Nopales Chilaquiles

Most Americans have never thought of cactus as an edible item. After all, it’s covered in sharp thorns. But, in many South and Central American countries, it’s a staple food. It’s especially good in breakfast dishes and goes really well in this Nopales Chilaquiles.

Chilaquiles is one of my favorite breakfasts and this version feels a bit fancier than my normal throw-all-leftovers-in-a-skillet version. It’s still a very fast breakfast though and is filling enough to keep you going until lunch or even an early dinner.

What are chilaquiles?

Chilaquiles is kind of a general name for a breakfast dish that includes corn tortillas (or tortilla chips) vegetables, and eggs all mixed together in a skillet. I’ve made other versions over the years like this chipotle chilaquiles which packs a spicy punch.

Chilaquiles are great for leftovers and I’ll frequently repurpose the tailend of a bag of tortilla chips into a delicious skillet breakfast with some basic Tex-Mex ingredients.

What are Nopales and How to Clean them

Nopales is the Spanish word for Cactus and while it can be hard to find fresh cactus at American groceries, if you go to any Mexican or Latin grocer, they will have them piled up high and you can take your pick. Just be careful as they do have thorns!

Cleaning cactus is the hardest part of this entire recipe. The way I do it is to hold the end of the cactus with a dishcloth and use a knife to scrape off the thorns. This works pretty well and will get 90% of them. Then you can go through and cut out any remaining thorns. Here’s a simple video as well showing the method I like to use for cleaning cactus.

Once you get the hang of it you can do it pretty quickly and you don’t need a bunch for these Nopales Chilaquiles.

Ingredients for Chilaquiles

Ultimately you can use dozens of items in a chilaquiles dish. Use whatever bits of veggies you have in your fridge. But here are some basics that I always like in mine.

• Tortilla chips or corn tortillas. You can use either, but you want a crispy corn something.
• Aromatics like onions or garlic are always good.
• Green peppers, spicy or not, or green vegetables like cactus.
• Eggs. A must!
• Cheese. I like queso fresco and cheddar cheese.
• Salsa. Homemade salsa or store-bought works fine.
• Sour cream
• Avocado

Tips for making great nopales chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is an easy dish to make and you shouldn’t overthink it. Here are a few tips though to make sure it comes out as good as possible.

I like to make sure to cook the chilaquiles in layers. In this recipe, start with the cactus, onion, and jalapeno and cook them for a few minutes so they soften and get aromatic.

Then add the chips or corn tortillas and cook them so they get browned and crispy.

For the final step, add the eggs and cheese and stir that together. Then cover it and let it steam for a few minutes until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted.

What to serve with chilaquiles

The basics you’ll need for chilaquiles is just salsa really. But there are loads of options you can serve with the dish.

I like scallions or cilantro with mine, but also try sour cream and avocado if you have some.

Have you tried nopales or chilaquiles or BOTH?!

This is a fun recipe and really unique and delicious!