Mexican recipe

Chilaquiles Verdes

Name: Chilaquiles Verdes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexican cuisine
Ingredients: 18 corn tortillas, preferably day-old; 350 ml neutral oil for frying; 900 g tomatillos, husked and rinsed; 2 serrano chiles; 140 g white onion, divided; 2 garlic cloves; 35 g cilantro, divided; 300 ml chicken or vegetable stock; 20 ml neutral oil for salsa; 9 g fine salt; 150 g Mexican crema; 180 g queso fresco, crumbled

Crisp tortilla triangles tossed briefly in roasted tomatillo salsa so they soften at the edges but keep some bite, then topped with crema, queso fresco, onion and cilantro.

Central Mexico

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 55 min
Servings: 6

Green chilaquiles with crema, queso fresco, onion and cilantro — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by T.TsengSource page · Original file · CC BY 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

18
corn tortillas, preferably day-old
350 ml
neutral oil for frying
900 g
tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2
serrano chiles
140 g
white onion, divided
2
garlic cloves
35 g
cilantro, divided
300 ml
chicken or vegetable stock
20 ml
neutral oil for salsa
9 g
fine salt
150 g
Mexican crema
180 g
queso fresco, crumbled

Method

01
Dry and cut the tortillas
If the tortillas are fresh, leave them uncovered for 30 minutes, then cut each into 6 triangles so they fry evenly.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Fry the tortilla chips
Heat the frying oil to 175°C and fry the triangles in batches for 2–3 minutes until crisp and pale gold; drain well.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Roast the salsa vegetables
Roast the tomatillos, serranos, half the onion and garlic for 10–12 minutes, turning until softened with browned spots.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Blend the green salsa
Blend the roasted vegetables with 20 g cilantro, stock and half the salt until smooth but still bright green.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Cook the salsa
Heat the salsa oil in a wide skillet, add the puree and simmer for 8 minutes until slightly reduced; season with the remaining salt.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Toss chips briefly in salsa
Add the crisp tortilla chips to the simmering salsa and fold gently for 60–90 seconds, coating them without turning the whole batch soft.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Add cool garnishes
Transfer immediately to a platter and top with crema, queso fresco, thin slices of the remaining onion and the remaining 15 g cilantro.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Serve before they lose texture
Serve within 5 minutes so the sauced edges are tender while the thicker centres still retain a little crunch.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Keep the frying oil steadily hot and work in small batches; tortillas and chile batter should sizzle immediately without darkening before the centre is ready.
Drain fried food on a rack rather than stacking it; trapped steam softens a crisp crust quickly.

Common mistakes

Adding too much food at once crashes the oil temperature and gives greasy, pale coating.
Covering hot fried food traps steam and removes the crisp texture you worked to build.

Substitutions

A neutral high-heat oil such as canola, peanut or refined sunflower oil can be used for frying.
When a recipe calls for briefly softening corn tortillas in oil, warming them on a comal is a lighter alternative; expect a less silky, slightly drier fold.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

Chilaquiles turn tortillas and salsa into a flexible Mexican breakfast or light meal. The exact balance between crisp and soft is personal and regional, so the final toss is deliberately brief here.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Chilaquiles verde (42315000854) — Photograph by T.Tseng; CC BY 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Mexican recipes

Chilaquiles Verdes

Ingredients

Method

Dry and cut the tortillas

Fry the tortilla chips

Roast the salsa vegetables

Blend the green salsa

Cook the salsa

Toss chips briefly in salsa

Add cool garnishes

Serve before they lose texture

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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