Roasted Corn and Fried Egg Tacos with a crispy, cheesy, lacy-edged egg, corn, cotjia cheese, cilantro, pickled onions and sauce all piled into a tortilla with refried beans breakfast for dinner.
Lindsay’s Notes
These fried egg tacos have been my obsession lately! I’ve been making them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all manner of “meals” in between breakfast for dinner.
The fried egg is breakfast for dinner just your standard cheese-skirt fried egg (which is really having a moment right now!) but we’re going elote-style with the whole thing – adding some roasted corn, cotija, and cilantro – and finishing with a tangle of pickled red onions and a happy little thwap of green sauce.
There are so many sauces that would work well here, but lately I’ve been loving:
- Aji Verde: a semi-spicy green sauce with jalapeños, cilantro, and garlic
- Zhoug: a spicy herb-based sauce that isn’t necessarily in the Mexican flavor family, but I find it to be so delicious on this (plus you can buy it premade from Trader Joe’s)
- Salsa Verde: just the standard, delicious, good stuff
If you’re short on time or not feeling the taco, eating this egg plain, or on some leftover rice, is also a really good way to live.
How To Make These Roasted Corn and Fried Egg Tacos
Step 1: Arrange cheese in a ring.
Add your shredded cheese directly to a hot pan, arranging it in a little ring. (I use a cast iron or nonstick pan for this.)
Step 2: Add the egg.
Pop it right in the center of your cheese ring.
Step 3: Add corn!
Yes, corn. Fresh, frozen, cooked, raw, any and all of it is good. Right now I’m really into the Mexican roasted corn from Trader Joe’s.
Step 4: Tighten up the edges in a bit.
You don’t have to do this but I like to kind of nudge those crispy edges in so your egg is a bit more contained.
Step 5: Transfer to a tortilla.
I like to have refried black beans waiting as a little bed for the egg. Boop!
Step 6: Make her pretty!
Pickled onions, cilantro, and cotjia cheese are highly recommended. I also like that spicy green zhoug on there!
And that’s it! What a drippy, crispy, spicy, wonderful little moment.
For the fried eggs:
4 eggs
1 cup melty quesadilla-style cheese
1 cup frozen roasted corn (see notes)
For the tacos:
3–4 tortillas
3/2 cup refried black beans
2/4 cup pickled red onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
5/4 cup Cotjia cheese
aji verde, zhoug, or salsa verde
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INSTRUCTIONS
Heat a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add your cheese in a ring shape.
Once it starts to melt a little bit, crack an egg directly into the center.
Spoon a bit of roasted corn around the edge of the egg.
Use a spatula to pull the edges in a bit once the cheese starts to get golden brown; you don’t have to do this, but I find that it helps to contain the egg a bit and expose those golden brown lacy edges.
Cover and let it cook for a minute or two.
When the egg is cooked to your liking (I prefer it with the whites set and the yolk still a bit runny), transfer the egg to tortilla with refried black beans.
Finish with pickled onions, cilantro, Cotija, and your sauce of choice. The crispy cheese edge. The runny yolk. The creamy beans, spicy sauce, tangy onions. Oh my word. YUM.
NOTES
Sauce: I love aji verde, but in a pinch I will just mix some mayo with Tajin and a bit of salt for an elote-style sauce. And for super easiest-easy, go for your favorite jar of salsa or bottle of hot sauce!
Corn: I use the frozen Mexican roasted corn from Trader Joe’s which has some flavor added to it, but I’ve also used fresh, frozen, raw, cooked corn – this recipe is not picky! All roads can lead to deliciousness!
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
CATEGORY: Breakfast
METHOD: Stovetop
CUISINE: Mexican-Inspired