Chilaquiles

What Are Chilaquiles?

Chilaquiles (pronounced “chee-lah-kee-less”) is a popular traditional Mexican dish made from crispy corn tortillas (aka homemade tortilla chips) simmered in a salsa roja or salsa verde (red or green chile sauce).

The dish can be served with a variety of toppings, such as cheese like queso fresco or cotija, refried beans, avocado, Mexican crema or sour cream, and fried eggs.

Chilaquiles are often eaten for breakfast or brunch (similar to migas or Breakfast Tostadas) and can be found in many regions throughout Mexico.

Chilaquiles Rojos vs. Verdes

Chilaquiles are either tossed in a red sauce or green sauce. The red sauce (like in this recipe) is typically made from dried chiles and tomatoes, similar to my authentic enchilada sauce or easy enchilada sauce. The green sauce is made from jalapeños, other green chiles, and tomatillos, similar to a salsa verde.

This recipe post shows you how to make the most popular of the two types, chilaquiles rojos. Here’s a recipe for chilaquiles verdes.

Chilaquiles Ingredients

• Corn tortillas: For making homemade tortilla chips. I recommend using high-quality, sturdy corn tortillas that hold their shape while soaking in the sauce.
• Oil: Use any neutral-tasting oil used for frying. Canola, avocado, or any vegetable oil works perfectly.
• Dried chiles: You’ll need guajillo and arbol chiles. These simple chiles add lots of great smoky flavor with a touch of spice.
• Tomato, onion, and garlic: These ingredients add more flavor to the guajillo and arbol red chile sauce.

How to Make Chilaquiles

Soften and rehydrate the dried chiles in a pot of boiling water over high heat. Cover it, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes.

Transfer the chiles to a blender with a slotted spoon. Add the onion, tomato, garlic, salt, and some fresh water, then blend until completely smooth.

Make the tortilla chips. Stack the tortillas and cut them into eighths, creating small triangles. Fry the tortillas in hot oil, working in batches. Once the tortilla chips are golden brown, transfer them to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Cook the blended chile sauce in a sauté pan or skillet with a little oil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat, add in the tortilla chips, and gently toss them together to coat.

Top the chilaquiles with cotija cheese, thinly sliced onions, radishes, and cilantro. Serve with a fried egg or a side of beans if desired!

Tortilla Chips for Chilaquiles

While it may take some extra work, I recommend making your own tortilla chips. They have a more robust corn flavor and are extra sturdy, so they won’t turn to mush when you add the salsa.

There are a few options – you can make the classic fried homemade tortilla chips, baked tortilla chips, or air fryer tortilla chips.

If you must use store-bought chips to save time, I recommend thick yellow corn chips to get the closest flavor comparison.

Toppings for Chilaquiles

One of my favorite things about chilaquiles is all the toppings! Here are my must-haves:

• Eggs – sunny-side up or scrambled!
• Lots of cheese – queso fresco, cotija cheese, or your favorite shredded Mexican cheese like Chihuahua or queso Oaxaca are good options.
• Mexican crema, sour cream, or cilantro lime crema
• Thinly sliced onion, radishes, and chopped cilantro

More Mexican Recipes

• Chorizo and Eggs
• Chile Relleno Casserole
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Carne Asada

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4.76 from 41 votes

Chilaquiles

By: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Chilaquiles made from crispy corn tortillas tossed in a salsa roja (red chile sauce) and topped with cheese, Mexican crema, and more!

Prep: 8 minutes minutes

Cook: 17 minutes minutes

Total: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 9 guajillo chiles, rinsed, stemmed, and seeded
• ▢ 2 árbol chiles, rinsed and stemmed (optional)
• ▢ Water, as needed
• ▢ 1 Roma tomato
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ ¼ medium white onion
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• ▢ 12 corn tortillas
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying

For serving

• ▢ Cotija cheese
• ▢ Chopped cilantro
• ▢ Thinly sliced white onions
• ▢ Mexican crema or sour cream
• ▢ Fried eggs

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Instructions 

• In a medium pot, add the guajillo chiles, árbol chiles, and enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the chiles soak for 10 minutes to soften.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the softened chiles to a blender. Add 1 ½ cups fresh water, the tomato, garlic, onion, and salt. Blend until completely smooth. If the sauce is not smooth, strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any solids.
• Stack the corn tortillas on top of each other and cut them into eighths to create small triangle wedges. Line a large plate with paper towels and set it aside.
• Fill a large sauté pan or deep skillet with about 2 inches of oil and heat over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches at least 350°F. (To test, drop a small piece of tortilla in the oil. If it sizzles, it's ready.)
• Working in batches, add half of the tortillas and fry for 8 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until they are crispy. Transfer them to the lined plate to drain and repeat the frying process with the remaining tortilla wedges.
• In a separate sauté pan or skillet, heat 1 ½ teaspoons of vegetable oil. Pour in the salsa roja and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add in the fried tortilla chips. Gently toss them together to coat.
• Serve immediately and garnish with cotija cheese, cilantro, onions, and Mexican crema. Top with a fried egg if desired.

Video

Notes

• Spice level: The árbol chiles add a little heat to this salsa roja. If you don’t want it spicy, you can leave it out.
• The sauce: I highly recommend you make your own salsa, but if you don’t have time, feel free to use 1 1/2 cups of your favorite store-bought red enchilada sauce.
• Baking instead of frying: If you don’t want to lightly fry the tortilla wedges, you can bake them instead. Simply spread them in a single layer on two greased baking sheets and lightly spray the tops with nonstick cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Bake at 400°F for 10 to 15 minutes until crispy.
• Store-bought chips: I’m not a fan of using store-bought tortilla chips because they tend to get soggy really quickly when mixed in the sauce, whereas homemade chips are sturdier and can withstand more liquid. However, if you do use store-bought chips, make sure they’re thick and sturdy. Many Mexican grocery stores often sell homemade tortilla chips that you can purchase!
• Serving: One of the most popular ways to serve chilaquiles is with a fried or sunny-side-up egg!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4th of recipe | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 916mg | Potassium: 347mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2283IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this recipe?Leave a comment and star rating below!

The post was originally published in December 2017, and has been updated with new photos, more helpful tips, and a better overall recipe.