The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe (2024)

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The Best Ranchero Sauce RecipeEver – Looking for the ultimate ranchero sauce recipe? You found it! Creamy, robust, and a hint spicy. This sauce makes every dish taste better!

The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe (1)

Mexican Dinner Night

This silky sauce adds a perky punch of flavor to any dish!

I guarantee once you make this recipe, you will use it over and over again. It’s a creamy smoky sauce with tons of zest and a little hint of spice.

In fact, I believe this to be absolutely The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe Ever!

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You could put “The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe” on just about anything, and it would improved it…

Eggs, potatoes, steaks, pork chops, fish, grilled vegetables, risotto or grits, leftover holiday dishes, old shoes.

Anytime I make this easy Ranchera Sauce Recipe my family rants and raves about whatever I spoon it over. They say things like, “This is the best chicken ever!” and “This is the best-roasted asparagus ever!”

Yet in reality… It’s always the sauce that brings out this reaction.

Don’t believe me?

Make a batch to keep in the fridge this week. Warm it up and serve it over your leftover turkey, dressing, or green beans. You won’t believe what a difference it will make.

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What is Ranchero Sauce?

Ranchero sauce is a type of cooked salsa made with tomatoes, peppers, smoky chiles, and spices. It can be pureed smooth or left chunky (although we like it smooth) and can be spooned over everything.

Ranchero sauce is similar to red enchilada sauce. However, it is lighter on the chiles, giving it a brighter perkier flavor than enchilada sauce. But don’t let that stop you from using Ranchera over enchiladas!

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What Ingredients You Will Need

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
  • 12 ounces roasted piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers (1 jar)
  • 4.5 ounces chopped green chiles (1 can)
  • 1 cup chicken stock (or chicken broth)
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
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How To Make The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe

Instructions…

Place a saute pan/large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and shallots. Sauté the shallots for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes.

Drain the piquillo peppers. Add all remaining ingredients to the saute pan, except for the heavy cream. Simmer the ranchero sauce for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender, puree/blend the sauce mixture until smooth. Then stir in the heavy cream. Salt to taste.

Serve with your favorite Mexican dish and garnish with some cilantro.

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Get the Complete (Printable) Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!

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Frequently Asked Questions

How Long Does This Sauce Last in the Fridge?

You can store this sauce in an airtight container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator for up to 7 days!

What Dish Can I Pair With This Recipe?

This sauce would be super tasty with most of your favorite Mexican dishesor Tex Mex dishes. You can use this with taquitos,fajitas, as anenchilada sauce, onburritos,huevos rancheros, or eventacos!

Can I Use Onions instead of Shallots?

Shallots are a type of onion, so yes, can swap them for sweet onions or red onions. Shallots tend to have a more gentle sweet flavor compared to most onions, so you might want to pare back if making a substitution.

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Check the printable recipe card below for nutritional information including calories, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar percentages.

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Print Recipe

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The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe

Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes minutes

The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe Ever – Looking for the ultimate ranchero sauce recipe? You found it! Creamy, robust, and a hint spicy. This sauce makes every dish taste better!

Servings: 3 cups

Ingredients

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

  • Place a saute pan over medium heat and add the oil and shallots. Sauté the shallots for 2 minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes.

  • Drain the piquillo peppers. Add all remaining ingredients to the saute pan, except for the heavy cream. Simmer the ranchero sauce for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

  • Using an immersion blender, puree the ranchero sauce until smooth. Then stir in the heavy cream. Salt to taste.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup, Calories: 332kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 56mg, Sodium: 1333mg, Potassium: 674mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 16g, Vitamin A: 2355IU, Vitamin C: 85.1mg, Calcium: 73mg, Iron: 5.2mg

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Sommer Collier

Making this recipe?Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!

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The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Mexican ranchero sauce made of? ›

Stir chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, crumbled bacon, salt, and black pepper into onion in the skillet. Bring to a simmer and cook until flavors blend, about 15 minutes.

What's the difference between enchilada sauce and ranchero sauce? ›

Compared to ranchero sauce, enchilada sauce tends to be thinner in its consistency. Chicken stock or broth makes up a large percentage of its base. Make sure to watch the salt levels of your sauce when using broth or stock since they can be high in sodium on their own.

What is spicy ranchero sauce? ›

Ranchero sauce is a spicy tomato-based sauce that originated in Northern Mexico. It shares ingredients like tomatoes, chiles, and garlic with enchilada sauce and salsa roja, but some of its distinguishing features are that. It contains fresh hot chiles like jalapeños.

What does "ranchero" mean in food? ›

Ranchero sauce is a flavorful tomato and chili pepper based sauce seasoned with a mixture of chili powders and herbs. You'll find it in many Mexican and Tex Mex dishes around the border between the southern U.S. and Mexico, though because of its awesome flavor, it has quickly spread north through the states.

What is the most famous sauce in Mexico? ›

Mole is the crown jewel of Mexican sauces. It is refined, delicious and has a complexity of flavour that demonstrates the real fusion of two cultures in one dish. Mole was created by our prehispanic ancestors, they would mix pumpkin seeds, tomatoes and herbs to make a sauce simply called Molli.

What is the difference between Mexicana and Ranchero? ›

When making steak “Ranchero”, the ingredients are ground in a molcajete or a blender, and when making steak “a la Mexicana”, the ingredients are simply chopped or diced. Nevertheless, there are many places that confuse the two terms and name something “Ranchero” or “a la Mexicana” incorrectly.

What is Suizas sauce made of? ›

Most suiza sauces contain tomatillos, peppers, cream, and seasonings and/or herbs. This recipe has all that and an additional less common ingredient—canned fire-roasted tomatoes.

Should I use red or green enchilada sauce? ›

If you are making enchiladas, you may be wondering, “Which sauce should I use?” This is an excellent question, and the most straightforward answer is whatever you prefer. If you are making beef enchiladas, it is more common to pair them with a red sauce, and chicken enchiladas usually have a green sauce.

Is green or red sauce hotter in Mexican? ›

Typically, red hot sauce is flavored with ripened red chilis and is typically a lot hotter than green. Red also typically has what many people describe as a more “earthy” taste, while green tends towards a “fresher” taste.

What does Taco Bell use ranchero sauce on? ›

Our sauce is made with dried buttermilk, dried tomato, dried garlic and dried onion. Squeeze some creamy, spicy flavor on your tacos, burritos, fajitas, salads, sandwich wraps, quesadillas, enchiladas and more.

What is ranchero seasoning? ›

1 tablespoon cocoa powder. 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder. 1 teaspoon cumin. 1 tablespoon sea salt.

What is the red sauce called at Mexican restaurants? ›

Salsa Roja

As you could probably guess from the first bite, the primary ingredient in this salsa is tomatoes, but there is also cilantro, garlic, and a number of other spices that help make each bite better than the last. By far, salsa roja is the most popular Mexican salsa, and after a bite, it is not hard to see why.

What is ranchero sauce made of? ›

Ranchero Sauce is a tomato-based sauce with tons of incredible flavor from ingredients like jalapenos, chipotle peppers, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. It's got a lot of the same ingredients as many salsas, with the key difference being that it's cooked.

Is red enchilada sauce the same as ranchero sauce? ›

Ranchero Sauce

It's similar to enchilada sauce in taste and texture. The biggest difference is that ranchero sauce has tomatoes, and is usually a tomato-based sauce, while enchilada sauce is usually made without tomatoes.

What are the ingredients in Taco Bell ranchero sauce? ›

INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHEY (FROM MILK), VINEGAR, BUTTERMILK*, SALT, EGG YOLKS, SUGAR, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SPICE, TOMATO*, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, GARLIC*, GARLIC JUICE, ONIONS*, XANTHAN GUM, CITRIC ACID, YEAST EXTRACT, PHOSPHORIC ACID, GUM ARABIC, CORN SYRUP, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE, ...

What are rancheros made of? ›

What do huevos rancheros contain? huevos rancheros plainly contain fried eggs, crispy fried corn tortillas, and salsa, but it can be expanded to add refried beans, cheese, and occasionally meat, or you can get creative with it.

What is the white cheese sauce at Mexican restaurants made of? ›

White melting cheese, such as white American cheese, Monterey Jack, or Asadero. Milk or heavy cream. Diced green chilies or jalapeños (optional)

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