Enjoy these low carb chilaquiles for brunch this weekend! A Mexican-inspired recipe with tortilla chips, red enchilada sauce, and fried eggs!

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So what ARE chilaquiles (pronounced chee-luh-key-lays)? Here's what wiki says:

Corn tortillas are cut into quarters and lightly fried (or baked for a lighter version). Green or red sauce is poured over the crisp tortilla triangles. The mixture is simmered until the tortilla starts softening. It is commonly garnished with crema, crumbled queso fresco, raw onion rings and avocado slices. Chilaquiles can be served with refried beans, eggs (scrambled or fried) and guacamole as side dishes. As with many Mexican dishes, regional and family variations are quite common. Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover tortillas and salsas."

I first saw chilaquiles on a takeout menu for a local restaurant and decided to investigate - especially as I love all Mexican food! I discovered that I could easily low-carbify the dish; combining several ingredients and recipes that I already had available:

Homemade low carb tortilla chips
Low carb red sauce (salsa roja) - adapted from Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Poblanos
Seasoning for the sauce above is my Mexican Spice Blend
Queso Fresco - I had some left over from my recent Keto Pão de Queijo and Scrambled Eggs with Queso Fresco recipes

I decided to skip the onion rings and replace with radishes (which I had seen in this recipe), add fried eggs, sliced avocado, and cilantro. Who needs refried beans?!? Oh, and if you'd rather make chilaquiles verde, you could use my low carb green chile sauce!

How to Make Low Carb Chilaquiles Rojos

This is one of those dishes where quite a lot happens right at the end of the preparation, so I'd recommend making the chips and sauce in advance. Both keep well for up to a week!

Prepare the chips by following my low carb tortilla chips recipe. And yes, it might seen a little counter-intuitive to take soft tortillas, crisp them, and then soften them again - but you won't get the right texture if you don't crisp them first!

To make the sauce, combine canned tomato sauce, paprika, cumin, dried oregano, and onion powder in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a low simmer for five minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

When the chips and sauce are ready, prepare the toppings: sliced avocado, sliced radishes, and crumbled queso fresco, then set aside. In a small non-stick pan fry two eggs. At the same time, add the chips and sauce to a small cast iron skillet or similar, and place over a low-medium heat.

When the chips have softened a little (but not soggy!), sprinkle the queso fresco over the top and add the avocado and radishes.

Finally, add the fried eggs, season with black pepper, and garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

The combination of all the textures and flavors in these keto chilaquiles is SO good!

📖 Recipe

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