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!
This is great for my crew who need something fast in the morning before heading out in the mountains for hunting.. We are in Colorado and love our green chile, so I substituted the salsa with Hatch Valley green chile. Excellent!!!
They really are a great camping treat! Best of luck to you on your hunts!
Any recommendations if I want to wait to add the egg when I microwave to reheat it? Thank you!
I would fully defrost and reheat the bowl before adding the egg, then cook for the extra 30-60 seconds that it will take to cook the egg. They cook so fast that if you add it in the beginning the egg will be dried up and leathery by the end. 😅 Another option is to cook the egg in a skillet while you’re reheating the bowl in the microwave, then just add it on top.
When freezing these is it better to have dishes that are just the petfect size as would be less air or does it really matter. Also will these kerp for 2 weeks. Thanks
Yes, I would suggest a smaller bowl if possible.
Haven’t tried this yet but it’s definitely on my list to do I usually buy the bulls from Walmart for like 2 bucks a piece and I add stuff to it like smoked sesame seeds and sunflower kernels at the very end with salsa and the cheese and the night did a final warm up they are so yummy but I’m looking forward to trying these
Beth, this is an absolute winner. I’m having this for breakfast now and it’s super delicious. Thanks again
This recipe made my morning. I love eggs for breakfast, but don’t have time to prepare them fresh. I used purple fingerling potatoes because that’s what I had on hand and they were great. The seasoning is perfect and the eggs reheat well. (I just made the recipe yesterday and reheated this morning, so I can’t speak to the taste/texture after freezing.) Overall a great addition to my meal prep rotation.
I find the potatoes have a good texture after reheating. The eggs however seemed to have the texture of hamburger after microwaving. I make the bowls to include everything except the eggs, then I just heat the eggs in a separate dish at the same time.
These are really easy. My husband used to get the Jimmy Dean kind but once I started making them he decided mine were better. I like that I can control how much salt and fat that go into them. I heat these up in the morning and then wrap them up in a tortilla to make them a little more portable. I love these. Thank you for sharing!
is there anyway to reheat in the oven? and if so how? I would want to make the batch ahead of time but reheat for my family at one time(instead of separate servings in the mircowave if possible)
Hmm, I’m not sure how these would do when reheated in the oven. I think if you did, you’d need to make sure to cover them tightly with foil so they don’t dry out. The oven takes so much longer to reheat than the oven that you’ll likely have a lot of evaporation. The eggs may also overcook. I’m not sure how long it would take, either.
Do the potatoes freeze/reheat from frozen well? Thanks.
I find that they do, but after blogging for so many years I’ve learned that some people are really sensitive to the texture changes that happen when potatoes are frozen then reheated. I personally don’t notice any change at all, but some people find them mealy.
I use Tater Crowns or tots,Country white gravy,Real Bacon Bits,Eggs and Shredded Cheese,Or Tater crowns,Salsa,Eggs scrambled with Spinach and Mexican Shredded cheese
I’m glad you mentioned the potatoe crowns because I got those today to make breakfast bowls this weekend.I also have bacon bits on hand which I eas thinking about adding but was hesitant until now.thanks for your spin on this recipe.
How to you reheat from frozen?
How do you reheat from frozen
I just throw them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Depending on portion size and what sort of container you’ve used, anywhere from 2-3 minutes should do it.
Thank you for making these web pages, you have great recipes and you help me and my family keep to a budget!
I love this recipe. My husband is a fan of the jimmy dean version, and he says it’s just as good….probably better, because the potatoes stay crispy. He’s a super picky eater. Thank you for the awesome idea. And the potatoes are wonderful. I make them by themselves for breakfast, dinner, or whenever and there is never leftovers.
Hi, I use cooked hash browns and a country gravy seasoning from McCormick that is super easy to make, instead of salsa and roasted potatoes. Yum.