A world-famous Mexican breakfast dish that has been adapted and transformed over the years but basically it’s a delicious Mexican salsa (sauce) served with eggs, which makes a great outdoor camping dish.
It is thought to have its origins in the 16th century on ranches in Mexico and is generally made with onions, tomatoes, and peppers as the foundation to the salsa and then other flavors added. The variations are endless! There’s even a version called huevos divorciados (divorced eggs) which have two eggs, one covered in green salsa and the other a red one.
Huevos Rancheros or Ranchers’ Eggs can easily be made in a Dutch oven or a deepish cast iron frying pan with a lid. Frying the onions and peppers before adding the tomatoes and reducing down is key to enhancing the flavors of this dish.
The finished salsa can be left chunky or blitzed down for a smoother consistency. Or alternatively, use pulped tomatoes to start with.
The recipe below is for a relatively mild, chunky salsa but feel free to add a fresh chili or two or some cayenne pepper to make it even hotter if that’s how you like it.
This recipe is also a little different from a lot of other Huevos Rancheros because the eggs are baked in with the salsa in the Dutch oven rather than fried separately to the salsa. This version is also topped with cheese that slowly melts as the eggs are cooking. If you like your eggs runny put them in the salsa a few minutes before its ready to serve and watch them carefully.
Traditionally served with tortilla and refried beans or rice or potatoes depending on where you are, but toast works equally as well.
When you finish with this recipe, be sure to check these recipes out.
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Serves 4
Ingredients
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 cloves chopped garlic (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 4 chopped serrano peppers
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ½ cup fresh, chopped cilantro
- 1 cup water
- 4 eggs
- Grated cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the Dutch oven.
- Fry the onion for about 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and peppers and fry until soft but not brown.
- Mix in the cumin and continue frying.
- Add the chopped tomatoes along with all the other ingredients and keep stirring to bring out the flavor.
- Add the water and cook gently until the salsa has thickened.
- Make 4 dents in the salsa and add one egg in each well.
- Spread generously with grated cheese (Optional).
- Cover and cook until the eggs are done just how you like them.
