Breakfast Burrito #4

I've finally perfected a tasty and convenient chorizo breakfast burrito that doesn't cause me to gain weight.

The ingredients may vary, but usually are:

3.0 oz. chorizo sausage, diced onion, diced green pepper or red pepper, diced jalapeño, minced 1 egg, beaten

The important thing is that this is the filling for two burritos. I make one and save half of the filling for another later in the week.

The basic problem is that a 7" Mission flour tortilla is 150 calories, more than twice the calories of a slice of Vermont Bread Company whole wheat or alfala sprout bread. The whole amount of filling above is 546 calories, but half plus the tortilla works out to 423 calories which is right in the target range for my breakfast.

In a sauté pan over medium heat add the chorizo and cook for several minutes until mostly cooked.

Add the onion, green pepper and jalapeño and cook until done.

Slide the ingredients to the side then add the beaten egg. Tilt the pan slightly so the egg stays on its side and scramble. When almost done, mix the ingredients together so the egg is distributed through the filling.

Season with salt (not too much, since the chorizo is salty) and freshly ground black pepper.

When I go to make one later in the week I just take out my handy Pyrex container of filling and microwave it for 40 seconds. I wrap the tortilla in a damped clean kitchen towel and microwave for 45 seconds. The package says to use damp paper towels; I suppose that would work too.

It's a good idea to carefully scoop the filling out of the container rather than just dumping the contents of the container into the burrito. Or slip a piece of paper towel into the bottom of the container to soak up any excess liquid before dumping the container into the tortilla.

Before folding:

Update July 23, 2013: I've switched to using a whole wheat tortilla.

Update April 18, 2018: I've switched to reheating on the stove. It works better.

Update February 2, 2022: These Mission carb balance tortillas are good. Surprisingly they're only 70 calories vs. 170 for the whole wheat!

Alternate chorizo

I normally use Palacios picante chorizo, which is excellent, but has also become very expensive. On November 15, 2024: $51.62. On May 7, 2025: $55.66. On November 15, 2025: $89.00!

I got Johnsonville chorizo at the supermarket. It's certainly cheaper, about 1/3 of the cost even not on sale!

Palacios is 7.9 oz. per package, and I make 4 weeks breakfast, 2 servings each week. This package is 13.5 oz., and I decided to divide it into 6 weeks, 2.2 oz. per week. It is fully cooked, but it is moist like a kielbasa, so I didn't want to leave it open in the refrigerator for 6 weeks. Instead I diced the whole thing then divided, vacuum sealed, and froze it in individual weekly packages.

It has less fat than the Palacios chorizo, so I needed to add some olive oil when cooking it. And a shake of cayenne pepper at the end.

It turned out OK. If I wasn't already used to authentic chorizo it would probably be fine, but I think I'll just get the real thing and complain about the price.

2025-12-13 Double batch

Since the filling freezes well, and I switched to using half of the spicy western omelette filling, this creates a scenario where sometimes it makes sense to make a double batch.

Use two pieces of chorizo, or half of a 7.9 oz. package of Palacios chorizo.

If I'm not making omelette filling, it's really the same amount of vegetables as usual, except all go into the chorizo burrito filling.

Cook as usual. The pan is more full than usual, but it fits easily.

I divided it into 4 large ramekins to portion.

1 serving went into the refrigerator in a 1 cup Pyrex as usual.

The other 3 servings I froze for 90 minutes in the ramekins, then put in vacuum sealed bags and froze.