Chilaquiles Rojos
679kcal17.1g protein35.7g fat80.5g carbs~$2.67/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
Contains dairy · sometimes contains gluten — check the label · only in an optional ingredient: egg
Restrictions
ContainsdairyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.
Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (chips tortilla, tortillas)Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.
Only if you add itegg (eggs)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.
Diets
VegetarianPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 8 unit |  corn tortillas (day-old, cut in six wedges) |
| ½ cup | vegetable oil (for frying the tortillas) |
| 4 unit |  tomato (roma, whole) |
| 3 unit |  guajillo chiles (stemmed, seeded) |
| 1 unit |  chipotle chile (dried or canned) |
| 1 unit |  onion (quartered, for the salsa) |
| 2 clove |  garlic (peeled, whole) |
| 1 cup | water (chile soaking liquid) |
| 2 tbsp | corn oil (for frying the salsa) |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| ⅓ cup |  cotija (crumbled) |
| 3 tbsp |  crema / sour cream (thinned with a splash of water) |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 2 unit |  eggs (fried, sunny side up) |
| ¼ cup | onion (sliced paper-thin, rinsed) |
| 2 tbsp |  cilantro (roughly chopped) |
| 1 unit |  avocado (sliced) |
| 2 unit |  radish (thinly sliced) |
| 1 sprig |  epazote |
| 1 unit |  lime (wedges) |
| 6 oz |  tortilla chips (thick-cut, as a shortcut for frying your own) |
Steps
- Toast2 mindry comal or skillet, mediumguajillo + chipotle, pressing flat, 20-30 seconds a side until they puff and smell sweet — pull them the moment the first wisp of smoke appears, because a scorched guajillo turns the whole salsa permanently bitter and no amount of sugar or salt walks it back
- Simmer12 minjust covered, lowtoasted chiles + tomato + onion + garlic + water, until the chile skins are limp and the tomatoes split — the soaking liquid becomes the body of the salsa, so keep it
- Mix3 minhigh speed, then strainthe simmered chiles and tomatoes + their liquid + salt, blended until smooth, then pushed through a sieve; guajillo skin never fully purées and unstrained salsa feels gritty against a fried tortilla
- Fry8 mincorn oil, medium-high, then reducesalsa poured into hot oil — it will hiss and spit, which is the point: frying the purée cooks out the raw dried-chile edge and reduces it to the thickness of heavy cream, the only consistency that coats chips instead of soaking them
- Fry10 minvegetable oil, 350°F / 175°Ctortilla wedges in batches, turning once, until stiff and pale gold, then drain on paper and salt at once; day-old tortillas hold less water so they crisp through rather than staying leathery in the middle — a limp chip is a mushy chilaquil
- Fold1 minwide pan, salsa at a simmerhot chips into hot salsa, tossed for 30-60 seconds only, until every wedge is stained red but still audibly crisp at the edge — this is the whole dish and it has a window of about a minute; longer and the starch surrenders, which is why chilaquiles are plated on the way to the table, not held
- Top2 minimmediately+ crema drizzled in lines + cotija + sliced raw onion + cilantro, with a fried egg set on top so the yolk runs into the salsa; the cold sour dairy is structural, not decorative — it stops the chile heat from flattening the palate on the second bite