Huevos rancheros is an authentic Mexican breakfast recipe that’s hearty, rich in flavor, and a delicious way to start your morning. It’s prepared from a freshly fried tortilla topped with a sunny side up egg, fresh salsa, beans, avocado, and a sprinkle of cheese. Whip up this easy recipe in just 10 minutes!
Why Is It Called Huevos Rancheros?
The name huevos rancheros translates as “ranchers eggs”. The idea of ranchers eggs comes from the fact that this is a traditional mid-morning dish among rural Mexican farms.
While this recipe normally consists of just eggs, tortillas, beans, and ranchera sauce or salsa, there are many variations to it as it gained popularity beyond Mexico. These variations include Mexican rice, avocado, or enchilada sauce. But for this specific recipe, we’re sticking to a simple, easy version!
Huevos Rancheros Recipe Video
While this recipe is extremely easy to make (it’s just assembly mostly), it always helps to watch a quick video tutorial. Watch me put it together in the video below!
Huevos Rancheros Ingredients
This huevos rancheros recipe is a straightforward recipe using just a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Tortilla: I’ve used my cassava flour tortilla, but you could use corn tortillas as well.
- Black Beans: Any can of regular or mashed black beans works with this recipe.
- Egg: Depending on how you like your eggs, you can make a sunny side up egg for that beautiful runny look or cook it all the way through.
- Salsa: For this recipe, I simply just diced tomatoes with cilantro. But you can also use any tomato salsa, like pico de gallo, that’s homemade or store bought.
- Cheese: I’ve used crumbled cotija in this recipe, which is traditional. Queso fresco also works great.
- Hot Sauce: A little dash of this provides the perfect amount of heat.
- Avocado: Add a few pieces to garnish the plate for creamy goodness.
How To Make Huevos Rancheros
Now that we have our ingredients lined up, let’s start cooking. Here’s how to make it:
- Fry the tortilla in a small skillet with oil on medium heat. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side until it gets slightly crispy. Then remove onto a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Fry the egg in the same pan until it’s cooked to your liking.
- Layer the huevos rancheros by adding the fried egg and black beans on top of the fried tortilla. You can also mash the black beans if you’d like!
- Add the salsa (diced tomatoes and cilantro) and sprinkle cotija cheese on top.
- Slice avocado and add it onto the plate.
- Season with salt and pepper and add a dash of hot sauce to serve.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
If you’re still craving Mexican flavors, the recipes below won’t disappoint!
- The Best Guacamole
- Mexican Chicken Zucchini Noodles
- Carne Asada (so versatile!)
- Taco Soup
- Carne Asada Tacos
- Carne Asada Fries
- Steak Fajitas
- Classic Margarita
And if you’re craving more breakfast recipes with eggs, just peruse all my healthy egg recipes!
Description
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 (6-inch) tortilla,
- ¼ cup black beans, cooked and drained
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon cotija cheese, crumbled
- ¼ avocado, sliced
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ranchera salsa or hot sauce
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a small skillet on medium heat. Add the tortilla and cook for 30 seconds on each side, until it becomes slightly crispy. Use tongs to remove the tortilla to a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
- In the same pan, crack one egg. Fry the egg until it's cooked to your liking.
- To layer the huevos rancheros, add the tortilla to a plate. Top with black beans and the fried egg.
- Sprinkle the diced tomato, cilantro and cotija cheese on top.
- Slice the avocado and add a couple slices to the plate.
- Season with salt and pepper and add a dash of hot sauce, then serve.
Nutrition
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So simple yet so delicious!
Hi Annette – Can’t beat a simple yet flavorful breakfast like this!
These were so simple, yet so delicious! I was surprised at how much flavor is in such a simple dish. I will be eating these frequently.
Hi Ginger – Happy to hear you enjoyed these huevos rancheros!
Excellent & delicious! So easy to make! I just had a late breakfast/lunch meal! I saw your recipe awhile ago and I thought it would be complicated. Well, no! I had fried black beans on hand and I just lightly fried up the tortillas (2) and the eggs. Voila! Thank you wonderful lady! Another hit! Need to make your cassava crepes soon!
They really are easy to whip up! So happy you enjoyed them, Elizabeth!
I just made this dish for dinner tonight. It was excellent, My husband & I loved it.
Happy to hear both you and your husband enjoyed this one :)
I’m sorry. Your breakfast looks nice but you shouldn’t call it Heuvos Rancheros. There is no Ranchero Sauce. Ranchero sauce is a very complex flavoured sauce. A sauce a lot of time and effort goes into. Dumbing it down and using the term huevos rancheros isn’t fair to your readers nor to the dish. Absolutely no effort went into this post. You’re just creating content. At the expense of huevos rancheros which this recipe has nothing to do with. I’m sad :(
Hi Lydia – You’re welcome to add ranchero sauce instead of hot sauce. I’ve had huevos rancheros numerous times in Mexico and it’s always been served with hot sauce or a simple salsa. But of course, feel free to tweak to your liking!
Super recipe! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed this huevos rancheros!
When I was a kid, we drove from Missouri every summer to vacation in Mexico. The best part of the trip was staying two weeks at the Rancho Atascadero in San Miguel de Allende. Every morning my brothers and I would go to the restaurant and have Huevos Rancheros. I cherish those memories and this dish.
In part because of these experiences, I became a Chef and have owned a number of successful restaurants. I now do consulting. I’m doing this dish as a special this weekend for a client. Was perusing the net for recipes and came across this one. It captures the simplicity of the dish very well; the tortillas, eggs, beans, cheese & salsa. Those 5 things make this one of the BEST breakfast dishes on the planet. Well odne!
Hi James – I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I’ve enjoyed it on numerous trips to various cities in Mexico myself. I’m happy it brought back fond memories for you!
You’re not going to believe this but I have never had this! My mom raised me working for a Mexican restaurant too!
But by far the best Mexican dish I ever tasted was a Carnitas burrito from a hole in the wall restaurant in East LA called Los Boyos!
I guess I never thought about pairing eggs w/Mexican food unless to make the batter for Chile rellenos. ( pardon my spelling).
I can’t wait to try these eggs!
Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Cora- You can always add a fried egg to anything :) But yes, you’ll definitely need to try this recipe if you love Mexican flavors!
Made these this morning for my husband and I and they were great! So flavorful, fresh and satisfying!
The perfect Sunday brunch recipe! Glad both of you enjoyed this dish :)
This is a great Sunday Brunch Recipe! It’s flavorful and filling! YUM!
Hi Saskia – Happy to hear you enjoyed these huevos rancheros! It’s always a great idea if you’re feeling for some Mexican flavors for breakfast :)
Yum!
Hi Jackie – Glad you loved this delicious breakfast option :)
Breakfast for 03042020~thx Lisa!
This recipe was SOO DELICIOUS! Very simple but so flavorful! This recipe also is wide open to any other changes you may like. I opted out of the cheese because I can’t have dairy and I added mushrooms and spinach to my beans.
Hi Jeniffer – This is definitely a recipe that can be adjusted to whatever you’d like to add :) Mushrooms and spinach sounds like a delicious addition!
Not really Huevos Rancheros. Authentic huevos rancheros use fried corn tortillas, fried eggs on top covered with red spicy tomato salsa, on the side fried mashed beans with tortilla chips and cheese.
Hi Rosina – I mention in the recipe that you can use corn tortillas, but as I have a sensitivity to corn I use cassava tortillas. This delicious recipe is flexible to many different preferences. :)
The dish varies widely across Mexico. yes, corn tortillas are almost always used. The rest of the dish (type of salsa, cheese, beans etc.) vary from region to region and even restaurant to restaurant. I’ve eaten this in at least 3 dozen restaurants in the Mexican interior and the details are never the same.
Extremely tasty and filling! Reminds me of early breakfast with my latinx family!
Hi Odalys – Glad you enjoyed this!
I loved these. I’m not one for beans in the morning, but this was great! So glad I tried it!
Hi Renee – You can always omit the beans if you’d like, but glad you enjoyed this recipe :)
Can’t ever have enough huevos in my life! Especially with all the sweet treats around the holiday season, I love to start the day on a savory note! These look amazing!
Hi Denisse – This breakfast recipe will definitely be a nice break from all the sweets this season :) Enjoy!
Your photography is so stunning – I really want to climb through the screen and take a seat at your table! Love me some huevos!
Hi Kiki – Thanks so much! I try my best :)
The first time I tried huevos rancheros was when I moved to the US a couple of months ago. Now I have been wanting to make it at home ever since. This looks like the most perfect recipe!!
Hi Cathleen – What perfect timing! I hope you enjoy my version of huevos rancheros :)
This recipe was absolutely delicious!! I tried it with cassava flour tortillas and it turned out great!
Hi Anjali – I’m so happy to hear that! :)
This is a delicious way to start the day. These Huevos Rancheros look so delicious.
Hi Tisha – Absolutely! It’s a hearty and tasty way to do breakfast, especially if you’re looking to add a little Mexican flair to it :)
Wow, I love how easy this recipe was to make!! And it’s got all the yummy Mexican flavors in this with the beans, cheese, and pico de gallo…. Thanks for this recipe Lisa!
Hi Emily – So glad you loved this recipe! It’s one of my personal favorites when I’m feeling Mexican flavors for breakfast :)
I’m actually on a vacation in Mexico and had Huevos Rancheros at a restaurant here this morning. The one here was not as yummy as your recipe that I’ve made in the past. When I made it, I used chunky quality store bought jarred salsa, but otherwise followed your recipe to the T. I think it does benefit from some level of sauciness that a simple fresh tomato pico de galo (or only tomatoes and cilantro) doesn’t quite give.
In the end, to me it’s all about taste, texture, and appearance. Yes, yours wins. Just needs a little sauciness.
Now we’re talking. Can’t wait to try. Thanks.
Hi Karen – Can’t wait for you to try this recipe! It’s such a simple, yet delicious and hearty breakfast :)