Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast Burritos
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,421)
Notes
Read community notes

A delightful breakfast, these burritos filled with soft scrambled eggs, scallion-flecked refried beans and buttery avocado slices are also great any time of the day. Cilantro adds freshness, and a few drops of your favorite hot sauce will deliver a nice zing. The nontraditional open-ended rolling technique used here will tightly encase the filling in the smaller-size tortillas while ensuring the optimal tortilla-to-stuffing ratio. To seal completely, wrap each tortilla in a strip of foil and twist both ends. For convenience, the little wraps can be made ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator or freezer and reheated in an oven. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 8medium (soft taco-size) flour tortillas
  • 5ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely grated (1¼ cups)
  • 2tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
  • 2scallions, thinly sliced
  • ½teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1cup refried black beans (from a 16-ounce can)
  • 6large eggs, beaten
  • Kosher salt
  • Hot sauce, for drizzling (optional)
  • 1small ripe avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced
  • ¼cup fresh cilantro leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

843 calories; 40 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 7 grams polyunsaturated fat; 83 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 39 grams protein; 1088 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat broiler to high and line two sheet pans with foil.

  2. Step 2

    Place the tortillas on the sheet pans. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the tortillas. Broil, one pan at a time, until the cheese is just beginning to melt, about 20 seconds.

  3. Step 3

    In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add the scallions and cumin and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the refried beans, stir to combine and cook until the beans are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Divide the beans among the tortillas, spooning in even lines down the centers.

  4. Step 4

    Wipe out the skillet and set over to medium-low heat. Pour in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, add the whisked eggs and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are just set, about 3 minutes. Divide the eggs evenly among the tortillas, in lines over the beans. Drizzle on hot sauce, if using.

  5. Step 5

    Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the eggs and top with avocado and cilantro. To roll, fold one side over the filling to enclose it, then tightly roll away from you, leaving the ends open. Serve immediately, or wrap in foil and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Reheat in a 400-degree oven or toaster oven until warm, about 8 minutes.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,421 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Instead of using refried beans I use plain canned black beans. I put a can of black beans with the can liquid in a pot, add about 2 tsp of chili power and 1 tsp of cumin, bring to a simmer and then mash them with a potato masher or blend with an immersion blender. I cook them until enough liquid has evaporated so that they have the texture of refried beans.

Actually, if you can opt for refried pinto beans instead of black in this recipe, surprisingly, Rosarita makes incredible organic canned refried pintos; they use organic coconut oil as the fat and are very nicely seasoned… although we cook bean from dry like crazy, we keep them around for quick fixes, like midnight bean/cheese quesadillas or whatever. Pretty easy to find and excellent for canned; Costco sells them in an 8-pack :-)

I added raw garden fresh radishes that I cut into matchsticks as an additional topping. The radish added some crunch, some color and a bright favor to the burritos. This is great served with a nice pico de gallo as well.

Avocado tastes better at room temprano, not heated. It is better to add after warming the burrito in the oven.

Plenty of flour tortillas in Mexico. Only gringos think Mexicans only use corn

I love a good breakfast taco. As someone from San Antonio, I believe these are actually breakfast tacos, not burritos. Smaller tortilla open-ended rolling technique less stuffing = breakfast taco. (I’ve always preferred breakfast tacos to burritos for precisely these traits! Even better with homemade flour tortillas.)

I use parchment paper instead of foil as aluminum is a scarce resource. The parchment paper can then be composted after use!

Last night I made the burritos and today was my first day eating one for breakfast at work. I put the foil-wrapped frozen burrito in the oven as soon as I woke up, then brushed my teeth and combed my hair, and grabbed the burrito out of the oven on my way out the door. Thirty minutes later, I was eating it at my desk, and it was still warm. It tasted better than anything I would have bought from Dunkin or SB for $7.

Y’all. These are tacos, not burritos. As explained in the summary, they use regular sized tortillas that are rolled, with the ends left open. You can get creative with the ingredients. Come taste the best breakfast tacos in the world in Austin, TX.

I like the idea of make ahead & freezing for fast breakfasts. But how do the avocado and cilantro come out after freezing and reheating? Anyone have experience with that? Thanks.

I totally agree with Ramirez. The writer of this recipe needs to come to California to see what a breakfast burrito tastes like and looks like. This example is sad. A proper breakfast burrito has potatoes, Pico de Gallo, hot sauce, eggs, bacon or other meat, maybe some beans. It is overflowing with delight.

Fresh corn tortillas are a thousand times better than flour (aka "gringo") tortillas in dishes like this.

Looks good, except I wouldn't call them breakfast burritos. A classic breakfast burrito needs a protein like breakfast sausage, bacon, or ham, eggs, hash brown or home fries, freshly made pico de gallo, spicy salsa roja/taquera, and cheese (optional). Cheers.

I actually served this for dinner- we got home late and the kids were starving. It worked out really well, everyone loved it and it really did take 15 minutes. I followed the recipe exactly (with green pepper cholula hot sauce) except I only had burrito sized wraps. Everything fit perfectly on 5 large wraps. Much better than calling for pizza, and still minimal dishes. Served with the garlicky Swiss chard from this site on the side (another 5 minutes). Highly recommend for a quick meal!!

These breakfast tacos were delicious for supper. Followed recipe with addition of matchstick radish slices (thanks to notes), creamy salsa verde from Austin and a slice of bacon over each soft taco. Many thanks

Never, ever use canned beans! Home cooked black beans are the best; can easily freeze what you don't use the first time

Living in San Diego almost every breakfast burrito you order has potatoes in it. Adding them is delicious.

what can I substitute for avocado?

Charro beans. Canned and slightly healthier and spunkier whole pinto, with a hint of bacon and chorizo. La Costena charro beans (not vegan) are not slimy like refried beans. Open the can, pour off most of the liquid and fork it on.

To cut down on time, I briefly microwaved the beans and instead added the cumin/scallions in with my scrambled eggs. Used chopsticks to stir them for very fluffy eggs. These came out wonderfully for our camping trip!

Not a real breakfast buritto. The authentic is in New Mexico - scrambled eggs (with or without meat) in a rolled flour tortilla smothered with New Mexican green chile and shredded cheese on top surrounded by whole pinto beans.

Down here in Texas, you can put just about anything on your breakfast tacos to go with eggs. I personally do caramelized onions, cheese, avocado and some kind of breakfast potato, but it's really up to you. I love a good potato and egg breakfast taco, personally, but meat options from smoked brisket and bacon to carnitas and carne asada are welcome additions. Here is a terrible, awful, amazing secret: try tater tots sometime instead of regular potatoes. Just sayin'.

Use the whole can of beans. What do you do with a leftover half can of beans? Fill the tortillas with more beans and fold them over instead of rolling them up. Use a sharp cheddar for more flavor. These are great for breakfast, but also good any time of day!

Amazed that, even with freezing and reheating, the avocado stayed fresh-tasting and the tortilla (Sonoran style) didn’t get soggy. The hot sauce is a must

Wow, with a few variations I will definitely have them for dinner! Liked all your suggestions....keep them coming!

A couple of strips of crisp bacon add a lot! In New Mexico, it’s rare to use beans, but there’s no formula, except we add roasted green chile, not hot sauce! Also, we tuck the bottom to make it a true burrito- it’s often a take away meal. And we roll it in foil before cooking, so the tortilla stays soft.

These are tacos and all things breakfast are super regional. Texas is all about the taco. Southern California is burrito oriented, much larger and a wider variety of fillings. These are fine and super quick. Sub in the Taco Bell refried beans and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Eggs, potatoes, cheese, red chile sauce (which is not “hot sauce”), large flour tortilla.

Maybe it's just me but a proper breakfast burrito should be the size of a foot long sub. No avocado or refried beans. Lots of eggs, hashbrowns or tater tots and chorizo or bacon. THAT is a proper breakfast burrito. This is a sad 'I'm on a diet' taco.

Nice recipe! But don't add the fresh cilantro and avocado if you plan to freeze these! They will be ruined. Add them after the burrito is thawed and re-roll.

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