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Chilaquiles Verdes is a traditional Mexican dish made from lightly fried corn tortillas covered in a bright and flavorful salsa verde. Serve it for breakfast with a fried egg, or for lunch and dinner with a side of refried beans.
Ready in 30 minutes from start to finish, this recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian.
Easy Chilaquiles Verdes are here to make all of your brunch dreams come true!
Made from lightly fried tortillas slathered in homemade salsa verde, you and your family will be digging into this vibrant and saucy popular Mexican recipe in 30 minutes. Try it with tons of fresh toppings like Cotija cheese, Mexican crema, onions, and cilantro for the most delicious and authentic flavors.
This colorful and bright recipe is the sister to red chilaquiles, which are made with red sauce instead of green salsa. Both versions are super easy and delicious, and go great with eggs, refried beans, or even shredded chicken!
What Are Chilaquiles Verdes?
Chilaquiles (pronounced chee-lah-kee-lehs) is a traditional Mexican dish made from corn tortillas that are cut into wedges and then lightly fried until crispy.
They’re then drenched in red or green chile sauce and commonly served at breakfast time with eggs or for lunch with refried beans. It’s a great meal to make when you don’t know what to do with the extra corn tortillas you have laying around!
Now, this recipe could change depending on where you are in Mexico. Certain regions like their chilaquiles to be served with a creamy sauce or even tomato sauce. Some may even serve the dish with chips that have become much softer than what you’d find in Mexico City or somewhere more central.
Ingredients in Chilaquiles Verdes
- Salsa Verde – This mild green salsa is made from tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. If you don’t have time to make your own salsa verde, feel free to use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of your favorite store-bought version instead.
- Corn Tortillas – Chips made from corn tortillas are the base of this dish. You can make your own corn tortillas or buy some from your local grocery store.
- Toppings – Like cotija cheese, onions, cilantro, and Mexican crema.
How to Make Chilaquiles Verdes
First, make the salsa verde: Boil the tomatillos, jalapeños, and onion in water until soft, then blend them together with the rest of the salsa ingredients. Once it’s smooth and ready, set it aside.
Next, lightly fry the tortilla wedges: Stack your corn tortillas on top of each other and cut them into eighths. Place them in a large skillet with oil and lightly fry over medium heat.
Lastly, toss with salsa verde and serve: Pour the salsa in the skillet with the chips, toss together, and serve with your favorite toppings.
How to Avoid Soggy Chilaquiles
I don’t recommend using store-bought tortilla chips because they tend to get soggy really quickly when mixed in the sauce. Lightly frying corn tortillas at home, however, create sturdier chips that can withstand more liquid.
The tortilla wedges only need 10 minutes in the skillet to fry up and get crispy. Feel free to vary the cooking time to align with how crispy or soft you like your chilaquiles.
Recipe Tips
- Bake the tortilla chips instead. You can easily bake the tortilla if fried foods aren’t your favorite thing. Simply spread the wedges 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.
- Using store bought chips? If you must use store-bought tortilla chips, I recommend using a lightly salted, very sturdy chip. Otherwise, the tortilla chips will easily break or become extremely soggy very quickly. Add the chips and salsa into the skillet at the same time, heat over medium-heat, and toss to coat.
- Don’t want to make your own salsa verde? Just use a jar of your favorite store bought brand instead.
- Want it spicy? The salsa verde used in this recipe isn’t spicy. If you’d like to kick it up a notch, leave in the seeds from the jalapeños or add a few more peppers!
Serving Suggestions
Chilaquiles verdes are fresh and light, and go well with a side dish next to your breakfast. Try them with refried beans, chorizo, scrambled or fried eggs. Wash it all down with a bloody maria!
Then top the finished dish with lots of cheese, cilantro, onions, and Mexican crema or sour cream.
Serving your chilaquiles for dinner? Add in some meat like shredded chicken, carnitas, or Instant Pot Mexican shredded beef to fill you up.
Chilaquiles Verdes
Ingredients
- 1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed (about 10 med-large tomatillos)
- 3 jalapeño peppers stemmed and seeded
- ½ medium white onion
- water, as needed
- ½ cup cilantro
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon lime juice (about ½ lime)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
For serving
- cotija cheese
- chopped cilantro
- diced white onions
- sour cream or Mexican crema
- fried eggs
Instructions
- In a medium pot, add the tomatillos, jalapeños, onion, and enough water to completely cover them. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos, jalapeños, and onion to a blender. Add the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and salt and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt as needed.
- 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 aside.
- Working in batches, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
- 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 proess with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and tortilla wedges.
- Add all of the fried tortillas back to the pan and pour the salsa verde on top. Gently toss together to coat.
- Serve immediately and garnish with cotija cheese, cilantro, onions, and Mexican crema.
Notes
- 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 salsa verde!
- 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.
- I don’t recommend 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.
- One of the most popular ways to serve chilaquiles is with a fried or sunny side up egg!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So very, very good Isabel! Thank you for the great recipe.
Muy authentico!
Patti is my go-to for the regional Mexican cuisine that I grew up with and didn’t learn to cook. It’s all about the salsa verde, and I think this example is just about perfect. Sometimes I roast the ingredients instead of boil, which is also excellent.
This looks good but where is the recipe for the salsa verde ?
Hi Carolina, the ingredients for making the salsa verde is in the ingredient list in the recipe card. The instructions tells you how to make the salsa verde, then continues with making the chips for the chilaquiles. Hope that’s helpful!
This recipe is *spot on*! I fell in love with chilaquiles after trying them at a brunch cafe. The salsa verde here was so easy to make and tasted just like the cafe! I made a pork roast a couple days ago for carnitas, so I had the meat ready to go. I used store bought Donkey Chips – they are very thick and hearty. Worked perfectly! We topped the dish with pork, fried eggs, avocado, onion, cilantro and some cotija cheese. Omigosh….so good!! Thanks for the recipe!
Could canned tomatillos be used in place of fresh. We don’t always have them at the grocery stores near me
Hi Gloria! Yes you can definitely use canned.