It’s often right before dinner is served that I start to think about breakfast. It’s about 12 minutes before hangry energy sets in, 10 minutes before I gussy up a plate of food for myself, and 20 minutes before I’m full once again and breakfast is a distant future thought.
There’s that special time when I try to sort through the clutter of my fridge in my mind’s eye and dream up tomorrow’s future.
This chilaquiles is a product of those pre-dinner daydreams and thank goodness I had a can of diced tomatoes in the pantry. It feels really good when the pantry stars align.
Layers of baked tomatoes, crisp-fried tortillas, bacon, eggs, and cheese. It’s like a frittata casserole that goes from the stovetop to the oven and emerges somehow in between nachos, breakfast, and a chips and salsa binge.
And while this makes an absolutely satisfying breakfast, it also makes a very fine dinner skillet.
Here’s what you’ll need for success:
โข Corn tortillas that we’ll fry and transform into warm, crisp, super fresh chips.
โข Large eggs. Eight of em.
โข A can of diced tomatoes + garlic + spices. In food-math, that’s my homemade / in-a-pinch enchilada sauce.
โข Crisp bacon, chopped in bite-size bits and snacked on.
โข Grated cheese. Pepper jack or Monterey or Cheddar. Whatever feels like a splurge.
โข Sour cream and salsa and fresh parsley for topping.
The canned tomato, sliced garlic, and spices are sautรฉed in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet. We want to infuse the spices and cook down some of the moisture.
Bacon, is baked to crisp in the oven. If you want to use sautรฉed ground sausage, great!
For a vegetarian option, seasoned black beans or seasoned pinto beans wouldd be perfect!
Let it all come down to whatcha like and whatcha got in your fridge.
Corn tortillas are fried in about a 1/4-inch of oil. The crisp tortillas will stand up well to the diced tomatoes and eggs.
Store-bought chips won’t have the same effect.
Baked corn tortilla wedges will also work just fine, though they’ll become more tender and less crisp in the frittata.
Just so you know your tortilla options!
Eight eggs + a good splash of milk. A hearty pinch of salt + a hearty grinding of black pepper.
Crisp chips are wedges into the tomato mixture every which way.
We want the chips sticking up a bit. It’s all about the crispy bits.
Crisp chopped bacon atop the chips.
Egg mixture + grated cheese.
Off to bake in the oven until the eggs puff slightly and firm up, just about 30 minutes.
With sour cream, salsa and a spritz of lime this dish is DONE!
Sliced into thick wedges, you’ll find a layer of warm garlicy tomatoes, tender baked eggs tangled with crisp tortillas and bacon bites…. all topped with melty cheese.
Dang good. Breakfast, yes. Brunch, of course. Dinner? Heck yes!
Make it with what you have on hand. Make it easy… just make sure there’s enough sour cream and salsa to go around. Fighting about sour cream is real and avoidable.
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Chilaquiles Frittata Bake
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 tortillas, each tortilla cut into 6 wedges
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
- 6 sliced crisp bacon, diced
- 8 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1/2 cup grated monterey or pepper jack cheese
- chopped fresh parsley, a dollop of sour cream, a dollop of salsa for topping
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a 10-inch cast iron (or any other oven-proof skillet) heat can of tomatoes (juice and all) over medium heat until it simmers around the edges. Add the sliced garlic and spices, and simmer until some of the juice simmers off, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat.
- In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add some of the tortilla wedges, being careful not to crowd the pan. Fry until both sides of the tortilla wedges are golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a few layers of paper towel to drain. Salt lightly and continue cooking the tortillas in batches.
- Layer the fresh tortilla chips into the warm tomatoes and garlic. Dig some of the chips into the tomato and layer the chips around the edges. Some of the chips can be sticking up, not everything has to be flat.
- Sprinkle in chopped bacon.
- In a medium bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Pour over the tomato, chip and bacon mixture. Top with grated cheese.
- Place in the oven and bake until the eggs are set, 25 – 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh parsley, and a big dollop of sour cream and salsa. Enjoy warm in big slices!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
38 Responses
This recipe is delicious! I added sweet roasted sweet potato to mine and served with a dollop of greek yogurt, avocado and pico de gallo and it was fantastic. I recently came up with the idea to start a virtual #sundaybrunchclub (@shaina_kolzow) – a cooking club on instagram to bring us together again over a “shared” given the current social distancing state we are still practicing. It’s been such a fun experience on Sundays and this was the chosen recipe for yesterday’s group. There was about 15 of us participating and everyone absolutely loved this recipe!
Thanks Joy! The brunch club is open to anyone/everyone – it has actually made sundays feel like we have plans again and it’s fantastic!
So delicious! My husband really like it. Thanks for sharing!
Melissa @ Insiderthekitchen.com
Made this as is and it was excellent. Topped with a little crรจme…it’s a keeper.
Music to my ears!
I made this tonight, it was so great! I stirred in some peas at the end.
Sounds delicious!
Delicious! I made this for dinner tonight. We really enjoyed it. Thx for taking the time to post this recipe.
Ooops, forgot to add tofu and nut cheese for the vegan section . . .
With a vegan, vegetarian, and 2 meat eaters in the family, I think soyrizo would be a great addition here. Can’t wait to make it. Sounds amazing!
Love this! What skillet is that? Is it a Vintage Griswold? I found one a few months ago and going through the whole cleaning, restoration and teseasoning process was so cathartic and now every time I cook in it I feel that much more happy about my cooking! So now I’m looking for more pans! Love that handle on both ends!
Joy, I have just discovered your wonderful website and I think it’s just re sparked my love for baking! Going to take a look at your recipe books now! Keep up the good work! Amber xx | https://www.missbird.co.uk
love all of these ingredients, thank you for this, great balance of flavors, and nice dose of protein!
My son loves cooking, when I read this article I though nice to share with him. He was so excited with this article. It is very informative and clear to the point. The method is simple. The result was amazing. When preparing this, ensure that appetite is big enough. Thank you
Woah, I’ve never heard of this. Its like nachos and quiche came together and made a sexy breakfast baby – with guac. Please say we can add guac Joy!
https://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com/
I want to eat this RIGHT NOW! And I love that background you’re shooting on, too!
I’ve never seen anything like this!! And I like that I can eat it time of day… even if before I’m beginning to get ‘hangry’! ; o )
We had this for dinner tonight (without bacon because I’m a savage who doesn’t like it) and it was crazy delicious. The kind of comforting meal I was craving. Keep doing your magic, Joy!
OMG, this is the dinner of my dreams.
Chilaquiles just went off the brunch menu at the restaurant where I work, so I need more chilaquiles in my life. I’ve never seen a chilaquiles frittata before, though. This looks brilliant, and I’m going to have to try your recipe.
Oh my word, that all looks so YUM! May have to scrap dinner plans tonight so I can make this instead.
This is genius. I think I just found the perfect way to eat everything I crave at 1am.
so, i have this thing with soggy foods. i don’t do bread pudding. or tres leches. no tortilla strips in my tortilla soup. i won’t even dip my cookies in milk until they’re so soggy they fall apart. *gag*
with that said, my heart is sad that this looks SO good (and easy) but i won’t have it. if i omit the chips, i feel like it would just be… skillet eggs.
i guess this is a long winded way of asking: do the chips stay crispy? *fingers crossed*
Jeanette, I make this dish on the stove top, and you can ensure that the chips stay crispy by: (1) cook them until they’re very, very crispy (on the verge of being overdone); and (2) scramble the eggs with the enchilada sauce and add the chips and cheese in just before they’re set.
This is breakfast lunch dinner and a midnight snack!
Chilaquiles + frittata = heaven!
Why not use a bag of “Thick and Crispy Gruesos” from Casa Sanchez instead of frying up your own? I know this is supposed to be from scratch, but if you’re using canned tomatoes go ahead and use a bag of chips. OH my I will make this, and it will be all that AND a bag of chips. :-) Thank you, Girlfriend.
If you have a good thick chip that you love, go for it of course! Enjoy!
Hey! These look phenomenal :) Question, though. I’ve heard that you shouldn’t cook acidic foods, like tomatoes, in cast iron…let alone a whole can of them. Is that just a “wives’ tale” of sorts?
Hmmm. Good question. I haven’t heard that but you sure may be right.
It’s just so you don’t remove the seasoning from your pan. It doesn’t do anything bad to you or your food, you’ll just have to reseason your pan when you’re done
Erika Tracy at @kitchn posts: A well-seasoned pan can handle acidic foods with impunity…wait until your [cast iron pan] is well-seasoned… very acidic foods, like tomatoes and citrus juices…will strip the seasoning and result in discoloration and metallic-tasting food.
This look so good… I need to make this at some point!
Aleeha xXx
https://www.halesaaw.com/
Dreamy!
What brunch (lunch, dinner, midnight snack) dreams are made of.
Holy crap, Joy. This is my favorite kind of food. I really wish I wasn’t dieting.
As if I needed another excuse to host brunch. Can’t wait to try these!
Ummm, yes, please!
Oh. My. These look so delicious – revising my shopping list right now to make this asap!