Huevos rancheros is high on the list of my all-time favorite breakfast dishes.
And it’s a super-simple concept: Fried eggs, corn tortillas, and some type of tomato sauce. There are, of course, a few variations you can toss in there – like black beans, or salsa instead of a tomato sauce – but those are the building blocks.
When I discovered Deb of Smitten Kitchen‘s way of frying the egg on top of the tortilla over a layer of cheese, I fell in love with this breakfast. Daniel really fell in love with this breakfast. In fact, on any given weekend when I ask him what he’d like to eat in the morning, this is probably his most frequent answer. Sometimes if I have store-bought salsa on hand, I’ll make it with that – though I do prefer the homemade stuff.
Now that I’ve created this new way of making huevos rancheros, however, I have a feeling I’ll be making it much more often.
You heard the story – one of my bestest girlfriend’s also loves her some huevos rancheros, so it’s really her and Daniel you can thank for inspiring this idea. I wanted to make this dish for a group, without frying eggs to order. As I surfed around for a recipe, I couldn’t find what I was looking for – but I did stumble upon this recipe using chipotle and an avocado salsa. It wasn’t a bake, it was still going the traditional fry-to-order route, but I figured I could take the same flavors and create a recipe for a bake. So, that’s what I did – and here it is.
Rather than using a salsa, this recipe opts for canned tomatoes. I mixed black beans right in there with ‘em… Let’s think about this for a second: canned tomatoes and beans, tortillas, eggs, chipotle, a block of cheese – guys, you can keep all of this stuff on hand and this could be a totally-from-the-pantry meal! That’s part of the reason I’m so obsessed with it – I’m always looking for ideas like this for last-minute weeknight dinners {or weekend brunches, for that matter} when I don’t have ish in the fridge. The only thing missing would be the avocado, and though the avocado salsa does add a lot of deliciousness, it’s almost equally great without.
The other part of the reason I’m so obsessed with this dish is that you have complete control over how much you want to cook your eggs. I figure about 15 minutes for a perfectly cooked white and ridiculously runny yolk – because that’s how I like it. You can adjust based on your own oven and preference.
Creamy egg yolks running through a vat of smoky beans and tomatoes topped with gooey, melty cheese. Now, this is what I’m talking about.
Huevos Rancheros Bake
- Olive or canola oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 – 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped with juices {you can use pre-diced if you prefer}
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon canned chopped chipotle peppers
- 8 corn tortillas
- 8 large eggs
- 12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 2 avocados, pitted and diced
- Handful chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 green onions, minced
- Juice of 2 limes
Stir salsa ingredients in bowl to blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat 1/4 cup oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; stir 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes with juice, beans, and chipotle chiles; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Stir in half the cheese and season to taste with salt.
Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with spray. Overlap tortillas so that they cover the bottom of the baking dish. Spread tomato mixture over tortillas. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the baking dish from the oven and, with the back of a spoon, make 8 indentations in the dish. Crack an egg into each indentation. Top with remaining cheese. Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
Serve immediately with avocado salsa.
Makes 8 {large} servings.
looks real yummy i think i’ll make this for new year’s brunch. however we dont have chipotle peppers in my country any suggestion on a substitute? also did you use chopped tomatoes? or whole?
thanks!
Hi, orange teapot. I see how that was unclear and so I’ve adjusted the recipe
I like to use whole tomatoes, because the diced tomatoes require added preservatives to help them keep their shape so that they don’t disintegrate – I just chop or crush myself. Can you find chipotle salsa? You could try that, or try canned green chiles, or chopped jalapenos – though they won’t provide the same smoky flavor. I would try ordering the canned chipotle in adobo sauce for next time if you can; it’s a truly special ingredient. I hope you enjoy the recipe, Happy New Year!
This looks amazing! I used to travel to Texas a lot for work, and love ordering huevos rancheros for breakfast there. I’ve never made it myself, but looking at this, I think that needs to change!
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i just discovered this blog, and what a great recipe to step in on! i’ll definitely be adding this to my brunch repertoire…and perfect for new year’s day hangovers, don’t you think?
carrie
http://www.plumsintheicebox.typepad.com
Oh girl, first you got me hooked on huevos rancheros and now you’re going to get me hooked on this huevos rancheros bake. Best idea ever.
P.s. This reminds me of the roasted vegetable enchilada casserole my mom made for lunch of Christmas. If you’re interested, you can find the recipe on Perry’s Plate. So good!
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Hi Sarah, thanks for the tip. I made this New Year’s morning and it was a hit. I still wasn’t able to find the chipotle pepper so I used bottled jalapenos and added some paprika for “smokyness”. I did follow your advice though and I asked my sister in law to Fed ex me a couple cans of chipotle in adobo sauce… lookin forward to making this again with the chipotle peppers..
Thanks!
emmy
http://rosecarveddoor.blogspot.com/
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