Name: Easy Huevos Rancheros with Refried Beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 3 T. extra virgin olive oil; 4 corn tortillas; 4 large eggs; Chipotle powder, to taste; Sea salt, to taste; 1 large avocado, sliced; ½ c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped; 4 oz. Monterey-Jack cheese, shredded; Homemade salsa; 3 T. extra virgin olive oil; ½ medium yellow onion, diced; 2 garlic cloves, minced; Sea salt and black pepper, to taste; 2 16-oz. cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained; 1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, with liquid; 1 T. ground cumin; 1 t. chili powder; ½ t. smoked paprika; ½ t. crushed red pepper flakes; Fresh cilantro, to serve

Are you always looking for something a little different for breakfast? Sick of the same things to start the day? I know we sometimes find it the hardest meal, searching for something that isn’t too fussy to make but has plenty of taste.

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So why not borrow from cuisines around the world? Here’s an example of a tasty classic from Mexican cuisine – Huevos Rancheros with refried beans.

What is traditional huevos rancheros?

Huevos rancheros means ‘eggs ranch-style’ and is a breakfast dish that was often served as a brunch meal in the mid-morning to people working on farms across Mexico. The basic dish featured fried eggs on corn or flour tortillas and were topped with a salsa fresca made from tomatoes, chili peppers, onion and cilantro. Fried beans was a popular dish to serve with it.

As it grew in popularity, people also came up with new variations. Wheat tortillas were used, enchilada sauce or even things like cheese, sour cream and lettuce. When there are two different sauces used, it is called huevos divorciados ‘divorced eggs’!

huevos rancheros with avocado, bacon and tomat

What you need

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
4 corn tortillas
4 large eggs
Chipotle powder, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Optional (to serve):

1 large avocado, sliced
½ c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
4 oz. Monterey-Jack cheese, shredded
Homemade salsa

For the refried beans

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
2 16-oz. cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, with liquid
1 T. ground cumin
1 t. chili powder
½ t. smoked paprika

Optional:

½ t. crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh cilantro, to serve

How to make huevos rancheros with refried beans

Refried beans

STEP ONE: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat then add the onions, garlic and season

STEP TWO: Cook until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes

STEP THREE: Reduce to medium heat and add beans, cumin, chilli, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cook until beans are heated and start to break apart a little, 8-10 minutes

STEP FOUR: Remove from the heat and either blend with an immersion blender or mash with a potato masher then top with fresh cilantro

Huevos rancheros

STEP ONE: Heat the oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat and add the tortillas, one at a time. Fry for 15-20 second until crisp on the edges and transfer to a plate, blotting with paper towel to remove oil

STEP TWO: Reduce heat to medium-low and fry the eggs sunny-wide up in the remaining oil until the whites are set but yokes runny. Season with chipotle powder and season

STEP THREE: Top each tortilla with an egg, refried beans, homemade salsa and any other ingredients you want to add

Recipe tips

With this dish, there are loads of different toppings you can add. A favourite is to add some grated cheese – you could use a classic Mexican cheese or go for something like Monterrey Jack. Sliced avocado, sliced tomato and even slices of bacon can all add to the dish.

huevos rancheros with grated cheese and avocado

There are a few easy changes you can make to swap up or add to the dish:

Sweet potatoes: cut some sweet potatoes into cubes and roast them to serve with the dish for a brunch option
Scrambled eggs: if you aren’t a fan of fried eggs, scramble them instead
Muffins: instead of on a tortilla, serve the eggs and salsa in a muffin or other sandwich
Nachos: another alternative to tortillas is to use the recipe in a nachos style dish or even use Doritos

Yield: 4 portions