This breakfast casserole is a riff on the classic Mexican breakfast chilaquiles. To start, whisk eggs with chili powder and hot sauce and pour them into a baking dish. Cover the eggs with a layer of tortilla chips mixed with an easy ancho chile sauce. Pop the dish in the oven and in about half an hour, the chips and eggs bake into a soft, savory, spicy custard. Top the casserole with diced avocado, crumbled Cotija cheese, and a drizzle of crema.

What to buy: Look for avocados that give slightly when pressed but aren’t completely soft. We used Hass avocados.

Cotija is a crumbly Mexican cheese that can be found in Latin markets and many grocery stores. If you can’t find it, substitute feta cheese.

  • Yield: 6 to 8 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr 20 mins
  • Active: 40 mins

Ingredients (16)

For the sauce:

  • 3 dried ancho chiles, stemmed
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in their juices
  • 2 jalapeños, stemmed and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the casserole:

  • 10 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon Mexican-style hot sauce, such as Cholula or Tapatío, plus more for serving
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 (13- to 14-ounce) bag corn tortilla chips
  • 2 medium avocados
  • 1 1/2 cups crumbled Cotija cheese (about 7 1/2 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup crema or sour cream

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

For the sauce:

  1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, place the chiles in a single layer in a large frying pan and toast over medium heat, flipping once, until crisp, fragrant, and starting to puff, about 4 minutes total.
  2. Add the chiles to the saucepan, remove from the heat, and let them soak until they’re soft and pliant, at least 10 minutes. Reserve the frying pan (no need to wash it).
  3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chiles to a blender. Add the tomatoes and their juices, jalapeños, onion, garlic, and salt and blend until smooth; set aside.
  4. Heat the oil in the reserved frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the sauce and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened slightly and the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the casserole:

  1. Place the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until they’re broken up. Add the measured milk, measured hot sauce, chili powder, and salt and whisk until evenly combined. Pour into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.
  2. Place the chips in the bowl used for the egg mixture (no need to wipe it out), add the reserved chile sauce, and gently toss to coat. Transfer the chips to the baking dish and spread them into an even layer.
  3. Bake until the eggs are just set, about 30 minutes. Transfer the casserole to a wire rack.
  4. Halve and pit the avocados. Using a paring knife, score the flesh of the avocado halves in a 1/2-inch-wide crosshatch pattern (be careful not to cut through the skin). Using a spoon, scoop the avocado pieces out and sprinkle them over the casserole. Sprinkle the cheese over the avocado. Drizzle the crema evenly over the casserole (if your crema or sour cream is too thick to drizzle, mix it with milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency). Serve with extra hot sauce.