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.
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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.
Equipment
- Enamelware Sheet Pan
- 2qt Enamelware Bowl
- Whisk
- Pyrex Glass Meal Prep
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!
This was delicious, I made enough for just one serving and it turned out great, nice medley of flavors, thanks.
How long did you heat up for?
I want to make these for a crew of men from our church working on a “fixer upper” team. Can I put them in tin pans and then heat in the oven? If so, how long? Once I bake them I have to transport them to the work site and I need to keep them warm as long as possible. Any ideas?
Excited to try this! Thanks!
Yes, you can definitely place them in pans and reheat them in the oven, although I’ve never done this so I’m not sure how long it will take or what temperature would be best.
I make breakfast scrambles all the time. My favorite is roasted sweet potato, bell pepper, onions, black beans, turkey sausage, eggs, and cheddar cheese. I top it with Southwest Seasoning and sometimes roll it all up in a flour tortilla.
This is the best breakfast bowl recipe I’ve ever seen! I never miss breakfast, and I always try to make it hearty. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! The salsa adds the perfect amount of moisture to the dish after it has been microwaved. I made a big batch of this and stowed it in the fridge. It was gone within days because it was easy to pack up and take to work! My boyfriend loved it too and we definitely will be making this regularly! So cheap and so easy! Thanks Beth!!!
I’m just curious how the potatoes turn out. I feel like any cooked potatoe reheated is never that good. It never seems to be soft. Anyone know how this worked for them?
If you generally don’t like reheated potatoes, you probably won’t be a fan of them here either. I personally have never had an issue with the texture of reheated potatoes so it didn’t bother me, but I know a lot of people do. :)
This is a great recipe! I changed it a bit and used sweet potatoes and mango salsa for mine, it came out great!
Sounds delish! We are making them for fathers’s day.I hope you don’t microwave them in the plastic bowls!
I wondered how long do these keep in the freezer?
This sounds really good – but – what is the timing and process for reheating these bowls from frozen?
It really just depends on your microwave and the size/shape of the container. I suggest doing one minute on high first, then stirring the contents a bit and adding 30 second intervals until it’s heated though.
This is one of those simple concepts the rest of us didn’t think of–but brought to perfection with perfect amounts and the right spices. Prepping this now for tomorrow morning. Thanks!
If you have a chance, could you problem tell me how to cook and where to add something like chorizo? My hubby loves those frozen Jimmy Dean’s chorizo breakfast bowls. It is probably a silly question, but I’ve been vegetarian for fifteen years and know nothing about chorizo! Thanks so much, we love everything you do!
If you’re using Mexican chorizo, you can just brown it in a skillet like you would ground beef (if it’s in a casing, just squeeze it out of the casing first). Then just layer the cooked chorizo in the bowls with the other ingredients. :)
What is the reheat instructions from frozen?
I usually microwave on high for one minute, stir, and then add 30 second increments until it’s heated through. Every microwave is different, though, so you may need to adjust that some.
This looks awesome and I can’t wait to try it for quick breakfast for my children but I do have a couple of questions.
1) Could these be stored in ziplock bags instead to take up less room in the freezer?
2) We don’t like salsa. Is it necessary to keep the moisture in the food?
3) If frozen, do they need to thaw prior to putting in the microwave?
Thanks so much!
I suppose you could use ziplock bags and then just peel away the bag before reheating in a different dish. The salsa does help with the moisture some, but as long as you keep the dish partially covered in the microwave it shouldn’t dry out too much. The potatoes create a good bit of steam when reheating. I just reheat straight from the freezer. You can do a minute or two on defrost first before you go full heat, or just do full heat and stir frequently. Because the portions aren’t huge it’s not like a big block of ice going into the microwave. :)
looks great
How do you reheat these? How do you find works best? Thank you!!!!
I just reheat in the microwave, in intervals, stirring between, until it’s heated through. :)