In this video, learn how to make Chef John's delicious Chilaquiles Breakfast Casserole, a perfect blend of Mexican and breakfast flavors. In this easy-to-follow recipe, Chef John guides you through creating the hearty casserole featuring crispy tortillas, spicy tomato sauce, cheese, and eggs.
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00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Chilaquiles Breakfast Casserole.
00:09That's right, a Chilaquiles purist is probably not going to like this, but I'm pretty sure
00:14everybody else will, especially people who don't even know what Chilaquiles is.
00:19So with that, let's go ahead and get started by adding some red enchilada sauce to a bowl,
00:24which I almost never use to make actual enchiladas.
00:27But it's perfect for something like this, especially since we're going to doctor it
00:31up with some roasted tomato salsa, as well as some fire roasted diced green chilies.
00:36And not to brag, but these were hatched chilies, which are really nice if you can find a can
00:40of those.
00:41And then we'll also go ahead and squeeze in half a lime, just to make things a little
00:45tangier and hopefully help amplify the other flavors.
00:49And then I also like to spice this up a little bit with some chili powder, and I'm using
00:53a ground guajillo, but ancho will also work, or really any kind of chili powder you have.
00:58We'll also do a little bit of cumin, as well as some dried oregano, and please if you can,
01:03try to find Mexican oregano, which really does have an amazing flavor and smell.
01:08And that's it, we'll take a whisk and give this a mix.
01:11And no, we don't need any salt, since the tortilla chips we're going to use for this
01:15usually have plenty.
01:17Speaking of which, once that's mixed, we'll grab our other two main components, which
01:21would be some extra thick, what they call restaurant style tortilla chips, although
01:25in the restaurant, these would be a lot more oily, and probably a little bit saltier.
01:30But that's okay, these are going to work.
01:33And then we're also going to need at least a half pound of cheese, and I like to use
01:36a blend of Monterey Jack and cheddar.
01:39And once we have everything together, we can grab a 9x12 or 9x13 casserole dish, and we
01:44will spread out a ladle of our sauce on the bottom.
01:47And once that's been accomplished, we can do our first layer of chips, which can be
01:51a thin layer, or in my case, a pretty thick layer.
01:55Okay, I'm going like three chips deep here.
01:58And as we do this, we want to try to maintain as uniform a layer as possible.
02:02And then once this has been chipped, we will ladle in half of the remaining sauce.
02:06Oh, and in case you're wondering, actual chili chilis are done in a skillet on top of the
02:11stove, and it's nothing more than tortillas that are fried crispy in oil.
02:15And then those chips are moistened with a red chili sauce, and then served up with various
02:19fixings, including my favorite topping, which would be an egg, which is a great method for
02:24a single portion, but I really do think it translates nicely to this casserole format.
02:29And that's it.
02:30Once my chips were sauced, I decided to scatter over some freshly sliced green onions, which
02:35of course are optional, but I remembered I had some in the fridge, so I tossed them out.
02:40And then we'll follow that by scattering over exactly half our cheese mixture.
02:44And then eventually the rest of our chips.
02:47And just like the first layer of chips, you don't have to put quite as many as I'm doing.
02:51Alright, again, I'm going like two or three chips deep, but if you wanted something less
02:55substantial and a little saucier, you can definitely dial that down.
02:59Oh, and I was just about to give this great tip about saving the best looking chips for
03:04the top, but truth be told, once this is baked, and topped with eggs and garnished, no one's
03:09going to be able to tell how nice the chips were on the surface.
03:12So what I'm trying to say is, never mind.
03:15And that's it.
03:16We'll take the rest of our sauce, and we will ladle that over as evenly as we can.
03:20And then to finish this up, we'll go ahead and scatter over a few more green onions,
03:24followed by the rest of our cheese.
03:26Oh, and you get extra credit here, if you've been wondering why I didn't just add the green
03:31onions to the sauce, since that would have saved a step.
03:35So next time, let's go ahead and do it that way.
03:38And that's it.
03:39And for our final cheesing, this is now ready to transfer into the center of a 375 degree
03:44oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until everything's heated through, and our cheese
03:49on top has started to brown, and it hopefully looks like this.
03:54And then once our chili quiles casserole has been baked, we need to decide how we're going
03:58to apply our eggs.
03:59And the way I'm going to do it, is not the way I suggest you do it.
04:03All right, what I decided to try, was to make some indentations on the surface with a spoon,
04:08and to each I'm going to transfer one whole large egg.
04:11And cooking the eggs on top like this does make for a nice presentation, and we could
04:15just simply set this on the table and serve.
04:18The problem is, it's very difficult to get the eggs to cook evenly.
04:21And you're going to see what I mean in a minute.
04:23And the way you really should probably do it, is to simply serve up your casserole and
04:27top it with a fried egg, or a poached egg, or the egg style of your choice.
04:32But anyway, I've always enjoyed learning things the hard way.
04:35So after I egged the top, I popped it back in the oven for another 15 minutes, at which
04:40point three of my eggs were overcooked, and three of my eggs were undercooked, which is
04:44not ideal.
04:45And as I reviewed the footage, I think the three wells I made in the front were deeper
04:49than the ones in the back, which is why those three eggs cooked slower.
04:53But anyway, I tried.
04:55And the good news is, while I garnished this, the residual heat from the casserole did cook
04:59those eggs enough to eat them.
05:02But whether the eggs are baked on or placed on, let's go ahead and garnish this with some
05:05more green onions, a nice generous sprinkling of queso fresco, which is a beautiful fresh
05:11crumbly Mexican cheese.
05:13And if you can't find that, just use a nice dry feta.
05:16I also did a nice scattering of diced avocado, which I eventually topped with a drizzle of
05:20sour cream, that I thinned out with a little bit of water, like they do with every taqueria
05:25I've ever been in.
05:27And that's it, I finished up with a little bit of hot sauce, plus a scattering of freshly
05:31picked cilantro leaves.
05:33And my Chili Kili's breakfast casserole was ready to enjoy.
05:38So I grabbed a spoon and served up a section that had one of those undercooked eggs, hoping
05:43and praying that the residual heat had cooked it enough to eat.
05:47Which as I mentioned, actually did happen, and I ended up with a perfectly runny yolk,
05:53which really is just an absolutely perfect sauce for something like this.
05:56Alright, just the chips and cheese cooked in that red chili sauce, topped with all those
06:00fixings, would be something I would happily eat any time on its own.
06:04But I think when you add the egg on top, it really does elevate the whole experience.
06:08And if you're a fan of things like huevos rancheros, I really do think you're going
06:12to love this.
06:14Having said all that, if you're not into eggs, you can just leave them off.
06:17I mean, you are after all the snake plisskins of your Chili Kili's breakfast casserole
06:21fixings, and you could instead use something like shredded chicken, or maybe some beans.
06:27But I'm an egg man, so I enjoy mine like this.
06:30Oh, and I did end up serving up another one, where the yolk actually stayed in place on
06:34top so I could take some decent pictures.
06:37And this one also had cooked through quite nicely.
06:39So if you are going to bake your eggs on top, you definitely want to take them out a little
06:43bit underdone.
06:44But whether you try to bake this with the eggs on top, or just simply serve them alongside,
06:50this Chili Kili's casserole would be a great way to serve a large group at a breakfast
06:53or brunch.
06:54And I really do hope you give it a try soon.
06:58So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much
07:02more info, as usual.
07:04And as always, enjoy!