Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos

cut open burrito on top of another burrito

5 from 10 votes

I've made hundreds of these make-ahead breakfast burritos. They take a few steps, but the convenience of a 2 minute meal-on-the-go for busy mornings or for exhausted new parents is worth it. Choose your fillings. I like egg, cheese, sausage and caramelized onions.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Breakfast, meal prep

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings (change as needed): burritos

Author: Cheryl Avrich

Ingredients

16 medium flour tortillas (8 inch/20 cm)
3 cups (345 grams) cheddar cheese, grated (or gruyere or monterey jack)

For onions

2 medium onions (or 1 very large)
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt to taste
pinch sugar (optional)

For eggs

12 large eggs, Note 1
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Additional fillings (optional)

12 -16 breakfast sausage links, cooked and cut into 1/4 inch pieces., Note 2
Note 3: veggie fillings
Note 4: seasonings
Note 5: toppings

Instructions

COOK ONIONS: Slice onions thinly. Heat large pan to medium-high. heat Add oil. Add onions and stir for 5-6 minutes. You can cook chopped peppers, spinach or mushrooms at the same time as the onions if you are not caramelizing them.
°To caramelize: Add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar (which will speed up caramelization process). Lower heat to medium heat or medium-low heat. Cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion are browned and caramelized. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Onions can be made several days ahead and kept in airtight container in fridge.
°To fry (much quicker): Add a pinch of salt. Keep cooking until onions are soft, translucent, slightly browned (if you like) and moisture has evaporated. Total 7-8 minutes.
MAKE OR PREP OTHER FILLING OPTIONS IF DESIRED: Eg. sausages, beans, guacomole. Also peppers, mushrooms, spinach (if not cooked with onions), etc. Note 2 and 3.
COOK EGGS: You are making scrambled eggs - if you know how, feel free to skip this instruction. Crack eggs into a bowl. Add milk. Whisk together. Heat the same skillet to medium-high heat. Add egg mixture. Let set for a minute. Stir. LOWER heat to medium low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook eggs slowly, stirring (and breaking into pieces) occasionally until eggs are set the way you like them (moister or drier), about 5 minutes. Take them off the heat just before fully cooked (they will finish cooking off heat). Don't overcook the eggs or they may become watery when freezing. Let cool to room temperature.
ASSEMBLE: Mix together the fillings you are using except for cheese. Add seasonings you like (Note 4). Make an assembly line with as many tortillas as you can place on a clean counter. If using refried beans, spread 1-2 teaspoons on lower third of tortillas. Top with about 1/3 cup/75 grams of filling mixture on each, then with about 1/8-1/4 cup/20-28 grams of shredded cheese on each. For each burrito, fold in two sides of the tortilla, then roll up tightly, placing burrito seam side down. Here's a visual on how to fold a burrito. Repeat for rest of tortillas.
BROWN BURRITOS (OPTIONAL): I only do this if I'm don't plan to freeze burritos for later. Or once I defrost them. If burritos are cold, microwave them first for 45 seconds. Heat a teaspoon or two of butter or oil in a large non stick skillet to medium-high heat. Place as many burritos in skillet as will fit. Fry until golden brown (about 1-2 minutes). Flip and fry another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Repeat with more burritos as needed.
Serve with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce or taco sauce if desired.

Notes

Number of eggs to use: if I use several fillings, I use 12 eggs for 16 burritos. If you like more egg or you are using less fillings, use 1 egg per burrito (e.g. 16 eggs for 16 burritos). You can also add another 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk if you want to stretch the filling.
Sausages or other meats: My go-to is breakfast sausage links (I like maple sausage). I grill them for a few minutes, then cut them up. Or you can remove the meat from the casing and fry them. Other options: bacon, any other type of sausage, peameal (Canadian) bacon, ham, pastrami, corned beef.
Other veggie filling options:
- 8 ounces chopped mushrooms, 1 red pepper or 2 handfuls fresh spinach. You can cook these with the onions (if not caramelizing the onions). Otherwise, cook in a skillet separately.
- cooked potatoes, hash browns or tater tots (cook according to package instructions);
- cooked spinach (squeeze out the water);
- refried beans (from can) or black or pinto beans, rinsed and drained. About 1 cup.
- if you are not freezing the burritos, you can also add avocado chunks, guacamole, arugula, salsa.
Flavor/seasoning options: smoked paprika, fresh or dried herbs like cilantro, tarragon or chives, garlic. Start with 1/2 teaspoon dried (or 1/2 tablespoon fresh), then taste and adjust.
Toppings: serve with salsa, sour cream, taco sauce or hot sauce.
Make ahead, store, freeze, reheat
1. To keep hot for an hour. Place on baking sheet, cover well with aluminum foil, then keep hot in a warm oven - 300F/149C for 15-20 minutes.
2. To make up to 2 days ahead: Keep burritos in an airtight container like a ziploc bag. To reheat, place in 350F/177C oven for 10-15 minutes. Or, place one or two burritos on microwave-safe plate, covered with a damp paper towel, and microwave on High for 60-90 seconds.
3. To freeze: wrap each burrito individually in aluminum foil (or parchment paper or plastic wrap), then place them in a large freezer sealed plastic bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat frozen burrito, it's best to defrost first in fridge overnight (or defrost in microwave for 2-3 minutes - remove foil first). You can also microwave it from frozen for 1 minute - remove foil and loosely cover with a damp paper towel, flip over and microwave another minute or until heated through.

Nutrition values are estimates for one burrito made with a flour tortilla, eggs, onions and cheese. Additional add-ins will increase values.