Huevos Rancheros is a Mexican breakfast or brunch dish that has been around for generations. And it’s no wonder why…it’s amazingly delicious! Topped with homemade refried beans and a deeply flavorful authentic ranchero sauce that brings it all together. And it all comes together in about 30 minutes. Brunch never tasted so good!
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🥚 The Ingredients
This dish reaches its full potential when made with top-notch ingredients, including homemade refried beans, ranchero sauce, tortillas, and farm-fresh eggs. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
🧀 Variations and Substitutions
- Tortillas – Corn tortillas are traditional, but flour tortillas are a delicious substitution. Homemade corn tortillas and homemade flour tortillas add to the authentic taste.
- Beans – Homemade refried beans are excellent, however, top-notch store-bought will work in a pinch. Mexican black beans or homemade borracho beans are a wonderful substitution.
- Cheese – Cotija is a Mexican cheese that has a similar texture to feta. If you can’t find Cotija, shredded cheddar, Monterrey Jack, or grated Parmesan are all good substitutions.
- Ranchero sauce – Homemade ranchero sauce is simple to prepare, however, you can find decent canned sauce in the Hispanic section of many supermarkets or at Hispanic food markets. Roasted tomato salsa is a great substitution, or any quality purchased salsa.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Expert Tip
You can serve the eggs any way you like, but the traditional way is sunny side up, seasoned with a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.
👩🏼🍳 How To Make Authentic Huevos Rancheros
- Step 1: Make the ranchero sauce and keep warm.
- Step 2: Add oil to a medium skillet and lightly fry the corn tortillas.
- Step 3: Remove the tortillas, add more oil, and cook the eggs sunny side up. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4: Spread the warmed refried beans over the tortillas.
- Step 5: Add the cooked egg and then spoon ranchero sauce over the top.
- Step 6: Garnish with crumbled Cotija cheese and chopped cilantro and serve!
🍽️ How To Serve
- If you are serving more than two people, you’ll want to keep all the components warm in a low-temp oven (225°F) while you continue to cook the eggs and prepare the tortillas. Place cooked eggs on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
- Each serving should include two tortillas, beans, two eggs, and plenty of ranchero sauce. Topped with crumbled Mexican cheese and fresh cilantro.
- For a complete meal, serve with homemade breakfast potatoes and freshly squeezed orange juice (Champagne optional!)
Expert Tip
Don’t Over-Fry the Tortillas – The corn tortillas should be somewhat crisp, but not crispy like a crispy taco shell. Get the oil in your skillet nice and hot, and then lightly fry each tortilla for about 1 minute on one side and then 45 seconds on the other. There will be light brown spots, but the tortilla will still be pliable.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
The ranchero sauce and refried beans can be made several days in advance. The eggs can be kept warm in a low-temperature oven for 15 to 20 minutes. It’s best served fresh.
Mildly. It depends on how many of the chipotle peppers you add to the sauce. For minimal heat, just go with half of the chipotle pepper and remove the seeds, or none at all (just use the sauce). Mild heat, and go with one pepper. For medium, two peppers, extra spicy, leave the seeds in.
Yes, it is loaded with protein and fresh vegetables. Don’t leave the tortillas in the oil too long. For an even healthier version, simply heat the tortillas in the microwave.
🍳 Other Classic Brunch Dishes
Ready to make the best brunch dish this side of Sante Fe, New Mexico? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of the dish, post it on Instagram, tag @HowToFeedaLoon, and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Authentic Huevos Rancheros
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups Ranchero Sauce
- 3 cups Refried beans
- 4 tablespoon canola oil
- 8 corn tortillas
- 8 large eggs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- ½ cup Cotija cheese crumbled, or Feta cheese
- ¼ cup Cilantro fresh, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Heat the ranchero sauce and refried beans over medium-low heat on the stove.2 cups Ranchero Sauce, 3 cups Refried beans
- In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over high heat, until the oil is shimmering.4 tablespoon canola oil
- One at a time, fry the tortillas just until they begin to crisp, about 60 seconds on one side. Flip and fry for another 45 seconds. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Cover, and keep warm on a baking sheet in the oven.8 corn tortillas
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and heat over medium heat.
- Crack 4 of the eggs into the skillet.8 large eggs
- Season with salt and pepper, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the yolks are just set, about 2 to 3 minutes for sunny-side-up eggs. Place the eggs on a baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining eggs.Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- Place two tortillas on each plate, slightly overlapping. Spread about ¼ cup of beans over each tortilla. Use a spatula to carefully top each bean-covered tortilla with a cooked egg. Spoon the warm ranchero sauce over the eggs. Sprinkle with cotija cheese and chopped cilantro. Serve at once.½ cup Cotija cheese, ¼ cup Cilantro
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in March 2018, but was updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photography and a fabulous new video in January 2023!
Kat Griffith says
I just made this for breakfast! Of course breakfast was really brunch! Excited to have a new ranchero sauce recipe this was delicious
Kris Longwell says
Hey Kat! AWESOME!! Brunch is the BEST!! So so so glad you enjoyed the rancheros recipe and sounds like you had an amazing meal! Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know!! Stay in touch! All the best, Kris & Wesley
Per Lofving says
The heuvos rancheros just sound so good, I want to leave the office now and go home to eat!
krislongwell says
Hi Per! Oh, they are good! Eggs with a kick. Can’t get much better than that!!
Nafeesah says
Been wanting heuvos rancheros and decided to make them over the weekend for brunch with the fam. They were soooooo good. Thanks for the incredibly easy recipe. YUM!
krislongwell says
Awesome!! We LOVE heuovos rancheros, so much, too. And the ranchero sauce is a favorite, too. So glad you made it and it turned out good! Woo hoo!