Last updated: June 21st, 2024
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This easy spicy homemade ranchero sauce cooks in less than 20 minutes and is the perfect addition to burritos, tacos, enchiladas, or any of your favorite Mexican dishes!
If you’ve been paying attention to our recipes, you know how much we love Mexican food. One of our favorite ingredients in Mexican cooking is ranchero sauce, a deliciously spicy tomato sauce made with chile peppers. We first encountered this sauce at our favorite local Mexican restaurant and quickly learned how hard it is to find a quality store-bought ranchero sauce. So when we developed our homemade wet burrito recipe (which you can find here), we learned to make ranchero sauce ourselves! And we want to teach you how to make this delicious sauce, too.
Spicy Homemade Ranchero Sauce Ingredients
So what is ranchero sauce, and what ingredients go into it? Ranchero sauce is traditionally a tomato base with chile peppers, onion, garlic, and spices. Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make our homemade ranchero sauce recipe:
- Onion
- Garlic
- Jalapeno
- Chipotles in adobo
- Diced green chile peppers
- Diced tomatoes
- Chicken broth (substitute with vegetable broth for a vegetarian ranchero sauce)
- Spices – salt, black pepper, paprika, Mexican oregano, chili powder, ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder
- Lime juice
Canned diced tomatoes make this ranchero sauce recipe super easy. We also like to use chicken broth for extra flavor, however you can substitute with vegetable broth or water for a vegetarian option. (And if you happen to be making this sauce for our sweet potato black bean enchilada recipe, you can even use the liquid from the canned black beans instead!).
How To Make Homemade Ranchero Sauce
Ever wonder how to make your own ranchero sauce at home? You’ve come to the right place then. Our recipe for homemade ranchero sauce is so easy and it only takes 20 minutes. Here’s how to make it:
- Sauté onion, jalapeno, chipotle pepper, diced green chiles, and minced garlic in vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat until soft.
- Add canned diced tomatoes, chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if you’d like this to be vegetarian), salt, black pepper, paprika, Mexican oregano, chili powder, ancho chile powder, ground red cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and lime juice.
- Stir everything to combine well and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, stir and lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Transfer sauce to a blender and blend on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Use immediately or transfer to an airtight container for storage in the fridge or freezer.
It’s that easy! This sauce is so flavorful and delicious, you’ll never go back to store-bought again.
Before you make the recipe, here’s one helpful tip: hold a kitchen towel (one that you don’t mind getting dirty) over the blender lid when blending the sauce. Since you’re putting a hot liquid straight into the blender, the steam could make the lid pop off while you’re blending the sauce! We’ve never had an issue with the whole lid coming off, but some sauce definitely finds its way through the crevices where the center part of the lid unscrews. The kitchen towel will protect you from any hot splatter that might occur.
And whatever you do, don’t use the “pulse” button on your blender when there’s steaming hot liquid inside. We made this mistake once, and we can guarantee you won’t want to have to clean up the mess it makes!
What Do You Put Ranchero Sauce On?
This ranchero sauce has quickly become a favorite because of its versatility. Not only is it the perfect topping to our Chicken Burritos Ranchero, it’s a delicious addition to:
- Quesadillas – spread some on the inside of a tortilla before adding the cheese
- Tacos – drizzle it over your tacos for a spicy topping
- Enchiladas – use ranchero sauce in place of enchilada sauce for a unique twist on classic enchiladas
- Burrito bowls – mix it into cilantro-lime rice and beans for extra flavor
- Pizza – you can use ranchero sauce by itself as a base for spicy pizza, or mix it in with something like ranch dressing to create a whole new kind of pizza sauce
It’s also super easy to cook up a large batch and freeze whatever won’t be used immediately. Just let it cool completely before storing in an air-tight container, and it’ll keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Before you’re ready to use it, simply defrost in the fridge overnight.
If you love Mexican food and spicy sauces, we can guarantee you’ll love our easy homemade ranchero sauce. Get the recipe below and slather it on all your favorite Mexican dishes for spicy, savory flavor that will warm your insides. If you love this recipe, don’t forget to rate, comment and share!
Love this recipe? You may also enjoy these recipes:
- Avocado Cilantro Lime Crema
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tinga
- Chicken Burritos Ranchero
- Spicy Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- Easy Pizza Sauce
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Homemade Ranchero Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ medium white onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno chopped
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo chopped
- 4.5 ounces canned diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth (sub vegetable broth for vegetarian)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
- ½ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add chopped onion, jalapeno, chipotle pepper, diced green chiles, and minced garlic to the saucepan. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil.
- Once the sauce is boiling, stir well and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Transfer sauce to a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Use ranchero sauce in your favorite Mexican dishes, like our Chicken Burritos Ranchero, or store for later use.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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