Chilaquiles, Traditional Mexican Breakfast Dish (with Recipe) (2024)

If you love your tortillas, chilaquiles is a dish you would most likely fancy too.

Mexican cuisine has its fair share of comfort foods, and chilaquiles is undoubtedly one of them.

But what is chilaquiles, anyway?

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican breakfast dish made using some fried tortillas and salsa verde. If you made too many tortillas last night and have quite a few to spare, use them to make some chilaquiles. Like most Mexican dishes, chilaquiles is spicy, but you can certainly fine-tune the same.

If all of this sounds delicious, and you would like to try your hand at making this easy chilaquiles recipe.

Even if you’re not a regular at the kitchen, this popular Mexican food should be relatively easy to roll with.

What Is Chilaquiles?

Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of lightly fried, cut corn tortillas immersed in mole or salsa verde.

It’s typically topped with queso fresco, shredded chicken, sliced red onion, and fried eggs.

Chilaquiles is a popular breakfast dish in Mexico.

The name “chilaquiles” is derived from the chīlāquilitl, a Nahuatl term, which roughly means “chiles and greens”.

Do you fancy an enchilada?

A chilaquiles is essentially the same thing or incorporates identical Mexican ingredients but entails much less work.

If you have leftover tortillas from last night, repurpose them to make some chilaquiles.

Chilaquiles Rojos vs Chilaquiles Verdes

Depending on the sauce used there are different versions of chilaquiles; chilaquiles verdes or chilaquiles rojos.

Chilaquiles rojo or red chilaquiles uses a red sauce or salsa roja which is tomato based. And chilaquiles verde or green chilaquiles uses a tomatillo based green sauce or salsa verde.

How to Make Chilaquiles

The following is a list of all items you’ll need and the steps to follow to make the perfect chilaquiles.

Here is an easy chilaquiles verdes recipe.

Ingredients Needed

The first half of the items mentioned below form the dish’s base, while the remaining items give the Mexican dish proper closure.

• Tortillas (At least a dozen)
• Tomatillos (4 to 5 nos.)
• Olive Oil
• Red Onions (1 to 2 nos.)
• Serrano pepper or chiles (4 to 5 nos.)
• Water
• Cilantro (A small bunch)
• Garlic (1)
• Eggs (1 or 2)
• Avocados
• Queso Fresco
• Crème fraîche or Crema Mexicana

Chilaquiles Recipe

There are many great Mexican recipes for chilaquiles.

But there are a couple of aspects to perfect chilaquiles: green sauce (salsa verde) and fried tortillas.

Making the Green Salsa

The salsa verde is a green sauce that forms the core of chilaquiles, along with the tortillas, and can also complement various other Mexican dishes.

To make your homemade salsa verde, follow these steps:

1. 1. Take the tomatillos and peel them. Take the stems off too. The traditional Mexican fruit has a relatively thin skin that comes off easily.
   2. Put the peeled tomatillos, along with serrano peppers, some garlic, a full-size onion, some cilantro, salt, and water, in a cooking pot.
   3. Turn on the heat and let the assortment of items cook till the water visibly boils. This should take around 15 minutes.

The second aspect of preparing the sauce entails the following:

1. Grab the cilantro and take out just the leaves or the top portion of the herb. You may include the top portion of the stem or the part close to the leaves but not the entire stem.
2. Chop the cilantro relatively thin. The cilantro adds to the dish’s aroma.
3. Take another onion and chop it into small pieces. The onion pieces add a bit of crunch to the sauce.

The following is the third step:

1. Throw the chopped cilantro and onion into a blender, along with the already cooked peeled tomatillos, serrano peppers, etc.
2. Also, add a couple of garlic cloves and half a teaspoon of salt to the blender.
3. Turn on the blender.
4. Hold on to the blender’s lid tightly while it’s blending. Blend until the mix is completely pureed.
5. Strain the sauce into a bowl so that it’s not too thick and devoid of tiny chunks.

Getting the Tortillas Ready

You can make your chilaquiles tortillas before or after completing the sauce or simultaneously. The tortillas should be preferably stale.

Tip: If possible, you’re going to want to use homemade corn tortilla chips. Even though we’ll want to turn these fresh tortillas into stale tortillas before using, there is a noticeable difference making your own tortilla chips. Store-bought tortilla chips are not quite the same.

Once you have the right kind of tortillas handy, move to the following steps:

1. 1. Cut the tortillas in circular triangles or any shape you like. If you have quite a few tortillas handy, stack them up and slice through.
   2. Shallow fry the sliced tortillas in a pan of hot oil. Before throwing in your tortillas, make sure the olive oil is hot.

1. To check the oil is ready, dip a portion of a cut tortilla in the oil. If the oil sizzles, it’s ready to go. You can use any vegetable oil that has a relatively high smoke point. Corn oil, for instance, will work fine.
2. Throw in as many tortillas as you possibly can without overcrowding the pan. The tortillas could touch each other but should not be on top of one another.
3. Take the tortillas out once they have turned golden brown and have a chip-like stiffness to them. When you bend the fried tortilla, it should crack or snap in half.
4. Place the fried tortillas onto a plate lined with some paper towels to soak up the additional oil. For a little bit of zest, sprinkle some salt on the fried tortillas.

Giving the Finishing Touches

Once you’re ready with the tortillas and the sauce, throw the tortillas in a shallow-deep salsa bowl. You may then transfer the mix onto a plate.

The combination of the fried tortillas and the sauce on the plate should be relatively soupy. It should not be very watery as the tortillas would get wholly immersed into the sauce and lose their crunchiness.

Garnish or layer the salsa-dipped tortillas with sunny-side-up egg(s), shredded chicken, sliced or roughly chopped avocados, queso fresco etc.

Also, sprinkle the plate with some chopped onions, fresh cilantro, and refried beans. Place a scoop of sour cream or Mexican crema on the edge of the dish too.

Kindly note, you don’t need all the garnishments.

A fried egg and shredded chicken offer some excellent finishing touches and are typically good enough. If you don’t have chicken, throw in another egg.

The egg is vital, or it completes the easy breakfast recipe.

And there’s a certain way to cook the egg. Scrambled eggs or sliced boiled eggs do not fit in traditional chilaquiles mexicanos.

To cook the egg the right way, follow these steps:

1. Grab a cooking pan and pour some oil on it. Let the oil heat up for a few minutes.
2. After a couple of minutes, crack an egg open and pour it on the pan.
3. A non-stick pan will be ideal for this as it will then be easy to take the egg off the pan, with no portions of the egg stuck to the pan.
4. While the egg’s cooking, try to direct the oil on the top of the egg so that the egg comes out slightly crunchier. Besides the non-sticky nature of the pain itself, the oil will also help remove the egg from the pan.

Do not sprinkle any salt on the egg yet, as you can do it later when topping the chilaquiles with the egg.

Best Chilaquiles Cooking Tips/Tricks

Here are a few things you could do or ensure to enjoy making and/or feasting on your breakfast chilaquiles:

• If the tortillas are too soft or fresh, warm them up in an oven for a couple of minutes so they dry up and become receptive to slicing.
• Use smaller tomatillos as they tend to be more flavor-rich than the bigger ones.
• Add chiles as per the level of spiciness you prefer. Two to three chiles are usually the norm. Also, deseed them before throwing them in.
• Make sure the salsa you prepared is not runny or slightly on the thicker side so that it sticks to your tortilla when you dip one in.

Storing & Reheating Leftover Chilaquiles

So you’ve got some leftover chilaquiles, now what?

How long are chilaquiles good for in the fridge?

You can store your chilaquiles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can eat them hot or cold.

Can chilaquiles be reheated?

Sure, however they are best served fresh. Expect reheated chilaquiles to be somewhat soft and mushy.

Final Chilaquiles Thoughts

Chilaquiles is more about its base than anything else.

If you get the sauce and tortillas right, you can pretty much throw anything of your favorite toppings on as garnishments or flavor boosters.

The soul of the chilaquiles dish would remain intact.

But if the base is sloppy or not done well, no number of added items or accompaniments would conceal that.

As mentioned above, do not forget the egg.

However, if you skip breakfast like too many of us, you’ll want to have a big lunch.

Then Machete is for you!

Chilaquiles Recipe

This Chilaquiles recipe is a traditional Mexican breakfast dish that is quick and easy to make. If you made too many tortillas last night and have quite a few to spare, use them to make some chilaquiles.

Ingredients

• Tortillas (At least a dozen)
• 4-5 Tomatillos
• Olive Oil
• 1-2 Red Onions
• 4-5 Serrano pepper or chiles
• Water
• Cilantro (A small bunch)
• Garlic
• 1-2 Eggs
• Shredded Chicken
• Avocados
• Queso Fresco
• Crème fraîche or Crema Mexicana

Instructions

Homemade Salsa Verde

1. Take the tomatillos and peel them. Take the stems off too. The Mexican fruit has a relatively thin skin that comes off easily.
2. Put the peeled tomatillos, along with serrano peppers, some garlic, a full-size onion, some cilantro, salt, and water, in a cooking pot.
3. Turn on the heat and let the assortment of items cook till the water visibly boils. This should take around 15 minutes.
4. Take the cilantro and take out just the leaves or the top portion of the herb. You may include the top portion of the stem or the part close to the leaves but not the entire stem.
5. Chop the cilantro relatively thin. The cilantro adds to the dish’s aroma.
6. Take another onion and chop it into small pieces. The onion pieces add a bit of crunch to the sauce.
7. Put the chopped cilantro and onion into a blender, along with the already cooked peeled tomatillos, serrano peppers, etc.
8. Add a couple of garlic cloves and half a teaspoon of salt to the blender.
9. Turn on the blender. Hold on to the blender’s lid tightly while it’s blending. Blend until the mix is completely pureed.
10. Strain the sauce into a bowl so that it’s not too thick and devoid of tiny chunks.

Preparing the Tortillas

1. Cut the tortillas in circular triangles or any shape you like. If you have quite a few tortillas handy, stack them up and slice through.
2. Shallow fry the sliced tortillas in a pan of hot oil. Before throwing in your tortillas, make sure the olive oil is hot.
3. Take the tortillas out once they have turned golden brown and have a chip-like stiffness to them. When you bend the fried tortilla, it should crack or snap in half.
4. Place the fried tortillas onto a plate lined with some paper towels to soak up the additional oil. For a little bit of zest, sprinkle some salt on the fried tortillas.

Finishing Touches

1. Put the tortillas in a shallow-deep salsa bowl. Add the Salsa Verde, Mix so the tortillas are covered in the salsa. The combination of the fried tortillas and the sauce should be relatively wet but not very watery as the tortillas would get wholly immersed into the sauce and lose their crunchiness.
2. Garnish or layer the salsa-dipped tortillas with sunny-side-up eggs, shredded chicken, sliced or roughly chopped avocados, queso fresco etc.
3. Sprinkle the plate with some chopped onions, fresh cilantro, and refried beans. Place a scoop of sour cream or Mexican crema on the edge of the dish too.
4. You don’t need all the garnishments. A fried egg and shredded chicken offer some excellent finishing touches and are typically good enough. If you don’t have chicken, throw in another egg.

Notes

If the tortillas are too soft or fresh, warm them up in an oven for a couple of minutes so they dry up and become receptive to slicing.

Use smaller tomatillos as they tend to be more flavor-rich than the bigger ones.

Add chiles as per the level of spiciness you prefer. Two to three chiles are usually the norm. Also, deseed them before throwing them in.

Make sure the salsa you prepared is not runny or slightly on the thicker side so that it sticks to your tortilla when you dip one in.

You can store your chilaquiles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can eat them hot or cold.

Sources

• SimplyRecipes: Chilaquiles
• The Spruce Eats: A Simple Mexican Dish: How to Make Chilaquiles With Tortilla Chips
• YouTube: How to Make Chilaquiles with Gabriela Camara of Contramar