Chilaquiles are a staple in my house – great for any meal: breakfast, lunch or dinner. When making them for breakfast, I serve an egg (fried or scrambled) on top; for lunch and dinner I usually add shredded chicken, but that can be left out if you’re serving it to a vegetarian. Whenever I go to a potluck dinner or any kind of event where I have to bring a dish, this is my tried and true recipe that always disappears quickly once served and the guests always end up calling me for the recipe the day after. And, ahem… chilaquiles are also known as the quintessential Mexican cure for a hangover.
RELATED RECIPE: How to make salsa verde from scratch
RELATED RECIPE: Baked taquitos with avocado salsa verde
I recently made my famous chilaquiles verdes for my Salsa Showdown cooking show at the Kenmore Live Studio and they were a huge hit. A lot of people from the audience came up to me after the show to say that they were impressed with not only the taste of the dish, but also how simple it was to prepare and that they felt confident they could make it at home. That’s always my goal here – to teach you recipes and break them down so you feel comfortable making them on your own. I hope you’ll try my chilaquiles, and if you do, please leave a comment below to let me know how you liked them!
RELATED RECIPE: Tacos de longaniza en salsa verde
One of the great things about the salsa verde for my chilaquiles is that it’s a very versatile salsa that can also be used for enchiladas as well as a few other dishes. Be sure to check back later this week for my recipe for enchiladas verdes.
RELATED RECIPE: Enchiladas en salsa verde
Chilaquiles are an easy, classic Mexican dish that can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner with a few modifications.
Ingredients
- FOR SALSA VERDE:
- A little over 1 pound of small tomatillos (milpero if you can find them), dehusked & thoroughly washed to remove sap
- 3-5 serrano chiles (depending how spicy you like it; start with less and increase the amount), stems cut off
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 1-2 quarter-inch slices of white onion
- A pinch or two of kosher salt to taste
- ¾-1 ¼ cup water or chicken broth
- FOR CHILAQUILES:
- Homemade fried tortilla strips or store-bought hearty tortilla chips
- 1-2 shredded chicken breasts
- crema Mexicana
- queso cotija or queso fresco, crumbled
Instructions
- To make the salsa:
- First, dehusk and wash the tomatillos. Rinse them well in cool water.
- Fill a pot with water (large enough to fit all the tomatillos) and bring to a boil. Put the tomatillos in and cook in the boiling water until the tomatillo flesh begins to get transparent. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos to a blender. Add the onion, garlic and salt. Cut the stems off the serrano chiles and cut each chile into a few pieces so they’re easily chopped in the blender.
- Start by adding 2 chiles to the blender with about ¾ of a cup of water or chicken broth and blend on high until smooth and the chiles and tomatillos are completely incorporated. Taste the salsa to see if it’s too hot; if it needs more chile, add them one at a time, blending & tasting the result until you are happy with the level of heat from the chiles. If it seems the salsa is not quite liquid enough, add another ¼ cup of water or chicken broth. The salsa will reduce slightly when cooked.
- Pour blender contents into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the salsa boils, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat.
- • Tip: for extra flavor with salsa verde cocida, you can also add 1-2 strips of chicharrón con carne (the kind with meat still attached) to season the salsa. You should add the chicharrón during the end stage when you cook the salsa until it boils for a few minutes, then remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature before storing to infuse the chicharrón flavor.
- To make the chilaquiles:
- If you’re going to make your own chips out of fresh corn tortillas, just cut them up (either into strips or triangles) and fry them in vegetable or canola oil until they’re crispy. If you’re not confident with a sharp knife, you can also use a pizza wheel for quick and easy cutting. To avoid excess oil, drain them on a plate over paper towels.
- Ladle salsa over the hearty tortilla chips and top with desired amounts of queso cotija or crumbled queso fresco, Mexican crema and shredded chicken (optional). Serve warm. Yields 4-6 servings depending on serving size. The salsa can last for up to 10 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
RELATED RECIPE: Pellizcadas with salsa verde
- How do you like your chilaquiles?
@maurahernandez Mmm that sounds yummy! Great #MexMonday for you too linda!
@MauraHernandez I’m so hungry! Could use some of those chilaquiles right about now. 🙂 Happy #mexmonday
@MauraHernandez sounds delicious I’ve only had them with red sauce
RT @MauraHernandez: Need a quick & easy meal idea for this week? Try my famous chilaquiles verdes! ›› https://theothersideofthetortilla.com/201… #latism …
I love my chilaquiles with an egg and with salsa verde. Yours look wonderful — time to make chilaquiles again!
Kathleen
Thanks Kathleen! I love them with egg as well. In fact, usually when I make chilaquiles I make enough salsa to also use it for enchiladas and huevos al albañil! Looks like I’ll have two more recipes to post soon, huh? 🙂
The best part about enchiladas are chilaquiles for breakfast the next day! Now I’m craving some chilaquiles~
Great job! ~Yvette
Thanks Yvette! I love that this salsa is so versatile and can be used for so many dishes. Another of our favorites with this salsa is chicharron en salsa verde, which is something my husband never really ate in Mexico but is a Mexican dish he fell in love with since living in Chicago. It’s a favorite among our friends, too, ever since I made it during a party we had for World Cup qualifying matches!
Wow, one of my favorite dishes! I have made the traditional one with red tomatoes, but never with salsa verde, which is my fav salsa. Must try it soon. Thanks a bunch!
Maura, this is a great recipe and the photos look great. I was looking for a cooking kit to make chilaquiles verdes when I came across this website in the UK which sells chilaquiles verdes cooking kits.
But now I’ve seen this recipe I’m in two minds whether to get the kit … the easy way or try the recipe the harder way. The kits seems easier to use …. Is this recipe quite easy to do?
Anyways if you can let me know I also see that I can get Tomatillos here at mexgrocer. Can I use the canned tomatillos or does it have to be the fresh kind?
Hi Sol, thanks for your note. I personally would not buy the kit. While canned tomatillos are not ideal because they won’t have the exact same taste of fresh ones, canned tomatillos are definitely preferred to anything that has to be rehydrated or that is powdered to make the salsa. So long as you can find the other ingredients (and you should be able to find them), I recommend you make the salsa on your own. A quick whirl of the ingredients in the blender and cooking the salsa on the stove and it’ll be done in no time. Good luck and if you make them, please visit our Facebook fan page at facebook.com/theothersideofthetortilla and send us a photo of how they turned out! 🙂
These turned out great! I also added 3 cloves of garlic to your list of ingredients.
Thanks!
looks great
I love chilaquiles but I am no cook..I decided 2013 is the year I learn. I just made this recipe tonight and it came out delicious.It was actually real easy to make.My hubby thought it was delicious too!I am so proud of myself.LOL.Thank you so much for the easy step by step..I added sauteed red onion and shredded chicken to the recipe..YUM!
I can’t wait to try the Chile verde.
When I was little and a family of 7 we had chilaquiles made with the eggs scrambled and that’s the way I make is this way for my family.
Something about the egg coating the strips/chips with the semi cooked eggs just warms my heart.
I see it more often with egg on top but just my personal preference.
Love your site/recipes.
Thank you!