Spicy and full of bold flavor, this homemade ranchero sauce is perfect with so many favorite Mexican dishes! Fresh tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and garlic are roasted to perfection and then easily combined with a few other ingredients to give this vegan sauce an incredible smoky flavor. Don’t forget to add this to your next Tex-Mex or Mexican-inspired meal!
My grandmother, who was from Mexico, used to make ranchero sauce often. She would use whatever type of tomatoes, onions, and peppers she had in the kitchen. I think many people like to make their ranchero sauce over the stove, but she either roasted the veggies in the oven or over an open flame in a roaster. For this recipe, we’ll use the oven to create that same amazing smoky flavor.
Recently, our family spent a year in my first hometown of El Paso, Texas so that my husband could complete a course at Fort Bliss. We would split a gigantic crate of produce with our neighbors from a wonderful fruit market called Jurado's. The crate usually came with lots of tomatoes, avocadoes, mangoes, and whatever else was in season. Basically, you got what you got! The variety of fruits and veggies were always so fresh and delicious! The tricky thing was coming up with ways to use it all before it went bad. Thus, I found myself revisiting a lot of my grandmother’s old recipes and adding my own touch to them, as with this sauce.
You can seriously make this recipe with whatever type of onions, chile peppers, and tomatoes you have in your kitchen or garden. For example, instead of your classic green jalapeños, maybe one day you’d like to try it with red chile peppers or serranos instead. This might change the heat level and flavor in a fun way!
What is Ranchero Sauce
Ranchero sauce is a pureed, reddish-orange sauce with tomatoes, onions, and chile peppers as the primary ingredients. Ranchero means “rancher” in Spanish. It is usually paired with classic Mexican dishes. For example, chiles rellenos might be flooded with this spicy sauce or it might be poured over savory breakfast plates. Another favorite is to use it as a dip for tortilla chips. Ranchero sauce is different from salsa because the ingredients are cooked and then pureed. Whereas, salsa usually involves fresh, raw ingredients that are simply chopped and combined.
Why this Recipe is Special
- It’s homemade with fresh ingredients.
- Roasted ranchero sauce is easy to put together and so delicious!
- It goes great on vegan eggs, vegan chiles rellenos, chickpea flautas, or as a dip with tortilla chips.
Ingredient Notes
Tomatoes - I used fresh tomatoes on the vine for this ranchero sauce recipe, but Roma tomatoes work just as well.
Sweet Onion - Depending on your grocery store, this type of onion might be labeled as a sweet yellow onion or a Spanish onion. Truly, any type of onion works, but I prefer the onion to be more on the sweet end.
Jalapeños - Again, any type of jalapeño works here, but I like to stick to the classic green variety. Also, feel free to leave some or all of the seeds in if you’d like more spice.
Garlic - After peeling the garlic cloves, keep them whole.
Cilantro - Fresh cilantro is an amazing herb to use in this sauce, but no worries if you don’t have it on hand. You can use ⅓ to ½ of a tablespoon of dried cilantro instead. There’s no need to cut the fresh cilantro as it will come apart in the blender.
Vegetable Broth - Any veggie broth works here as long as it’s vegan. The broth provides a flavorful liquid base to blend the roasted veggies with.
Lime Juice - Fresh lime juice or the prepared type from the produce section of your store works just fine. It adds a nice tangy dynamic to the sauce.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat the Oven - Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Prepare the Ingredients - Cut the onion and tomato into thick slices. Cut and deseed the jalapeños. You can leave some or all the seeds in if you want the ranchero sauce to be on the spicier end. Peel the garlic and measure out the remaining ingredients.
Add Veggies to Sheet Pan - Drizzle ½ tablespoon olive oil on the baking pan and spread it around with a spatula. Add the tomatoes, jalapeños, onion, and garlic to the pan in a single layer. Then, add the remaining olive oil to the top of them and then the seasoning.
Roast in the Oven - Place the baking pan in the center of the oven and roast for 35 minutes.
Blend - Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and allow them to cool for about 3 minutes. Add them to a blender along with the vegetable broth, lime juice, and cilantro. Blend everything together until it’s nice and smooth.
Enjoy - Enjoy it immediately or save it for later!
Notes
- Deseed the jalapeños depending on the level of spice you want. You can leave some or all of the seeds in if you’d like more spice.
- You can change up the type of tomatoes, jalapeños, and onions you use for the ranchero sauce.
- Add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to kick the heat up even more!
Leftovers
- Store leftover ranchero sauce in an airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to use it from the refrigerator, you can keep it chilled or warm it up for about a minute or two in the microwave depending on what you're using it for. For example, if you’re using it to prepare enchiladas that are going in the oven, keep it chilled since it’ll heat up in the oven. Or, you might want to heat it up if you’re pouring it over tacos.
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I’d love to hear how this Roasted Ranchero Sauce recipe worked for you!
Roasted Ranchero Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 tomatoes
- 1 sweet onion
- 3 jalapenos
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil separated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ tablespoon fresh cilantro or ⅓ tablespoon dried cilantro
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cut the onion and tomato into thick slices. Cut and deseed the jalapenos. Note: You can leave some or all the seeds in if you want the ranchero sauce to be more on the spicy end. Peel the garlic and measure out the remaining ingredients.
- Drizzle ½ tablespoon olive oil on the sheet pan and spread it around with a spatula. Add the tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, and garlic to the pan in a single layer. Add the remaining olive oil to the top of them and then the seasoning.
- Place the sheet pan in the center of the oven and roast for 35 minutes.
- Remove the roasted veggies from the oven and allow them to cool for about 3 minutes. Add them to a blender along with the vegetable broth, lime juice, and cilantro. Blend everything together until it’s nice and smooth and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Deseed the jalapenos depending on the level of spice you want. You can leave some or all of the seeds in if you’d like more spice.
- You can change up the type of tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions you use for the ranchero sauce.
- Add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to kick the heat up even more!
- Store leftover ranchero sauce in an airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to use it from the refrigerator, you can keep it chilled or warm it up for about a minute or two in the microwave depending on what you're using it for. For example, if you’re using it to prepare enchiladas that are going in the oven, keep it chilled since it’ll heat up in the oven. Or, you might want to heat it up if you’re pouring it over tacos.
Nutrition
The nutrition information is estimated and can vary depending on brands and measurements used.
Najlepsze Blogi
Thank you for the post on your blog. Do you provide an RSS feed?
Bonnie
Hi! I don't have that setup, but you can subscribe to the blog to receive email updates every time I post a new recipe. That link is at the top of the page.
Sherry
The perfect sauce for Chile Rellenos. VERY authentic and great for egg dishes.
Bonnie
Thank you so much, Sherry! I'm glad to hear that you liked it!