.
Red or green sauce for chilaquiles?
I recently brought homemade salsa verde to my friend Arturo and he made two traditional Mexican versions for me, one with salsa verde and one with a red chilli sauce made from dried ancho chilies. Recipes for both follow.
Do you like enchiladas? Chilaquiles are basically the same ingredients but with a lot less fuss. No rolling.
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Check out this delicious Mexican Chilaquiles recipe
More salsas for chilaquiles
Feel free to use store-bought salsa in this recipe, but if you tend to make your own salsa from scratch, we’ve included recipes for homemade salsa at the end of our recipe. Here are a few more options:
- Easy Cooked Tomato Salsa
- Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Ways to get top chilaquiles
Make your chilaquiles your own—here are some popular toppings:
- Eggs, fried or scrambled
- Shredded chicken, pork or beef
- Refreshed Beans
- Nopalitos
- guacamole
Complete your dish with some of these delicious side dishes:
- Crumbled cheese like cotija or queso fresco
- Crema Mexicana or crème fraîche
- Chopped coriander
- Chopped Red Onion
- Sliced Avocado
5 more ways to use salsa
If you enjoy cooking with bright, flavorful salsas, here are other dishes to try:
- green chili
- Baked Chicken with Chipotle Salsa
- Huevos Rancheros
- Green chile enchiladas
- Red Chili Chicken Enchiladas
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Easy Chilaquiles
It helps with frying if your tortillas are a bit dry. If they’re fresh, cut them open first, put them in a warm oven for a few minutes to dry them out a little, then move on.
Easy Homemade Salsa Verde and Red Chili Sauce Recipes are at the bottom of the page.
ingredients
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12 Corn tortillaspreferably stale, or leave to dry a little overnight, quarter or cut into 6 wedges
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corn oilor other neutral oil for frying
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Kosher salt
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1 1/2 to 2 cups red chilli sauce Salsa Verdestore bought or homemade (see end of recipe for homemade versions)
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Sprigs from epazoteOptional
toppings
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Cotija cheese or queso fresco
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Crema Mexicana or crème fraîche
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corianderchopped
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1 Red onionchopped
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avocadosliced or roughly chopped
method
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Fry the tortillas:
In a large skillet, generously coat skillet with corn oil (1/8 inch) and heat over medium-high. When the oil is quite hot, add the tortillas and fry until golden brown.
Place tortillas on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle some salt on the tortillas.
Wipe pan of any browned tortilla pieces.
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Heat salsa:
Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and bring back to high heat. Add the salsa and let the salsa cook for a few minutes. If you have a few sprigs of epazote, add them to the salsa.
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Add the fried tortillas to the salsa:
Add the fried tortilla quarters to the salsa. Gently flip the tortilla pieces until they are all well coated in salsa. Cook for a few more minutes.
Remove from stove. Serve chilaquiles with sides and fried eggs and beans or nopalitos.
Red Chili Sauce
Take 4 dried ancho chilies, remove seeds, stalks and veins. Heat chilies in a skillet over medium-high heat to extract their flavor. Place the chillies in a saucepan and pour boiling hot water over them until covered. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. Place chilies, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 1/2 cups chili soaking liquid in a blender. Hold the lid of the blender while blending and blend until completely blended. For the chilaquiles, pass through a sieve into a pan.
Salsa Verde
Place 1 pound of skinless tomatillos in a saucepan and cover 1 inch with water. Add 1 jalapeno, stems and seeds removed. Add 2 cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil. Cook until the tomatillos have changed color and are cooked through, 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to add the tomatillos, jalapeno, and garlic to a blender. Add a cup of the cooking liquid. Blend until fully blended. Add salt to taste.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 264 | calories |
| 10g | Fat |
| 40g | carbohydrates |
| 5g | protein |
