Huevos Rancheros Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Mar 24, 2022, Updated Mar 23, 2024

This post contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Eggs, beans, cheese, and Mexican spices on top of a soft tortilla, this Huevos Rancheros Recipe is a typical Mexican breakfast. It’s hearty, filling, and loaded with delicious flavors.

picture of huevos rancheros in a bowl on a table with a fried egg on top and chips in the bowl

Homemade Huevos Rancheros

Homemade huevos rancheros is a traditional Mexican breakfast featuring runny, fried eggs over a bed of seasoned beans, on top of warm corn tortillas. With added sofrito, peppers, salsa, and Mexican spices this breakfast is hearty, healthy, and packed with flavor.

Although it’s a classic Mexican breakfast, these meatless huevos rancheros are just as delicious for lunch or dinner. And, if you have a vegetarian in the family, this is the perfect meal to accommodate their dietary needs.

How To Make Huevos Rancheros

This is a traditional Mexican breakfast, so you’ll want to head to the ethnic section at your local grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need:

Tortillas– You can use flour or corn tortillas, but the traditional recipe uses warm corn tortillas.
Eggs– Room temperature eggs cooked at a super low heat is the key to the perfect sunny-side up eggs. If you don’t like runny eggs, you can scramble them.
Butter– You’ll need butter to fry your eggs. I use salted butter, but if you want to cut out some of the sodium, use unsalted butter.
Shallot– Shallots are the perfect onions for this breakfast dish because they have a delicate sweet flavor that compliments the other ingredients in the sauce.
Minced garlic– Although fresh garlic cloves minced finely adds the most flavor, you could use 2 tablespoons of premade minced garlic if you prefer.
Sofrito– Sofrito is the base of your rancheros sauce. It’s an aromatic blend of vegetables, herbs, and spices.
Stock– I used vegetable stock, but you could use chicken stock as well, or even beer to thin the sauce.
Olive oil– You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or even butter to saute the shallot and garlic.
Guajillo peppers– Similar to a chili pepper, Guajillo peppers do add a mild spice. You can leave them out if you don’t like spicy food.
Chiles de árbol– 6 times hotter than the average jalapeno, chiles de árbol add some heat. If you want your dish less spicy, feel free to leave them out.
Mexican oregano– Don’t get this confused with regular oregano because your dish won’t have the right flavors. Mexican oregano has lemon and citrus flavors as well as some tones of licorice while regular oregano has an herby, minty flavor.
Beans– I used a can of pinto beans and pink beans. You could also use black beans if you prefer.
Bay leaf– Don’t forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. The bay leaf adds a minty flavor with hints of black pepper, but if eaten whole has a sharp, bitter taste.
Cotija cheese– Cotija cheese is a Mexican, dry grating cheese that is similar to Parmesan. If you can’t find it, you could use Feta, Parmesan, or Romano cheese instead.
Garnishments– You can garnish your huevos rancheros with salsa, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, crema, or any other seasoning you prefer.

The key to making the best huevos rancheros is all in the ranchero sauce. You’ll make that first and season the beans in it. Follow the steps below for a delicious Mexican breakfast:

First, add the olive oil to a small pan and heat until shimmery. Then, add the shallot and cook for 5-minutes, stirring frequently.
Next, add in the garlic and cook for about 40-seconds or until fragrant.
Add the sofrito, bay leaf, chiles, peppers, oregano, and stock to the shallot and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine everything.
Then, add the beans, toss, and mix well. Cook the beans and sauce, stirring occasionally for about 10-minutes.
Add salt and pepper to the bean to taste if needed. Remove the bay leaf and chilies.
Heat your tortillas in a dry skillet to lightly toast. Then, set them to the side.
In a small skillet, heat your butter until light and foamy.
Crack the eggs into the skillet, two at a time. Fry the eggs until the whites are cooked through, the sides are lightly browned, and the yolks are still runny.
Lay a tortilla on a plate. Pile it with beans, and top it with a fried egg.
Sprinkle cotija cheese and cilantro and garnish with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, crema, or any other seasoning.
Serve and Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks to Perfect Huevos Rancheros and FAQs:

Stir the shallot frequently. To prevent it from burning, you’ll want to stir it quite often and cook it just until it’s soft.
Cook the beans in the ranchero sauce until the liquid is thickened and mostly reduced.
If you want a meatier meal, you can add chorizo, ham, or bacon before you top it off with your eggs and cheese.

FAQs

What temperature do I cook at?

While cooking the shallot and garlic, you will want to keep your heat at medium to medium high. While cooking the beans with the sauce, you’ll keep it at medium heat. However, for your eggs, you will want to start them at medium heat and gradually reduce the heat to medium low.

How long does this recipe take to make?

This recipe doesn’t take long to make at all. The shallot and garlic take about 6-minutes to cook, the beans and sauce take about 10-minutes, and your eggs will take about 5-6 minutes per 2 eggs. So, you can have a delicious huevo ranchero assembled in about 22-minutes.

How do I cook perfect sunny side up eggs?

The key to cooking perfect sunny side up eggs is making sure the eggs are at room temperature and cooking them while gradually lowering the heat.

First, take your eggs out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter 30-minutes before you use them.
Then, make sure your pan is hot, but not smoking before adding the eggs.
Crack the egg as close to the skillet as you can and let it gently slide out of the shell onto the pan.
For the first minute, you will gradually turn the heat down, very slightly every 15-seconds. Keep doing this until the heat level is medium low.
Let the egg sizzle at medium low for another 2-3 minutes.
When the edges are crispy, crackling, and golden brown, it’s done.

Do I have to use fried eggs?

Absolutely not! Not everyone likes runny eggs, and if you are one of those people, you can simply scramble your eggs instead. Not only is it just as delicious, but scrambled eggs are much quicker and easier to prepare. You could also make over easy eggs, over medium eggs, over hard eggs, or poached eggs if you prefer.

What other toppings can I use?

You can add any toppings you would add to a taco to this breakfast recipe. Some great additions would be avocados, salsa verde, pico de gallo, or sour cream.

Can I store leftovers?

While you can store leftovers for a day or two in an airtight container in the refrigerator, huevos rancheros is best eaten fresh.

More Mexican Breakfast Ideas

Huevos Rancheros is a stand alone meal. It has everything you need for a hearty, nutritious, and delicious breakfast. If you are a fan of traditional Mexican breakfast dishes, you’ll love my Poblano Egg Breakfast Tacos or if you like spicy, try my Spicy Egg and Chorizo Breakfast Tacos.

For our complete Tacos recipe index, click here.