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Chilaquiles are a recurring breakfast (or dinner) meal in our home. How can you go wrong with soft, spicy, soaked tortillas piled with a plethora of toppings? You cannot.
In February 2020 my husband and I went on a road trip in Mexico, driving from Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta. All of the food we ate in Mexico was divine and the chilaquiles were no exception. Chilaquiles are traditionally made with yesterday’s tortillas. The tortillas are cut up into triangles and freshly fried before they are smothered in a beautiful spicy red or green salsa. Chilaquiles are typically served with refried beans and there is usually an option to add eggs on top. They are the ultimate breakfast food to give you lots of energy for walking around those beautiful Pueblos Mágicos.
I’m a cheater.
I absolutely love making fresh tortillas for dinner. They are surprisingly simple to make and actually don’t need any special equipment, just time. I always make way more fresh tortillas than I need because I know that means: chilaquiles for breakfast. Don’t get me wrong. I love cutting up those tortillas and frying them until golden and crispy before generously dusting them with sea salt. Several will not make it in to the chilaquiles, just saying. For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than making a meal entirely from scratch (or at least as much of it as I can).
But, sometimes I wake up and I need chilaquiles in my body now. Am I going to be whipping up fresh tortillas and twice cooking them to make chilaquiles from scratch? Lol no. I am only human after all. That bag of tortilla chips is just fine. I’ve used all the popular brands of tortilla chips and I will advise you to try and choose a thicker cut chip. These are my top choice but any thicker cut chip works well. The very thin chips will just disintegrate into the sauce and that won’t make anyone happy so try to avoid those.
There’s never too many toppings.
In Mexico, chilaquiles are served with a varying degree of toppings. Sometimes they’re extra saucy with lots of crema and cheese on top. Sometimes they have onions and eggs on top. Since I am obsessed with toppings, I add them all. A soft poached egg is my favourite topping to add. Queso fresco can be harder to find but feta cheese is a pretty good substitute. And always plenty of fresh cilantro.
Cheater’s Chilaquiles with All The Toppings
Ingredients
Chilaquiles
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapeños
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups tortilla chips
Optional Garnishes
- 2 eggs fried poached or scrambled, whatever you fancy
- 1 tbsp finely sliced red onion
- 2 tbsp crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
- 2 tbsp cheater's crema (sour cream thinned with a splash of milk)
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- your favourite hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion to skillet and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and jalapeño to the skillet and turn heat down to medium-low. Sauté until tomatoes release their juices and create a sauce, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add tortilla chips into the sauce and stir to coat.
- Plate the chilaquiles and garnish how you like. Serve immediately.
