I’m a huge proponent of batch cooking and stocking your freezer with portioned meals that you can just grab-reheat-and-go! Not only are these make-ahead freezer breakfast burritos a great answer to the “I’m too busy to make breakfast” conundrum, but for someone who loves breakfast for dinner as much as I do, these burritos make a fast and easy anytime meal. #brinner
What Can I Add to Breakfast Burritos?
I kept my breakfast burritos super simple with just eggs, cheese, sautéed peppers and onions, and cooked ham, but this is another wonderfully flexible recipe. You can skip the ham to make them vegetarian, or switch them up with any of the following ingredients:
- Meat (cooked): bacon, breakfast sausage
- Vegetables: hash browns (cooked), avocado, green onion, jalapeño, pickled red onions, spinach
- Beans: black beans, hummus
- Cheeses and Sauces: Monterey jack or pepper jack, cotija, feta, taco sauce (sparingly), salsa (thick type, not a watery variety), guacamole
I do not suggest adding sour cream to your breakfast burritos because sour cream doesn’t hold up well to freezing and thawing. Instead, serve sour cream on the side for dipping after reheating.
How Long do Breakfast Burritos Last?
I always suggest using up your frozen food within three months for best quality. Frozen goods slowly lose moisture and develop freezer burn over time, so while you may get longer freezer life out of them, the quality will slowly diminish the longer they are stored. So, make sure to label and date everything that goes in your freezer! :)
How to Reheat Frozen Burritos
You’ll have the best results if you let the burrito thaw in the refrigerator overnight or until they are no longer frozen solid in the middle. Reheating from the chilled state instead of straight from the freezer takes less heat and makes it easier to reheat without overcooking the egg. Reheating from a refrigerated, non-frozen state can be done in the microwave (1-2 minutes on high), or in a skillet over medium-low heat until the tortilla is nice and crispy and the insides are heated through. A toaster oven is also a great option, although I don’t own one so I was not able to test the cooking time needed.
If you do need to reheat straight from the freezer, I suggest using the defrost function on your microwave fist for 3-5 minutes to help defrost the inside, before microwaving on high for 1-2 minutes. Cooking times in the microwave will vary depending on the wattage of your microwave.
How to Prevent a Soggy Freezer Burrito
Overcooking eggs during reheating is probably the biggest culprit of a soggy breakfast burrito. As eggs continue to cook, the protein molecules seize up and squeeze out water. So, to prevent the eggs from expelling a ton of liquid, reheat only until the burritos are warmed through.
Another culprit is using ingredients that contain a lot of water. Avoid using salsa that are very watery, and if using high-water content vegetables, just make sure to sauté them first to remove some of their moisture.
Want more freezer friendly meal ideas? Check out our full list of Freezer Friendly Recipes!
Freezer Friendly Breakfast Burritos
Servings 8Ingredients
- 8 oz. cheddar ($1.69)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1 bell pepper ($1.00)
- 2 Tbsp butter, divided ($0.26)
- 2 pinches salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 lb. cooked ham ($3.75)
- 12 large eggs ($2.79)
- 8 large flour tortillas (burrito size) ($1.39)
Instructions
- Begin by preparing all of the filling ingredients for the breakfast burritos. Shred the cheddar, if not purchased pre-shredded.
- Dice the onion and bell pepper. Add the onion and bell pepper to a large skillet with ½ Tbsp butter and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Season the bell pepper and onion with a pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer the bell pepper and onion to a bowl.
- Dice the ham, then add it to the skillet with another ½ Tbp butter. Sauté the ham over medium heat until it is browned (about 5 minutes). Transfer the ham to a separate bowl and clean the skillet.
- Crack 12 eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk. Add the last tablespoon butter to the skillet and heat over medium. Once the skillet is hot, spread the butter to coat the surface, then pour in the whisked eggs.
- Push the eggs in toward the center of the skillet as they set on the bottom, until most of the eggs have set, but the eggs still look moist. Do not over cook the eggs or they'll become dry. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- To assemble the burritos, add a scoop of scrambled eggs to the middle of each tortilla, then top with a scoop of cooked bell pepper and onion, a handful of cheese, and some of the cooked ham.
- To roll the burritos, first fold the tortilla up from the bottom, then fold in the sides, and then finish rolling the burrito up until it has closed. Wrap each burrito in parchment paper using the same folding and rolling method (bottom up, sides in, finish rolling up). Label each burrito on the parchment paper or on masking tape
- Transfer the wrapped burritos to freezer bags, label and date the bags, then place in the freezer.
To Reheat Breakfast Burritos
- Transfer the breakfast burrito to the refrigerator the day before to thaw. Once thawed, microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, or heat in a skillet over medium-low, about 5 minutes on each side, or until the tortilla is crispy and the insides are warm.
- To reheat from frozen, use the microwave's defrost setting for about 5 minutes, then microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Homemade Breakfast Burritos – Step by Step Photos
Prepare all the components of the breakfast burritos before assembly. Shred one 8oz. block of cheddar cheese (or whatever flavor cheese you prefer–pepper jack is also awesome in these!).
Dice one onion and one bell pepper. You can use any color bell pepper, I just happened to have an extra orange pepper, so I used that. Add the pepper and onion to a skillet with ½ Tbsp butter and sauté over medium until the onions are soft and translucent. Season the peppers and onions with a pinch of salt and pepper, then transfer them to a bowl.
Dice one pound of cooked ham. Add the ham to the skillet with another ½ Tbsp of butter and cook over medium until the ham is browned. Transfer the cooked ham to another bowl. Clean out the skillet.
Whisk one dozen eggs in a bowl. I like to only lightly whisk my eggs because I enjoy some ribbons of whites and yolks in my scrambled eggs. You can use less or more eggs, if you prefer, but using 12 eggs for 8 burritos will give you 1.5 eggs per burrito, which I find to be a good compromise between budget and quantity.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and the skillet is heated, pour in the whisked eggs. Gently push the eggs in toward the center of the skillet as they set on the bottom, until most of the eggs are set, but they still look moist. Avoid over cooking the eggs or they will become dry. Season the scrambled eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Now that all the components are prepared, it’s time to start assembling the burritos. You can do this one at a time, or lay out all eight tortillas and do them together if that makes it easier for you to divide the ingredients evenly between all eight. Begin with the scrambled eggs.
Next, add a scoop of the cooked peppers and onions, and a handful of shredded cheese.
Finally, add some of the cooked ham to the breakfast burrito (or leave it out if you want to make plain egg and cheese burritos).
To roll the breakfast burritos, first roll up the bottom, then fold in the sides, and then finish rolling up from the bottom until it is closed.
Place the rolled breakfast burrito on a square of parchment paper, then use the same rolling technique to wrap it in paper (bottom up, sides in, then finish rolling up). Label your breakfast burrito (I used sharpie on the parchment, but you can also do masking tape and then write on that).
Then place your wrapped breakfast burritos in freezer bags, label the bags with name and date, and transfer to the freezer. For reheating instructions, refer to the text above the recipe card for options.
And then pat yourself on the back because you have amazing breakfasts prepared and ready to go! (serving suggestion: salsa or sour cream for dipping).
these are so good! we also love them with sausage and some hashbrowns in them (I cook a big batch of grated hashbrowns with lots of tony chachere’s seasoning and roll them up in there with the rest of the deliciousness!)
I have a lazy method. I saute a combo of onion, red bell and either poblano or roasted Hatch chiles (which I freeze in August, but always run out of), then add eggs and diced sausage or ham to the same skillet and scramble everything together, melting the cheese in just before removing from heat. This saves assembly time, but we also prefer everything amalgamated for each bite. I like to add chopped cilantro, and often sub potato for meat (nuke until done then dice small and season before adding to the egg mixture). If using beans, I smear refried beans on the tortilla before piling on the egg mix. I typically do this on a weekend morning, so we eat part of the mix in breakfast tacos–which I grill as they were done on The Drag in Austin decades ago.
My daughter LOVES these! I make them differently every time. Usually I use soy crumbles, but I’m planning on making a batch this weekend with ground sausage. I usually cook the eggs, meat, and veggies all together, and then my daughter and I sit down and assemble the wraps– a scoop of the mix, a slice of cheese, and bit of salsa and/or beans on top, and then wrap it up individually in plastic wrap. Easy peasy deliciousness!!!!
Hooray!
I made these this week. They were great hot off the pan, but otherwise they were super mushy on the reheat. Anyone else have this issue? I drained the beans and didn’t use a lot of salsa. I LOVE the idea, but the hubby doesnt like the texture (and I cant blame him!)
Obviously not the recipe author, but I’ve read when prepping frozen burritos, it helps to allow the filling to cool before assembling. That way the filling is less likely to make the tortilla soggy.
Strain the salsa also.
Even bought ones can be soggy! I also find that wrapping them in deli paper sheets once they are cool before freezing is helpful–seems to keep them a little drier.
I made these and turned out great. Can’t find them on the app to post photos and get my marketplace points though.
What a disaster. My burritos tore as I was rolling them! Then completely fell apart as I lifted them into the pan to brown. Still edible, but don’t look very good.
it really helps if you warm the tortillas for about 20 seconds before you try to fill them.
WOW!!!! The Freezer Breakfast Burritos are absolutely DELICIOUS!!!!! Super easy to make and very convenient. I’m going to make the breakfast burritos again next time, but will add potatoes, hot salsa and Monterey jack cheese. Thank you for the phenomenal recipe, Beth!! :-)
Great recipe. One thing I added to each was two spinach leafs
These are delicious and I can’t believe I never thought of sealing the seam of my burritos on a fry pan so that alone changed my life! I recently made these and used your cowboy caviar instead of the beans and salsa and they were to die for!
Made your breakfast burritos today and they are awesome – thank you!!! Because I had them, I used your non-refried beans instead of the black beans, added some cumin to the eggs and also some potatoes to burritos for some extra sticking power and cause I love them. I also incorporated a trick from Americas Test Kitchen’s Cooks Country and used a flour/water slurry to paste the edges of the burritos shut before toasting them and it worked fabulously!!!
These have been an absolute godsend. I typically have very little time in my mornings and so now I’ll often eat one of these while walking my dog before work!
I’ve found that in my microwave the eggs won’t heat up very quickly. I have no idea what causes this but I’ll have hot beans, cheese, and salsa, and still have cold or even partially frozen egg. I’ve found that if I thaw my burrito the night before it helps and I’ve also started mixing all the ingredients in a bowl before rolling it up. That way the heat seems to disperse a little more evenly. It doesn’t look as pretty on the inside but still tastes great! Have you had to deal with this as well?
I was feeling ambitious and I made 24 of these.
In addition to beans and cheese, I also used bacon, mushrooms, green pepper and onions.
To save time and to not have to do as much measuring of each individual ingredient, I added all of the cooked vegetables and bacon to the egg mixture in the pan and cooked the eggs, bacon, and vegetables (minus the beans) together. After the eggs and other ingredients cooked, I transferred them to a bowl and then I mixed in the beans (I tried one batch where I added the beans to the uncooked eggs, but they discolored the eggs and made them green).
Now my freezer is stocked with these awesome breakfast burritos. My microwave heats them perfectly in 2 and a half minutes.
Thanks.
LOVE this.
Just made another batch of 12! I had the day off (very unusual for me), so took two hours to make 12 breakfast burritos and 12 mock Mcmuffins. So I have breakfasts ready for weeks!
This is such a brillant idea. Makes the mornings go so much smoother.
Aldis had eggs on sale for 99 cents, so I bought 5 cartons. They last for months.
I made crockpot refried beans with some dried pinto beans I had in the pantry.
Entemann’s outlet sells 12 packs of English muffins for $1.50.
I had tortillas in the freezer. I also had sausage patties bought on sale on the last day Pathmark was open.
All in all it cost me $4 for 24 breakfasts. 16 cents a breakfast! WOW! Saves me from the drivethru.
The best part is that is so customizeable! Got peppers in the fridge? Bacon? Leftover chicken? Throw them in! Onions, corn, beans, etc. I had fresh herbs from some other dishes I made, so I put those to good use. The refriend beans made a good, tasty, protein-packed filler.
I wrap them in cling wrap and place in gallon freezer bags.
Good for lunch or breakfast!
16 cents!!
Thanks Beth!
“I like to have one freezer project per week, whether it be beans, tortillas, pasta sauce or some other staple item.”
THIS! I have been cooking my own beans for a while, but every time I consider making my own tortillas, I think “but I’ll never be able to get them to last as long as the store-bought ones do, so they will just mold and I will be sad.” I will have to double-check the price I am paying for tortillas at Aldi and see if this will be a worthwhile freezer project. Thank you!
Hello, thanks for sharing this recipe! Do you think chopped avocados would work well and freeze well with the burrito filling? Thanks.
I think so! They might turn a little grey/brown (you won’t be able to see them anyway), but the flavor should be unaffected.