Black Bean Chilaquiles

By Cybelle Tondu

Updated April 27, 2026

  • Ghazalle Badiozamani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
35 min
Rating
5(36)
Comments
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Like a perfect bowl of cereal, chilaquiles should be a little crunchy, a little soggy, and a little something in-between. To nail that textural balance, use thick, restaurant-style tortilla chips—or fry your own—the thin supermarket varieties will sadly turn to mush. This recipe coats the chips in just a small amount of smoky, citrusy tomatillo salsa, which helps them withstand the egg cooking process and retain their bite. Using the same skillet to char the salsa ingredients and cook the eggs on top of the chips streamlines prep and clean-up. The addition of canned black beans adds heft, making this an ideal breakfast-for-dinner meal. Serve it doused with the remaining salsa and generous scoops of sour cream and avocado to offset the heat and acidity.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 white onion, halved

  • 1 ½ pounds (about 12 medium) tomatillos, husked and halved if large

  • 1 jalapeño or serrano chile, depending on desired spice level, stemmed and halved

  • 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

  • ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, plus more to serve

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

  • 12 ounces thick restaurant-style tortilla chips (about 12 cups), preferably stale (see Tip)

  • 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

  • 4 eggs

  • Sour cream and avocado, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the broiler and position a rack about 3 inches from the heat source. Finely chop one of the onion halves and set aside. Cut the remaining onion half in quarters and place in a large ovenproof skillet along with the tomatillos, jalapeno and garlic in a single layer. Transfer skillet to the rack beneath the broiler and broil for about 15 minutes, flipping the vegetables as needed until very juicy, softened and deeply charred all over.

    1. Step 2

      Carefully remove and discard the skins from the charred garlic and transfer all of the vegetables and their juices to a blender. Add ½ cup cilantro and salt. Blend until the salsa is mostly smooth, with only small flecks and seeds remaining. 

    1. Step 3

      Heat the oil in the skillet over high heat (no need to wash the skillet first). Pour 2 cups of the salsa into the skillet, then stir in the broth and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Reduce the heat to medium. Taste and add salt as needed. 

    1. Step 4

      Gently stir in the chips and black beans until the chips are all coated in sauce, then make four divots in the mixture and carefully crack an egg into each. (Keep those chip corners away from your yolks!) Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still slightly runny, about 6 minutes. 

    1. Step 5

      Divide chilaquiles among plates and top with avocado, more cilantro, reserved chopped onion, remaining salsa and a generous dollop of sour cream.

Tip

  • For the best results, seek out chips from a tortilleria or anywhere that fries them in-house (restaurant leftovers work well). If shopping at the grocery store, look for the thickest chips labeled “homestyle,” “handmade” or “casera.” Thick tostadas can also be substituted—just break them into large pieces. You can also make chips at home using corn tortillas.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
36 user ratings
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Comments

ursula

We enjoyed this lovely, flavorful dish. Before we put it into regular rotation, however, we will make a few modifications. A good tomatillo salsa (and there are some lovely ones available) can cut out several steps. I would sauté the onions, garlic and jalapeño, then add the store-bought salsa verde. I didn’t care for the soggy chips. I would put these in the bowl next time and add the bean mixture to the bowls at serving time. Because we serve this as leftovers, I will fry the eggs separately and when needed to plop on top. That makes a lovely, quick, weekday meal.

Liz M.

Delicious. However, the recipe calls for way too many chips. The thick layer of chips prevented the eggs from setting properly. I would cut the chips down to, at most, 8 oz.

Kirsten

I made it as written and something went wrong. I cooked the final product covered but after 5 minutes, the eggs were not cooked! I turned up the heat and I had to cook it an additional 5 minutes for jammy yolks but the chips were mush. What happened?

Aimee

We enjoyed this one.

Liz M.

Delicious. However, the recipe calls for way too many chips. The thick layer of chips prevented the eggs from setting properly. I would cut the chips down to, at most, 8 oz.

ursula

We enjoyed this lovely, flavorful dish. Before we put it into regular rotation, however, we will make a few modifications. A good tomatillo salsa (and there are some lovely ones available) can cut out several steps. I would sauté the onions, garlic and jalapeño, then add the store-bought salsa verde. I didn’t care for the soggy chips. I would put these in the bowl next time and add the bean mixture to the bowls at serving time. Because we serve this as leftovers, I will fry the eggs separately and when needed to plop on top. That makes a lovely, quick, weekday meal.

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