These easy make-ahead breakfast burritos are filled with scrambled eggs, bell peppers, ham, and cheese. Easy to freeze, and even easier to bake straight from the freezer, these make a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Top them with guacamole, sour cream, or salsa!
This recipe is part of a new freezer meal series here on Inquiring Chef! All during August, check back in for the easy, family-friendly freezer meals that our family has been loving in the weeks leading up to back-to-school. We all need more dinners that require little to no work. (If only I could figure out a little-to-no-work option for packing the kids’ lunches….)
Bonus: To make things even easier, these freezer meals all come with a free recipe label with reheating instructions! Print the recipe at the bottom of the post and you’ll get a cut-out label to attach to the top of the meal.
Now….back to the make-ahead breakfast burritos….
A batch of breakfast burritos in the freezer is like money in the bank. Molly and Clara start kindergarten later this month, and I’ve been entirely focussed on stocking our freezer to prepare for busy weeknights. Or, in the case of these burritos that work any time of day, to save myself on busy mornings, at lunch, or for dinner.
These breakfast burritos can be baked directly from the freezer, so pop them in the oven for a warm breakfast or at night while setting the table, wrangling baths, putting the baby to bed, running around the house, etc. The burritos are ready when you are.
Breakfast Burrito Ingredients
Customize these any way you like, but here’s a look at my go-to ingredients.
- Onions and Bell Peppers – These are the aromatics / veggies I usually opt for here. They’re classic, colorful, and get nicely browned when cooked that adds flavor to the burritos. If you want to add more veggies, or swap them out, just about anything will work here. Just make sure you saute the vegetables until very tender and dry so that they don’t release moisture into the burritos.
- Honey-Baked Ham – This adds a lot of flavor and the tiniest hint of sweetness that balances the peppers and onions. Get this from the deli-counter so that it’s fairly thin-sliced. Feel free to skip it for a vegetarian option.
- Eggs – Scrambled eggs give the burritos a protein-packed filling.
- Cheese – I like to use deli-sliced cheese here. The sky is the limit – it would be great with Colby Jack or even Pepper Jack for a bit of spice!
The Extra Step: Baking the Burritos
The filling inside breakfast burritos is fully cooked before the burritos are wrapped, so you can eat them right after filling them, but I recommend an extra step! If you have the time, wrap the burritos in foil and bake them at 400°F for 10 minutes (or 450°F for 40 to 45 minutes if baking from the freezer). This will help all of the flavors in the filling to come together and the cheese to melt.
Then (and this is the best!), peel back the foil on each of the burritos and bake them with the tops exposed to the heat for another 5 minutes. This will give the tops a slightly golden, crisp crust that is super satisfying when you bit into or slice into the burritos.
Freeze This Meal
This is an easy freezer meal and is great for batch cooking. Make them, customize the filling, and label each one with the fillings you’ve chosen. To freeze the burritos, wrap them individually in foil. Transfer the burritos to a freezer-safe plastic bag and tightly seal (pressing out as much air as possible as you seal the bag). Freeze the burritos for up to 6 months.
Just print the recipe below for a cut-out label with reheating instructions. Tape it to the freezer bag so that cooking directions are always at your fingertips.
How to Deliver This Meal To Someone Else
This would be a fun easy freezer meal to deliver to someone who could use a little extra TLC because it can be completely customizable.
Deliver with:
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Margarita mix (just for something fun!)
Looking for other easy Tex-Mex dinners?
- One Pan Huevos Rancheros – Made in one-pan and vegetarian, this meal also features eggs, making it great for any time of day.
- Mexican Pita Pizzas – My kids love this sheet pan meal that is really just pita bread (or naan), topped with all the things you’d usually put in tacos. It’s a taco / pizza mash-up that our whole family loves.
Favorite Tools
- Quarter Sheet Pans – I am totally hooked on my “quarter” sheet pans which are smaller than most cookie sheets / sheet pans. These are the right size to hold 4 breakfast burritos (and many other side dishes that are sized for a family of 4).
- Nonstick Frying Pan – Even though I have tried using a cast iron pan with some success, I still always turn to a high-quality nonstick pan when I’m scrambling eggs.
Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos
Equipment
- aluminum foil
- Nonstick frying pan
- quarter sheet pan
Ingredients
- 4 Burrito-Sized Tortillas (I prefer flour; use gluten-free corn tortillas if you need this gluten-free)
- 2 tbsp Cooking Oil divided
- 2 Red Bell Peppers, roughly chopped
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 8 oz Thinly-Sliced Honey-Baked Ham, chopped (from the deli counter)
- 8 slices Cheddar Cheese (from the deli counter)
- 8 Eggs
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Guacamole, Sour Cream, Salsa (optional, for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a sheet pan.
- On a large counter or table, set out 4 squares of aluminum foil that are large enough to hold the tortillas. Top each piece of foil with one tortilla.
- Place a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 1 Tbsp cooking oil and then bell peppers, and onions with a pinch of salt. Saute the peppers and onions until very tender, 5 to 7 minutes (don’t rush this step because the peppers and onions will develop flavor as they cook).
- Add chopped ham and continue cooking until ham starts to brown lightly on the bottom of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes more.
- Divide the peppers, onions, and ham between the tortillas.
- Return the skillet to the stove and reduce to medium-low heat and add 1 Tbsp cooking oil.
- In a small bowl, whisk eggs until evenly combined. Pour the eggs into the bowl and cook, stirring constantly, to scramble the eggs slowly, 5 to 6 minutes. Season eggs with some salt and pepper.
- Top each tortilla with 2 slices of cheese and then eggs.
- Fold over the sides of the tortillas and then roll them up from the bottom to tightly enclose filling. Wrap tortillas tightly with foil and transfer them to the sheet pan (see below for freezer instructions).
- Bake burritos for 10 minutes to let flavors come together and cheese melt.
- Optional step: To give the burritos a bit of added texture, peel back the foil on each of the burritos and bake them with the tops exposed to the heat for another 5 minutes. This will give the tops a slightly golden, crisp crust that is super satisfying when you bit into or slice into the burritos.
- Serve immediately with guacamole, sour cream, or salsa.
Notes
Nutrition
Molly and Clara are living their best summer lives in these last weeks before school. They’re on a mission to visit every park in town!
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My friend is having a baby next month, and I’d love to make her some freezer meals. I think this will be one of them! It looks easy to make and delicious!
I think these look delicious. I think I will freeze some for us.
Great article. This article is well written and I agree with everything you said. Having a healthy breakfast can change life so much. Thanks for the breakfast inspiration! I think breakfast is my absolute favorite too–I go to bed and think about what I will have too. I almost always go sweet for breakfast but sometimes love some savory—especially like on the weekends!