Ranchero Sauce
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!
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!
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!
How to Use Ranchero Sauce
You could put “The Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe” on just about anything, and it would improve 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.
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
How To Make Ranchero Sauce
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 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.
Get the Complete (Printable) Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe + VIDEO Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store this sauce in an airtight container (like a mason jar) in the refrigerator for up to 7 days!
This sauce would be super tasty with most of your favorite Mexican dishes or Tex-Mex dishes. You can use this with taquitos, fajitas, as an enchilada sauce, on burritos, huevos rancheros, or even tacos!
Shallots are a type of onion, so yes, you 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.
Check the printable recipe card below for nutritional information including calories, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar percentages.
Best Ranchero Sauce Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 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
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
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.
Amazing flavor in that sauce. And really pretty quick & simple to make.
Can I freeze this sauce?
Hi Beckie,
Yes, you can! Be sure to thaw it completely, before reheating, to preserve the silky texture. :)
You guys are missing out if you haven’t made this yet. Holy you know what.
This sauce is unreal, so much flavor!! I added just a touch of adobe sauce from some chipotles I had open and it kicked it up perfectly.
Way to much information before you get to the recipe and way to many advertisements that slow things down.
Moist of the sauce recipes I looked are identical, you only changed a few ingredients. Not really a chef are you?
You must be new on the internet… blogs have to include a certain word count for Search Engine Optimization. They have to repeat key words. Otherwise they won’t show up in search results.
I’ve made this sauce and it’s amazingly good. Just keep scrolling if you’re gonna be a total killjoy.
Made a chunky version of this recipe tonight for rellenos and man, I can honestly say this TRULY is the best ranchera sauce I’ve ever had! Beats any restaurant ranchera sauce I’ve ever tried! The entire family raved about this dinner! Thank you for being a sauce genius!!!
I never have time or want to leave reviews on recipes but y’all this sauce is incredible! I’m dairy free so substituted creamy oat milk for the heavy cream. It was a huge family hit. I’m going to make this sauce a staple in our fridge and freezer! So happy a dear friend traded this recipe with me.
I used ranchero sauce in our favorite burritos, I am so pleased with the outcome! My family loves it and they’re can’t wait to use it on tacos as well. Exciting!
Yup, this really is the best ever! This is such an amazing recipe, I sent it to my closest friends.