Freezer breakfast burritos make a hearty breakfast loaded with ham, eggs, potatoes, cheese, bacon, and more. This easy, make-ahead breakfast burrito recipe is great to have on hand for busy days.
I used to work near a taco shop that made some of the best breakfast burritos I've eaten. Sometimes the promise of walking down the street to get a breakfast burrito for lunch would be the only bright spot in my otherwise blah work day.
I no longer work there and have seriously considered driving back just to get a burrito. Thankfully good sense took over and I've since started recreating my old favorite.
Since it wouldn't be time effective to make one burrito at a time, I've taken to prepping ten of these freezer breakfast burritos in an afternoon to have on hand for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Be sure to scroll down to learn how I reheat my breakfast burritos from frozen in just a few minutes time.
Recipe Ingredients
There are lots of different ways to customize the breakfast burrito of your dreams, but my go-to version (this recipe here) sticks pretty close to its taco shop inspiration. This version includes:
- Tortillas: Extra-large flour tortillas, at least ten-inches in diameter, are preferred for this recipe. I conveniently can find them in a ten-pack, so exactly one pack is used here.
- Eggs: Six eggs are split between ten breakfast burritos for a balanced filling.
- Potatoes: An extra step, detailed below, produces crisp breakfast potatoes with a reliably fluffy interior.
- Jalapeno pepper: One pepper (with seeds removed) adds more flavor here than heat. Leave some or all of the seeds in if you like things spicy.
- Cooked ham: Can be omitted or subbed in with more bacon or another cooked breakfast meat of your choice.
- Bacon: Like the eggs, six slices are divided between the ten burritos so isn't not overloaded with filling.
- Cheese: Use your favorite variety here: cheddar, colby or pepper jack, smoked gouda, etc.
How to Parboil Potatoes (and Why)
I totally get it. Parboiling the potatoes before chopping and sautéing is just another step to do and pot to wash. I'm all for simplifying things in the kitchen.
But! Parboiling, or boiling the potatoes in salted water until they're part-way tender, helps them achieve a crisp exterior and fluffy soft interior once sauteed over a relatively high heat. All good qualities for potatoes that will be in a burrito filling.
It wouldn't be the end of the world if you don't parboil them, but the time and work is worth it to have a cohesive and satisfying burrito.
To cut down on assembly time: you can parboil and refrigerate the potatoes a day ahead of making the burritos, simply chopping them up and sautéing them prior to cooking the eggs and continuing with the recipe.
Cooking Instructions
- The first step is parboiling the potatoes, as described above. That can be done just prior to cooking and assembling the potatoes or up to a day ahead.
- Once parboiled, slice the potatoes into approximately half-inch cubes. Add oil to a large pan set over medium-high heat. Add the cubed potatoes to the pan, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden-brown and crisp on the outside. Set them aside when done.
- Wipe out the pan to use again, then add more oil and saute the diced onion for several minutes, or until it's turning golden. Add the diced jalapeno and cubed ham and cook for 3-4 additional minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and a tiny bit of milk (this helps the eggs become fluffy) in a mixing bowl. Add the bacon crumbles to the pan, then pour in the beaten eggs.
- The pan will be nice and hot so it doesn't take long for the eggs to cook at all. Just a minute or two. Go around the outside of the pan with a spatula and scrape them into the center as they're cooking to scramble them perfectly.
How to Fold a Burrito
Now comes the fun part: assembly. Well, not really fun I guess because I struggle with wanting to add too much filling and having the whole thing become a mess. But you know what I mean.
- Lay a tortilla on a flat work surface. Add a few tablespoons of potato to the center of the tortilla, arranged horizontally.
- Add roughly the same amount of the scrambled egg/meat mixture over top of the potatoes.
- Top everything with shredded cheese, making sure that the filling is piled in the center with at least one-and-a-half inches of blank space around the edges to make folding easier.
- With all of the fillings added, fold up the bottom tortilla half horizontally. Use the bottom edge to tuck under the filling a bit and push it back towards you, making it snug in there.
- In my opinion, the fourth step above is the hardest fold. What remains is to fold in each side vertically, then hold the side edges down snugly as you roll the burrito up. Stack these freezer breakfast burritos with the seam side down to hold them in place as you prep the rest of the batch.
Reheating Frozen Breakfast Burritos in the Microwave
My favorite method to reheat freezer breakfast burritos is in the microwave. The best part about it is that you don't even need to thaw them beforehand. They can go right from freezer to microwave.
Remove the frozen breakfast burrito from the foil and wrap it in a paper towel. Place it on a plate and microwave for five minutes on half-power. Let stand for a minute or so to cool before eating.
That's it! No need to plan ahead for defrosting. All microwaves vary a bit so adjust as needed. In my microwave this results in the filling being thoroughly warmed throughout without bursting out and becoming messy.
Reheating Frozen Breakfast Burritos in the Oven
Though it'll take longer than with the microwave, you can easily reheat these freezer breakfast burritos in the oven. Just keep them wrapped in foil and stick them in the oven until the filling is heated throughout.
This method takes a bit longer than you might like for breakfast to be done, so if you don't have a microwave, I'd stick a burrito in the fridge the night before you'd like to eat it. This way it's thawed a bit and will cook faster.
Recipe FAQs
There is so much room for recipe customization there. Crumbled breakfast sausage, chorizo, salsa, cooked veggies (like roasted frozen broccoli) can be subbed in as you see fit. The only two rules are to 1) make sure your filling ingredients are fully cooked before assembling, as the reheat time isn't long enough to cook from raw, and 2) don't overstuff them so that they can't be folded and burst open.
I like to wrap each burrito in aluminum foil, and place them in a jumbo plastic bag (or large reusable silicone bag) in the freezer. I've been toying around with the idea of ditching the foil and simply storing them in the bag without any covering, but I'm afraid they might stick together and be a pain to separate once frozen.
These freeze-and-reheat breakfast burritos will last for about four months or so in the freezer. While they usually don't last nearly as long in my house, I've kept one in there for a lengthier amount of time and have not found it to have gotten soggy or otherwise unpleasant at all once reheating.
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Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 1.75 lbs russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes)
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil or ghee
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
For the rest:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions, diced
- 8 oz boneless ham steak, diced or leftover cooked ham
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 6 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon milk any variety
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 10 large flour tortillas, at least 10-inch diameter
- 3.5 oz shredded cheese (about 1 ½ cups), cheddar, gouda, jack, etc.
Instructions
Parboil the potatoes:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt to the water once boiling, then add potatoes.
- Boil until the potatoes are becoming tender but aren't all the way there, about 14-15 minutes. Carefully remove the potatoes from the hot water and place on a dish towel or paper towels to dry.
Cook the potatoes:
- Once the potatoes have dried and have cooled enough to handle, dice them into cubes approximately half-inch wide. Add oil (or ghee) to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated add potatoes and arrange in an even layer.
- Let potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes, or until browned on most of the sides. Stir up the potatoes frequently so that all sides get a chance to be flat against the pan. Drizzle additional oil over top as needed, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook the rest of the filling:
- Once browned nicely, remove potatoes to a plate and wipe out the pan. Set the pan back on the stove over medium-high heat and add 2 Tablespoons of oil. Once heated add diced onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until becoming golden.
- Add cubed ham and diced jalapeno to the pan with the onion and and stir. Cook for a 3-4 minutes, or until the ham is becoming browned.
- Meanwhile crack eggs into a mixing bowl and add milk. Whisk until smooth and combined. Add chopped, cooked bacon to the pan with everything and pour the eggs over top.
- Using a spatula, push the egg mixture from the edges of the pan to the center. Repeat all around the pan, allowing the uncooked egg to navigate into the empty parts of the pan to cook. Remove the pan from the heat once the eggs are scrambled and cooked.
Assemble the breakfast burritos:
- Place a large tortilla on a flat surface. Scoop a few Tablespoons of potatoes onto the center of the tortilla, in a roughly horizontal arrangement. Over top scoop about the same amount of the scrambled egg mixture. Top with shredded cheese. Make sure you leave a good inch and a half of buffer room on the left and right sides.
- Fold the bottom portion of the tortilla up and even with the top, as if you were going to fold it in half. Using the bottom half of the tortilla, scrape it back to "scrunch" the filling down to become snugly tucked into the center of the tortilla. Hold the tortilla in place.
- Fold the left and right sides of the tortilla in, and then begin rolling the burrito up, ensuring the sides stay tucked in and all of the filling is snug in there. Repeat for the remaining ingredients.
- Wrap each burrito in foil and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
Reheat the burritos:
- Microwave: Unwrap frozen burrito and discard the foil. Wrap the burrito in a paper towel and place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on 50% power for 5 minutes, or until well-heated throughout.
- Oven: Heat oven to 350°F and place foil-wrapped burrito(s) right on the oven rack. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until filling is heated throughout.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
Allynne says
Perfect do ahead breakfast!
Alyssa says
Thank you - I agree!