This quick Ranchero Sauce recipe makes it easy to bring the flavors of your favorite Mexican dishes, like Huevos Rancheros, to your kitchen in less than 30 minutes. Savory, slightly smoky, and completely delicious, this tomato-based sauce is infused with tons of flavor and spice thanks to simple ingredients like canned tomatoes, peppers, and chili powder.
Being a Houstonian, I grew up in the heart of a booming Tex-Mex restaurant culture. This particular ranchero sauce is inspired by a renowned Mexican restaurant in Downtown Houston, one of my favorites. Huevos Rancheros has been my go-to breakfast/brunch order for as long as I can remember, and this recipe ranks up there with the best of the best.
Table of contents
What is Ranchero Sauce?
Ranchero sauce is a savory, tomato-based Mexican sauce with a hint of smokiness and a whole lot of savory. Although it contains hot peppers (usually jalapeños or Serranos), it is not necessarily a spicy sauce.
It's totally worth mentioning that this sauce is for way more than just eggs. With it, you can enhance the flavors of just about any Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes, such as chicken flautas, ranchero chicken, or breakfast tacos!
Ranchero Sauce vs. Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce (or rojo sauce) and ranchero sauce are not the same thing, although both are used to top enchiladas. Confusing, right? They look almost identical, but unlike ranchero sauce, enchilada sauce is heavy on the chili powder and light on the tomato flavor.
Why This Recipe Works
We can relate to the idea that making authentic Mexican sauce from scratch can be intimidating; however, this particular recipe is extremely simple and easy to execute. Looking for more condiment recipes to complement your dishes? We've got you covered!
Too many ranchero sauce recipes are invading the internet with overcomplicated steps and unnecessarily long ingredient lists. Our recipe is painless, straightforward, authentically Tex-Mex, and overflows with flavor. Plain and simple -- you're gonna love it.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Hot Peppers (Jalapeños or Serranos)
- Garlic
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Unsalted or Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Spices (Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and Paprika)
How to Make Ranchero Sauce
Sauté | Add olive oil to a medium-sized sauté pan and allow to come to temperature. Add diced onions, peppers, and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.
Add Canned Tomatoes, Broth, and Spices | Pour crushed tomatoes carefully into the pan with peppers and onions. Stir in the chicken broth, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve and enjoy!
This ranchero sauce can be served chunky or smooth. For a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender, a blender, or a food processor to puree it.
Hot tip! Just because this sauce isn't typically spicy doesn't mean you can't add a little heat. To spice it up, don't deseed the peppers.
What to Serve with Ranchero Sauce
Ranchero sauce is most popular and well-known because of Huevos Rancheros, a Mexican dish in which corn tortillas, beans, and over-easy eggs are topped with cheese and ranchero sauce. But the fun certainly doesn’t stop there.
This zesty Mexican sauce is also served on top of:
- Enchiladas
- Chili Rellenos (We use it in our Chili Relleno Casserole!)
- Burritos
- Tacos
- Tamales (Can't forget that Tamale Sauce!)
- Eggs
- Steak
- Shrimp
In our house, we use it on Mexican-inspired dinnertime creations like shredded chicken tacos, beef steak ranchero, and so much more.
It's a family-friendly sauce that goes with almost anything and makes pretty much everything better.
More Mexican Recipes to Love
- Chuy's Salsa Fresca
- Tex-Mex Beef Enchiladas
- Migas
- Homemade Beef Chimichangas
- Chicken Verde Enchiladas
Easy Ranchero Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ of a white onion, diced
- 3 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 28 ounces whole crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzanos
- ¾ cup unsalted chicken broth (or water)
- 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Add the oil to a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and jalapeño and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute more.
- Carefully pour in the crushed tomatoes. Stir in the chicken broth, salt, pepper, cumin, and paprika. Reduce the heat to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Optional: for a smoother sauce, transfer the contents of the saucepan to a blender or food processor. Remove the feed tube (to prevent a build-up of steam and pressure), cover with a dish towel, and process until smooth. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Sherri says
I totally need to make your ranchero sauce for our next Mexican food night! It will be the perfect accompaniment for tacos, rice and beans and everything in between!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
I love recipes like this that I can make ahead and use in a million ways throughout the week. My kids love all things Mexican so I know this will be a weeknight hit!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest says
Your ranchero sauce looks like it would be delicious on all my Mexican favorites -- or just a piece of grilled chicken or fish. This sauce would elevate the flavor in any dish!
Liz says
I want to put this sauce on EVERYTHING!!! I mean seriously, it's so versatile! Thank you for the recipe!
Juli says
This ranchero sauce looks so delicious! I love how easy it is to make it. I am going to have to make it when I make burritos! Can't wait to try it. PINNING!
Kacie Morgan says
Ranchero sauce sounds a lot more defined and tastier than enchilada sauce; I never really knew the difference between the two. I think I'd love the smokiness of Ranchero sauce.
Geoffrey says
I love putting ranchero sauce on everything, but never thought to make my own at home. Printing this recipe and going to the store!
Stine Mari says
This ranchero looks mouthwateringly delicious! I love the smokiness from the cumin, it sounds fabulous.
Erika says
I love ranchero sauce and how versatile it is. So many great foods to top it with. Great recipe!
Ramona says
This loos and sounds delicious. Definitely must make this soon as I always try and love making my own sauce. This sounds gorgeous 😉
Jenni says
I love the sound of this ranchero sauce and its so simple to put together! I bet it would be wonderful on tacos, chicken, or even eggs!
Jacqueline Debono says
Nothing beats homemade sauces and your Ranchero sauce looks and sounds delicious. I recently found fresh jalapenos for the first time here in Italy. Can't wait to use them in this!
April says
I remember trying a similar sauce at my friend's house and it was the best sauce I have ever tried. I will be so happy if it is it - can't wait to make it myself!
Cheese Curd In Paradise says
What a delightfully simple sauce! I love these types of sauces because they are nice and spicy. I love to have them with my eggs for breakfast!
Lathiya says
Wow, I love the simple sauce. I love the ingredients that went inside this recipe. So simple yet delicious.
Elaine Benoit says
I love ranchero sauce and used to have it a lot but for some reason, I haven't made it recently! Your recipe looks perfect and delicious and I'm glad I got your recipe so once again I can enjoy some delicious ranchero sauce.
SHANIKA says
This Ranchero Sauce looks so easy and delicious! I'd devoured this with a bowl of chips right about now!
Michelle says
I've made this so many times now I just wanted to pop by again and say we absolutely love it! It's so good!
Kelly Anthony says
That's amazing! Thank you, Michelle! 🙂
Danielle says
I am so ready for this sauce - it looks (and I am sure - tastes, too) absolutely amazing! Love the idea of adding it to a few of my favorite dishes - that must make a big difference!
Jacquelyn Hastert says
This would take so many dishes to the next level with flavor. I love that it is bursting with flavor, but so easy to make. Thank you!
Tammy says
I've never made ranchero before but I love the cumin and paprika mixed into there! Sounds so good!
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I am glad you explained what ranchero sauce was, because this is completely new to me!! I am dying to try this!
Kathryn says
I'm a big fan of cumin so this sounds like my kind of sauce. I can think of so many things to put it on!
Veronika's Kitchen says
This ranchero sauce looks so delicious! I already can imagine all the dished I can use it with! I would make a double batch and use it later during the week!
Kushigalu says
Never tried this sauce before. Looks fantastic. Adding it to my to do list!
Amanda Mason says
Have you used smoked paprika in this recipe before? I bet the smoked paprika taste really enhances the flavors! I cant wait to try this!!
Kathy Little says
Regarding the nutritional label...how many oz. is considered a serving? I understand the total yield is 2 cups.
Kelly Anthony says
About 3 tablespoons is 1 serving. There are 10 servings total.
Stacey says
Excellent recipe, simple & delicious. I added a bit of sweet smoked paprika & also some spicy smoked paprika, it was YUMMY!
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you so much!
Kathy says
Is there anything you can substitute for the jalapeno peppers?
Kelly Anthony says
You can leave them out altogether or sub in serrano peppers!
Laura says
I can’t find a recipe for Rojo sauce, that you mention, but it’s the one I always use when I’m in Mexico. The link just took me to Wikipedia, would you consider creating a similar easy recipe? You’ve got tons of recipes it could be used with! (And linked too!) 😉
Kelly Anthony says
It is TOTALLY on my list, Laura 😉 Thank you!
Merrilee says
I just made this and it's not only simple, it's absolutely delicious! Thanks, for sharing1
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Merrilee! So much!
Danny says
How long will rancheros sauce keep in refrigerator?
Kelly Anthony says
Up to 5 days. You can freeze it if you'd like it to keep longer!
Danny Alexander says
Love your Ranchero Sauce and so does everyone else!
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Danny! 🙂
Dan says
I made this recipe tonight to top my homemade spinach enchiladas, and it was very good, the right consistency and very flavorful. I'll definitely make this again.
Thanks!
Kelly Anthony says
Thank you, Dan!
Linda Cohen says
Oh my goodness, I'm making this ranchera sauce right this very minute for the Super Bowl.
The flavor is ON POINT and SUPERB!
Thank you, Kelly. This will be my go to ranchera sauce for all my Mexican dishes.