Chilaquiles
Chilaquiles are the Mexican answer to yesterday's tortillas: pieces of corn tortilla are fried crisp, then quickly tossed in a hot salsa — red made with guajillo and tomato, green made with tomatillo and serrano — and finished with crema, fresh cheese and onion. The dish lives in the brief window between crisp and soft, which is why timing matters more than seasoning. Every region claims its own version. Mexico City favours the red, Oaxaca the green; Sinaloa adds shredded chicken and turns it into a full lunch. The eggs on top — fried or scrambled — are negotiable. The crema, queso fresco and raw red onion almost never are.
Yesterday's tortillas, today's breakfast
Mexico's answer to stale corn tortillas
Red or green
Guajillo + tomato (rojo) or tomatillo + serrano (verde)
Crisp into soft
A minute in the salsa — long enough to soak, short enough to keep some bite
The crown
Crema, queso fresco and raw red onion
Ingredients 4 servings
- 200 g day-old corn tortillas, cut into eighths (or store-bought totopos)
- 500 ml neutral oil for frying (or 4 tbsp for shallow-frying)
- For the salsa roja: 6 ripe tomatoes (~600 g), 2 guajillo chiles + 1 chile de árbol (stemmed and seeded), 1 garlic clove, ½ small white onion
- 1 tsp fine sea salt and 1 tbsp neutral oil for the salsa
- 4 large eggs, fried sunny-side-up (optional but classic)
- 100 ml Mexican crema (or sour cream thinned with milk)
- 80 g queso fresco, crumbled (or mild feta)
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- A small handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced just before serving
- Pickled jalapeños, to taste
How to make it
- 1Cut the day-old tortillas into eighths and either deep-fry them at 175°C until golden and crisp, about 90 seconds per batch, or shallow-fry in 4 tablespoons of oil; drain on a rack and salt lightly while still warm.
- 2For the salsa, toast the guajillo and árbol chiles in a dry pan for 20 seconds per side until fragrant, then soak in hot water for 10 minutes; meanwhile, char the tomatoes, garlic and onion under a hot broiler or directly over a flame until blackened in patches.
- 3Drain the chiles and blend with the charred vegetables, 1 teaspoon of salt and a splash of the chile-soaking water until smooth.
- 4Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide pan, pour in the salsa and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring, until it deepens in colour and looks glossy.
- 5Tip in the crisp tortillas and gently fold them through the salsa over medium heat for a minute or two — they should soak up sauce while keeping some bite.
- 6Plate at once, top with the fried eggs if using, drizzle with crema, and scatter queso fresco, sliced red onion, coriander, avocado and pickled jalapeños over the top.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
