Huevos Rancheros

If you’re looking to spice up brunch, you can’t beat huevos rancheros. Crispy tortilla shells are topped with refried beans and fried eggs and are smothered with a homemade salsa roja for a satisfying dish that strikes the perfect balance of crunchy and soft, spice and freshness.

Huevos rancheros originated in the 1600s as a hearty mid-morning meal for farmers in rural Mexico. While there are many different variations today, the key elements are crispy corn tortillas, eggs (usually fried), and a thick salsa roja. Another common addition is refried beans, which I’ve included in this version. Here's everything you need to know.

How To Make Huevos Rancheros

INGREDIENTS

• Oil: A neutral variety, such as a vegetable or canola oil, is best here.
• Onion: You can use either white or yellow onion here. I call for a small one, but if you only have large onions, just use only half.
• Kosher Salt: I prefer to use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, since the size of the granules make it easier to season evenly without over-seasoning. If you have Morton, I recommend using about half the amount called for in the recipe.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic adds to that backdrop of the flavors that we’re building here.
• Jalapeño: Some recipes call for fresh serrano chiles (or even chipotle chiles in adobo to bring that smokiness), but I like the slightly milder vegetal spice that the jalapeño provides. You can choose to seed the jalapeño if you’re concerned about the spice factor, or leave the ribs and seeds in if you want it spicier.
• Tomatoes: While many recipes call for plum, I was ultimately dissatisfied with the flavor that a fresh tomato produced. Even once roasted or charred, it failed to give the depth of tomato flavor I wanted. Canned fire-roasted tomatoes, which are picked and canned at their peak of ripeness, proved to be the winning solution, bringing both the char and that full tomato flavor.
• Lime Juice: Make sure to use fresh! Anything bottled just won’t have the zing that freshly squeezed juice holds.
• Corn Tortillas: Fresh corn tortillas are best here, and 6" is the perfect size to hold a single fried egg.
• Refried Beans: While you’re certainly welcome to make your own refried beans, I opted for canned here. There’s a lot going on already!
• Eggs: I tested this recipe with large eggs, but you can use whatever size you have on hand.
• Cotija & Cilantro: A little fresh cheese and cilantro are the perfect touch to this breakfast. They’re not strictly necessary, but they add great freshness.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Making huevos rancheros might seem complicated because there are so many pieces coming together, but each element is actually very simple—and I’ve streamlined each step to make it as easy as possible without sacrificing flavor.

Start the salsa roja by adding neutral oil, finely chopped onions, and a little salt to a medium pan and cooking over medium heat until the onions are translucent or sweet to the taste. This should take 7 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and jalapeño and continue to cook until softened and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Add the canned fire-roasted tomatoes and 1/4 cup water and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and continue to cook, mashing down on the tomatoes to break up the chunks, until tomatoes are broken down and salsa has thickened. You can use just a wooden spoon to smash the tomatoes if you like, or if you have a potato masher, that works great too!

After the salsa has cooked for about 10 minutes, remove it from the heat and transfer to a food processor. Blitz until smoother but still with some chunks. You don’t want to over-process here: If you incorporate too much air into the salsa, it will lighten to a pale orange instead of the rich orangey-red you’re looking for.

When the salsa is your desired texture, pour into a heatproof bowl, stir in the freshly squeezed lime juice, and take a taste. Now is the time to add more salt if it needs it! Once you’re happy with the flavor, cover the bowl and keep it warm.

Time to start the tortillas. While many recipes fry their tortillas, I found it cleaner and easier to toast them in the oven. Essentially, you’re creating your own tostada shells. To do this, preheat the oven to 400°, with a rack in the middle position. Spread the tortillas out onto a baking sheet and use a pastry brush to brush both sides with neutral oil. Bake the tortillas for 4 minutes, then flip them on the baking sheet and continue to bake until crisp, 4 or 5 minutes more. The exact timing on this will vary depending on the brand, so just keep an eye on them.

While the tortillas are baking, warm up the refried beans. To the same pan you used for the salsa—spoilers, you don’t even have to clean it!—pour in 1 Tbsp. neutral oil and the canned beans, and set it over medium heat. At this point, the beans will probably be a can-shaped lump, so I recommend using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to break them up in the pan. Once the beans are reasonably distributed across the bottom of the pan, stir in 1 Tbsp. water. Continue to cook, stirring, until the beans are bubbling; this should only take a minute or two. Once the beans are warmed, remove them from the heat and cover the pan to keep them warm while you fry the eggs.

To fry the eggs, preheat about 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat in a large nonstick pan. Crack all the eggs into a medium bowl, then pour them into the skillet and season with salt. Pre-cracking into a bowl (rather than directly into the pan) helps prevent the possibility of egg shells ending up your pan! Once the eggs are in the pan, you can use the tines of a fork to poke at any thicker pieces of egg white and encourage them to flatten out so they cook more evenly.

Cook the eggs for 3 minutes, adjusting the heat to maintain a medium pan temperature as needed. If after that time the whites are still a little translucent right besides the yolks, you can add another 1 Tbsp. oil to the pan and use the oil to baste the top of the egg whites and cook them through. Once the eggs are cooked to your liking, separate them into 4 portions, each containing a yolk, and transfer them to a plate.

Time to build the huevos rancheros! Top each tostada with about 1/4 cup refried beans and a fried egg, then spoon over that warm salsa.

Any other toppings are totally up to you! I like mine with little cotija and cilantro—and an extra squeeze of lime!—but you do what you like. It’s your brunch party.

Recipe Tips

• Make a double batch of the salsa: If you’re making your own salsa, you might as well make double! Then use the leftovers for saucing chicken or rice (or even pasta!) throughout the week.
• Cook the eggs any way you like: Sunny-side up eggs are typical for huevos rancheros, but if you prefer over-easy or even over-medium or -hard, be my guest! You could even scramble them if you wanted—which would then make this a sort of breakfast tostada, I suppose—but would still be delicious.
• Cook the eggs to order: This recipe streamlines the egg-cooking process by cooking all 4 eggs at once, but you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to. Cooking 1 egg at a time will let you cook the eggs to specific people’s egg preferences (which we all have!) and also means that each individual egg will be perfectly round.

Variations

• Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Bowls: Spiced sweet potato hash creates a hearty base for the typical beans, eggs, and salsa, as well as a profusion of toppings!
• Huevos Rancheros Casserole: Looking for something a little more dressed down? This casserole is your ticket to a simple but delicious brunch.

Storage

Leftover salsa and beans can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Tortillas can be kept in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.