If you’ve been following the blog for a while, then you know how I love to meal prep my breakfast. It’s just so much easier to spend a little time on the weekend to get my breakfast in order so I can just pop one in the microwave every morning and have a nice hot breakfast in about 90 seconds. These Country Breakfast Bowls are one of the first breakfast meal prep recipes that I ever made. And I haven’t stopped since.
Shown with Pyrex 3-cup glass meal prep containers, which can be found in my Amazon Shop.
I got the idea for these Country Breakfast Bowls while watching TV. I saw a commercial for some frozen breakfast bowls that no doubt cost about $4 each and thought, “I can make that!” And for much less, of course. These breakfast meal prep bowls are so incredibly easy, you can make them while you’re watching TV on Sunday afternoon and have breakfast sorted for the rest of the week.
What’s in a Country Breakfast Bowl?
My breakfast bowls start with a bed of seasoned roasted potatoes, and are then topped with scrambled eggs, a little salsa, and cheddar cheese. You could also add these fun toppings:
- sautéed breakfast sausage
- crumbled bacon
- green onions
- ham
- bell pepper
- hot sauce
How Long do The Breakfast Bowls Stay Good?
You can keep these Country Breakfast Bowls in the refrigerator for about four days, or in the freezer for about three months. To freeze the bowls, make sure to cool them completely in the refrigerator first (overnight), then transfer them to the freezer the next day.
How to Reheat Country Breakfast Bowls
I reheat my Country Breakfast Bowls from the refrigerator in the microwave for about 90 seconds on high, but the total time needed will depend on the wattage of your microwave and your containers. To reheat from frozen, first use the defrost setting for about 3-5 minutes, then finish on high for 1-2 minutes. Or you can transfer the breakfast bowl from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before and skip the defrost step.
And who says you have to eat this for breakfast? NO ONE. They’re also great for taking to work for lunch, or a quick lazy dinner!
Country Breakfast Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes ($1.00)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- ¼ tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
- 6 large eggs ($1.40)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 1 cup salsa ($1.49)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($0.85)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Wash and cut the potatoes into ½-inch cubes.
- For extra protection against the potatoes sticking, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Otherwise, rub 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over the surface of a large baking sheet. Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the potatoes, along with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat the potatoes in oil and spices.
- Roast the potatoes in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy. Stir once half way through roasting.
- When the potatoes are close to being finished, crack the eggs into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Gently whisk the eggs.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted, pour in the eggs. Gently move the eggs around the skillet until they are mostly solid, but still soft and glistening. Be careful not to over cook the eggs at this point because they will cook further when the breakfast bowls are reheated.
- To prepare the bowls, divide the roasted potatoes and scrambled eggs between four freezer safe containers. Add 1/4 cup of salsa to each container then top with about 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.
- Chill the bowls in the refrigerator before transferring to the freezer. Or, leave them in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them within 4-5 days.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Country Breakfast Bowls – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Clean and dice 2 lbs. russet potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Line a baking sheet with parchment for extra protection against sticking, or, if you like to live dangerous like me, just smear a tablespoon of oil over the surface of a baking sheet. Spread the potatoes out over the prepared baking sheet.
Add a second tablespoon of olive oil to the potatoes along with 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Toss the potatoes to coat them in oil and spices.
Roast the potatoes in the preheated oven for about 40-45 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. Stir once half way through roasting.
When the potatoes are almost done roasting, crack six large eggs into a bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Lightly whisk the eggs.
Heat two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the whisked eggs. Cook the eggs slowly, gently moving them around the skillet with a spatula, until they are mostly set, but still soft and glistening. It’s really important not to overcook the eggs at this point because they will cook even further when you reheat the bowls.
To build the country breakfast bowls, divide the roasted potatoes between four containers.
Next, divide the scrambled eggs between the four containers.
Add ¼ cup salsa to each container.
Lastly, add ¼ cup shredded cheddar to each container. Refrigerate the containers for 4 days, or freeze for longer storage.
To reheat, simply microwave until heated through and enjoy!
I’m looking at starting to prepare meals ahead especially for lunch at work. I worry about freezing then reheating, what the best way? Defrost first or straight into microwave & for how long roughly for meat contents etc? Thanks in advance
I reheated this one straight from the freezer. The time needed and settings will depend on how big your servings are and the power of your microwave. I usually do one minute on high first, then try to stir, and add intervals of 30 seconds to 1 minute with stirring in between until it’s heated through.
Fantastic recipe! How do I warm these up, though?
I use the microwave. :)
What size containers do you use to store these? I am excited to make these as I am trying to get myself away from cereal every morning, but also am not a huge fan of cooking while still half asleep!
I think my containers are about 3 cups each, but I don’t fill them all the way up. Just enough for one serving in each container.
This is fabulous! Mine turned out great! The proportions were perfect. I also added green pepper. Delish!
How long do you reheat them when you want to eat them in the morning?
It depends on your microwave, but I usually start with a minute and then add time if needed.
I just made a batch of these and can’t wait to try them tomorrow morning! I took out the salsa because I can’t do the acidity that early in the day, and I added some diced ham for a little more protein and smokey flavor. They look and smell fabulous!
Has anyone tried reheating these in the oven rather than the microwave? We did away with our microwave over a year ago so I’m just curious how these would turn out.
How long do you recommend microwaving these bowls?
It really depends on your microwave and the type of dish. Start with one minute, give it a stir, and add additional minutes or 30 second increments as needed.
Great deal!
But for us here in Portugal this is like a dinner :)
I will try this recipe and method to light a bit my work at nights, when I have to cook both dinner and next day’s lunch, thanks!
Can these be made without salsa? Or with a substitute for the salsa?
Yep, you can pretty much customize it to have whatever you want. I’d probably just leave it out and then if you wanted you could add a little ketchup after reheating.
Do you heat them in the oven to melt the cheese after taking them out of the freezer in the morning? Or do you keep the cheese as is?
I just reheat the whole bowl in the microwave.
What can be an alternative to paprika so it won’t be spicy?
You can either leave it out or use sweet paprika, which isn’t spicy.
Hey Beth! I’m brand new to meal prepping and just wanted to share with you that I’ve been googling quite a bit and you have one of the most helpful and tasty looking websites I’ve found so far! Thank you for doing the research and sharing it with us! :)
Thank you! I’m glad I can help! :)
Fantastic. I made 6 servings, but it turns out, I could’ve made 8, because the individual servings are too big for me in the morning. I ate most of one at 8am and wasn’t hungry until after noon, which never happens for me. I eat lunch at 11am. Will make modified versions in the future.
Excellent recipe – prepped my week of lunches with the instructions, and it tastes absolutely delicious! Did add a bit of ham, otherwise I changed nothing. Definitely will be making this again.