By Alison Diven, Contributing Writer
Burritos just the way you like them whenever you like them, in minutes. No additives,no plastic, , no iffy oils—just nourishing goodness for no-brainer breakfasts or dinners. Can you tell I love homemade freezer burritos?!
Since I started experimenting with them, my husband has devoured a hot and hearty breakfast every morning with zero fuss, leaving him extra space for his 5 a.m. coffee ritual before work. He just pops one into the toaster oven to heat while he dresses.
And I, queasy pregnant mama, have an easy lunch or snack for those days when nothing sound good, and I’ve already spent all my energy scrounging for food my toddler deigns to eat.
You know what I mean. Whether you’re tending to babies, stocking the freezer for postpartum life, carting teens around, or just plain busy, we all need convenience food sometimes. These knock the nutritional socks off Evol and Amy’s burritos, can meet your special dietary needs, and are far cheaper to boot.
Wanna know how I’m making it work? Here are 15 freezer burrito hacks to get you started—including ideas for allergy and budget needs—plus my favorite breakfast burrito recipe to inspire you: eggs, goat cheese, and green chiles. You’ve gotta try this killer combo!
Essential Success Hacks
1. Cool all fillings to room temperature or colder before filling burritos. Steam=soggy tortillas. (Thanks to TheKtchn for this tip!)
2. Warm tortillas to room temperature or until they’re pliable for less cracking and breaking, then roll like this:
3. Go easy on wet ingredients like salsa and sauces. Drain extra fluids off sautéed vegetables.
4. Wrap your burritos first in parchment paper, then in foil, then in gallon size freezer bags. They’ll last for months this way and are oven-safe, but you’ll never have questionable materials touching your food. Like so:
Time-Saving Hacks
5. Mix all filling ingredients together in a single bowl. Any sacrifice in presentation is worth the faster assembly. Plus, you won’t prematurely run out of an ingredient. (Hats off to Tammy’s Recipes for this awesome tip.)
6. Use store-bought tortillas, but check ingredient lists. In my current season of fatigue, this is my biggest shortcut. I’m fortunate to have locally-made organic wheat tortillas at my fingertips, and I’ve chosen Rudi’s Gluten Free Tortillas for my gluten, dairy, egg, and soy-free son.(Kimi notes: We are also a gluten-free family. Rudi’s probably has one of the nicest textures, but it does contain corn products in it for those sensitive. You could also use (affiliate links) these brown rice tortillas , or these these multi-grain gluten-free tortillas).
7. Bake your scrambled eggs in the oven if you’re making a giant batch of breakfast burritos. They can cook and then cool while you attend to other tasks. See this method.
8. Slow-cook chicken, beef roast, or pork roast the day before for hands-off shredded meat. I do it like this.
9. Make just one flavor variety per burrito prep day and keep it simple, only 2-4 components. You’ll dirty fewer dishes and streamline the whole process.
Allergy Hacks
10. Gluten-free or grain free? Don’t despair! GF people can choose non-GMO corn tortillas (blue corn or organic are sure bets), store-bought GF tortillas, or even better, homemade options like these nutrient-dense soaked buckwheat wraps or these egg-arrowroot paleo wraps. The last recipe is grain-free too, high protein, quick, and wraps beautifully with zero cracking.
11. Egg-free? Wheat tortillas, like Katie’s soaked ones, corn tortillas, or Rudi’s Gluten Free are good choices.
12. Dairy-free is a piece of cake. Almost any tortilla will meet this criterion, and then it’s up to you to leave dairy out of your fillings.
*NOTE: Many of these alternative tortillas are more prone to cracking (except the egg-arrowroot paleo wrap), so fold like this instead:
Frugal Hacks
13. Use thrifty ingredients like yard eggs, rice, home-cooked beans, or diced potatoes to stretch indulgent items like grass-fed beef, pastured pork sausage or bacon, and cheese.
14. Go pungent with your cheese—think sharp cheddar or goat cheese—so you can use less. Also, check out Costco.. We often get fabulous imported, grass-fed cheeses for much less there.
15. Make your own tortillas. Here’s a soaked whole wheat recipe, Natalia offers a gluten-free buckwheat wrap here, and I can heartily recommend this grain-free paleo wrap.
And now, on to my very favorite breakfast burrito, inspired by Albuquerque’s fabulous Grove Cafe & Market.
- 12 pasture-raised eggs
- ¼ cup grass-fed butter (we love Kerrygold)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 8 ounces soft goat cheese (chevre), separated into chunks
- ¾ cup chopped roasted New Mexico green chiles, without seeds
- 6-10 tortillas, depending on size
- Heat butter in a large skillet on medium-low heat. Gently scramble eggs until soft set, sprinkling with salt and pepper.
- Gently warm tortillas.
- For a pretty presentation, layer scrambled eggs, goat cheese, and green chiles in tortillas and wrap.
- For speed, gently mix goat cheese and chiles in scrambled eggs and divide among tortillas.
- Enjoy!
Latest posts by Alison Diven (see all)
- Spiced Currant Orange Baked Oatmeal Mini Muffins (Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free w/ Egg-Free Option) - November 7, 2014
- Easy Egg Muffins with Pesto & Ham (GF with DF options) - September 24, 2014
- French Tuna Salad with Tomatoes & Herbs (Mayo-Free) - August 8, 2014
Yum, yum, yum, yum! Now I’ve just gotta figure out how to get roasted NM chiles in Nassau. 🙂
Thanks, Kari. Now that is a tricky business, NM chile in Naussau! Thank goodness goat cheese and eggs taste amazing with almost anything.
What is healthy or nourishing about a tortilla? Nothing. Now if you had actually included a recipe that made relatively decent, gluten/glutin free tortillas to go with all that, it would have been the post I hoped when I clicked the link…
PJ,
Did you read the whole post? If so, I’m sorry that even the buckwheat sandwich wraps, or the paleo grain-free wraps weren’t nutritious enough for you. I feel that the brand name pre-made tortillas linked to are definitely a compromise item, but I gave Allison the go-ahead to link to them as I know that many mothers that read my blog also are dealing with morning sickness that necessitates compromise items. We tried to link to a variety of options to fulfill a variety of dietary needs. I definitely encourage my readers to go with the option that most serves them in their season of life and dietary needs.
Store-bought or homemade non-GMO corn tortillas are another great nourishing, gluten-free option mentioned in the post. They are made from nixtamalized (lime-soaked) corn, also called masa, which is a traditional preparation method. It’s just a little tricky to get them thin enough at home for rolling, although we’ve always found them DELICIOUS.
PJ, apparently you didn’t read thru the entire post. Because if you had, you’d have found near the end where she LINKS to an *amazing* grain-free-gluten-free Paleo tortilla wrap. They are every bit as delicous AND easy to work with as the post shows. Even my non-GF husband eats them. Your loss though.
PJ, you can make your own soaked tortillas. Soaking makes them healthy and when you make them yourself you can use healthier ingredients.
Well aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?…
Great tips! I’ve been wanting to try this forever. We often make our own flour tortillas with farm fresh lard. They are amazing!
One question though- exactly how do I heat them up once frozen? You mentioned a toaster oven but we don’t have one. What about an electric griddle, or the (terrible, I know-but we are making convenience food) microwave? How long and/or what temperature?
Thanks again !
Lisa, oh boy, your lard tortillas sound amazing! I’m still trying to acquire quality lard locally. I haven’t heated them up in the microwave, so I’m afraid I don’t know the time and temperature for that. I’d think that starting at a lower power is a good idea. The great news is that with the parchment paper wrap, you wouldn’t be melting plastic into your food! I think a griddle is a great idea. TheKtchn post I linked to above specifically mentions heating her fresh-out-of-the-freezer burritos on a griddle–and that it makes them like chimichangas!
Alison, I always find your posts so inspiring and dead on to what I am needing. I’ve been in a breakfast lull (which is unusual for me) and honestly just wishing that it would make itself. I really want to do this! How great it would be to just tell my hubby to grab a burrito on his way out (he has a toaster oven at work!)
Thank you, Natalia! These really have made our lives so much better lately. My poor husband has longed for years to have a ready-to-go breakfast, and I’m only just now getting it figured out. We pop one or two into the fridge each day, so he always one that’s partially defrosted. Hope they work for you too!
You have inspired me! I am so excited to try these, and my mouth is watering over the idea of goat cheese and green chiles!
Thanks for the comment, Katherine! Let me know how it works for you. It won’t be too much longer (September, I think?) till the Hatch festival makes it to Houston. Did you know Whole Foods sells them pre-roasted and peeled? It’s pretty wonderful.
I have since made them (twice) and they are a huge hit! I used your recipe and added sausage. Oh my goodness, they are so flavorful. Now that I’m back in school they are a life saver! I usually put them straight into the toaster oven when the are frozen solid. I put the toaster oven at about 400 degrees, let it preheat for about 5 minutes and then let them cook for another 25. Delicious! Thank you!
I may have to try this – I love breakfast burritos, but rarely have time to put one together in the mornings. I use Rudi’s spelt tortillas for my family. I’ve been making plantain tortillas from ZenBelly (http://zenbellycatering.com/2013/08/17/plantain-tortillas/) – I wonder if I made them a bit thicker if they would fold like in the pictures above?? I’m sure the batch I just made is too thin… but I’ll give it a shot. Thanks!
Thanks for the breakfast burrito idea!!! It’s going to make mornings a lot easier. One question on the toaster oven. What temperature and for how long? Thanks
Jason, we usually start with a partially defrosted burrito (we pop one in the fridge the night before) and cook it around 300 degrees in our toaster oven. BUT, please note, 300 in the toaster is not the same as 300 in a big oven, and every toaster cooks differently. Ours is old. I’m not sure how long it takes, maybe 10 minutes? This is something to play around with.
I love the ingredient variations, thank you! I’ve made freezer burritos for my kids with soaked pinto beans (then immersion blend with salt and lard) and cheese for a long time, and I like all the fresh ideas for burrito contents! To avoid all the parchment and foil, I prepare the burritos, line them up on a cookie sheet, and flash freeze them for just long enough so that I can put them back in the plastic tortilla bag for longer term freezing. Maybe 15 minutes? Long enough to prepare the second cookie sheet of wrapped burritos! Never have had a problem with burritos sticking to each other or freezer burn. And they heat nicely on a small piece of foil in the toaster oven.
*Long enough to prepare the second cookie sheet of ROLLED burritos, I don’t wrap them in anything before flash freezing!
Great idea! I would love to find out what you put in your gluten, egg, dairy and soy-free-son’s. Thanks!
Gloria, he really loves beans, so I’ve found refried beans + sausage is great for him. Another combination I’d like to try is smashed sweet potato + sausage. Of course, for lunch and dinner burritos, chicken or beef and sauteed veggies with whole or refried beans works well.
There is a product out there that is parchment one side and foil on the other. Only one wrap job. Time saver! I am actually making my first batch today. Thank you so much for the let it cool tip! I was afraid of soggy tortillas!
Fantastic idea for our work party next weekend!! No dishes or silverware to deal with. Is it better to just leave the sauces, if desired, out of the burrito and let everyone have a little dispisable cup with sauce for dipping? I’m doing small diced sweet and regular potatoes, eggs, sharp cheddar and bacon in some and sausage in the other. Suggestions anyone on sauces? Thank you!!