Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (2024)

Published May 5, 2021.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This delicious easy to make homemade chilaquiles recipe is loaded up with a zesty roasted tomato sauce and homemade fried corn tortilla chips.

I actually don’t eat breakfast every single day, but when I do, I’m craving it big time and usually want to make a feast. If you’re in the same boat then definitely check out my Huevos Rancheros or Brioche.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (1)

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is a classic Mexican dish consisting of corn tortilla chips that are cooked with a smooth tomato-based salsa. The chips soak up the salsa softening them and making them incredibly favorable, similar to enchiladas. Some records indicate it has been around since the early days of the Aztecs.

There are some variations to chilaquiles as of recent which include beef, chicken, eggs, and cheese. While they do not latter back to the original recipe of the Aztecs, these ingredients are commonly used throughout Mexico.

Here are some typical ingredients that you would find in chilaquiles:

  • Tomatoes
  • Serrano Peppers
  • Chiles de Árbol
  • Ancho Chiles
  • Epazote
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Tortilla Chips

How to Make Chilaquiles

Follow along with these step-by-step images for how to make a homemade chilaquiles recipe:

Roast some tomatoes, chiles, onions, and garlic in the oven until lightly browned.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (2)

Puree the roasted vegetables in a blender along with some epazote, water, or vegetable stock until smooth.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (3)

Transfer the mixture to a saucepot and cook over low to medium heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (4)

While the sauce is cooking down, prepare the corn tortillas, and fry until crispy brown.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (5)

Finish the tomato-based sauce with a little red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (6)

Once the chips are done cooking toss them into the tomato mixture and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes or until softened.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (7)

In the meantime, fry eggs in the remaining tortilla chip oil to your desired internal temperature.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (8)

Serve the fried eggs alongside the chilaquiles and garnish with queso fresco and optional chopped fresh cilantro.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (9)

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done cooking. You can however keep it warm on the cooktop over low heat for up to 20 minutes before serving it.

How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This will not freeze well.

How to Reheat: Add your desired amount to a saucepot and cook over low heat until warmed. You can also heat in the microwave until warm.

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (10)

chef notes + tips

  • You can absolutely use store-bought tortilla chips if you don’t want to fry them yourselves.
  • If you like spicy food, I recommend adding 1-2 more serrano peppers, chiles de Arbol, and ancho chiles to the recipe, or keep some of the seeds in the peppers in the original recipe.
  • Substitute the vegetable stock Substitute with water if it is not available.
  • If you do not have epazote you may substitute it with dry oregano.
  • You may swap out the queso fresco for cotija cheese or chihuahua cheese.
Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (11)

More Breakfast Recipes

  • Bagels
  • Hoe Cakes
  • Corned Beef Hash
  • Eggs Benedict
  • Pancakes

Be sure to follow me onFacebook,YouTube,Instagram,andPinterest,and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (12)

Video

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Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style)

5 from 4 votes

This delicious easy to make homemade chilaquiles recipe is loaded up with a zesty roasted tomato sauce and homemade fried corn tortilla chips.

Servings: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 7-8 vine ripe tomatoes, core removed
  • 1 peeled and roughly chopped yellow onion
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 seeded serrano peppers
  • 3 seeded chiles de árbol
  • 1 seeded ancho chile
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons dried epazote
  • 1 cup of vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 cup oil
  • 20 corn tortillas
  • 6 fried eggs
  • crumbled queso fresco
  • chopped fresh cilantro
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450° F.

  • Add the tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, and chiles to a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and coat in the 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

  • Roast in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Only roast the dried peppers in the oven for 2-3 minutes and then remove and set them aside so they don’t dry out.

  • Transfer all of the roasted ingredients along with the epazote and vegetable stock to a blender and blend at high speed until smooth.

  • Pour the blended mixture into a large saucepot or rondeau and cook over low heat. Finish it with red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.

  • While the sauce is cooking, heat up 1 cup of oil until it is about 350° f.

  • Next, cut the corn tortillas into triangles and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp and lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

  • Drain the fried corn tortillas on paper towels until they are all done cooking transfer them to the sauce mixture and coat the tortillas completely and until they have soaked up a lot of the sauce, which takes about 3-5 minutes on low heat.

  • Fry some eggs in the leftover oil from the corn tortillas until the desired internal temperatures are achieved.

  • Serve the chilaquiles alongside the fried eggs and add optional garnishes of queso fresco and cilantro.

Notes

Chef Notes:

Make-Ahead: This recipe is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done cooking. You can however keep it warm on the cooktop over low heat for up to 20 minutes before serving it.

How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. This will not freeze well.

How to Reheat: Add your desired amount to a saucepot and cook over low heat until warmed. You can also heat in the microwave until warm.

You can absolutely use store-bought tortilla chips if you don’t want to fry them yourselves.

If you like spicy food, I recommend adding 1-2 more serrano peppers, chiles de Arbol, and ancho chiles to the recipe, or keep some of the seeds in the peppers in the original recipe.

Substitute the vegetable stock Substitute with water if it is not available.

If you do not have epazote you may substitute it with dry oregano.

You may swap out the queso fresco for cotija cheese or chihuahua cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 699kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 13gFat: 52gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 164mgSodium: 272mgPotassium: 702mgFiber: 9gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 3149IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 3mg

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Author: Chef Billy Parisi

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7 comments

    • Donna A Pollock
    • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (14)

    This is one of my most favorite things to eat. I love your recipe too. I’m Mexican myself and our mom use to make these for us for Breakfast and for dinner a lot of times. I love Mexican food so much. My 2 sons also enjoy eating this delicious dish too. they will call me from work and ask me to make them for dinner sometimes…Thank you Chef.

    • Reply
    • Ja’el K.
    • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (15)

    Absolutely delicious recipe!! You’ll wish you had tried this sooner!

    • Reply
    • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (16)

        Excellent!

        • Reply
      • Catrina Watkins
      • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (17)

      This looks amazingly delicious

      • Reply
      • Catt

      We love your presentations! We love your recipes! Catt & Doug

      • Reply
        • Stephanie Miller
        • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (18)

        These are amazing! I made it for the family this past weekend and everyone loved them. Next time I’m adding a extra pepper bc I like it spicy.

        • Reply
        • Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (19)

            thanks for giving it a shot!!

            • Reply
      Homemade Chilaquiles Recipe (Rojos Style) (2024)

      FAQs

      What are chilaquiles rojos made of? ›

      Chilaquiles rojos are made with a salsa made from tomatoes, onion, jalapeños, garlic, and broth. Both are cooked using the same technique — it simply comes down to the cook's preference on which salsa they prefer. Today I'm sharing a chilaquiles rojos.

      What is the difference between chilaquiles verdes and rojos? ›

      Depending on your taste buds, you might prefer chilaquiles verdes or chilaquiles rojos! The only difference between the two is the type of salsa used! We love both, but our recipe is Chilaquiles Verdes, which uses a green salsa to combine all the components.

      How do you make chilaquiles not soggy? ›

      Thick tortilla chips – Traditionally, chilaquiles would be made with fried stale corn tortillas, but to streamline this recipe, I sub store-bought tortilla chips. Look for ones that are fairly thick. If they're too thin, they'll quickly get soggy in the salsa.

      What is the best store-bought sauce for chilaquiles? ›

      If you decide to go store-bought, then I suggest Herdez mild salsa verde. Quality enchilada sauce is harder to come by but Frontera enchilada sauce is decent but you still may want to doctor it up a bit or for those who like a little deeper, spicier sauce, I prefer Frontera's Adobo Sauce.

      What does chilaquiles contain? ›

      Chilaquiles are basically corn tortilla pieces that are fried, cooked in salsa, and sprinkled with cheese. They are often served for breakfast with eggs and a side of beans or nopalitos.

      What is chilaquiles to english? ›

      Chilaquiles (pronounced “chee-lah-keel-ehs”) is a Mexican dish made up of fried crispy tortilla chips, a red or green sauce, fried eggs and various toppings and garnishes.

      What is the red sauce called at Mexican restaurants? ›

      Salsa roja ( lit. 'red sauce') is a type of spicy red sauce in Mexican cuisine. It is made of jitomate (red tomato), ground with onion, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper to taste.

      Which Mexican sauce is hotter red or green? ›

      We are frequently asked how hot they are and many believe that one is spicier than the other. So, which one is hotter anyway? The real answer is; neither! The true difference between the salsa roja and verde is the base.

      Why are chilaquiles so delicious? ›

      Chilaquiles are an unchallenged icon of Mexican breakfast. Since Chilaquiles are a little spicy and and served warm, it's like a gentle jolt that dispels your morning drowsiness. “Tasty” is the best way to describe chilaquiles. They can be prepared with red or green sauce, but the former is the classical option.

      Should chilaquiles be crunchy or soft? ›

      The best chilaquiles (the kind we're after) aren't so much wet as moist, and aren't so much limp as "gently softened until the chips retain just a bit of crunch but dissolve in your mouth into a mix of comforting starch and hot salsa." But still, when it comes down to it, chilaquiles are essentially soggy nachos—an ...

      What are the best chips for chilaquiles? ›

      Fresh and sturdy chips made from real tortillas will always be the best option for chilaquiles, because they can absorb the salsa without falling apart. Whole Foods also sells fresh-style tortilla chips, which are fine in a pinch, but homemade or restaurant-made chips are your best option.

      Are chilaquiles supposed to be crispy? ›

      In fact, it's perfectly possible to prefer your chilaquiles crunchy for breakfast and soft if you are having them for dinner. So, whether you prefer your chilaquiles crunchy or soft, don't let anyone tell you that there's a “right” way to eat or serve chilaquiles.

      What is the #1 sauce used in Mexico? ›

      Mole is the crown jewel of Mexican sauces. It is refined, delicious and has a complexity of flavour that demonstrates the real fusion of two cultures in one dish. Mole was created by our prehispanic ancestors, they would mix pumpkin seeds, tomatoes and herbs to make a sauce simply called Molli.

      Which is spicier red or green chilaquiles? ›

      Typically, red chilaquiles are made with dried chiles such as guajillo or ancho, while green chilaquiles are made with fresh jalapeños or serranos. As a result, chilaquiles are usually mild to moderately spicy.

      Who typically eats chilaquiles? ›

      This dish is found all throughout Mexico, and at its most basic, it consists of fried tortilla chips covered with a red or green salsa, which makes the chip soft. Chilaquiles are commonly served with a side of refried beans and are eaten quite regularly in most Mexican homes.

      What is salsa rojo made of? ›

      Salsa roja ( lit. 'red sauce') is a type of spicy red sauce in Mexican cuisine. It is made of jitomate (red tomato), ground with onion, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper to taste.

      What are red tortilla chips made of? ›

      Red tortilla chips are mostly made with red dye... please read the food labels. If it wasn't made with red corn at least make sure it was made with red beet coloring or something.

      What is red salsa made of? ›

      Easy, 10-minute red salsa with smoky, fire-roasted tomatoes, onion, cilantro, garlic, and fresh lime juice! Flavorful, fresh, and perfect for Mexican night!

      What is red salsa called in Mexico? ›

      Salsa Roja

      In Spanish, salsa roja means “red sauce”. This is a general term that covers any type of blended red salsa made with tomatoes. Salsa roja can be made from raw ingredients, cooked ingredients, or a combination of both.

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