These hearty chorizo breakfast burritos are made with cheesy scrambled eggs, Mexican chorizo, and potatoes.
There are a lot of wonderful things in life and one is a complete breakfast wrapped up in a warm tortilla. In this case, a complete breakfast includes cheesy scrambled eggs, savory Mexican chorizo, and tender potatoes.
They’re not your average run-of-the-mill breakfast burritos – they’re pretty decadent. The kind of thing you might crave after a night of a little too much fun when you need something savory and delicious to take the edge off.
It’s the chorizo – it really takes them over the top.
I first started making these in ye olden days of 2009, and I still love them. Savory, cheesy, and a little rich. Not gonna lie – you’ll probably need a nap after having one. But that’s what Saturdays are for, right?
Ingredients
- Mexican chorizo
- Eggs
- Shredded potatoes
- Cheddar cheese
- Monterey jack cheese
- Butter, salt, and pepper
- Fresh cilantro or parsley
- Burrito-sized flour tortillas
Have you tried Mexican chorizo? It’s ground pork that has been heavily seasoned with paprika, salt, and garlic. Unlike Spanish chorizo, which is a smoked sausage, Mexican chorizo needs to be cooked first. I love Mexican chorizo (I’ve used it to make frittatas, too), and it’s delicious in these breakfast burritos.
For the potatoes, you can either shred your own russet potato or buy a bag of pre-shredded uncooked potatoes (the kind for hashbrowns), which you can find in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
I like to use a mix of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese, but you can use one type of cheese. Or, you can switch out either for pepper jack cheese, which would work well, too.
Tips for Making Breakfast Burritos
There are three main parts for these chorizo breakfast burritos: the eggs, the chorizo, and the potatoes. Once your ingredients are prepped and cooked it’s just a simple assemble and roll operation.
- I like to cook the chorizo first in a non-stick pan. Mexican chorizo is very fatty and, as it cooks, you’ll have a lot of fat in the pan. I like to drain some of the fat and leave some (about a tablespoon or so) behind to cook the eggs in.
- I prefer soft scrambled eggs for the eggs, which just means they’re creamier because they’re a little less done than hard scrambled eggs. Before they’re done, I like to add the shredded cheese, so it melts into the eggs.
- After cooking the eggs, I spread the potatoes in an even layer in the pan, so they brown and turn crispy as they cook.
- To assemble the burritos, place the cooked potatoes on the tortilla, followed by the eggs and the chorizo. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro or parsley over the top, and then roll it all up with the ends of the tortillas tucked in.
- If you’re serving the burritos right away, I like to wrap them in tin foil and pop them in the oven for a few minutes to warm them through. Serve them with some blueberry buttermilk muffins or easy mini cinnamon rolls for a delicious weekend breakfast or brunch.
Recipe Tips
You can freeze them but it’s not the most ideal way to store them. When you reheat them, the tortilla can get a little chewy at the ends. This is a small inconvenience in my world, but just keep that in mind if you opt to make them ahead and freeze them.
They will keep well in the refrigerator for several days and they reheat better when they’re not frozen. So, if you do freeze them you can always thaw them in the fridge overnight instead of reheating straight from the freezer.
Whether you refrigerate or freeze, fully cool the breakfast burritos before storing them. Tightly wrap them with plastic wrap or foil before popping them in the freezer or fridge.
To warm them up – you can either microwave them either in the plastic wrap or wrapped in a paper towel (beware chewy tortillas if you do this with frozen ones) or warm them up in the oven. The oven works best if they are refrigerated and not frozen.
Ready to make some breakfast burritos? I hope you enjoy them!
Happy burrito-making,
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More Breakfast Recipes
Looking for more breakfast or brunch ideas? Here are a few of my favorites or check out my round-up of Make-Ahead Breakfast Recipes for more ideas.
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Chorizo Breakfast Burritos
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 large burritos 1x
Description
These hearty chorizo breakfast burritos are made with cheesy scrambled eggs, Mexican chorizo, and potatoes. They are hearty and filling – perfect for a lazy weekend.
Ingredients
- 1 (8-oz) package Mexican chorizo
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 8 eggs, whisked
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 10 ounces shredded potatoes (see note)
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro, optional
- 4 burrito-sized flour tortillas
Instructions
- Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Cook the chorizo, breaking it apart with a spatula, for eight to ten minutes or until it’s cooked through. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Remove the chorizo from the pan (leaving the reserved fat in the pan) and transfer it to a bowl.
- In the same pan, melt one tablespoon of butter. As it melts, stir to combine it with the reserved fat from the chorizo. Pour the whisked eggs into the pan and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Cook the eggs, frequently stirring, for about ten minutes or until the eggs are cooked but still very soft. Add the shredded cheese and stir until it melts into the eggs. Transfer the cooked eggs to a bowl.
- In the same pan, melt one tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and spread them into an even layer in the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper over the top. Cook the potatoes, occasionally stirring, until they start to turn golden and crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- To assemble the burritos: It’s helpful to microwave the tortillas for about 30 seconds to warm them up before you fill them – they will stretch a lot easier. Evenly divide the potatoes, eggs, and chorizo among four tortillas. Sprinkle the chopped herbs over the top of the chorizo, if using.
- To roll, fold the edge of the tortilla over the top of the filling and tuck in the sides. Roll the burrito up. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
- Wrap the burritos in tin foil and place them on a baking sheet. Pop them in a warm oven for five to ten minutes to warm them through before serving (see notes if you want to make them ahead).
Notes
I use store-bought pre-shredded uncooked potatoes for this recipe, which you can find in the refrigerated section at the grocery store.
If you want to make them ahead, they will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days. You can warm them in the microwave or oven when you’re ready to have one. You can freeze them, but when you warm them from frozen in the microwave, the tortilla will get a little chewy in spots.
Nutrition note: It’s difficult to estimate the nutrition for this recipe since a lot of the fat is drained from the cooked chorizo. The nutrition estimate includes all of the fat from the chorizo, so please keep that in mind.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burrito
- Calories: 819
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 2186.2mg
- Fat: 50.6g
- Saturated Fat: 21.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 22.8g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 50.3g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 40.5g
- Cholesterol: 463.8mg
Keywords: breakfast burritos, chorizo burritos, make-ahead burritos
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Post updated from the archives. First published in August 2009.
Bill says
I have been making these for years.
I switched to soychorizo a few years ago. Same taste and texture no grease or gristle.
Best to defrost overnight in the fridge. If you go from freezer to microwave heat them on looow for a couple of minutes before upping the temp for final heating.
I microwave mine in the plastic wrap I froze them in, I find paper towels stick to the tortilla and are sometimes difficult to peel off.
Kelly says
When you freeze leftover burritos in the freezer how do you defrost them/transfer to heating back up? they do they get mushy at all?
April says
Hi Kelly, I recommend wrapping the frozen burrito in a paper towel and microwave them for about a minute and then rotating it and heat again for 30-40 seconds.
Melissa says
first off, These look amazing and I can’t wait to try! Can you tell me how you reheat them once frozen? Do you take them out of the freezer the night before and refrigerate?
April says
Hi Melissa, I froze mine and then microwaved them wrapped in a paper towel. I think it’s a great idea to stick them in the fridge to thaw overnight – I haven’t tried that, but you could always just stick them in a preheated oven to warm up if you don’t want to use a microwave.