Huevos rancheros, always
Smoky refried beans, easy homemade ranchero sauce, warm corn tortillas. What’s not to love?
Cooking

May 8, 2025

Two huevos rancheros sit on a dark brown plate with a fork and knife.
Kay Chun’s huevos rancheros. Sang An for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Oh hey, huevos rancheros

By Mia Leimkuhler

I’ve realized that part of why I love eggs is because their gentle blandness — with a little richness from the yolk — is a good excuse to be assertive with the seasonings and sauces. I’m thinking of the soy sauce I pour on my four-minute onsen eggs, the hot sauce that gets caught in all the crevices of my scrambled eggs, the chile crisp I use to fry my fried eggs. When I was little, I loved a hard-boiled egg dipped in Lawry’s seasoned salt, the orange dust clinging to the shiny white like glitter. Writing this now, I’m not sure why I ever stopped eating them.

So yes, I love making huevos rancheros because it means I can go all out on that ranchero sauce, enlivening that fried egg on top of those creamy refried beans and that warm corn tortilla. If you’ve never made huevos rancheros before, Kay Chun’s recipe is a brilliant place to start (not least because it includes step-by-step images and a video). Her easy homemade salsa does triple duty as the simmered ranchero sauce, the seasoning for your beans and the final topping. Eat this for breakfast, brunch (ahem, Mother’s Day), lunch, dinner, afternoon snack, midnight snack. Huevos rancheros, always.

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Huevos Rancheros

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Today’s specials:

Pure jalapeño salsa: Rick Martínez, a.k.a. “Salsa Daddy,” has shared with us five tricks to make amazing salsa every time. And of course there are salsa recipes: aguacate ahumado (spicy avocado salsa) and this pure jalapeño salsa, which simmers the peppers until tender then mashes them with salt and garlic powder. I can’t wait to try it.

Tostadas de tinga de pollo (shredded chicken and salsa tostadas): Oh, and Rick provides a landing pad for those salsas. Add this one to your list of recipes that start with a rotisserie chicken.

Pan-seared salmon: Sometimes, when you have a really beautiful piece of fish, you want to do as little to it as possible. Here’s Lidey Heuck’s minimalist recipe for maximally lovely fish.

Roasted cauliflower salad with halloumi and lemon: Spring is the season for big salads that have some sort of roasted component; hearty, warm bowls of greens before we move onto the chilled, no-chop salads of summer. I’ve bookmarked this beauty from Alexa Weibel, which combines squeaky halloumi, roasted cauliflower and a tangy, shalloty, preserved-lemony vinaigrette.

Hong Kong-style French toast: The peanut butter in the middle of these golden, shallow-fried sandwiches can be swapped for kaya (coconut jam), marmalade or chocolate-hazelnut spread. But I’d argue that the sweetened condensed milk drizzled over this Cybelle Tondu dish is nonnegotiable.

Cherry-almond scones: No rolling pin is needed to make these treats from Yossy Arefi — just one bowl and a baking sheet. And maybe a cherry pitter if you’re using fresh cherries. (You can absolutely use frozen; just be sure to chop them while they’re firm and before they start leaking juice.)

Article Image

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Sarah Smart.

Pure Jalapeño Salsa

By Rick A. Martínez

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

5

15 minutes

Makes 1 cup

Article Image

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Sue Li. Prop Stylist: Sarah Smart.

Tostadas de Tinga de Pollo (Shredded Chicken and Salsa Tostadas)

By Rick A. Martínez

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

30

35 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Pan-Seared Salmon

By Lidey Heuck

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

531

20 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd.

Roasted Cauliflower Salad With Halloumi and Lemon

By Alexa Weibel

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

2,985

30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton.

Hong Kong-Style French Toast

By Cybelle Tondu

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled Star

13

15 minutes

Makes 4 servings

Article Image

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Yossy Arefi.

Cherry Almond Scones

By Yossy Arefi

Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarUnfilled Star

41

45 minutes

Makes 8 scones

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