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Chicken Chilaquiles is the dish to put together when you are short on time. Tender and perfectly spiced chicken breasts and black beans in a beautiful chipotle sauce baked with tortilla chips and warm corn salsa. The perfect meal that is BIG on flavour.
Add our 5 Minute Blender Salsa Fresca when serving! Those flavours really compliment each other.
My family never gets tired of tacos. I can make them every day and they will happily eat them. I do need some variety though, so I decided to make chilaquiles. Easy and full of flavour!
This dish is a quick way to get all those amazing Tex-Mex flavours into one dish. Indulgence? Perhaps. But you won’t regret it!
What are chicken chilaquiles?
This Mexican bake is like the ultimate nacho plate your dreams are made of! It’s got tortilla chips smothered in spicy chipotle sauce with tender chicken and black beans.
Served with warm corn salsa and sour cream! Seriously, this meal is so delicious and epic, you will want to make it every Friday night! Or maybe every night if that’s how you roll.
It’s not clear how long they have been around, but they have roots in seriously ancient dishes. As in, all the way back to Mayan and Aztec times, although they obviously will have evolved a lot over the centuries.
As with many classic dishes, they were invented as a way to use up leftovers, in this case leftover tortilla chips. Which explains why they are commonly eaten for breakfast.
One taste and you’ll understand why chilaquiles have become a much loved part of Mexican cuisine!
How to make it
It’s also incredibly easy to pull off, especially if you choose to use a rotisserie chicken and a ready made pico de gallo! This recipe was given to me by a friend but, as usual, I had to play with it a bit to make it my own.
First of all, rotisserie chickens are not very common in British supermarkets, so I cooked chicken breasts instead. Neither is pico de gallo, so I had to make my own.
I also added a bunch of spices because that’s how we like it. The recipe that was given to me suggested serving the chicken in bowls and tortilla chips on the side.
However, I decided to bake it so that my chilaquiles will be closer to the traditional version served in Mexico.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Choose a hefty tortilla chip so that they aren’t breaking when trying to pull them from the dish, especially when loaded with toppings. Some varieties or tortilla are quite thin and have the tendency to break and crumble, as well as get soggy faster when other ingredients are added. A heavier corn tortilla will stand up to being baked with toppings far better.
- Leftover corn salsa can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days. It’s delicious cold but can also be reheated in the microwave.
- Cotija cheese is a salty, crumbly cheese traditional to Mexico. It is often used as a way to balance out the natural sweetness of corn. The best substitute is feta, which is similarly crumbly and tangy. Feta has a milder flavour but is a close proximity.
- Using rotisserie chicken is a perfect shortcut for making chicken chilaquiles. But it is also a great way to use up leftover roast chicken or turkey.
Serving suggestions
Chicken chilaquiles are traditionally served for breakfast or brunch, but I love them any time of the day. Or, if it’s been a late night, as an indulgent end-of-day snack.
While there are some basic ingredients to this recipe, there are several items that are option and give you the chance to make this dish your own. Some of my favourite are:
- Fried eggs
- Sour cream
- Sliced jalapeño peppers
- Green onions
- Cilantro/coriander
- Cotija cheese (or feta if I can’t find it)
- Avocado or guacamole
- A squeeze of lime
- A dash or two of your favourite hot sauce
Chilaquiles are definitely something that can be enjoyed all on their own, but they do also go brilliantly when paired with a flavoured rice or Black Bean and Corn Salsa.
Chicken Chilaquiles with Warm Corn Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1.5 lbs /700g chicken breasts, chopped in bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 X14 oz/400g cans of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp /50 g chipotle paste
- 1 X14 oz/400g can of black beans
- 1 cup /16g cilantro/coriander, chopped
For the warm corn salsa
- 1 red onion, medium
- 1 red chilli
- 1 cup /16g cilantro/coriander
- 4 cloves garlic, divided
- lime juice, from 1/2 lime
- 4 tomatoes, large
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 2 cups /330g frozen corn
Add-ins
- 8 oz /230g tortilla chips, or 2
- 2 tbsp Cotija cheese, or soft feta as a substitute
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 6 cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocados, or guacamole
- 2 spring onions
- 1 green chilli, sliced
Instructions
- In a large frying pan heat olive oil and brown chicken breast pieces over medium-high heat with cumin, chilli powder, oregano and salt until sealed but not cooked all the way through for approximately 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
- To the same skillet add chopped onion and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then add garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes, then add cans of chopped tomatoes and chipotle paste, stir, turn the heat up and bring to a boil. Return the chicken back to the pan, add black beans, cover with a lid, lower the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a food processor or a blender make Pico de Gallo by combining all salsa ingredients but olive oil, corn and 2 cloves of garlic, pulse for a few seconds.
- In another skillet saute garlic in olive oil for a minute, then add frozen corn and cook until the corn is warmed through for about 2-3 minutes. Take it off the heat and combine with the previously made Pico de Gallo. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Now stir in fresh cilantro into the chicken and take off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
- To assemble Chicken Chilaquiles layer tortilla chips and the spicy chicken mixture in a deep skillet or a sheet pan with rims. You can do either one or two layers of each chips and the spicy chicken mixture and top with cheese of your choice. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Serve with additional toppings suggested in the ingredient list.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
alright, I’m gonna give this one a go tomorrow with Margaritas of course! Ole!
Yay for Margaritas! Let me know how you like it! 🙂
When I lived in San Fernando, California I discovered that chilaquiles are the way that Mexican moms recycle leftover enchiladas. They are most often chopped up, fried, and topped by fried eggs for breakfast. They are also wonderful made that way.
That sounds like the most delicious leftovers ever! My kids would most certainly approve. 🙂