Traditional Huevos Rancheros

Mexican-Style Sunny-Side-Up Eggs and Salsa

When you need a hearty breakfast, you can't beat authentic huevos rancheros, a dish prepared with two sunny-side-up eggs on lightly fried corn tortillas covered in a spicy tomato salsa with refried beans on the side. This dish is served throughout Mexico, and for good reason. It's delicious! The name huevos rancheros translates as "rancher's eggs."

What to Expect From Our Huevos Rancheros Recipe

This recipe is prepared exactly how they were served to me at the Hotel Gobernador in Durango almost 30 years ago, the first place I ever tried the dish. You want to keep the dish simple and traditional. You don't need to fancy-it-up with toppings like sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions or avocado. Each bite should be a balance of rich spicy salsa, creamy egg yolk, and fried corn tortilla which has a light nutty toasted flavor.

Huevos rancheros is basic Mexican home and fonda cooking, so no two kitchens make it exactly alike but wherever you are you will find it prepared in a similar style.

How to Make Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros Ingredients

You will need:

• 4 eggs
• 3 Roma (plum) tomatoes
• 1 serrano chile or jalapeño
• ¼ white onion
• a clove of garlic
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• ½ cup refried beans to serve on the side
• ½ cup cooking oil + 1 tablespoon (most of it stays in the pan)
• 4 corn tortillas
• 6 tortilla chips to garnish the beans
• Salt to taste 

In Mexico, the ranchero salsa is made very hot. This recipe calls for 1 serrano chile which makes a milder salsa. Add 1 or 2 more chiles if you want it hot. You probably already have all the ingredients necessary in your pantry.

Great Huevos Rancheros Requires a Great Homemade Salsa

The first thing you need to do is prepare the salsa for the huevos rancheros. The salsa makes the dish. Bland salsa means bland eggs.

What Is Ranchero Sauce?

Ranchero sauce (salsa ranchera) is simple cooked tomato-and-chile salsa that makes the dish. Roma tomatoes, a serrano chile, white onion and garlic are blended raw, then fried in a little hot oil and simmered until the salsa turns from pink to deep red and thickens. Frying the salsa mellows the onion and garlic, concentrates the tomato, and gives a warm depth to the salsa.

How to Make the Salsa

To make your ranchero sauce, roughly chop the vegetables and add them to the blender jar. You don’t need to seed the tomatoes or serrano chile. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and blend until smooth. At this point, it will have an unappealing pink color. But don’t worry, as it cooks it takes on a beautiful dark red color that looks spectacular on the plate.

Fry the Salsa for Maximum Flavor

Frying the salsa is an important step to developing the flavor of the salsa. Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a saucepan. Slowly pour the contents of your blender into the pan.

Be careful. The mixture tends to spatter when it hits the hot oil.

Simmer the salsa for about 10 minutes. When the salsa has developed a deep red color, season it with salt to taste. Now it’s ready. If the salsa is too thin, simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

Adjusting the Salsa

• Salsa too thick? Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
• Salsa too thin? Simmer for a few more minutes until you get the desired consistency.
• Not turning deep red? Be sure to use Roma (plum) tomatoes. Vine and cherry tomatoes have a higher water content and less pulp and will make a more pinkish salsa. Make sure the oil is hot before you pour in the salsa, and keep simmering until it reduces by about a third.
• A little bland? Make sure you have added enough salt.
• Not hot enough? Blend 1 serrano chile with 3 tablespoons water for 1 minute. Add to salsa and cook 5 more minutes.
• Making it ahead? The salsa keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days and freezes for up to 3 months. If it separates, whisk it or give it a quick pulse in the blender.

Frying the Tortillas

While the salsa is simmering,

• While the salsa simmers, fry the corn tortillas in ¼ inch of medium-hot cooking oil.
• Fry them lightly for about 20 seconds per side until the tortilla is just becoming crispy on the edge but the tortilla remains pliable.
• Don’t allow the tortillas to become crispy.

Why fry the tortillas? The process of frying adds flavor to the tortilla and keeps it from getting mushy from absorbing the salsa and runny egg yolk. You might be tempted to skip this step but you shouldn't. The dish isn't the same without frying the tortillas.

Note: Don't use flour tortillas for this dish. You won't get the authentic flavor or texture. Flour tortillas get soggy when covered in salsa.

Lightly fry the tortillas – About 20 seconds per side.

Lift the tortilla out of the hot oil and drain the excess for a few seconds.

Put the fried tortillas on a few paper napkins to absorb the remaining oil. Set aside the tortillas and cover them with a napkin to keep them warm while you prepare the eggs.

A note on tortillas - Better quality tortillas make for better huevos rancheros. This is a simple dish with very few ingredients. Quality matters. You should be able to taste the rich corn flavor of the tortilla. Avoid the corn tortillas that come in the plastic bags and are stocked on the grocery store shelves. They taste like cardboard and have preservatives in them. If you can't buy any freshly made tortillas try making your own. Most grocery stores carry corn flour for preparing tortillas. Tortillas are simple to make. Just follow the instructions that are on the side of the package. If you don't have a tortilla press you can use a rolling pin.

How to Cook Sunny-Side-Up Eggs

By cracking the eggs into a bowl before putting them into the frying pan you are less likely to break the yolk. You use the bowl to gently slide the eggs into the pan.

Heat ¼ inch of cooking oil in a medium-sized frying pan. Non-stick is best. You will use the same oil to fry the tortillas and the eggs.

Gently Slide the Eggs Into the Hot Oil

Cook the eggs until the whites are just set. The eggs in the photo need about 2 more minutes. The yolk is supposed to remain runny. When you cut into the eggs on the plate, the yolk mixes with the salsa and creates an incredibly rich sauce.

Note – If you are worried about eating eggs that aren’t cooked all the way through, you can cook the yolks until they are solid. The dish will still taste great. You lose a little of the visual element but you have peace of mind.

How to Serve

When your eggs are ready it is time to plate the dish.

Place 2 tortillas on your serving plate with a large spoonful of refried beans on the side. We like refried beans made with pinto beans or black beans for this dish.

Carefully slide the fried eggs onto the tortillas. You don’t want the yolks to break.

Cover The Egg Whites With Salsa – Don’t Cover the Yolks

Gently spoon the warm sauce over the eggs being careful not to cover the yolks. The deep red salsa contrasts with the bright yellow egg yolks. You want the salsa a little thick so it doesn't run all over the plate.

Garnish the refried beans with three tortilla chips. You can sprinkle a bit of crumbled cheese on the beans if you like. Cotija cheese goes well.

Time to start cooking! Provecho!

Huevos Rancheros FAQ

Did You Know?

If you prepare this dish with salsa verde on one half of the plate and salsa roja on the other half it is called “huevos divorciados,” or “divorced eggs” because the two salsas are “divorced.” This is a very colorful and delicious way to serve your eggs.

When you think of Mexican food this is one of the authentic dishes that comes to mind. It’s a great brunch recipe.

Let us know if you have any questions about how to prepare this recipe. You can contact us here. You can also leave a comment below.

More Mexican Breakfast Recipes

• Huevo a la Mexicana
• Chorizo and Egg
• Spinach Mushroom Omelette
• Bacon Potato Egg Breakfast Tacos
• Breakfast Burrito