Craving Mexican Food at Breakfast Time? Make This Delicious, Easy Dish!
When I am craving something savory for breakfast, and want to make something that I know I have the ingredients for on hand, it is usually chilaquiles. Chilaquiles, pronounced Chee-lah-KEE-less, is a Mexican dish consisting of strips of tortillas (or tortilla chips), that are fried and the sauteed with red or green salsa, and they are often topped with fried egg or refried beans and lots of fresh toppings to make it more of a substantial meal. Fresh toppings might include tangy crumbled cheese (usually cotija), chopped cilantro, crisp radish, and creamy avocado.
I love this recipe because it is the perfect way to use leftover corn tortilla chips or stale tortillas that needed to be used up. I am always looking for recipes to use up that last ¼ of the bag of tortilla chips around here :)
The basic chilaquiles are just the crispy tortillas soaked in either delicious red or green salsa.
This alone, is delicious--but there are so many ways to top your chilaquiles that are delicious and bring so much flavor. My favorite combination has a fried, over-easy egg on top with crumbled cotija cheese and is topped with chopped cilantro, crisp thinly-sliced radish, and lots of hot sauce! But there are many different options for toppings to make your dream version of chilaquiles.
How to Top Chilaquiles:
If this breakfast is sounding really familiar to you, but you thought it was called migas, you are not alone. Chilaquiles and the Tex-Mex meal, migas, are almost the same thing and their names are often used interchangeably, but there are a few differences. Migas generally involves a base of tortillas or corn chips roughly crushed and scrambled with a mix of egg, chili and tomato, topped with salsa, refried beans, and cheese (or a similar variation of this). Chilaquiles, on the other hand, tend to have their corn chips soaked and fried in salsa to get that delicious crunchy goodness before they are topped with more salsa, chili, refried beans, fried eggs, and chicken or beef to complete the dish.
Instant Pot Version
I recently got an Instant Pot cookbook that features a recipe for chilaquiles that I wanted to tell you about, because I have never made a meal like this in the Instant Pot. This recipe had you cook the tortillas in some salsa, onions and peppers on the saute setting, then you cracked a few eggs right onto the mixture and set on the manual for one minute to come to pressure and cook the eggs until they are set, but still had runny yolks. How clever, right? Normally, you make chilaquiles right on the stove top, but you can totally cook the meal right in your Instant Pot, if that intrigues you at all.
Have you had chilaquiles (or migas) before? It is a meal that I really love to make because I almost always have all these ingredients on hand and it always hits the spot for my husband and I. I probably make it equally as often for dinner as I do for breakfast. There is never a wrong time to be craving chilaquiles! I really hope you’ll give this flavorful dish a try.
RED SAUCE:
3 tablespoons neutral oils
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
4 chipotles in adobo sauces
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
FRIED EGGS:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
CHILAQUILES:
12 ounces tortilla chips
GARNISHES:
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
hot sauce optional
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
I love this recipe because it is the perfect way to use leftover corn tortilla chips or stale tortillas that needed to be used up. I am always looking for recipes to use up that last ¼ of the bag of tortilla chips around here :)
The basic chilaquiles are just the crispy tortillas soaked in either delicious red or green salsa.
This alone, is delicious--but there are so many ways to top your chilaquiles that are delicious and bring so much flavor. My favorite combination has a fried, over-easy egg on top with crumbled cotija cheese and is topped with chopped cilantro, crisp thinly-sliced radish, and lots of hot sauce! But there are many different options for toppings to make your dream version of chilaquiles.
How to Top Chilaquiles:
- Eggs, fried or scrambled
- Shredded chicken, pork or beef
- Refried beans
- Nopalitos (a dish made from diced nopales, which are the flat stems of a young prickly pear cactus)
- Guacamole
- Crumbled cheese, such as cotija or queso fresco (I’ve even used Feta cheese)
- Crema Mexicana or creme fraiche
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped red onion
- Thinly sliced radish
- Sliced avocado
If this breakfast is sounding really familiar to you, but you thought it was called migas, you are not alone. Chilaquiles and the Tex-Mex meal, migas, are almost the same thing and their names are often used interchangeably, but there are a few differences. Migas generally involves a base of tortillas or corn chips roughly crushed and scrambled with a mix of egg, chili and tomato, topped with salsa, refried beans, and cheese (or a similar variation of this). Chilaquiles, on the other hand, tend to have their corn chips soaked and fried in salsa to get that delicious crunchy goodness before they are topped with more salsa, chili, refried beans, fried eggs, and chicken or beef to complete the dish.
Instant Pot Version
I recently got an Instant Pot cookbook that features a recipe for chilaquiles that I wanted to tell you about, because I have never made a meal like this in the Instant Pot. This recipe had you cook the tortillas in some salsa, onions and peppers on the saute setting, then you cracked a few eggs right onto the mixture and set on the manual for one minute to come to pressure and cook the eggs until they are set, but still had runny yolks. How clever, right? Normally, you make chilaquiles right on the stove top, but you can totally cook the meal right in your Instant Pot, if that intrigues you at all.
Have you had chilaquiles (or migas) before? It is a meal that I really love to make because I almost always have all these ingredients on hand and it always hits the spot for my husband and I. I probably make it equally as often for dinner as I do for breakfast. There is never a wrong time to be craving chilaquiles! I really hope you’ll give this flavorful dish a try.
Easy Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles is a traditional Mexican breakfast. This recipe is simple, delicious and takes just 30 minutes to make! Crispy fried tortilla chips are tossed and simmered with our smoky red sauce and topped with a fried egg! Author: Teri & Jenny Recipe Type: Mexican Total Time: 30 mins
Prep time:
Cook time:
Serving size: 4
Calories per serving: 670
Ingredients:
Cook time:
Serving size: 4
Calories per serving: 670
RED SAUCE:
3 tablespoons neutral oils
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
4 chipotles in adobo sauces
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
FRIED EGGS:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
CHILAQUILES:
12 ounces tortilla chips
GARNISHES:
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
hot sauce optional
Directions:
To make the red sauce:
1. Place oil in a heavy bottom skillet and place over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour mixture into a blender and add crushed tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobe and stock. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour sauce back into skillet and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Fried Eggs:
1. Place a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Swirl oil around pan and crack eggs into pan. Fry eggs for 3 to 4 minutes until edges are crispy, whites have set but yolks are still runny. Remove from heat and set aside.
Chilaquiles:
1. Raise heat of sauce to medium-high and bring to a boil about 3 minutes. Add tortilla chips, a handful at a time, folding gently to coat every chip before adding more.
2. Repeat until all chips have been added and evenly coated, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and gently fold together. Remove from heat and top with fried eggs.
3. Top with queso fresco, radishes, cilantro, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.
Source: spoonforkbacon.com
1. Place oil in a heavy bottom skillet and place over medium-high heat.
2. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour mixture into a blender and add crushed tomatoes, chipotle peppers in adobe and stock. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour sauce back into skillet and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
Fried Eggs:
1. Place a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Swirl oil around pan and crack eggs into pan. Fry eggs for 3 to 4 minutes until edges are crispy, whites have set but yolks are still runny. Remove from heat and set aside.
Chilaquiles:
1. Raise heat of sauce to medium-high and bring to a boil about 3 minutes. Add tortilla chips, a handful at a time, folding gently to coat every chip before adding more.
2. Repeat until all chips have been added and evenly coated, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and gently fold together. Remove from heat and top with fried eggs.
3. Top with queso fresco, radishes, cilantro, and hot sauce. Serve immediately.
Source: spoonforkbacon.com
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Sources:
- www.commons.wikimedia.org
- www.flickr.com
- www.simplyrecipes.com
- www.tastylicious.com
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
