Chilaquiles: The Ultimate Mexican Comfort Food

I love adult daughters! When I fractured my foot, my youngest daughter cleared her calendar the week before her fall semester teaching schedule began and came home for three days to take care of me. Since she was officially in charge of the kitchen, she made me her specialty, Chilaquiles.

This tasty dish will satisfy both Mexican food aficionados and those hinky about the hot stuff. It’s so adaptable, you can make it as hot or mild as you want. Chilaquiles falls in the category of truly authentic dishes because you make it with what you have on hand and what works for you. It’s a warm comfort food that says, “I care and I want you to feel better.” Christine tells me it freezes quite well too so you can make it ahead for a friend in need.

Here’s how you make Chilaquiles.

First line a greased pan with corn tortillas. No corn tortillas? Use tortilla chips. When I made it after I got back on my feet, I lightly fry my tortillas or as the recipe below says, I cook them briefly in the oven, but you don’t have to.

Next, saute hamburger and onion. Stir in grated zucchini, spices, and a can of black beans. (What a great way to sneak zucchini past my husband!) The orginal recipe calls for a can of diced tomatoes, a lot more onion, and frozen corn. I opted out. You can also use cooked chicken instead of the hamburger or, for a vegetarian dish, skip the meat all together.

Layer half of the tortillas in your dish, half of the bean mixture on top, half the can of enchilada sauce, then half of the cheese. Repeat the layers.

Bake until it’s bubbly and serve with whatever fresh fruit and veggies you have on hand. Doesn’t it look yummy?

It’s so good. The best part? Having someone invade my kitchen and make it for me. Christine was one of two sweet people who did that while I recovered. What a gift of grace!

Chilaquiles

We all have those recipes that we adapt to use what we have on hand. This recipe for Chilaquiles is one of those wonderful recipes. Best of all, it's tasty enough to make for those who share a love of more spicy food.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup diced onions
• 1 medium zucchini, grated
• 1 15 oz can black beans
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatos
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp red chile powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 corn tortillas, quartered
• olive oil
• 1 15 oz can green or red enchilada sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Lay quartered tortillas in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Lightly brush with oil. Bake in oven 3-5 minutes, enough to soften and very slightly crisp the edges.
• Cook hamburger until pink is gone. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Drain grease. Stir in zucchini, beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin, chili powder, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.
• Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the pan. Top with half the vegetable mixture, half the enchilada sauce and half the cheese. Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese. Cover with foil.
• Bake the casserole for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10minutes more.

Notes

Variations:

1. Use 1 cup chicken instead of the ground beef.
2. Omit the corn and or tomatoes. 
3. Add 1/2 cup diced green pepper.
4. Don’t bother oiling and baking the corn tortillas.
5. Don’t worry about can sizes. They vary! Add what looks right to you.
6. In a pinch, use corn tortilla chips instead of the corn tortillas.

Course: Main Course