Egg, chorizo and potato is a classic & hearty Mexican breakfast. Put it in a burrito along with some salsa ranchera, avocado crema/sauce and a sprinkling of cheese and you have a super satisfying breakfast that will keep you going all day long.
I get it, not everyone wants to get cooking so early in the morning - but this can easily be made ahead of time! I have some hints here on how you can make it easier by prepping ahead. The core of this dish - the egg, chorizo and potato - is very simple to prepare.
Breakfast burrito ingredients
- Eggs
- Chorizo - preferably Mexican chorizo, which is different in taste to Spanish chorizo. Spanish chorizo will work, but for authenticity use Mexican.
- Potato - a waxy variety works best. See recommended potato varieties for suggestions.
- Jumbo wheat tortilla - ideally serve with a 10" or 12" tortilla.
And the optional toppings:
- Salsa, such as salsa ranchera - yes, you can buy salsa to save time; but using a fresh, home made salsa will give you a far better result.
- Avocado crema or crema fresca - the crema will cut through the heat of the salsa. If you don't want to make a fresh avocado crema, you can use an avocado dip or spread thinned out with a little yoghurt if you prefer, or leave it out all together.
- Refried beans - an optional touch, a little spread of refried beans on the bottom of the burrito works well. You can buy refried beans from the supermarket, or make your own.
- Grated cheddar or Oaxaca cheese - I can't find Oaxaca cheese nearby, but by all means use it if you can find it.
Equipment you need to make the breakfast burrito
The potato ideally needs to be deep fried - so a deep fryer will help here if you have one. If you don't have one, or don't want to deep fry, there are alternatives - see cooking potatoes.
How to make egg, chorizo and potato breakfast burrito
Prepare ingredients according to instructions - dice the potato, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk, and dice the chorizo. Warm the tortillas if you want by placing in a skillet over medium heat without oil until just warmed through - remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.
Deep fry the potato for 5-10 minutes at 180C, or until cooked through and tender - see note for alternatives to deep frying.
Cook the chorizo - heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo (1) and cook slowly until the fat has rendered and the chorizo is golden brown (2).
Add potatoes - shake excess oil from your fried potatoes before emptying the fry basket into the pan with the chorizo. Increase heat to medium high and allow the potato to fry for a minute or so with the chorizo so it absorbs some of the flavour.
Add eggs - add the eggs to the skillet (1) with the potato and chorizo and stir well to combine. Continue to stir while the egg cooks so that you have scrambled eggs mixed with the chorizo and potatoes.
Assemble the burrito by spreading a thin layer of refried beans (if using) across the center of the tortilla. Spoon the egg, chorizo, and potato mixture over the beans, followed by a dollop of salsa, a drizzle of avocado crema, and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Make sure to keep the ingredients in a neat line, slightly off-center towards you, leaving room at the edges for folding.
To wrap the burrito, fold the sides of the tortilla over the filling to partially cover it. Then, take the edge of the tortilla closest to you and fold it up and over the filling, tucking it tightly underneath. Keep the sides tucked in as you roll the burrito away from you, maintaining a firm grip to ensure it stays together.
Seal the burrito (optional step): Wipe out the skillet used for cooking the egg and chorizo, and add a little oil. Place the burrito seam side down into the skillet (1) and cook over medium heat until the seam is just browned and sealed.
Tips
- Don't want to rush in the morning? See make ahead instructions above; you can make the salsa and avocado crema ahead of time and also dice the chorizo and potatoes and crack the eggs, so you don't need to do any prep work.
- Chorizo burns easily - be gentle with the heat and watch it closely. Turn the heat off if the chorizo is cooked before the potatoes are.
- If you're not confident cooking everything together, cook the potatoes and chorizo separately before combining with the eggs.
- Warming the tortillas before filling them will make them easier to roll. Warm them gently in a pan over medium heat, remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.
- When you wrap the tortillas, wrap them tightly to prevent them coming undone.
Time saving hacks
- Making fresh will always give you the best result, but use a store bought salsa or avocado crema to save making it. If you can't buy avocado crema locally, you can mix avocado dip with some yoghurt to get a drizzling consistency.
Recommended potato varieties
Use a waxy potato that won't fall apart while frying.
- Australia - King Edwards, Pink Eyes, Nicola, Bintje
- US - Russet or Idaho
- UK - Maris Piper or King Edward
For this dish, I like the potatoes to have the skin on where possible. It depends largely on the variety of potato you're using; if it has a thick skin it should be removed. Russet and Idaho potatoes generally have a thick skin which you might like to peel if you're using that variety.
Cooking the potatoes
This recipe calls for deep frying the potatoes which yields the best result. If you don't want to deep fry, here are some alternatives:
- Bake them in the oven - Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Add 1 tbsp or so of oil to the potatoes in a bowl and mix well to coat. Place in a single layer on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper cook for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through.
- Air fry - Add 1 tbsp or so of oil to the potatoes in a bowl and mix well to coat. Place in an air fryer at 200C (400F) for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through.
- Sauté - the potatoes can be sautéed in a skillet with some oil until cooked through. Cook over a medium high heat with just enough oil to prevent them from sticking. It'll take 15-20 minutes to cook them through, but you'll need to turn regularly to stop them from burning - every minute or so.
Make ahead, reheating and freezing breakfast burritos
If you choose to use a homemade salsa such as my salsa ranchera and/or avocado crema for the breakfast burritos, they both can be made ahead of time - I often make these the night before. Allow them to come to room temperature before use, as they shouldn't be cold.
Both the chorizo and potato can be cooked before, and reheated with the egg in a skillet.
The scrambled egg mixture with the chorizo and potatoes can be reheated in the microwave - do it in 20 second bursts and stir after each burst, until they're at the temperature you want.
Finally, the scrambled egg mixture freezes well. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. Place in the fridge to thaw and then reheat in the microwave as described above.
Add your own touch
- Watching your carbs? Skip the tortilla and just have the egg, chorizo and potato on a plate, topped with avocado crema and salsa.
- Sauté some capsicum/bell peppers and onions with the chorizo.
- Experiment with different salsas, vegetables and herbs.
- Rather than using diced potato, you can try using potato gems/tater tots or chips.
Egg, chorizo and potato breakfast burrito
| Prep | Cook | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 5 mins | 25 mins | 30 mins |
- 600g potatoes, diced use a waxy potato, see note 1 for suggestions
- 2x chorizo sausages, diced ideally Mexican, total weight around 220g/8 oz
- Knob of butter might not need, depending on how fatty the chorizo is - see note 2
- 8 eggs, cracked and whisked
- 4 jumbo wheat tortillas ideally 10-12", see note 3
- Refried beans optional
- Salsa ranchera or other quality salsa, see note 4
- Avocado crema for alternatives, see note 5
- A little grated cheese Jack, cheddar or Oaxaca, or a combination thereof
- Prepare ingredients according to instructions - dice the potato, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk, and dice the chorizo. Warm the tortillas if you want by placing in a skillet over medium heat without oil until just warmed through - remove to a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm.
- Deep fry the potato for 5-10 minutes at 180C, or until cooked through and tender - see note for alternatives to deep frying.
- Cook the chorizo - heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook slowly until the fat has rendered and the chorizo is golden brown.
- Add potatoes - shake excess oil from your fried potatoes before emptying the fry basket into the pan with the chorizo. Increase heat to medium high and allow the potato to fry for a minute or so with the chorizo so it absorbs some of the flavour.
- Add eggs - add the eggs to the skillet with the potato and chorizo and stir well to combine. Continue to stir while the egg cooks so that you have scrambled eggs mixed with the chorizo and potatoes.
- Assemble the burrito by spreading a thin layer of refried beans (if using) across the center of the tortilla. Spoon the egg, chorizo, and potato mixture over the beans, followed by a dollop of salsa, a drizzle of avocado crema, and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Make sure to keep the ingredients in a neat line, slightly off-center towards you, leaving room at the edges for folding.
- To wrap the burrito, fold the sides of the tortilla over the filling to partially cover it. Then, take the edge of the tortilla closest to you and fold it up and over the filling, tucking it tightly underneath. Keep the sides tucked in as you roll the burrito away from you, maintaining a firm grip to ensure it stays together.
- Seal the burrito (optional step): Wipe out the skillet used for cooking the egg and chorizo, and add a little oil. Place the burrito seam side down into the skillet and cook over medium heat until the seam is just browned and sealed.
- Potato varieties - some recommendations include: Australia - King Edwards, Pink Eyes, Bintje, Dutch Cream, US - Russet or Idaho, UK - Maris Piper or King Edward. If you can't find small potatoes, you'll need to cut them into smaller pieces. For this dish, I like the potatoes to have the skin on. It depends largely on the variety of potato you're using; if it has a thick skin it should be removed. Russet and Idaho potatoes generally have a thick skin which you might like to peel if you're using that variety.
- Butter - chorizo is generally fairly fatty, but have some butter or oil on stand by to add to the pan when you add the eggs, in case they start to stick.
- Tortillas - I prefer to use large flour tortillas for this recipe. I find a large 10-12" works best - if you use a smaller tortilla you will need to reduce the toppings in order to be able to wrap it.
- Salsa - I recommend you use my linked salsa ranchera recipe to top your breakfast burritos, but use a store bought salsa if you prefer.
- Avocado crema - The reason crema is used is to cut through the heat in the salsa and to bring a richness to the burrito. You can use the linked avocado crema or crema fresca; if you don't want to make it fresh you can use an avocado dip cut with a little yoghurt so it can be drizzled.
- Deep frying alternatives - the post goes into detail about deep frying alternatives - you can bake them in an oven, sauté in a skillet or cook in an air fryer if you prefer.
- Make ahead - the potato and chorizo can be cooked ahead of time if you're not confident cooking both elements at once. See make ahead instructions for details. The cooked egg mixture freezes well - place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
