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If you are looking for a fun way to bring some Latin flavor to your breakfast or brunch table, this Chilaquiles Rojos recipe is for you!
Customize this flavorful meal with your favorite toppings, like fried eggs, cheese, crema, or avocado. Not only a great brunch option but it’s filling enough to make as a breakfast-for-dinner situation.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
- Full of Flavor – The sauce is loaded with flavor from two types of chiles, tomatoes, and several aromatics/spices.
- Customizable – One of the things I love about this chilaquiles recipe is that everyone can customize their chilaquiles with eggs, cotija, cilantro, crema, avocado, lime, and onion.
- Make Ahead Friendly – You can make the sauce in advance and then just reheat and add the chips when ready to serve.
Chilaquiles Rojos Key Ingredients
- Thick Tortilla Chips – Or you can make your own chips by frying up corn tortillas.
- Roma Tomatoes, Yellow Onion, and Garlic Cloves – Roasted in the oven to create a deep flavor for the sauce.
- Ancho and Guajillo Chiles – For both you’ll remove the stems and seeds, then toast in a skillet.
- Tomato Paste, Chicken Broth, Water – a cooking liquid for the chiles.
- Spices and Herbs – Salt, cumin, fresh oregano, fresh cilantro.
- Lime Juice – Fresh is best. Give the fruit a roll on the counter with the palm of your hand to release the juices before juicing.
- For Serving – Eggs, Cotija, Avocado, Crema, Lime Wedges, and Chopped Onion
How To Make Chilaquiles
See recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Broil Tomatoes and Onion – Start by positioning an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the broiler. Roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in oil on a sheet pan with the tomatoes cut sides up. Broil until blistered and charred.
Cook Chiles – Toast the chiles in a cast iron skillet. Add the tomato paste and saute then add the broth, water, and toasted chilis; simmer until chiles are tender. Remove chiles and reserve the cooking liquid.
Blend Sauce – Blend the roasted tomatoes, onions, chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, cilantro stems, lime juice, and 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid in a blender, then strain back into the skillet.
Cook Chips – Bring the sauce to a simmer and toss in the chips. Cook for a couple of minutes, tossing and allowing the chips to soak up some of the sauce.
Serve – Portion the chips onto plates, serve topped with a fried egg, avocado, cotija, cilantro, crema, and chopped onion.
How To Cook The Eggs 🍳
Serving chilaquiles with eggs is a classic pairing! Here is how you can cook the eggs to suit everyone’s preferences:
- Fried Eggs – Using a nonstick pan with a lid, add a pat of butter or few drops of oil and heat over medium heat. Carefully crack your egg into the bottom of the pan, and lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Over Easy Eggs – Flip eggs when the white is just set, 1-2 minutes, and continue cooking for another minute, or until the yolk is set to your liking. If you want a hard yolk, you can squish the yolk just after you flip it.
- Sunny Side Up Eggs – Cover the pan with a lid so that eggs can gently steam. Cook until the white is just set. If you want a truly rich over easy egg, you can baste the top of the egg with extra melted butter in the pan, by slightly tilting the pan to gather the extra melted butter with a spoon and gently pour over the top of the egg white.
Recipe FAQs
The flavorful chilaquiles sauce is made of chiles, roasted tomatoes, and spices.
There are two main types of chilaquiles – Rojos and Verde. Rojos chilaquiles use a red chile sauce while verde chilaquiles use a green chile sauce.
Chilaquiles are best served right after making them so that the chips still have some crunch. The chips do soak up the sauce so over time they will soften.
Chilaquiles are best served warm, with the tortilla chips soft, but still slightly crunchy. Lots of customized toppings, eggs, and a side of Mexican Beans finish the dish.
Flour tortillas will not get crispy and dry enough to hold the sauce and you would end up with a soggy mess.
Helpful Tips
- Make Your Own Chips with Corn Tortillas – While this recipe is great with store bought chips, you can also make your own. Try my easy recipe for Air Fryer Tortilla Chips
- Chile Substitutes – Pasilla or cascabel chiles can be used as a substitute for the guajillo or anchos. Just make sure you understand the heat levels of the chiles you are using and scale accordingly.
- Other Proteins – Instead of an egg, try topping chilaquiles with shredded chicken or Mexican beef.
Storage
After fully making the chilaquiles (putting the chips in the sauce), they are best served immediately. I don’t recommend storing them as leftovers because the chips will become very soft.
If you want to prepare the dish in advance or know you won’t be able to eat the whole thing, then you can store the sauce separately in the fridge for up to 5 days (or frozen for up to 3 months). When ready to serve, bring the sauce to a simmer in a pan and add chips.
Homemade chips can be made 1-2 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
More Mexican Recipes
- Homemade Mexican Pizza
- Authentic Tacos Al Pastor
- Taco Bowl Recipe
- Chicken Poblano Soup
- Black Beans and Rice
Chilaquiles Rojos
Ingredients
- 16 ounces thick tortilla chips or 24 corn tortillas cut into 8 triangles
- 1 pound roma tomatoes halved lengthwise
- ½ yellow onion cut into 8 pieces
- 3 unpeeled cloves of garlic
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 Ancho chiles stems and seeds removed
- 3 Guajillo chiles stems and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano
- Juice of ½ lime
- Large handful cilantro stems separated from leaves
- Eggs, cotija cheese, avocado, crema, lime wedges, and chopped onion for garnish
Instructions
- Position rack in middle of oven and preheat broiler.
- On a large sheet pan, toss tomatoes, onion and garlic in canola oil with a pinch of salt and pepper, place tomato halves cut side up, broil for 10 to 15 minutes or until blistered and charred. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, and dry toast the chiles until they are fragrant and starting to turn dark, 1-2 minutes, remove from heat. Add tomato paste, saute 1 minute. Add broth, water, and toasted chilis, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until chiles are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove chiles, reserve cooking liquid.
- Add roasted tomatoes, onions, chiles, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, cilantro stems, lime juice and 1 cup reserved cooking liquid to a blender. Cover the blender with a clean towel, carefully blend until smooth, and strain back into the skillet. Bring to a simmer, and toss in the chips. Cook for 2-3 minutes tossing and allowing the chips to soak up some of the sauce.
- Portion chips onto plates, serve topped with fried egg, avocado, cotija, cilantro, crema and chopped onion.
- If you are frying your own tortilla chips, before you begin: Fill the cast iron pan with 2 inches of canola oil, bring to 350℉, and fry chips in batches until crispy, 2-3 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain, and sprinkle with salt. Drain oil from pan once cooled, and proceed with recipe.
Notes
- Pasilla, or cascabel chiles can be used as a substitute for the guajillo or anchos. Just make sure you understand the heat levels of the chiles you are using and scale accordingly.
- This recipe is best enjoyed immediately. Stored, the chips would get very soggy and mushy. You can however make the sauce in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just heat to a simmer in the pan and add the chips.
