Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito – healthy, frugal, and flavorful

Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito
Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito – recipe in post

I love Mexican food. I love Mexican food for breakfast. I love breakfast. Breakfast is why I wake up in the morning. Sometimes I’m so excited about what I’m going to have for breakfast, I can hardly sleep at night. Sad, but true.

“Huevos Rancheros” (in Spanish: Rancher’s Eggs) is kind of the Mexican equivalent of a farmer’s omelet… not because it’s anything like a farmer’s omelet, but in that it’s typically inexpensive, common, every-day fair for the working class. A hearty, healthy breakfast to fill you up for the day, with beans, eggs, veggies, tortillas, and sometimes rice.

There are a lot of little variations on the dish, and most any veggies can be added to use up what’s on hand. Even though I’m not of Mexican or Spanish heritage, this was a common (and favorite) breakfast in my house. My mom and I would make the fixings, and everyone would assemble their plates with tortilla chips, refried beans, fried eggs, salsa, and cheese… like build-your-own breakfast nachos. Mmm, nachos!

I decided to lighten things just a little, swapping the tortilla chips for a whole wheat wrap. I like this, especially for a nice grab-and-go kind of breakfast, but I can’t help but recommend giving the chips a try. There’s something special about that salty crunch beneath the beans and eggs…

I also swapped the refried beans I grew up with for my homemade black beans, and let me tell you they pushed this wrap over the top! The homemade beans are not only incredibly flavorful, but very inexpensive and easy to make. They take a little planning ahead, but can be made in one large batch and used up in all kinds of tasty ways. Any good beans will do for Huevos Rancheros (refried, black, pinto…) – you can find my recipe for black beans in this post: Fish Taco Salad with Avocado Chipotle Dressing (click to view). I also used a little of the avocado-chipotle dressing from that same post in my burritos, but this is of course optional.

After the heavy holiday eating, I usually want two things – easy and inexpensive food, which is also healthy and filling. Oh, and delicious, of course! This dish meets all my criteria. A breakfast that fills me up, wards off constant snacking, and is good for my wallet and my lazy, ready-to-hibernate soul. I think the word I’m looking for is satisfying. Yes, that sounds about right.

Recipe Notes: I made my Huevos Rancheros with leftover black beans from this recipe (click to view). This is my favorite recipe for black beans so far, and they worked perfectly in this dish, but if you’d like they can be substituted with refried, or other, beans.
If you’d like to make more standard Huevos Rancheros, sans the burrito, simply replace the tortilla for corn chips – they add a wonderful crunch and saltiness to the dish!

Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito
Ingredients per burrito

1 large flour tortilla (I really like this brand, because it’s lower in calories and higher in nutrition than most – I’m not being paid to say that, I just like ’em)
2-3 TBSP black beans (click for recipe, can be substituted with refried, or other, beans)
1-2 eggs
Salsa, fresh or jarred
Fresh avocado, sliced or cubed, or guacamole
1/4-1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced small (remove the seeds/veins if you prefer it mild)
Other veggies, fresh or grilled/sauteed (optional)
Crumbled queso fresco, or shredded cheddar, or other cheese, to taste (optional)
Cholula, or other hot sauce, to taste (optional)
Fresh cilantro, optional

Method
1.    Gather all your ingredients, and slice/chop any vegetables. If you’d like them sauteed or grilled, go ahead and cook them, then set aside.
2.    Huevos Rancheros is typically served with fried eggs, with the yolks still runny. I like this because the yolk acts as a dressing for the rest of the dish, and provides a little fattiness where there otherwise isn’t any, but keep in mind that runny yolks may make the ‘burrito’ a little messier to eat. Feel free to cook your eggs however you prefer them.
3.   Warm the tortilla slightly to make it pliable, and fill with your ingredients. I like to assemble mine with the beans first, then the egg, salsa, fresh veggies, and topped with cheese. Be careful no to add too much to one wrap. Fold in the ends of the tortilla, then roll it up and enjoy!

____________________

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone! My apologies for not posting a cocktail recipe, or something more appropriate like that. I’m eating Mexican food, so Mexican food is what you get!  But to everyone reading this, rest assured that I’m raising a glass to you tonight – thank you for taking part in my life, even if it’s only in this small way. Without you this blog would be nothing more than a very sad little diary. Cheers, to another year!




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10 Responses to Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Burrito – healthy, frugal, and flavorful

  1. leaf (the indolent cook) January 1, 2013 at 2:37 am #

    Yummy breakfast, rock on. Happy new year! :D

  2. Claire January 1, 2013 at 9:18 am #

    huevos rancheros is THA BEST

  3. Yuliashhabel January 1, 2013 at 3:20 pm #

    yummy!!!!!

  4. Foodie Stuntman January 1, 2013 at 8:30 pm #

    Happy New Year, Willow! Great breakfast.

  5. Jesica Dolin, CPM, LDM January 2, 2013 at 7:22 pm #

    Hi there!

    I am a midwife and am trying to get a nice collection of recipes on our website that are healthy and simple and appealing to families with small kids…like this recipe!

    I’d like to encourage you to submit it (and as many others as you like) to our recipe contest. If we post your recipe(s) on our site (which will if you submit them…your recipes are awesome), we will post not only your name as you enter it but also a link to your blog.

    Each recipe you enter earns you the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to a local restaurant of your choice. (Local = where you live, and locally owned, not some big chain) For full details on the contest, click here:

    http://www.sacredpassagesmidwifery.com/portland-midwives-announce-recipe-contest/

    PS – Any readers of this blog are also encouraged to enter the contest!

    • Willow January 2, 2013 at 9:37 pm #

      Thank you so much for inviting me to submit! I’ve entered some of my favorite healthy recipes, and look forward to seeing the final round-up. :)

  6. ProGait Orthotics January 3, 2013 at 11:53 am #

    Wow! Looks delicious! In fact I could eat one right now for lunch :)

  7. Julia {the roasted root} January 3, 2013 at 5:34 pm #

    We had something similar for breakfast this morning! What a delicious and filling meal! Love everything about this breakfast!

  8. Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes January 3, 2013 at 8:08 pm #

    I Love mexican food too! This time of year I look for the same things as you in a meal, cheap, healthy and comforting – this hits meal hits on all the right spots!!

  9. Jennifer Jackson October 18, 2019 at 11:25 am #

    So, you can’t call this VEGAN if you are using eggs. You would need to substitute the egg with something like a tofu scramble.

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