Cora's Cottage

Mornings can be a stressful time trying to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door. But what if there was an easier way that was still nutritious and delicious??

I discovered the magical power of make-ahead breakfasts that made a world of difference. Instead of having to get up early each morning to make breakfast, I plan time one evening or Saturday morning a month (or so) to make breakfast burritos that take less than 5 minutes to warm up each morning.

Keeping these burritos simple even when I am putting them together ensures that I will actually set aside the time to make them. Additionally, it helps when I know exactly which ingredients I will need to put into my burritos. For our family, that usually just means sausage, salsa, a pack of eggs, and some shredded cheese.

For these burritos, I simply make a shopping list of what I will need. Sometimes I keep it simple and only include the eggs, sausage, and salsa mix; other times I decide to get fancy and I will add peppers, olives, mushrooms, or even hash browns to the burritos. Get creative with it; you can add whatever sounds good to you!!

Once I have collected all of the ingredients I will need to make the burritos, I start by frying all of the sausage up and adding it to a large bowl. Next, I will fry up all of the eggs and add those to the bowl as well. After, that I will add any of the additional ingredients that I want to make these burritos special. This is where I would add onions, peppers, mushrooms, olives, or whatever it is that I am adding for an extra flare this time.

One thing I have learned over time is that if I am choosing to add things like peppers, mushrooms, or onions to the burritos; they should be lightly sauteed until they begin to become tender that way they are not crunchy once I put them inside the burritos. When it comes to adding hash browns to burritos, it is best to add them separately from the egg and sausage mixture.

Once I have the eggs and sausage all added to a large mixing bowl, I will dump in my salsa and mix until everything is incorporated and gently coated with the salsa to help keep the burritos from drying out. Once everything is ready to go into burritos, I lay out tinfoil squares with tortillas on top. For us it works to use about 2/3 of a cup of filling for each burrito so I will take a 2/3 cup and scoop that much egg, sausage, and salsa mix into each burrito, top with cheese, and roll.

Rather than making each burrito individually by laying out the tin foil, then the tortilla, then adding the egg, and rolling the tortilla, I have found it easiest to make a whole bunch at one time using the entire counter and the kitchen table to make the burritos.

I have found that one pound of sausage, 18 eggs, and one jar of salsa that is between 12 and 16 ounces will make between 10 and 12 burritos. Because we go through so many burritos, I usually make at least a double batch and sometimes even a triple or quadruple batch as they freeze well inside of freezer bags once wrapped individually in tin foil. I use gallon or sometimes even 2 gallon bags to store the burritos in the freezer.

I will take the burritos out of the freezer to thaw in the fridge at least one to two days but up to 10 days before I want to use them. These burritos can keep in the fridge for up to two weeks though I try to use them within one. We have never had burritos in the freezer for longer than about two months, and they keep just fine for that amount of time as long as they are wrapped in tin foil and bagged in freezer bags.

The amount of time it takes to warm up a burrito will vary a little bit based on how large you make the burritos. However, they take about a minute to a minute and thirty seconds to warm up in the microwave. These burritos also warm up well in the oven but will take much longer typically about 30 minutes at 175°F. The one benefit to using the oven is the tortilla shells of the burrito do not get as soggy as they do in the microwave. I have never been able to try warming them up inside of an air fryer as we do not have one but I imagine it would work similar to an oven only faster.

These grab and go burritos have made a world of difference for our family in the mornings. It allows us to get a few extra minutes of sleep but still have a nutritious and hearty breakfast ready to go each morning. What variations would you like to try for grab and go breakfast burritos??