Easy Cheesy Chilaquiles

Snack food for dinner?!? Sign me up! These quick and healthy chilaquiles are made with tortilla chips! Wa-hoo!

Plus, ‘chilaquiles’ is so much fun to say! Try it! Chee-la-KEY-lays. Chee-la-KEY-lays. Chee-la-KEY-lays.

OK, so I am easily amused. 🙂  But that does not take away from the deliciousness of this dish. You may be wondering, how can a recipe that includes a snack food be healthy? Even though tortilla chips are not generally considered healthy, the other ingredients have some good nutritional value. Plus, you can look for tortilla chips that minimize the sodium content and also are multi-grain. So the intent is to maximize the nutrition while minimizing empty calories!

I was directed to the original version of this recipe by my wonderful sister-in-law, Diana. She is DH’s sister. She is the most amazing person, very calm and practical but also goofy and fun! She is actually a pediatrician, and I think her personality is exactly what is needed in a pediatrician.

The goofy and fun side makes the kids feel comfortable, and the calm and practical side works for the parents. She knows exactly what to say in every situation, and as you can imagine she has certainly seen some interesting situations in her years of practicing medicine!

Here is the kicker, actually 2 kickers…a few years ago she went back to school and got another degree, this time in nutrition.  And, she is an amazing cook to boot! So when she points me to a recipe, I jump on it, because I know that it will be good for my family as well as really tasty!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must reveal that Thing 2 was not a huge fan of this dish, even with the snack food component! (I know, go figure!!)  There were two main problems with it from his perspective: 1) kidney beans and 2) tomatoes (from the salsa). That kid cracks me up. He very stoically and methodically ate around those two ingredients. Of course, we required him to eat at least some of them, because they are the main sources of nutrition in this dish! I did not even ask him to provide a rating, because the rest of us were so enamored with it that I knew I was going to blog about it with or without his green light! (Sorry, kid! You got overridden for this one!)

One last note…to make this during the busy weekdays, you can make the sauce the day before and store it in the fridge. Then, when you get home from work, start the oven preheating while you assemble everything in the baking dish. That way, you cut out some of the prep time and you will have dinner on the table in 40 minutes tops.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Adapted from Food Network’s 10 Minute Chilaquiles.

Easy Cheesy Chilaquiles

Print Recipe

Recipe Author: Kristin

The name says it all...easy and cheesy, this dish is like a Mexican lasagna!

CourseEntree

CuisineMexican

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time50 mins

Servings6

Ingredients

• 1 cup salsa (medium hot)
• 1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 4 ounce can of chopped green chiles (do not drain)
• 1 14 ounce can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 3.8 ounce can sliced olives (drained)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 11 ounce bag of your favorite tortilla chips (I used a multi-grain variety with lower sodium counts)
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 2 cups shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
• chopped cilantro (as desired)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the salsa, tomato sauce, chiles, kidney beans, olives, and cumin in a large bowl.
• Place half the sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 11.5 inch baking dish.
• Add a layer of tortilla chips.
• Spread the sour cream over the tortilla chips (I used my fingers to spread the sour cream somewhat evenly over the chips).
• Distribute about 1/2 the cheese over the sour cream.
• Add remaining tortilla chips, then distribute remaining sauce on top, then add final layer of remaining cheese.
• Bake about 35 minutes.
• Sprinkle with cilantro if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 1596mg | Potassium: 657mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 835IU | Vitamin C: 7.3mg | Calcium: 461mg | Iron: 3.4mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @dizzybusyandhungry or tag #dizzybusyandhungry!

Enjoy!