This traditional Mexican breakfast dish might be Kathleen’s second favorite thing I cook. It is quite the process–takes me several days to make, though there are some shortcuts you can take which I will detail below.

Chilaquiles seems to be different everywhere I go. I suspect this is originally because every abuelita has a slightly different recipe for salsa roja, or in some cases, salsa verde. Also, the dish can be made casserole-style, with whatever meat, cheeses, eggs, etcetera, that you have in the refrigerator that day.

So what follows is my* recipe for salsa roja–which I usually make a few days ahead–and then the construction of the chilaquiles the morning of.

*Confession: I got this recipe from one of the many magazines I used to have around the house–Food & Wine, Sunset, Cooking Light–and I have no idea what chef or cook to attribute it too. Apologies. If it is you, let me know.

Salsa Roja

Red sauce that can be used in all sorts of Mexican dishes

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Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6

Equipment

1 Blender or food processor
1 Sauce pan

Ingredients

7 dried guajillo or New Mexico chilies (want more kick? use some chipotles; less? Anaheims)
2 cups boiling water
1 28oz can whole tomatoes drained
1 (~1½ cups) medium white onion chopped
5 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
1 jalapeño, with seeds de-stemmed and chopped
¼ tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp avocado oil or other flavorless oil
2 tsp honey

Instructions

Place chilies in a medium, heat-proof bowl with the boiling water. Cover and let soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid. Discard stems and seeds, and place chilies in a blender. Add tomatoes and the next four ingredients to the blender. Add 1 cup of the soaking liquid to the blender. Blend/puree until smooth.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add puree (carefully, as it will splatter) and bring to a boil. Drop the heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened,* about 15 minutes. Add more soaking liquid if too thick. Stir in the honey and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

*The last time I made this it came out too thick and I should have thinned it out. If you have the same problem and have already used up your soaking liquid, substitute water or a low sodium broth. You will then need to adjust the flavor to taste with salt, pepper, and maybe chili powder and/or paprika.

You can make this sauce up to three days ahead. If placed in an air tight container and refrigerated, the flavor will hold. Rewarm on the stove top or in a microwave before using. You can also adjust the flavor to taste when rewarming, especially if you want it to be more punchy.

You can also make larger batches and freeze it. I haven’t done this so I can’t vouch for the flavor or consistency when thawed, but based on my experience with homemade marinara, I suspect it would be fine.

Keyword cheese, chicken, chorizo, eggs, tortilla

So that’s the salsa roja. For the chilaquiles I like to have shredded shredded chicken and chorizo. I’ve added scrambled eggs, too. The recipe here uses the addition of a fried egg for each serving. I like mine “over medium” but you can do “sunny side up” if you prefer.

For the shredded chicken I rub a couple of breasts with a taco starter seasoning and let them sit overnight in the fridge in a Ziploc bag. The next morning before making the salsa, I put them in the crock pot with a cup of chicken broth and cook them on low for six hours. Then, using two forks, shred the breasts, put in an airtight container, add some liquid from the crock pot, and store in the fridge.

The morning of service, I cook sausage and then add the shredded chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is warmed through. If scrambled eggs are your preference, I just scramble four to six eggs in the pan with the sausage, using the rendered fat of the sausage to flavor the eggs and prevent sticking.