Every January, I do a crazy breakfast skillet to the absolute max. What better way to ring in the New Year than a pan of freakin’ delicious food? For 2025, we’re having my take on huevos rancheros!
When I was growing up, my dad would make huevos rancheros for breakfast on the weekends and it was my favorite. I loved all the eggs, tortilla and salsa in this traditional Mexican breakfast. In this huevos rancheros recipe, we’ve amped things up by adding steak, chorizo and much more. It’s a large skillet that can feed the entire family, so I hope it becomes your new favorite too!
Why You’ll Love Huevos Rancheros
Huevos rancheros is a classic Mexican breakfast. The traditional recipe is made up of runny egg yolk, crispy tortillas and fresh salsa. The name translates literally to “rancher’s eggs.” Because an easy huevos rancheros recipe is so quick to prepare, it’s no surprise that many families in Latin America serve this hearty breakfast daily.
One of the best things about huevos rancheros is the versatility. You can let your imagination run wild with toppings, hot sauce, different types of salsas and meats. I’m embracing that creativity and going all-out with this recipe!
For some of my other favorites, make sure to check out Country Breakfast Skillet, Ron Swanson Breakfast Skillet and Grilled Steak with Skillet Potatoes! I’ve also compiled a list of my Best Breakfast Skillet Recipes here!
Huevos Rancheros Ingredients
- Steak: We’ll use skirt steaks for this recipe and season them with kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder and lime juice.
- The Skillet to Rule Them All: I’m not kidding when I say this is a maximalist breakfast skillet. Eggs, potatoes, chorizo sausage, avocado slices, queso fresco, fresh tortillas? I’ll take it all, please and thank you.
- Beans: Because any dish with eggs and tortillas always improves with black beans, sour cream and sliced jalapeños.
- Pico de gallo: We’re leaving no holds barred on this breakfast skillet, so we’re going with homemade pico de gallo on our huevos rancheros. It’s an easy mix of fresh tomatoes, white onions, jalapeño, cilantro and lime juice.
Mexican vs. Spanish Chorizo
What’s the difference between these two pork sausages? Basically, Spanish chorizo is a cured meat, so you can eat it without cooking it first. That’s definitely not the case with Mexican chorizo — you’ll need to cook the raw pork sausage before eating!
A lot of the flavor from Spanish chorizo comes from paprika, while Mexican chorizo gets its red color from spicy red pepper. Since we’re cooking the sausage, we’re using Mexican chorizo in this recipe. But if you come across a recipe that calls for chorizo and says to serve it raw, you can bet it’s using Spanish chorizo.
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How to Make Huevos Rancheros
Steak and Pico de Gallo Prep
First, season two skirt steaks with 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, 1/2 tablespoon garlic power, the juice from two medium limes and a little vegetable oil or canola oil. Set to the side until you’re ready to grill.
Then, mix together 3 diced Roma tomatoes, 1 large diced white onion, 1 diced medium jalapeño, 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro and juice from two more medium limes. That’s your pico de gallo! Set it to the side.
Cooking the Skillet Ingredients
Next, preheat your grill to medium-high heat (about 375 degrees Fahrenheit). Also place the grill grate over the fire to preheat too.
Next, add your skirt steaks to the skillet or place directly on the grill. Cook the steaks until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees F (about 3-4 minutes per side). Once the steaks are done cooking, remove them from the skillet or grill and let rest for 10 minutes.
Then, add on a large cast iron griddle or skillet to the grill. Alternatively, you can remove the grill grate and add on the plancha. Let it preheat before adding 3-4 chorizo sausages to the skillet. Cook the sausages until the temperature reaches 165 degrees F (about 6-8 minutes), then pull off and keep warm.
Our next ingredient: the potatoes! Add 4 large golden potatoes, diced, to the skillet. Cook the potatoes for about 20-25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown on the outside. During the last 5-7 minutes, add 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 tablespoon pepper and 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, then let the potatoes continue to cook until they’re tender and crispy. Once the potatoes are done, remove them from the skillet and and keep warm.
Lastly, add 1 can of black beans to a small saucepan or skillet. Slowly roast them in the coals for 4-5 minutes until they’re warm.
Assembling Our Huevos Rancheros
When everything is done, add your potatoes back to the skillet. Spread the potatoes out to make a large ring in the skillet and add some oil to the center. Crack 5-6 fresh eggs into the middle of the skillet and fry to your preference. Sunny side up, over easy — whatever you think is a perfect fried egg with runny yolks works here! Top the eggs with lots of pico de gallo to simmer in.
To serve, add the rest of the cooked ingredients back to the skillet. Remove the skillet from heat and let everything rest for 1 minute. Serve the whole thing topped with avocado slices, queso fresco or Cotija cheese, more pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, jalapeño slices, sour cream and warm tortillas. Either flour tortillas or corn tortillas would be great here. Squeeze some lime wedges over everything and enjoy!
What to Serve with Huevos Rancheros
This is a MAX breakfast skillet, so you probably won’t need much other food on the table. But if you’re extra hungry, you can serve these huevos rancheros with blistered shishito peppers or a tangy cabbage slaw. A Bloody Mary wouldn’t be bad either!
Leftovers and Reheating
If you’ve got leftovers, let your remaining steak and eggs to cool to room temperature before placing them in separate airtight containers. Store for up to 3-5 days. Instead of an airtight container, you can wrap the steaks tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Then remove from their container/wrapping and gently reheat on the grill over medium heat. I’d store the rest of your ingredients separately so nothing gets soggy and you can assemble huevos rancheros whenever you want!
For More Steak and Eggs
FAQs
Any steak that cooks hot and fast will work well for this huevos rancheros recipe! Flank steak is a great substitute, and sirloin could work well too.
The store-bought stuff works just fine! You could also substitute with zesty ranchero sauce, which has a lot of the same flavors — typically jalapeños, fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, lime juice and garlic. Salsa verde is another great option.
If you don’t have a go-to cast iron nonstick skillet, I highly recommend you get one. Mine is a kitchen workhorse. I really like this one from Finex. For advice about cleaning your cast iron, check out this post! I’ve got info on how to season cast iron too.
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Huevos Rancheros
Ingredients
Steak:
- 2 Skirt Steaks
- ½ tbsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tbsp Black Pepper
- ½ tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 medium Limes juiced
Skillet:
- 5-6 Fresh Eggs
- 4 Large Golden Potatoes diced
- 3-4 Chorizo Sausages
- ½ tbsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tbsp Black Pepper
- ½ tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Avocados sliced
- Queso Fresco garnish
- Fresh Tortillas as needed
Beans:
- 1 Black Beans can
- 2 tbsp Sour Cream
- Sliced Jalapeños garnish
Pico De Gallo:
- 3 Roma Tomatoes cubed
- 1 large White Onions cubed
- 1 medium Jalapeno diced
- 1 cup Cilantro chopped
- 2 medium Limes juiced
Instructions
- Season your steak with salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice with a little canola oil all over. Set to the side until ready to cook.
- Mix together your pico de gallo, and set to the side.
- Preheat the fire to medium-high temperature about 375F.
- Next, add your steak to the grill to cook until 120F internal (about 3-4 minutes per side). Once the steaks are done cooking, pull off and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Now add a large cast iron griddle or skillet over fire to preheat.
- Add your chorizo sausage to cook in the skillet cooking until 165F internal (about 6-8 minutes), then pull off and keep warm.
- Add your diced potatoes to the skillet and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. Pro tip: let the potatoes cook in the sausage fat.During the last 5-7 minutes, add some salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook until tender and crispy. Once done, pull off and keep warm.
- Add your beans to a small skillet and slowly roast in the coals for 4-5 minutes until warm.
- When everything is done. Spread the potatoes making a large ring in the skillet and add some oil to the center. Add your eggs into the middle and fry to preference. Top the eggs with lots of pico de gallo to simmer in.
- Add the rest of the cooked ingredients back to the skillet for serving. Remove the skillet off heat and let it rest for 1 minute. Serve the whole skillet topped with some sliced avocado, queso fresco, more pico de gallo, cilantro, jalapeno, sour cream and warm tortillas. Enjoy!
