The first time we went to Playa del Carmen, it was love in an instant. I fell hard for the tropical greenery, the Caribbean blue waters, the troubadour mariachi bands playing all night, the rich foods and boozy drinks. It was years ago now, but during that first trip I planned our return a year later. During our trip a year later, I planned another return the year after that. And then I got pregnant, and it didn’t make sense to visit with a giant bump or an infant or a toddler, for that matter, and so I’ve had to settle for culinary reenactments of the town to satisfy the longing to return, niggling deep in my wanderlust.
And chilaquiles? Chilaquiles are my favorite way to transport us back to Playa, inspired less by coastal cuisine and more by filling homey dishes you’d grown up eating your whole life there. Our first and second trips, we ate chilaquiles for breakfast daily, alongside molcajetes full of papaya and banana, served with hot coffee and rich cream in the humid open-air space. I tried to take photos, but it took 20 minutes for the condensation to lift from my camera lens. I have a simple chilaquiles recipes using fried tortilla triangles, often stale from the night before, topped with whatever sounds good. And if you’re not on a Whole30, you should definitely try it! It’s comforting and quick, a great way to use up carnitas or shredded chicken and tortillas left over from last night’s tacos, perhaps the bag you sort of forgot about (until now) in the pantry.
But it occurred to me on our last Whole30 that I could take the same principles of traditional chilaquiles and apply them to compliant ingredients to make a delish option when it comes to Whole30 Mexican recipes: fried sweet potato rounds instead of tortilla triangles, smothered in a compliant salsa and fortified with an easy, leftover protein, like my delish Whole30 carnitas or the simple Mexican shredded chicken you can find in my cookbook The Paleo Instant Pot. Top it all with whatever sounds good: a fried egg or two, a quick avocado smash, chopped red onion, cilantro, crisp radishes. Go wild, my friend; the toppings are what really makes the dish.
These Whole30 chilaquiles are an amazing way to use up Whole30 carnitas, and it’s one of our favorite Whole30 Mexican recipes. They’re flavorful and quite easy to whip together, and the flavors in these Whole30 chilaquiles are right on. If you’re looking for Whole30 Mexican recipes, you’ve got to try this one! To make these Whole30 chilaquiles (one of our fave Whole30 Mexican recipes!), I used…
