Huevos rancheros
Crisp tortillas, fried eggs and a warm, chunky tomato sauce spooned over the top, a Mexican ranch breakfast that makes an easy, bright dinner.
- 30 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.05 a serving
- 500 calories
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
- 4 corn tortillas
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt, divided
Each serving has about 500 calories, 18 g protein, 38 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $2.05 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No corn tortillas? Flour tortillas work.
- No queso fresco? Cotija cheese or feta cheese works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes, until soft.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin for 30 seconds, . Add the tomatoes with their juice and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
, stirring now and then and pressing on the tomatoes with your spoon, 8 to 10 minutes, until thick and saucy. Keep it warm on low.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: A potato masher, if you have one, turns it into a smoother sauce in a few presses.If you’re using beans, warm them in a covered bowl in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large over medium-high. the tortillas two at a time, about 1 minute per side, until in spots, then set them on plates.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium-high heatTimer: 1 min
Add the last tablespoon of oil, turn the heat to medium, and crack in the eggs. Fry 3 to 4 minutes, until the whites are completely set and the edges are lacy.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Crack each egg into a small cup first, then tip it into the pan. It keeps the yolks whole.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
the eggs with the rest of the salt and set two on each plate of tortillas.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Spoon the beans alongside and the tomato sauce over the eggs, leaving the yolks peeking out. Top with the cheese, cilantro and avocado.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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