Baked tortilla chips slathered in enchilada sauce, black beans, and sauteed kale and topped with eggs, avocado, salsa, and cheese makes a satisfying twist on traditional chilaquiles.
I was first introduced to chilaquiles, tortilla chips sauteed in red chile sauce, as a hangover cure when I worked as a server at a Santa Cruz restaurant during college. Though I never tested this theory (I rarely want to eat anything at all when I'm hungover, least of all spicy, greasy chips) I did develop a fondness for the chilaquiles served at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market in San Francisco. Market-goers line up around the block for an order of Primavera's thick, handmade tortillas fried into chips and slathered with red sauce and fried eggs.
Chilaquiles popped into my head when my friend Amelia dropped by for brunch the other day. I had a jar of enchilada sauce in the cupboard, a new bag of Rancho Gordo tortillas, a bunch of kale, and a can of black beans.
The most tedious aspect of making chilaquiles is standing over the stove, frying tortillas in batches. They always seem to soak up too much oil, which splatters all over the place, and they never get quite crisp enough. So I threw them in the oven instead, and since it was already hot, I baked everything in there as well, even the eggs. Chilaquiles success!
Erika a.k.a. The Pancake Princess came over the other day and we styled and shot this recipe together. A native Californian, Erika has lives in Houston, Texas where she's pursuing an MBA. Since chilaquiles are a Tex Mex dish, and we're both good kale-loving Californians, we felt that this dish was a perfect combination of our places of residence.
Erika makes amazing things like this, and this, and these. I'm absolutely in love with her recipes and photos, and she's one of the kindest people on the planet to boot.She's an incredibly talented food photographer and stylist.
Also, kale model.
We had so much fun! Check out her beautiful behind-the-scenes photos from our afternoon togetherhere.
This dish reminds me of a cross between nachos and enchiladas, but
brunchier. Our eggs seemed to cook at different rates, which worked out
well for us. Jay likes his firm, Erika likes hers runny, and I like mine right in the middle.
I could hardly wait for the shoot to be over so I could devour this plate of chilaquiles. They make a pretty simple brunch dish that can please a crowd (if you double it and bake it in a lasagna pan). One day I'll go all out and make my own enchilada sauce, but Sweet Creek's is a huge time-saver, and it comes in mild, medium and spicy (we used medium). Black beans and kale appeal to my Californian sensibility, but I'm not afraid to get a little Texas by piling on the cheese.
Sadly I'm down with a cold and won't be drinking enough champers tomorrow night to test out the hangover theory...
but that doesn't mean you can't.
Wishing everyone a happy and delicious new year!
More Brunch Recipes:
- Baked Rolled Barley with Berries, Figs, and Cardamom
- Potato and Green Garlic Crustless Quiche with Goat Cheese and Chives {Gluten-Free}
- Saffron, Ricotta and Pea Pancakes {Gluten-Free}
- Tangerine-Glazed Poppy Seed Brunch Cake
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this baked chilaquiles recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Baked Chilaquiles with Black Beans and Kale
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
For the chilaquiles:
- 10 (6") corn tortillas, cut into sixths
- a few tablespoons light cooking oil (such as sunflower)
- sea or kosher salt, as needed
- 1 (16-ounce) jar red enchilada sauce (I use Sweet Creek's medium sauce)
- 1/2 a small yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and torn into large pieces
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, drained, rinsed, and drained again
- 4-6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup packed, grated mild melting cheese such as jack or goat gouda
For serving:
- chevre, feta, or cotija cheese, crumbled
- cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
- salsa
- 1 or 2 ripe avocados, sliced
- sour cream or thick, whole milk yogurt
Instructions
Make the chips:
- Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 400ºF.
- Cut the tortillas into sixths and place on a baking sheet. Toss with enough oil to coat lightly and a few pinches of salt, and spread on two baking sheets. Bake until golden and crisp, 10-15 minutes.
Make the chilaquiles:
- Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil in a wide skillet set over a medium flame. Add the onion and cook, stirring until tender, 5 minutes. Add the kale, a splash of water, and a big pinch of salt, and cook until wilted, 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Place the tortilla chips in a large bowl, pour in the enchilada sauce, and toss with your hands to coat. Fold in the cooked kale and the black beans. Oil a large baking dish (I use an 8x12-inch oval one) and spread in the tortilla mixture and any sauce hanging out on the bottom of the bowl. Bake until the chips are hot and starting to crisp a bit around the edges, 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on the cheese.
- Use the back of a soup spoon to make 4-6 divots in the chips (depending on how many eggs you want). Carefully crack the eggs into the divots and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt. Return to the oven and bake until the eggs are set to your liking, 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, scatter the cotija and cilantro over the top, and serve immediately with the salsa, avocado, sour cream, and lime wedges for drizzling over the tops.
Notes
Nutrition
This looks so so good! I have a huge bunch of kale waiting in the crisper... hmmm ;) Have a Happy New Year!
Omigosh, I will most certainly be making these this weekend. They look amazing! Chilaquiles are one of my favorite dishes and they don't seem to be as popular as they should be on the West Coast!
What!!! I miss this!!! It was my own fault to not be able to join :(
Anyway, I love when I see talented bloggers created the post together. It always came out fun & wonderful, this one included :)
Happy New Year to you & Erika. Hope you feel better soon & wishing you both (& Jay) the best 2015. xoxo
YAY two of my favorites together!!!!!!! This looked like so much fun and SO. DELICIOUS. Ohhhhh my goodness I cannot even handle how good these look. My stomach is growling just looking at them. So incredible, ladies!! Happy New Year to you both (though boo for the cold!! Feel better soon!)
Oh my goodness, you are too kind. Thank you Cynthia!
I love how meals like this can be eaten any time of day! Just love this recipe.
Completely!
Hi Alanna, this looks incredible, I can't wait to try this out! I was wondering if I could use tortilla chips from a bag? Would they be too crunchy? I'm in the UK and getting a hold of corn tortillas can be a bit of a mission!
I think pre-fab chips would work just fine. Let me know if you try it!
Ashleigh, Marks and Spencer have corn tortillas! :)
Just finished this! Fabulous! Loved the baking the tortillas instead of frying. I used salsa verde that I canned in the summer, omitted the kale, as it was 20 degrees outside this am(!) and I didn't go into the garden. But still, love your recipes!
Yikes, chilly! Salsa verde sounds delicious here, yum! :)
Dear Alanna, I wish you a Happy New Year, full of great recipes, bright pictures and a lot of new readers!
You make a wonderful work!
Happy New Year for you and your family!
From Buenos Aires, Argentina...
Marisa
Aw, thanks Marisa. :)
Chilaquiles! YUM! These look especially delicious and I love the addition of kale. :)
And happy, HAPPY New Year to you! I feel extra lucky to have met you this year.
Aw, so sweet! I'm glad to have met you too! :)
Way to go making me hungry right now.. I am just drooling here over all the images of these baked chilaquiles! Pinned!
Ha! Thanks. :)
What beautiful photos!!!! This dish looks amazing!!! #hungry
Would have LOVED to test out the hangover cure theory this morning! Sounds delicious and lovely photos as usual! Happy New Year!
Ha!
This looks incredible! Happy New Year and can't wait to see all the deliciousness coming out of your kitchen in 2015! Your blog always inspires me!
D'awww, thanks Liz. :D
Oh man.. this looks so so so delicious. I am making this for our Sunday breakfast.
Happy new year Alanna!
Yay!! Did you like it?
This looks amazing! Happy New Year!
You too!
I'm forever inspired by your work, Alanna! Thank you for this! I throughly enjoyed seeing your process through The Pancake Princess' lens and what a fun recipe to work through together... then devour! Funny though, I'm from Texas and just recently learned of Chilaquiles... How did I go so long in life without these!? Fabulous recipe!! Thank you, Alanna! Happy New Year to you too!!
Thanks Traci! I hope you get to try them soon, I think they'll be right up your alley.
Your photos are unbelievably beautiful. I also love how quick and easy this recipe can be thrown together. I haven't had chilaquiles in years and this has definitely inspired me to make it!
Thanks Christina!
Alanna, this is awesome. I love chilaquiles and I love that you made these with Erika! She's such a gem. Happy New Year and cheers to all that 2015 will bring!
She is indeed a gem. Thanks Alana!
Dear Alanna,
my 13-year-old and I just finished this for lunch -- YUM! Definitely four thumbs up!
We noticed that the frozen corn kernels live just next to the frozen kale and added a handful or two. The whole thing was fairly fast and extremely tasty Thanks!
Yay! Corn sound perfect here... now I'm dreaming of a summer version! Thanks!
This is gorgeous and looks so delicious!!! and what a delightful surprise to see Erika from The Pancake Princess here.. I love her and her blog! Happy New Year. . can't wait to try this!
She's the best! Thanks!
Ahhh this looks like SUCH a fun time! I had no idea that they served chilaquiles at the Farmer's Market - going to search immediately for this. Love Erika too - kale model hahahhahaha.
Yeah, from Primavera - they're epic! :)
Absolutely love this collaboration; it's so good to see some of my favourite people working together! Happy new year to you too Alanna; I wish you every happiness for 2015 xo
Awww, thank you Kathryn. We wish you could have joined us. Some day!
Beautiful photography. It looks like you had a really great time and this looks like the perfect dish for brunch.
Thanks Lynn!
This is so so gorgeous! I love dropping by your site and finding inspiration! You are so talented!
Aw thank you. :)
Hope you're feeling better!
And, oh my. Love the dish, love the photos — HOW is that eggshell cracked so perfectly in half? Amazing.
Thanks lady! I am. Egg cracking is just one of Erika's many talents!
This looks so incredible! Happy New Year!
Thanks! Drooling over your raw nanaimo bars - yummm!
My favorite line: "This dish reminds me of a cross between nachos and enchiladas, but brunchier. " And I love the fact that you actually hang out with food blogging friends IRL. I need to do that more often. It is so inspiring as clearly shown by these beautiful shots.
Haha, thanks Katie! I dream of visiting Vermont one day IRL too. :)
MOTHER OF MARY THIS LOOKS AMAZING. As soon as I'm done with this blasted Whole 30 I am making this!
Ha! Thanks and good luck!
This is so beautiful!! I found your link over at Erika's blog and I'm already in love with these colourful, healthy chilaquiles! As an Australian I have to admit that I've never heard of this particular Tex Mex dish. We do tend to eat heaps of tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas but the closest I've come to this sort of deliciousness is eating nachos. Can't wait to try your recipe! xx
Ah, thank you Laura! I'm a huge fan of your site and appreciate the kind note very much!
Wow this sounds AMAZING!!!!! Holy crap I need to try this. I don't know why I haven't really been to your site before, but I'm glad I found you via Erika (one of my favs). It was so cool to see what the two of you did together.
Thanks for stopping by!
Your photography is BEAUTIFUL. So inspiring and just what I needed as I set out on a big shoot this weekend! Thank you! So happy to have found your blog! :)
Wow, thank you! Your photos are gorgeous, so that's quite the compliment. :D
Thank YOU, Alanna!!! That's quite the compliment coming from YOU! I love your work and drool-worthy recipes! :)
Hermosas fotos! Y receta muy original
Gracias!
About the fifth big batch I've made...this time with black & kidney beans, red & green enchilada sauce, mixed greens, and added corn (a nice touch, I think).
https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/28337562_10154963747291403_4088239089963333164_o.jpg?oh=611a4fddba30d6e779b265e1ea5e9203&oe=5B16B897
What a beaut! Can we come over please?!