Over the years, I’ve developed a serious nag with the frozen breakfast burrito. Sure, you can wrap some stuff in a tortilla, stick it in the freezer, microwave the hell out of it the next day, and eat it.
It’ll be okay. Of course, it won’t be as good as a fresh one, and if you’re stuck with a freezer full of them, you might lose interest over time.
My real problem with the frozen breakfast burrito is the tortilla. If you are microwaving the burrito, by the time the filling is thawed and hot, the tortilla is a nightmare. It’s either tough and leathery or soggy.
There is an easy solution to this, which for some reason, I hadn’t considered until recently. It’s these Make Ahead Breakfast Burrito Pouches! You just freeze the filling! Then you microwave that and make the burrito fresh in the morning.
It’s still really fast and tastes about as fresh as a frozen burrito can taste. It’s AWESOME.
Make Ahead Breakfast Burrito Pouches
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork sausage
- 1 lb new potatoes, diced
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 large eggs, scrambled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 oz. cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- Salt and pepper
- 6 large flour tortillas
Instructions
- Cube potatoes into 1/4-inch cubes and boil in lightly salted water until tender, 7-8 minutes. Drain potatoes and set aside.
- In a large skillet add a drizzle of oil and add scrambled eggs over medium-low heat. Cook gently until eggs are just cooked through. Try not to overcook them. Remove eggs from skillet and set aside.
- Add a fresh drizzle of oil to the skillet along with sausage. Turn heat up to medium. Cook sausage until browned, breaking it up as it cooks.
- When sausage is completely cooked through, add chopped onions, peppers, and garlic and seasoned salt. Cook until veggies are slightly soft, another 2-3 minutes.
- Add potatoes to the skillet and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning to your liking. (You could add chili powder or something to make it spicier if you like.)
- Let sausage mixture cool for 5-10 minutes. Spreading it out on a sheet pan will let it cool faster.
- Using freezer safe bags, divide eggs, cheese, and sausage mixture between 6 bags. Most of the bag should be the sausage and potato mixture. Press out as much air as you can from the bags.
- Freeze pouches.
- When ready to make a breakfast burrito unwrap a frozen pouch of burrito fillings in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes until filling is thawed and steaming (cheese should be melted as well).
- Scoop filling out of bowl onto a tortilla and roll into a tight burrito. Eat immediately!
Video
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Make Ahead Breakfast Burrito Pouches
Alright. Let’s work through these. First, you’ll need eggs obviously. I usually like one egg per burrito.
Scramble these and cook them gently in a skillet over medium low heat with a drizzle of oil or butter. Try not to overcook the eggs because they will be cooked again in the morning!
You could easily make the se vegetarian, but I like to add some sausage to mine. Once your eggs are done, wipe out the skillet and add some sausage. Cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks.
Potatoes are a must for me in a good breakfast burrito.
I like my potatoes to be very tender though so I recommend cubing them into small cubes and boiling them in salted water until they are tender.
Then add the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, and potatoes to your skillet with the sausage.
For some reason, I think breakfast burritos taste really good with seasoned salt (like Lawry’s) so I like a lot of it in my filling. You could also go a more traditional route and season the filling with chili powder, salt, pepper, paprika, etc.
Now we are ready to make some pouches! The most important step here is to make sure your fillings are cool, or at least room temperature before you make the pouches. The filling will cool off faster if you spread it out on a plate or sheet pan.
Most of the packet will be the sausage mixture. Then add some cheese and egg to each bag. You should get six stuffed sandwich bags of filling out of this recipe. You might have a little filling leftover even.
Need a fast breakfast option? Try my microwaved breakfast burrito!
Burrito Time
When you wake up and you’re drowsy and hungry, this is what you want. Pull a pouch out of the freezer, unwrap it, and it’ll look something like this.
This is a solid block now so you’ll need to microwave it for 3-4 minutes to thaw it completely and melt the cheese. This is when the tortilla DIES if you wrap it up before you freeze it.
This filling should be steaming hot when you pull it out.
Now pull out a fresh tortilla, scoop in the filling, wrap it up and you’re ready to go.
Start to finish the burrito takes maybe five minutes to make in the morning and it’s really delicious.
It’s my new favorite breakfast trick, for sure!
If you’re a breakfast burrito fan, these make-ahead breakfast burrito pouches are a must-try!
Mikaela
I was craving a breakfast burrito this morning. Your idea of only preparing the filling is a great idea! I hate a soggy tortilla.
Jan S
Genius! I’m going to make a bunch of these as soon as possible. We just moved from Colorado to NW Florida and we brought 4 bushels worth of frozen roasted green chiles. We’re still working on finding all our kitchen tools. (Where the hell are my KNIVES????) First thing on the agenda is a beautiful pot of green chili, second is making these pouches. Perfect breakfast for hungry unpacker/cleaners.
Nick
Nice call on bringing the green chiles with ya! Definitely one of my favorite local items and almost impossible to find green chiles as good in most states! Good luck on the move!
Bradley Hague
Oh Man do I agree with this. The chilies and tamales in Colorado are one of the things I desperately miss. Especially now that I’ve gotten more into cooking. (Though I still miss the mountains way more) DC, as you know, is lacking in good Mexican food options.
Jenny
This is a brilliant idea. I can’t stand the rubbery eggs when they are cooked too long. I worry that they’ll get that way when microwaved. Any tips on what the eggs should look like when you stop the cooking? Thanks!
Nick
Good point Jenny! The eggs to take a bit of a beating, but that’s pretty normal for most frozen breakfast burritos I think. I would say that you could freeze the filling without egg, then microwave the egg separately (scrambled – 60 seconds) then toss it all together. That’s probably the optimal way to ensure good tortilla and egg! :)
Rachel Martinez
Try using hardboiled eggs in lieu of scrambled.
Heather
Try undercooking eggs by about one minute before freezing. They will finish in the microwave during reheating.
Kelly
Great solution to soggy burritos! I love this and will try it out soon.
Joan
Can’t wait to try this. I was wondering how long do you think the filling can last in the freezer? Thank you!
Mika
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! This is a fabulous idea and mine turned out amazing! I’m having company soon and plan to make a bunch ahead of time to make my life easier but still yummy! I wish I could post a pic so you could see . Thanks again!
Nick
Awesome Mika! So glad! If you’re an instagram user you can always post a photo there and tag me (@macheesmo) in it! :)
Emily
Can you cook them over campfire?
Nick
I reckon you cook! I’d keep them over kind of indirect heat, but should work!
J. Adams
It would require a shorter time in the microwave in the morning if you took a pouch out of the freezer the night before, and let it thaw in the fridge. Then in the morning you only have to nuke it for a minute or so before wrapping it in the tortilla.
Theresa
I use about the same thing and use crack- egg style works great and taste better. Just micro for a minute and whip up egg and Cook sprinkle with cheese husband loves them.
Marie
HUH???
Tammy
Could I use frozen breakfast cubes?
Nancy Lempinen
Great idea although I changed it a bit for my liking.
I omitted the potatoes, added chopped green onions, shredded cheese and Jimmy Deans fully cooked Turkey sausage crumbles and the scrambled eggs.
In the morning I added Rotel tomatoes and some black beans (thought they might be soggy in the plastic bags) warmed in the micro and folded into the tortilla. A definite hit! Thank you
Karla
For camping, I’ve made similar to these and froze with shell, and wrapped in tin foil. Took out of freezer to thaw, then we put on the grill. Grilling browns and crisps the shell.
Betty
Love this idea. I’ve bought every brand of frozen burritos and they are gross! It’s the filling usually. But this is great for me. I love how you do the nutrition value but I noticed the sodium levels were extremely high for one burrito. I’m not sure where you got that from but probably the pork sausage. I was thinking of trying different proteins. Ham, bacon, sausage, or even chorizo. Thanks for the idea.
Christie
I noticed that also. This is more sodium than my doctor wants me to have for the entire day! I guess I will substitute something for the sausage.
Keena M
I used tater tots instead of diced potatoes, jalapeño, and fesh tomatoes. Yummy like Sonic and it was a great idea for preparing in advance!