Chilaquiles with Avocado

Chilaquiles with Avocado - my take on fresh healthier chilaquiles. Made with corn tortillas, eggs and red chile salsa. A favorite for breakfast or brunch. Gluten free.

Chilaquiles with avocado / loveandlemons.com

I’m thinking of trying to grow avocados this spring… I don’t really have a green thumb, but I eat so darn many of them, I figure it’s worth a try. (Also, I’m just now realizing that this is my 3rd avocado recipe in a row – oops!) If anyone has any experience growing them, please let me know! I’m guessing that I probably have to start soon…

Today’s recipe is something I really love to make at home because it tends to be a little too greasy for me at restaurants. Chilaquiles are usually considered hangover food and it all starts with frying tortillas in a skillet. Of course, I went a little (a lot) lighter on the oil so they toast in the skillet and crisp up without becoming an oily mess. This way, we reserve a few extra calories for that brunch-time margarita!

Chilaquiles with avocado / loveandlemons.com

Remember this chile salsa from a few weeks ago? Here’s another way to use it… this meal comes together really quickly if you have some on hand in your fridge. (If not, see below for other sauce suggestions). This is perfect topped with fried eggs, but it would be equally delicious with black beans if you’re vegan.

chilaquiles with avocado

 
Author:
Serves: serves 2
Ingredients
  • 1-2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 stale corn tortillas, sliced into strips
  • ½ cup dried chile salsa (or smooth store-bought salsa or chile sauce)
  • handful of chopped scallions
  • a bit of diced red onion
  • ½ an avocado, chopped w/ a bit of lime + salt
  • 2 fried eggs (vegan sub: black beans)
  • ¼ cup, or so, crumbled cotija cheese (vegan: omit)
  • squeeze of lime
  • salt, pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add tortilla strips and a few pinches of salt. Lightly fry/toast strips until the edges become browned and crispy. (Flip a few times so both sides cook).
  2. Pour the chile sauce into the center of the skillet to coat the tortillas. (I like to leave the tortillas that are a few inches from the edges un-sauced so they remain a bit crispy). Let the sauce sizzle in the skillet with the tortillas for a few minutes while you fry your eggs. (turn heat down or off if you’re skillet is getting too hot).
  3. Fry eggs and add to the skillet along with scallions, red onion, avocado, and cheese. Add a squeeze of lime, and more salt, to taste.

Side note – I find that the Whole Foods brand corn tortillas crisp perfectly without being fried (they’re thin and a bit more dry than others)… I’ve done a lot of tortilla testing and those are my favorite for crisping in the skillet (or baking in the oven). I store them in my freezer.

41 comments

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  1. Darya from tortore.wordpress.com
    05.01.2014

    Hello Jeanine, I’ve been reading your blog since forever, but this is my first time commenting. I live in Lille (France), where there is no such thing as Mexican or Texan cuisine, except for a few highly processed sauces and tortillas. A friend of mine visited from Austin a while ago, and brought me bags of dried chiles, which I had no idea how to use (as I’ve never really eaten Mexican food, not even in a restaurant). Then I made your dried chile salsa, and LOVED it. I wanted to taste it the moment I made it, and spread some on a slice of bread, and topped it with fresh goat cheese. It was delicious. Then for breakfast, I made your recipe for chilaquiles (using my own home-made corn tortillas, adding sliced radishes on top for some crunch, and substituting the cotija cheese – can’t be found here – with feta). It was truly delicious! Even my difficult boyfriend loved it. So much flavor, and so unusual to my French palate. I’ve still got piles of dried chiles in my cupboard, so I’ll definitely be making those two recipes again. Thank you, thank you!

    • jeanine
      05.01.2014

      Hi Darya,

      Thanks, this is the best compliment ever!

  2. Ivan
    04.11.2014

    What a great recipe! Substituted the fried egg with a poached one to make it a bit healthier and some black beans and tomato salad. It was truly delicious 🙂

  3. That looks awesome! Ive been growing my avocado tree for about 2 yrs and its about 5 ft tall. This was the 1 seed out of a sozen that decided to grow. We live in Missouri so I keep it inside at all times.

    • jeanine
      03.03.2014

      so great to know, thanks!

  4. I have a black thumb…I tried to grow cilantro on 2 occasions and it hasn’t worked out yet. I am hoping third time is a charm! Good luck on your Avo tree…that would sure save some money 🙂 These look delicious! I can’t wait to try them.

    • jeanine
      02.19.2014

      Cilantro is hard! I’ve been pretty successful with most herbs (and what I mean by that is that they have grown on their own, no help from me :)… my cilantro has always flowered over.

  5. Isadora from shelikesfood.com
    02.18.2014

    Looks delicious! You really can’t go wrong with a recipe that includes avocados, I also love the idea of a brunch-time margarita!

  6. i love chilaquiles alot esp for brunch. I have found that corn tortillas can be broiled for few minutes in the oven to get the crisp texture, although you need to be little bit more careful.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.