Comments on: Bulk Breakfast Burritos: Convenient, Cheap, Healthy, and Easier Than You Think

By: Jenni

Jenni — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:08:17 +0000

I finally got around to doing this! I don’t know how much it ended up costing, as I was doing it more to practice mass-cooking than to save money.

I hate beans, so I used potatoes instead. I used frozen hash browns that I fried in a pan, but made several mistakes (putting them all in one pan to start with!). I added the suggested green onions and shredded cheese. When I heat them up I’ll also add sour cream. I ended up with 10 burritoes that I will eat for lunch over the next two weeks.

Thanks so much Trent, for this and your other food posts. If you create a food blog, I will definitely be following! I like the easy-to-follow directions (for an inexperienced cook) and the pictures.

By: aramis

aramis — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:07:04 +0000

Single father here-no crockpot, but I have a rice cooker. I cook my bulk beans in a rice cooker. Perfect every time.
Soak 1 cup of beans overnight. Drain and rinse. Add enough water to cover the beans about 2 inches over. Cook.
When the timer goes off *beep, beep, beep* add more water (about another cup usually). Add a bay leaf, some pressed garlic, cumin, and basil. Some ppl add an onion (halved), but beans are gassy enough-though the bay leaf helps that. Some rice cookers need about a 20 minute break to cool off. Cook. Towards the end of the 2nd cooking session, add some salt…ONLY add salt at the end to not dry out the beans. When its all done, remove the bay leaf (and onion if you have put one in).

While the beans are cooling off, I cook some potatoes with onions, and my eggs with veggies. I also make a separate batch of eggs and bacon or chorizo. I put the burritos into 2 separate containers-that way I have some variety and don’t get bored of eating the same thing everyday.

Every other batch I get creative and try something a little different (baking eggs with veggies and ricotta cheese), using chipotle pepper instead of salsa….

a lot of great ideas around here

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:29:31 +0000

I just made these, making the beans and tortillas from scratch, along with using much cheaper eggs ($0.88 per dozen, large) and cheaper salsa. They came out to just under $0.17 per burrito and taste awesome. Thanks for a great idea!

By: Mira8

Mira8 — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:18:00 +0000

What a great idea!!! I don’t have the freezer space to do this many but I can half it.

By: Aurelien

Aurelien — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:31:14 +0000

I am also a strong believer in good breakfasts, and what I have been doing for years is eating a soft-boiled egg with two slices of multi-grain bread with margarine and a cup of coffee.

Add a 0% yogurt if you feel like eating more protein and an apple if you feel like living longer ;)

Takes 5 minutes to be ready. Tastes just great.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:54:14 +0000

I do this for my husband so he can grab a quick breakfast before leaving for work. I’ve never used black beans though and that sounds tasty!! Someone asked what to do if you don’t have a toaster…a panini grill is AWESOME!! They taste great that way.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:23:17 +0000

Hi, My name is Stacey, and I’ve got a few questions. I really, REALLY love this recipe. But I would like to ask you a favor.
See, time isn’t an issue right now, as I’m a stay-at-home wife, my husband is in the Air Force. We are newlyweds and pretty young, both 20.
I’m not an experienced cook, I grew up playing the video games (still do) and hanging out with my dad and three (all boys) cousins. Heh, so I’m not exactly great at these things.
I REALLY want to start cooking tho. I’m tired of the usual stuff, and we both need to eat healthier.
Would you mind giving me that recipe again, but this time telling me how much of the ingredients I would need for just the two of us. And how to add just tomatoes for the vegetables, and potatoes as well?
I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d REALLY appreciate it, and my husband would too!
Any extra details you can include would be great, as I’m pretty new at this.
Thanks so much,
Stace

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 13:59:55 +0000

I made a batch of these and haven’t had a drive-thru breakfast sandwich since!!!

By: Michael

Michael — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:47:44 +0000

Imagine how happy I was when I said to my wife that I wanted to do this and you wrote this blog about two days before. Thanks for the instructions as it made it much easier for me.

I’ve tried a few variations. My favorite is to add MorningStar vegetarian sausage links and inexpensive hash brown patties chopped up. Cutting into the frozen links and patties is a bit dangerous but since they were made to be microwaved about the same amount of time as the frozen burrito they seem to work perfectly.

Now if only I could learn not to overfill…

By: Andy

Andy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:41:11 +0000

My Hat is off to the chef. Just made a few burritos last night and froze a few. They Taste great! Thanks for the recipe. Keep up the articles like these!

By: w

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 00:11:14 +0000

Hey Trent and the other home beer brewers: this burrito is also a good second use for your spent grain. I added about 1 tsp or so to the egg/bean/veggie mixture. It added some fiber and sweetness (what does that say about my sparging inefficiencies? lol). The spent grain keeps for about 1 week in the fridge, longer in the freezer.

By: Sam

Sam — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:10:22 +0000

Great post, Trent. I will be trying these out tonight.

Cooking in bulk can be a fun, frugal and healthy activity. I like making a huge batch of spaghetti and meatballs and eating it for 4 or 5 meals. I also assemble flavored oatmeal packets from raw ingredients.

By: AJ

AJ — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:21:04 +0000

Even if these turned out just a few cents cheaper than buying at the store I feel much better feeding them to my family because I know EXACTLY what is in them! I am so tired of all the gunk in the ingredients of everything you buy at the store. I love breakfast burritos for anytime of the day…and I have eaten ones from the freezer section of the local grocery store so I am sure these would be much better. Plus you can customize exactly what you want in them. I am going to make up some of these so we have them for when you are in a hurry and want something good not fast food! Hopefully this weekend I can get the whole family involved and they can customize what they put in theirs and help wrap & freeze. What a great idea! Tasty ;)

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:36:05 +0000

@ Atom

If you take a look, they actually pointed at this blog.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:12:53 +0000

Similar but different idea:

I make something similar but more Quiche-like.
press shredded taters in the bottom of a dish (season with whatever) and bake for about 15 min. In a bowl combine scrambled eggs, veggies, cheese, or whatever your heart desires and some milk. pour over the taters and bake until the eggs are done. You can then slice into bars and wrap and freeze.
Then simply heat up a bar and roll in a FRESH Tortilla. No more dried out tortillas!!!
Add a little FRESH Salsa! Its still quick and easy! You could even mix up the kind of tortillas. Flour, wheat, corn, or try it in a pita! Add some humus for a mediteranean taste. Go Wild!!
Someone try incorporating phylo dough or pie crust and post your results!

By: KeptWench

KeptWench — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:39:59 +0000

Oh, man. This will be a great way to make Chipotle style burritos to take to work for breakfast or lunch and SO much cheaper to make them at home. They can be low fat if you use the right ingredients, folks.

Dampening the paper towels just slightly really does make a difference when reheating these.

and THANK YOU to #108 for the runza link!

By: RK

RK — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:08:09 +0000

I gave these a try and they’re pretty good. I didn’t use plastic wrap but instead used wax paper which seemed to do the trick and is also microwavable so worked just as well. I don’t know how this might change the cost.

By: Atom

Atom — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:09:04 +0000

Looks like LifeHacker had the same idea:
http://lifehacker.com/5159235/make-breakfast-burritos-in-bulk-for-cheap-tasty-mornings

By: Denise

Denise — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:58:29 +0000

With regards to the whole paper towel/no microwave/foil versus plastic wrap versus wax paper thing:

Try this: freeze the burritos on a cookie sheet first. Then wrap in parchment paper (no wax, works in a conventional oven or the microwave.. whole lot easier to handle than plastic wrap). Then wrap in foil or plastic wrap to keep the burrito rolled up.

To reheat, remove the foil/plastic wrap, leave the burrito in the parchment paper. Thaw and cook according to the original directions.

By: TW

TW — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:26:55 +0000

Literanista, who said anything about eating 32 burritos in a row? I think the point was that you could prepare enough to where you could just pull one out of the freezer and eat it any time you want. Great post!