A big flour tortilla loaded with breakfast sausage, crispy potatoes, roasted green chilies, jalapeños, soft scrambled eggs and plenty of melty cheese, then crisped in the skillet until golden.
Looking for the perfect Breakfast Burrito to kick off your morning? Here it is, my friends!
I have eaten a lot of sad breakfast burritos in my day. Fast food drive throughs or hotel offerings with rubbery eggs, limp tortillas, and hardly any cheese. Not this one.
I start my homemade breakfast burritos with browned and crumbled breakfast sausage, then cook diced potatoes into the rendered fat until nice and crispy. This adds so much extra flavor.
Add in a full cup of roasted green chilies, a couple chopped jalapeños for extra kick, soft scrambled eggs, and plenty of melty cheese. Roll it up, brown it in a skillet, and BOOM. Satisfies every time.
The roasted chilies really make this dish stand out. Most breakfast burritos out there are the same recipe over and over. No one ever considers the zest factor like I do. It's where the extra flavor lives. And, I'll show you how to dial that heat and spice factor up or down for you and your family.
They freeze beautifully, too. One morning of cooking gets you breakfast for a couple of weeks.
Let's talk about how to make the best breakfast burrito, shall we?
Breakfast Burrito Ingredients
The full ingredients list with measurements is listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Breakfast Sausage. Bulk breakfast sausage is best over links, though links work, too. Use hot or sage, whichever you like.
- Potatoes. Yukon gold, cut into a small dice. They crisp up nicely and soak up the rendered fat from the sausage for big flavor.
- Roasted Green Chilies. Hatch or New Mexican green chilies if you can get them, poblanos if you can't. Fresh roasted is best, but frozen roasted or canned green chilies work very nicely. This is what makes it Chili Pepper Madness.
- Jalapeño Peppers. For fresh bite along with the roasted chili flavor.
- Onion. Diced small.
- Eggs. Scrambled soft. Eggs for breakfast!
- Cheese. Pepper jack and sharp cheddar, nice and melty. You can use other melty cheeses. Use your favorites.
- Seasonings. Smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Nice and simple. If you want something spicier like a chorizo burrito, and I have a recipe for you with my Spicy Breakfast Tacos.
- Flour Tortillas. Burrito size, 12 inch. Look for tortillas labeled "burrito size" at the store.
How to Make Breakfast Burritos
Brown the sausage. Set a large skillet over medium heat and cook the sausage, breaking it up as it goes, 6 to 8 minutes. Pull it out with a slotted spoon and leave the flavorful fat in the pan. If needed, add a splash of oil.
Crisp the potatoes. Add the diced potatoes to the hot fat in a single layer with a pinch of salt. Leave them alone for 4 to 5 minutes. Don't stir. Let them set a crust on one side, then toss and keep cooking 8 to 10 minutes until they're crisp outside and tender through.
Add the peppers. Stir in the onion and jalapeño and cook 3 minutes to soften. Add the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then the roasted green chilies. Cook 1 minute more. Return the sausage, toss it all together, and scrape everything into a bowl.
Scramble the eggs. Wipe out the pan and melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt, pour them in, and push them gently from the edges toward the center to form soft curds. Pull them off the heat at 2 to 3 minutes while they still look glossy. They'll finish cooking in the burrito.
Build the burrito. Warm the tortillas until they're pliable. Lay down a strip of cheese slightly off center, then the potato and sausage mixture, then the eggs, then the rest of the cheese on top. Fold the sides in first, then roll it up tight from the bottom.
Crisp it. Set the burrito seam side down in a dry skillet over medium heat and press it lightly. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and do the other side, until it's browned and sealed.
Serve it hot with salsa, hot sauce, avocado or crema.
BOOM! Done. Your breakfast burrito is ready. I hope you're hungry!
Jalapeño Crema
The green sauce you see in the photos is a jalapeño crema, which is easy to make and perfect with breakfast burritos. It's cool, tangy, a little bit spicy, and the creaminess cuts through the richness of the sausage, potatoes and cheese. It takes about two minutes in a blender.
Use fresh jalapeños for a brighter, greener sauce and more of the raw chili bite. Or, roasted jalapeños first for smokier, more mellow heat. Simply roast them under the broiler until the skins blister, steam them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel. If you're already roasting chilies for the filling, throw a couple extra jalapeños on the tray and use them for this.
What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 jalapeño peppers, fresh or roasted, stems removed and coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Salt to taste
Add everything to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Thin it with a teaspoon of water or lime juice at a time if it's too thick. Taste it and adjust for salt and lime. It keeps in the refrigerator about a week and gets better on day two.
For more heat, leave the jalapeño seeds in, or swap in a serrano.
You might also like my Creamy Jalapeño Sauce (Salsa Doña), which is oil based and even zestier. Both are excellent on these burritos.
How Spicy Is This Breakfast Burrito?
Medium, as written, and completely adjustable.
The roasted green chilies bring more flavor than fire. Hatch and New Mexican chilies run 1,000 to 8,000 SHU depending on the variety, and mild versions are easy to find. The jalapeños bring most of the actual heat at 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.
- Milder. Core the jalapeños, or leave them out entirely. You'll still get all the roasted chili flavor.
- Medium. As written. Whole jalapeños, seeds and all, with hot Hatch chilies if you have them.
- Hot. Swap the jalapeños for serrano peppers, or add a chopped serrano on top of them.
- Wild. Habanero, one finely chopped, cooked with the onion. Or work in your favorite superhot. A pinch of cayenne or ghost pepper powder with the smoked paprika does the job too.
- Saucy. Serve with the Jalapeño Crema above, my Creamy Jalapeño Sauce (Salsa Doña), Salsa Verde, Salsa Roja, Taco Sauce, or any hot sauce you love. Or go all the way and smother the whole thing. They're so good with my Homemade Restaurant-Style Salsa, too.
Freezer Breakfast Burritos
These freeze very nicely, which makes them perfect for make ahead and meal prep for busy families. Here is how you prep them for freezing:
- Pull the eggs early. They should be distinctly soft and wet when you stop cooking them. They'll cook again in the pan when you brown them, and a third time when you reheat. Overcooked eggs can get rubbery from the freezer.
- Cool before freezing. Bring the fillings to room temperature before you assemble. Warm filling steams inside the wrapper and gives you a soggy tortilla.
- Skip wet ingredients. Do not add avocado, sour cream, salsa, or other wet ingredients inside a burrito you plan to freeze. Add only when serving.
- Wrap tight. Roll the burrito, then wrap it snugly in foil. Into a freezer bag, and they keep 3 months.
- To reheat: Unwrap, microwave 2 to 3 minutes from frozen, then finish it in a dry skillet for a couple minutes a side to bring back the crisp exterior. Works great.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Don't overfill. I know. An overstuffed burrito may not close and is harder to crisp. I hate it when all the filling spills out. If you wind up with leftover filling, you can freeze it for later use.
- Roasting your own chilies. Broil or grill them until the skins blister and blacken, steam them in a covered bowl 10 minutes, then peel and chop. This is always worth doing. Do this with a large harvest so you can have them on hand for other recipes. See my post on How to Roast Chili Peppers.
Breakfast Burrito Variations
- Chorizo. Swap the breakfast sausage for Mexican chorizo, homemade or store bought. These are hugely satisfying with chorizo.
- Bacon. Chop and cook 8 to 10 slices, then crisp the potatoes in the bacon fat. Try a combo with both bacon and sausage.
- Ham. Add diced ham at the end just to warm through. Patty loves these with ham.
- Smothered. Roll the burrito, set it on a plate, and pour warm red enchilada sauce (my choice) or green enchilada sauce (Patty's choice) over the top with extra cheese.
- Meatless. Skip the sausage, cook the potatoes in oil or butter, and add a can of drained black beans with the chilies. Great vegetarian option.
Storage
Assembled breakfast burritos keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Wrap each one individually in foil or plastic wrap, or store them in a sealed container so the tortillas don't dry out. I'd wrap them before browning them in the skillet, then crisp them fresh when you're ready to eat to avoid any textural issues.
To reheat, unwrap and microwave 1 to 2 minutes until heated through, then finish it in a dry skillet for a couple minutes a side.
If you'd rather store the components than the whole burritos, the filling holds up well on its own. Keep the potato and sausage mixture and the scrambled eggs in separate sealed containers in the refrigerator for 4 days, then reheat and roll fresh in the morning.
That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my recipe for breakfast burritos. So good! Let me know if you make it. I'd love to hear how it turned out for you, and if you decided to spice it up!
Get FLAVOR MADNESS - The Cookbook!
Have you seen my new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? Big Flavor Recipes! You absolutely can't miss it. Check it out!
More Spicy Breakfast Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Breakfast Burrito Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 2 medium)
- Pinch of salt for the potatoes
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 1-2 jalapeño peppers chopped
- 1 cup chopped roasted green chilies Hatch, New Mexican, or poblano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 8 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 ounces pepper jack cheese shredded
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 burrito-size flour tortillas 12-inch
For Serving (optional)
- Jalapeño Crema recipe in the post above
- Salsa or hot sauce
- Avocado
- Sour cream or Mexican crema
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Cook the sausage. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the breakfast sausage. Cook 6-8 minutes, breaking it apart with a spoon, until cooked through. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and leave the rendered fat in the pan. If you have less than 2 tablespoons of fat, add a bit of oil.
- Crisp the potatoes. Add the diced potatoes in a single layer with a pinch of salt. Cook without stirring for 4-5 minutes to form a crust, then toss and continue cooking 8-10 minutes, until crisp outside and tender through.
- Add the peppers. Stir in the onion and jalapeño and cook 3 minutes to soften. Add the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then stir in the roasted green chilies. Cook 1 minute more. Return the sausage to the pan, toss to combine, and transfer everything to a bowl.
- Scramble the eggs. Wipe the pan clean and melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt, then pour them into the pan. Push the eggs gently from the edges toward the center to form soft curds, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat while they are still glossy and slightly underdone.
- Assemble. Warm the tortillas until pliable. Layer a strip of cheese slightly off center, then the potato and sausage mixture, then the eggs, then the remaining cheese. Fold in the sides, then roll up tightly from the bottom.
- Crisp the burritos. Set each burrito seam side down in a dry skillet over medium heat and press lightly. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, until browned and sealed.
- Serve hot with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the green sauce in the photos?
That's my jalapeño crema, and the recipe for it is in the post above. It's cool, tangy and mildly spicy, and it works nicely with the sausage and potatoes.
Can I make these ahead?
Yes. See the freezer section above. You can also refrigerate assembled burritos for up to 3 days and crisp them in a skillet when you're ready.
Can I use frozen hash browns instead of fresh potatoes?
You can. Cook them in the sausage fat the same way. You'll lose some of the texture, but it's a good time saver.
Can I use canned green chilies?
Yes. Drain them well first, since the extra liquid can make the filling wet.
How long do these keep in the freezer?
Up to 3 months, wrapped in foil inside a freezer bag.
Leave a Reply