"Divorced Eggs" Is the Best 15-Minute Meal I Love To Make
Huevos divorciados (divorced eggs) is a traditional Mexican breakfast that takes just 15 minutes to make. It’s a dish of fried eggs drenched in two types of salsa and divided by creamy refried beans.
One of the things I miss the most about living down the street from my mom is being able to go over for breakfast on the weekends. After my dad was done cleaning the stables and feeding his horses, she’d typically call me over for a cafecito con pan dulce, chilaquiles, or huevos divorciados.
Huevos divorciados quite literally translates to “divorced eggs.” It’s a traditional Mexican dish consisting of one fried egg drenched in salsa roja and one egg drenched in salsa verde, usually separated by a serving of refried beans or potatoes to keep them “divorced.” Huevos divorciados are a great way to use up any leftover salsa you might have stored in the fridge, and they’re even easier to make with store-bought salsas.
Huevos divorciados make a filling weekday breakfast but are special enough for a weekend breakfast or brunch with friends. I wrote the recipe for two but it’s easy to scale up for a group and goes perfectly with a giant michelada.
Upgrade It With Homemade Salsa
If you’d like to make the salsa from scratch, there’s a basic formula that I tend to follow and adjust depending on what flavor profile I’m looking for. It all starts with a pound of tomatoes. You can broil them for 15 minutes to char the skin and add smokiness to the salsa, or you can boil them for 10 to 15 minutes until soft for a sweeter profile.
From there, I like to add a handful of cilantro leaves, a quarter of an onion, a few garlic cloves, and either chiles de arbol for a punch of heat or chipotles in adobo for smoky heat. Add a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of kosher salt and blend it together.
How I Serve Huevos Divorciados
There are several different ways to serve this dish. Personally, I like to keep it simple and serve the fried eggs drenched in the salsas along with refried beans, plenty of salty queso cotija, and warm flour tortillas.
Store-bought refried beans work great if you don’t have time to make them from scratch—the Original Recipe Refried Beans from Isadora are my go-to. You can also opt for serving huevos divorciados with home fries, or place the eggs on a corn tortilla before drenching them in the sauce for a huevos rancheros hybrid!
Must-Make Mexican Recipes
Fry the eggs:
Fry the eggs in either butter or oil to your desired doneness and season with salt and pepper.
Place one egg on either side of a plate for one serving, the repeat with another plate for the other serving.
Add the refried beans:
Use 1/2 cup of the warmed refried beans per plate and build a "dam" of refried beans down the middle between the fried eggs to keep the salsas separate.
Top the eggs:
Pour about 1/3 cup of the salsa roja over one egg on each plate, then about 1/3 cup of the salsa verde on the other eggs. Top with crumbled cotija cheese and the thinly sliced onion and cilantro, if using, and serve immediately with warm tortillas.
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