Breakfast Enchiladas

Breakfast enchiladas video (scroll down for recipe)

Last year, my pal Larry requested more Texas-style breakfast recipes. While I don’t claim to have ever had any type of “breakfast enchiladas” before I made them myself, that was the first idea that popped into my head when I read that request. It took several trials (not so many tribulations, because all the versions were pretty damn good) to get this version that everyone luuuvvveddd. Of course, potatoes belong in a breakfast enchilada, and of course they must be topped with fried or poached eggs, and of course you need a badass chili sauce to soak the tortillas in. That’s the minimum. I know, because I invented these.

(Check out this post for how to poach an egg! )

BUT. You can also use cooked, crumbled bacon in place of chorizo. I tried this, too, and it wasn’t my favorite, but you might like it. OR you could leave the chorizo out entirely and saute your onions in a little oil instead to make a vegetarian breakfast enchilada. This is quite delicious, as well.

I added some greenery to the potatoes in the form of spinach, but kale or diced peppers would probably be good, too. Cotija cheese is always a favorite, but if it’s hard to find where you live, add shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar instead. Basically, the world is your breakfast enchilada and you can put whatever you want in it. Except oysters. But maybe oysters are okay, too.

AND DID I MENTION. If you’re lazy and/or “time frugal” you can use frozen hash brown potatoes for the boiled potatoes. No need to thaw (in fact, don’t) just mix right in with the other stuff and bake for an extra 10 minutes.

breakfast enchiladas

Breakfast Enchilada Recipe – Printable!

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Breakfast Enchiladas

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4.5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Hilah Johnson
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 3 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • Salsa
  • 2 chile guajillos
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Enchiladas
  • 3 ounces Mexican chorizo
  • 2 boiled red potatoes (or 2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes)
  • 1 packed cup kale or spinach leaves
  • 1/4 cup diced onion
  • 1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
  • 6 corn tortillas
  • Spray oil
  • 36 eggs

Instructions

  1. For the salsa, break the stems from the peppers and rinse them. Place in a pot with the water and bring to boil. Turn off the heat and drop in the peeled garlic clove. Allow to sit 10 minutes, covered, while you make the filling.
  2. If using chorizo, crumble it into a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until the fat has renderd and the sausage is cooked (if omitting, just put some oil into a skillet and continue…)
  3. Saute the onion for 2-3 minutes in the same skillet until just barely becoming translucent.
  4. Turn off the heat and stir in potatoes and spinach. Mash the potatoes to get a filling that will stick together somewhat. Stir in the cheese.
  5. Back to the salsa: Lift the peppers out of the hot water by the tips, letting the seeds fall back into the water. Add the peppers, garlic and about 1/2 cup of the cooking water to a blender and blend until smooth. Be sure to allow the blender lid to vent to prevent pressure build-up from blending hot liquids. Season with salt. Set aside.
  6. Set oven to 350F
  7. Spray each tortilla with a little oil and stack on a plate. Microwave 30-45 seconds or until pliable.
  8. Spread about half the sauce into a 7×11 inch casserole. Run each tortilla through the sauce on both sides, then fill with a handful of potato mix and roll up. Lay filled enchiladas in a 7×11″ pan. Spread enough sauce over top to keep tortillas moist while baking.
  9. Bake for about 10 minutes until heated through, or microwave about 5 minutes.
  10. In the meantime, fry or poach your eggs.
  11. Serve enchiladas topped with eggs and a bit more sauce.
  12. For single serve: Place two rolled enchiladas on each plate and keep plates warm in the oven while you fry the eggs in some butter. Top each enchilada plate with one or two fried eggs and a spoonful more salsa. Serve.

Notes

FOR FROZEN POTATOES: No need to thaw frozen hash brown potatoes. Just assemble as directed using frozen potatoes, arrange in casserole dish, top with more sauce and bake at 350F for 20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 enchiladas
  • Calories: 275
  • Fat: 6
  • Carbohydrates: 45
  • Protein: 11

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breakfast enchilada recipe

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17 Comments

  1. aneelee on March 1, 2014 at 10:04 am

    why it did not occur to me to put a fried egg ON TOP of an enchilada before now is befuddling. breakfast for tomorrow is officially planned! thank you.

    • Hilah on March 3, 2014 at 9:49 am

      Hope you enjoyed, Aneelee! 😀

  2. CurtCole on March 1, 2014 at 1:59 pm

    These look delicious! Can’t wait to try them out. What is your opinion on tofu chorizo as a modification to this recipe? Better to leave it out and be happy with the egg as a protein source? Any type of spice concoction that would give the potatoes a meaty/chorizo-y flavor? Thank you and glad you are back.






    • Bob on March 2, 2014 at 12:46 pm

      Had the same thought about using fake chorizo. Though not a vegetarian I limit my meats to things I can both identify and evaluate.

      • Bob on March 2, 2014 at 12:49 pm

        Shit, sorry, also glad to see Hilah back, both for her personally and for my entertainment as I appreciate her cutting through a lot of food bulls**t.

        • Hilah on March 3, 2014 at 9:42 am

          Thanks, Bob!
          And yes, veggie chorizo would be good. I think that is one of the best fake meats out there right now.

    • Hilah on March 3, 2014 at 9:49 am

      I love soy chorizo! It’s very similar to the “real thing” to me and I think it would work great. Or you could just season the potatoes and onions heavily with paprika and cumin and maybe some smoked paprika, too. Minced, reconstituted shiitake mushrooms also make a good “meaty” sub in my opinion, if you wanted to add an ounce or so of those with the seasoning.

    • Double D on November 20, 2020 at 10:04 am

      Leftover beef enchiladas with sunny side up eggs. Doesn’t get any better 🙂

  3. Diane on March 1, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    Guero’s has a Santa Fe enchilada on the menu, topped with a fried egg. But the fillings are just their standards (still good but not breakfasty). And I’m totally running with “time frugal” from here on!

    • Hilah on March 3, 2014 at 9:45 am

      Oh cool! I’m not surprised at all that this thing already exists, but I’m happy to hear mine is more breakfasty. XOXO

  4. Pat Soltis on March 2, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    Hilah,

    Good to see you again!! I missed your videos, although I certainly understand that you needed some space in which to take care of yourself. Hope you’re doing better.

    Frying eggs in a cast iron skillet: lard works too.

    In the far south of Italy olive oil is an extravagance. Believe it or not, lard is cheap. I have a recipe from Naples in which you sauté a couple of smashed garlic cloves in lard in a black skillet. Then you throw the garlic away, and, while the pasta is cooking, you fry an egg or tow, sunny-side-up, in the same grease.

    Break the cooked egg(s) into the cooked pasta with a couple of forks.

    Good stuff.

    best,

    pat

    • Hilah on March 3, 2014 at 9:42 am

      Hi Pat!
      Thank you. 🙂 I have some lard left from holiday baking. I’ll give that a try. The recipe you mention reminds me of spaghetti carbonara a little. Sounds yum.

      • Pat Soltis on March 4, 2014 at 4:55 pm

        Although I love carbonara too, the impression made by the dish I described is somewhat different. No pancetta. No cheese. No cream and no peas. As far as I can tell peas and cream are American contributions. Never encountered them in carbonara in Rome.

        What you get in the Neapolitan dish is distinguishable shreds of cooked egg white, while, as with carbonara. the egg yolks coat everything and help to distribute the flavor of the garlic.. I don’t worry about salmonella.

        Pat

  5. James on March 7, 2014 at 11:31 am

    To be honest chilli stuff has not occured to me for breakfast. For me this will have to be a late bruch type trough.

    Chillies are also a problem with me here in England. I tasted my first chilli given to me by a Lebanese guy in Riyadh some 40 years ago now, who wahtched me gleefully while he, then I took a big mouthful. My mouth was on fire and he watched me intently. I said something like “Good” and took another bite, I am English afterall. He looked dissapointed and we drove back to the accomadation.

    So now I like chillies but I normally buy bottled ones because they seem to last. I am jelous of your (Hilah’s) access to such stuff. Most of the time I err on the side of too hot but I have found a cold glass of wine sorts that out.
    I am going to try this recipe – but in the middle afternoon – with a poached egg cos that is what I like. Streuth the Buffalo wings (drumsticks in my case) came out just fine.

    James






    • Hilah on March 9, 2014 at 10:59 am

      Ha! Oh no! That is a funny story, even if it was painful at the time! 🙂
      This would be a perfect lunch or brunch dish, too. Do you have “brunch” in England?

  6. Stephanie on April 12, 2014 at 3:49 am

    Hey Hilah, Is it ok to get everything ready before hand, like two days before, refrigerate it, then heat it up in the oven?

    • Hilah on April 12, 2014 at 8:18 am

      Hi Stephanie! I think that would be okay. You could roll the enchiladas, then spray with some oil and cover very tightly with plastic wrap. Store the rest of the sauce separately (refridge, obv) then before baking, pour the sauce over and bake for maybe 30 minutes. I think this will keep the tortillas from getting too saturated with sauce and going soggy, but I haven’t tried it.

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