Recipe for basic breakfast burritos

Before my husband Ted and I visited New Mexico, I'd never heard of a breakfast burrito. The first meal at Chez Pasqual's, a popular Santa Fe cafe, opened our eyes to breakfast Southwest style, and we've been wrapping eggs in tortillas at home ever since. Scrambled eggs happily accommodate almost any mix-in you can find in your kitchen -- think chile peppers, sausage, vegetables, or shredded rotisserie chicken. Flour tortillas are the traditional wrap for breakfast burritos. These days, every supermarket, including the one in our small town, sells spinach or sun-dried tomato or whole wheat tortillas. And, if you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's nearby, spice up your eggs with some canned green chiles or chorizo and wrap all of that spicy goodness in TJ's jalapeño-lime tortillas. Now, that's a wake-up call!

Breakfast burrito

From the pantry, you'll need: eggs, tortillas, canned chile peppers, cooking spray, grated cheese.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

2 large flour tortillas, any type
Cooking spray
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped onion
4 large or extra-large eggs
2 tsp milk (any kind; I use skim milk)
1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper jack)
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped canned green chile peppers, or more to taste
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of fresh black pepper

Directions

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toast the tortillas in the dry skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side, until just starting to brown. Set out on serving plates.

Remove the skillet from heat, and spray with the cooking spray. Put the skillet back on the heat, add the onions, and sauté for 2 minutes until they are translucent. Scrape onto a plate to cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs. Then add the cheese, chiles, salt and pepper. Add the cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Spray the skillet with cooking spray again. Reduce heat to low. Pour in the egg mixture and cook, stirring gently, for 3-4 minutes, until the eggs are set as firmly as you like them. Place half of the cooked egg mixture on top of each tortilla. Roll, and serve, with green or red Tabasco® or other hot sauce on the side.

Note: If you have some guacamole in your fridge, top the eggs with a spoonful of that (I didn't). If you'd like a few strips of cooked bacon, add them (I did). A dollop of salsa would never be unwelcome; I topped my burrito with some of the jalapeño nectarine salsa fresca I made a couple of weeks ago. And if you want to dice some spicy sausage and cook that with the eggs, go right ahead. It's all good.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Corn, green chile, egg and cheese casserole
Italian-style omelet appetizer
Zucchini frittata
Green chile, cheese and egg breakfast muffins
Egg and cheese breakfast muffins with mushrooms and thyme

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Chorizo and eggs, from Simply Recipes
Farmer's breakfast casserole with low-fat mozzarella cheese, from In Good Taste
Broccoli cheese breakfast casserole, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Savoury breakfast strudel with bacon, eggs and cheese, from Not Quite Nigella
Egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, from Macheesmo

Breakfast burrito

From the pantry, you'll need: eggs, tortillas, canned chile peppers, cooking spray, grated cheese.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

2 large flour tortillas, any type
Cooking spray
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped onion
4 large or extra-large eggs
2 tsp milk (any kind; I use skim milk)
1/4 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack or pepper jack)
1-1/2 tsp finely chopped canned green chile peppers, or more to taste
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of fresh black pepper

Directions

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Toast the tortillas in the dry skillet for 1-2 minutes on each side, until just starting to brown. Set out on serving plates.

Remove the skillet from heat, and spray with the cooking spray. Put the skillet back on the heat, add the onions, and sauté for 2 minutes until they are translucent. Scrape onto a plate to cool slightly.

In a bowl, whisk together the eggs. Then add the cheese, chiles, salt and pepper. Add the cooked onions. Stir to combine.

Spray the skillet with cooking spray again. Reduce heat to low. Pour in the egg mixture and cook, stirring gently, for 3-4 minutes, until the eggs are set as firmly as you like them. Place half of the cooked egg mixture on top of each tortilla. Roll, and serve, with green or red Tabasco® or other hot sauce on the side.

Note: If you have some guacamole in your fridge, top the eggs with a spoonful of that (I didn't). If you'd like a few strips of cooked bacon, add them (I did). A dollop of salsa would never be unwelcome; I topped my burrito with some of the jalapeño nectarine salsa fresca I made a couple of weeks ago. And if you want to dice some spicy sausage and cook that with the eggs, go right ahead. It's all good.

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

More recipes in The Perfect Pantry:
Corn, green chile, egg and cheese casserole
Italian-style omelet appetizer
Zucchini frittata
Green chile, cheese and egg breakfast muffins
Egg and cheese breakfast muffins with mushrooms and thyme

Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Chorizo and eggs, from Simply Recipes
Farmer's breakfast casserole with low-fat mozzarella cheese, from In Good Taste
Broccoli cheese breakfast casserole, from Kalyn's Kitchen
Savoury breakfast strudel with bacon, eggs and cheese, from Not Quite Nigella
Egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches, from Macheesmo

Comments

My tried and true breakfast is a salsa omelet, so all I need is the tortilla. And more goodies to take the next step. Love the color of that tortilla!

Breakfast burritos are a regular on our weekend breakfast rotation. Love adding in a little diced avocado, too!

yep one of my all time favs.
love these for dinner or snack or... lol

My husband discoveered them in Santa Fe too, but at Tecelote Cafe - it's a little bit of sunshine in the morning for me!

We even take your suggested ingredients and make tacos for breakfast----I would want a Mexican feast, if choice for last meal was given and the spicier the better!! And I would love to live next door to you and Ted!!

Susan, just wrap up that omelet in a tortilla, and you've got a breakfast burrito! The tortilla in the photo is a jalapeño-lime tortilla, which a bit of a kick.

Michelle, avocado is so perfect with the eggs.

VanillaSugar, what's better than breakfast for dinner?!

Kate, I'm forever grateful to our first visit to Santa Fe, for introducing us to so many delicious foods we'd never had here on the East Coast.

Pat, if you lived next door, I'd be happy to cook super spicy food for all of us!

I often bake myself a frittata, add some chopped avocado or refried beans and wrap it all up in a tortilla. While it doesn't come close to a freshly scrambled egg, its still filling and extremely satisfying and beats sweet cereal any day. Should check out TJ's chorizos.

Oh yes, I would love this for breakfast. So many variations of this that would be good!

honestly now that I live near a major city with so many diverse ingredients in the grocery stores and restaurants - I have to wonder... what it is I was eating before?! LOVE breakfast burritos!

I loved breakfast burritos when I was exchange student in Colorado, but I haven't had them since! As I always need an inspiration for breakfast, this sounds perfect. Thanks for the idea:)
I love your new banner!

We LOVE breakfast burritos at our house. And now I want one. For an afternoon snack. :)

Locally, eggs, potatoes and cheese are big.