These chipotle chilaquiles are made with homemade tortilla chips tossed in a spicy chipotle adobo sauce. It has just the right amount of crispiness and is packed with tons of flavor and heat from the peppers. Great for a hearty breakfast or brunch!
If you’re a fan of spicy food, you’re going to love these chipotle chilaquiles. We kept with the traditional way of making the chips by frying them so they get nice and crispy. Then we tossed them in a rich sauce made with spicy chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, roasted onions, garlic, and tomatoes.
Since chilaquiles are typically eaten for breakfast or brunch, we added a fried egg with a runny yolk on top. Then added our favorite toppings – Mexican crema, avocado, cotija, and cilantro. Side note: the sauce also works on enchiladas!
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Ingredients
- Roma Tomatoes: These add flavor while keeping the sauce thick since they are less juicy than other tomatoes.
- Yellow Onion: You’ll need about ¼ of a medium yellow onion.
- Garlic: 3 medium sized cloves are best. You don’t want to use small cloves since they could burn in the oven.
- Chicken Broth: This adds flavor and liquid to the sauce.
- Olive Oil: We use extra-virgin.
- Mexican Oregano: You’ll need 1 ½ tsp.
- Salt: You’ll need 1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt for the sauce.
- Corn Tortillas: It doesn’t matter if they’re yellow or white, as long as they are the regular sized ones and not the mini corn tortillas.
- Vegetable Oil: We’re going the traditional route and frying our corn tortillas to make the chips. So that’s where the oil comes in.
- Eggs: Since we’re making this a brunch meal, we added a fried egg on top.
- Toppings: We recommend adding Mexican sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and cheese like Cotija or queso fresco.
Tips
- Eat immediately after making since the chips are fresh and crispy. The longer it sits, the softer the chips will get.
- Use Roma tomatoes for the best sauce consistency. You can use your average tomatoes on the vine, but they have more juices which give your sauce a runnier feel. Roma tomatoes help keep the sauce nice and thick.
- Use the sauce as a topping for other foods! If you have any leftover or just want to make the salsa, we recommend putting it on tacos, nachos, tostadas, or using it on enchiladas!
FAQ
No. Chilaquiles are all about crisp chips coated in a flavorful sauce with the option to add other toppings. Nachos, on the other hand, get their flavor from a generous helping of queso and lots of toppings including meat, beans, salsa, guacamole, etc.
We think the best ones are, but unless you have really thick tortilla chips, they’ll soften a bit once the sauce has been added. The chips should still be fairly crisp though.
Some recipes call for simmering the chips in the sauce, but that tends to make them limp which defeats the purpose of frying the tortillas. That’s why we coat ours afterwards by tossing them in the already cooked sauce. If your chilaquiles are soggy, they may have soaked too long in the pan which is why we recommend giving them a quick toss then immediately transferring to a plate.
Unfortunately, no. We tried both and the Italian oregano just doesn’t add the same flavor as the Mexican one does. This is a Mexican dish, so we highly recommend using the right herbs to go with it. Mexican oregano is also pretty easy to find. It should be in the spice section at most large grocery stores.
Toppings for Chipotle Chilaquiles
- Shredded Chicken
- Ground Chorizo
- Fried Egg
- Avocado Slices
- Cotija, Queso Fresco, or Oaxaca cheese
- Jalapeño Slices
- Pickled Red Onions
More Brunch Recipes You’ll Love
For a sauce-based recipe like these chipotle chilaquiles, try our Moroccan Shakshuka.
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Recipe
Chipotle Chilaquiles
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch
- Method: Stovetop, Frying
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
These chipotle chilaquiles are made with homemade tortilla chips tossed in a spicy chipotle adobo sauce. It has just the right amount of crispiness and is packed with tons of flavor and heat from the peppers. Great for a hearty breakfast or brunch!
Ingredients
For the Sauce:
- 2 small Roma tomatoes
- ¼ medium yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup (125 ml) chicken broth
- ¼ cup (65 ml) olive oil
- 1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp Mexican oregano
- 6 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
For the Chips:
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable oil
For Topping:
- 4 large eggs + 1 tbsp butter for frying
- Grated Cotija, queso fresco, or Oaxaca cheese
- Sour cream (preferably Mexican crema)
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F (235°C) and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the tomatoes in half and place them cut side up on the prepared baking sheet.
- Add the onion to the sheet cut side up along with the garlic. Leave the skin on the garlic. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the chips by heating the vegetable oil in a medium sized pot or pan. Heat for 4 minutes on medium-high.
- Line a large plate with paper towels.
- Stack the tortillas and quarter them into triangles with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. You should have four stacks of triangles.
- Reduce the heat of the oil to medium and add one stack at a time, dropping each chip individually into the oil. Fry for 2 minutes and push down into the oil if needed with a slotted frying strainer. Remove and place on the plate with paper towels. Repeat with the remaining stacks of tortillas and set aside.
- By now, the onion, garlic, and tomato should be done so remove them from the oven and add them to an immersion blender or high-speed blender.
- Add the chicken broth, olive oil, salt, Mexican oregano, and peppers. Blend until smooth and add to a large frying pan.*
- Heat the sauce on medium for 6 minutes then reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 4 minutes.
- Add the chips to the pan, tossing until they’re coated with sauce then quickly transfer them to a plate. You don’t want to leave them too long or they’ll get too soggy.
- For the eggs, heat a non-stick pan on medium-high until it’s hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tbsp butter to the pan. Crack each egg into the pan and cook for about 2 minutes.*
- Top each plate of chilaquiles with an egg, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
For a smoother sauce, strain it with a fine mesh strainer before heating in the pan.
Eggs: To prevent the eggs from busting while cooking, place them in a ramekin then gently add them to the pan. This increases your chances of cooking a perfect egg that won’t break.
Nutrition information is only an estimate and does not include the toppings (except the eggs) and the oil used for frying.
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