Chilaquiles are one of those dishes that seem like it requires a lot, but really don't. Tortilla chips soaked in chile sauce, topped with eggs and cheese, it's a Mexican staple eaten at breakfast and brunch that's surprisingly simple to pull off at home. Swap the chips for pork rinds, and you've got a version that's low-carb, packed with protein, and just as satisfying as the original.
This recipe uses a homemade salsa roja built from dried guajillo chiles, blistered tomatoes, and garlic. It takes about 30 minutes start to finish and works equally well for a lazy weekend brunch or a quick weeknight dinner.
The sauce is where the flavor lives. Toasting the onion, tomatoes, and garlic before simmering them with dried peppers pulls out a smoky depth you can't get from a jarred salsa. Guajillo chiles are mild with a slightly fruity, earthy taste. Want more heat? The arbol chile handles that. Leave it out for a milder version.
Pork rinds hold up well in a warm sauce. They soak in the chile flavor without turning to mush, as long as you pull them off the heat quickly. Southern Recipe pork rinds work well here because they're light and airy, which means they take on the sauce rather than resist it.
2 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried arbol chile (optional, adds heat)
1/2 onion
2 tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 bag Southern Recipe pork rinds
2 eggs, fried
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)
Cotija cheese, for garnish (optional)
Step 1: Char the vegetables. Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook the onion, cored tomatoes, and garlic cloves until lightly charred on the outside. You're not cooking them through, just getting some color and a bit of caramelization on the surface.
Step 2: Build the sauce. Transfer the charred vegetables to a medium saucepan. Add the guajillo chiles, arbol chile (if using), chicken broth, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and let it cook for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Blend. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Be careful with hot liquids: let it cool slightly, hold the lid down, and blend in short pulses at first.
Step 4: Strain and add pork rinds. Strain the sauce back into the saucepan to remove any remaining bits of pepper skin. Set the heat to medium-low, then drop in the pork rinds and stir until every piece is coated. This takes about a minute. Pull them off the heat right away so they don't go soggy.
Step 5: Plate and top. Divide the chilaquiles between plates. Top each with a fried egg and finish with cotija cheese and fresh cilantro if you're using them.
On the chiles: Most grocery stores with a Latin food section carry dried guajillo chiles, and any Mexican market will have them. If you can't find them, ancho chiles are a reasonable substitute with a comparable earthy flavor, though they lean slightly sweeter and smokier.
On the eggs: A fried egg with a runny yolk is the most common choice here. When you break it, the yolk folds into the chile base and ties everything together. A scrambled egg works too, but you lose that effect.
On the pork rinds: Coat them right before serving. The longer they sit in the chile base, the more they lose their texture. If you're cooking for a group, make the salsa roja ahead of time and add the rinds to order.
On Cotija: Cotija is a dry, salty Mexican cheese that crumbles easily. It doesn't melt, which is exactly the point. A light shower of it over the top adds a salty contrast to the chile base. If you can't find it, crumbled feta is a passable substitute.
Traditional chilaquiles use thick tortilla chips, which soften in the sauce and soak up flavor as they sit. Pork rinds do the same thing, just faster and with zero net carbs. It's the same swap that makes pork rind nachos work so well. The texture isn't identical to the original. But it's close enough that the dish still feels like chilaquiles, not a compromise. For anyone eating keto or low-carb, keto friendly pork rinds like these are exactly the kind of swap that keeps meals interesting without kicking you out of ketosis.
Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Servings: 2
