Green Chili Breakfast Burritos. I’m wild crazy about them and so is anybody I’ve made them for, including the whole family. It’s a burden, I tell you, but a welcome one. When anyone comes to visit overnight I have an excuse to make these and stock up the freezer. I love to share these burritos, so now I’m sharing them here – I hope you’ll love them as much as we do.
A pot of my Denver Green Chili
These are a must-make when I make a pot of my Denver Green Chili. There’s just something magical about Green Chili and melty cheese that does it for me! And when it’s tucked in a burrito with eggs (optional), sausage (breakfast or chorizo), and hash browns…and it’s all melded together inside a warm, soft, tortilla! YUM!
About Green Chili Breakfast Burritos:
The beauty of this recipe (besides the absolute deliciousness) is that you can easily whip out a dozen for your family for breakfast and maybe have a few leftovers. If your family is like mine, crazy about them, that might not be enough. You can increase the recipe and fill the freezer! These freeze and reheat so well.
You’re not limited to using my Denver Green Chili in the breakfast burritos; I’ll give you options if you wish to use another recipe or forgo the homemade but it’s so worth it to take the time. You also aren’t limited to eating these at breakfast, especially if you have a stash in the freezer.
Green Chili Breakfast Burritos make great snacks or quick on-the-go meals. I only ask that you follow this one rule: whatever you do, don’t tell my little sister I have a stash in my freezer. She’ll be up to the Twin Cities in a heartbeat to clean me out!
Green Chili Breakfast Burritos ready to be bagged for freezer.
Getting the Green Chili:
So obvs, you need Green Chili to make these burritos. Green Chili is a saucy, stew-like concoction made with green chiles and usually a little pork. Originally from the Southwest, in the past few years, it’s caught on everywhere. (If you’re wondering about the different spellings I’m using, it’s traditional to spell an item made with green chiles with an “I” at the end of chili, and to spell the vegetable green chile with an “E.”)
After living years in Colorado, I fell in love with their Green Chili, which is unique to the area. I highly recommend using my Denver Green Chili (shown above) in these breakfast burritos. If you do, know it’s a low-and-slow recipe so you’d need to plan ahead; it does make a big pot and can be used in many ways. A much quicker option is a variation, Colorado Pork Green Chili. It’s delish, too, and comes in at a close second.
Colorado Pork Green Chili
A few other options for the Green Chili:
- Your own GC recipe, if you have one will be fabulous; obviously, it’s already a fave so you’d love it in the burritos.
- Restaurants sometimes sell Green Chile by the pint or quart, even when not on the menu. Check with the owner or manager, not the wait staff, for special requests.
- In some areas of the country, prepared Green Chili (we’re talking about the sauce) can be found in jars or cans at the grocery. If not there, maybe at a Mexican or Latino market. Online is always an option.
Oven Hash Browns
Small or Large Batch of Burritos:
If making just a few burritos, just follow the recipe. If making a lot of burritos for the freezer, it’s simple to double or triple the recipe (there’s a built-in calculator – double-check the math; the calculator didn’t pass 4th grade!) What’s not as simple is cooking larger amounts of ingredients, but I have strategies to “get er done!”
The Eggs:
They’re scrambled and perfectly fine to freeze – millions eat frozen eggs at chains or in breakfast sandwiches every day. Some find the textural changes off-putting but there’s so much else going on in these burritos that I’d be surprised to hear of anyone having issues. Leave them out if you wish.
- Check the recipe for Oven Baked “Hotel” Eggs. It’s easy to make a dozen or two in a batch, and more than one batch can be made at a time. Use less milk; they’ll cook faster.
- Sausage and Onions: For easy cleanup, cook in a Dutch oven. Start by adding a bit of water to the pot, and if the sausage is in a roll, flatten it out. Turn on the heat and add the lid for a few minutes, then start to mash the sausage. (A wire-style potato masher works better than the pricey gadgets sold for ground beef.) Once the sausage starts to cook through and begins to brown, work with it as necessary, then add the onions.
- Hashbrowns: Oven Hash Browns work particularly well for this recipe and are easier to make than frying. Softer potatoes are my preference, so don’t overbrown.
- Poblanos: The burritos have Green Chili sauce and roasted and diced poblanos. When making several poblanos, line them up on a sheet tray, just touching, and put them under the broiler. Turn until all sides are blistered. Remove and wrap in the foil to steam. Peel, deseed, and dice. An easy sub: one 4-ounce can of green chiles is about the equivalent of a poblano.
- Cheese: Cheese melts best if not pre-grated and is easy to do in a food processor though it can be hand grated. Block and pre-grated cheese are about the same price, and pre-grated is a time saver. You do you, boo!
- Flour Tortillas: If super fresh, no need to heat before using. If not, wrap about half a dozen at a time in a clean towel and microwave for a minute, turning as necessary.
Oven Baked “Hotel” Eggs
To Wrap for Freezing and Reheating:
I’ve tried various ways of wrapping and settled on aluminum foil, a piece about 12 inches (the size of a standard roll) and 9″ long (enough to wrap the burrito.) Restaurant-style Foil sheets work, too. Freeze burritos after they’re wrapped. Place them in gallon Ziplocs (they can go in the empty tortilla packages, too. Errant burritos can be a fun find when you’re sorting out your freezer, but it’s best to package so they don’t escape into the depths.
To reheat, remove foil, loosely wrap in a paper towel, and microwave. The size of the burrito as well as the strength of the microwave determine cooking time. Start with 2 minutes on high, turn over, and go for 45 seconds longer. When finished, take the burrito out of the paper towel, plop it back into the foil to keep it soft and warm and for easier handling.
I saw a TikTokker wrap their burritos in a paper towel, then in foil before freezing; next time I’m giving it a try. It would be handy to remove the foil and have the burrito already wrapped in the paper towel and ready to microwave.
Saving Money on Green Chili Breakfast Burritos:
Especially when making a larger batch, watch sales closely in the preceding weeks and collect the ingredients at rock-bottom prices.
All the items to make both the Green Chili and the Green Chili Breakfast Burritos regularly go on sale, except maybe the actual Green Chile and Poblanos; they are more seasonal in pricing. Canned green chile is often at a low before Cinco de Mayo – that’s an ideal time to stock up on any Mexican/Southwestern pantry items.
Perishable items, the Tortillas, Cheese, Hash Browns, Sausage, and Pork Shoulder (to make the Green Chili) are regularly on sale and easy to chuck in the freezer until it’s time to make the Green Chili Breakfast Burritos. Don’t forget to watch for sales on the foil and paper towels. They’re usually at a low before every holiday.
Green Chili Breakfast Burritos
Green Chili Breakfast Burritos
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 dozen large, depending on size 1x
- Category: Breakfast or Brunch
- Cuisine: Mexican or Southwestern
Ingredients
- 1 pound sausage, your choice breakfast or chorizo
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large poblano chile, roasted, peeled, deseeded and chopped or a 4 ounce can, drained
- 1 pound of cubed hashbrowns (use frozen for convenience)
- additional oil as needed
- salt & pepper, as desired
- 8 ounces of grated cheese: cheddar, colby, jack, leghorn, or a mix, best if this is a coarse rather than fine grate
- 8 to 12 eggs, scrambled
- 1 1/2 cups or a 12-ounce can of Green Chili Sauce
- 12 tortillas, burrito or fajita size
Instructions
If using a fresh poblano, place on a foil-lined tray under the broiler, turning until all sides are blistered. Remove and wrap in the foil and allow to steam until cool enough to handle. Remove skin and stem from peppers, open and remove seeds. Slice into strips then slice across into small dice. If preferred, open a can of diced Green Chile. Drain by pressing down on the lid to remove excess liquid. Discard the liquid and add green chile to a large bowl.
Add sausage to a Dutch oven or large skillet with 2 to 3 tablespoons water. If in a tube, press it down to flatten it out as much as possible. Turn heat to medium-high, cover, and allow to cook for a few minutes. Remove lid and as the sausage cooks, mash it with a wire-style potato masher to break it up into small chunks. Once the sausage is broken down and starting to brown, add the diced onion and let it cook along with the sausage. When sausage is done, remove from pan and add to the bowl with the canned green chili or roasted poblano. Do not drain the skillet if frying the hashbrowns.
To fry, check the amount of drippings in the skillet; if three tablespoons are not present, add oil to make up the difference. If the drippings in the pan are excessive, drain some. Add hashbrowns and cook until they’re done, stirring often. If desired, instead follow the recipe for Oven Hash Browns. With either method, add salt and pepper to taste. When finished, put in the bowl with the sausage/green chile mixture.
Add the Green Chili sauce to the bowl and stir the mixture together.
To cook eggs in the skillet, wipe the skillet clean and add a little additional oil; turn down the heat to medium. Whisk eggs together and scramble. Light, fluffy eggs work best in these burritos, and it’s best not to cook too hard in the initial scramble. They’ll cook more when the burrito is heated. Alternatively, follow the directions for Oven Baked Hotel Eggs.
Gently fold the eggs and cheese into the mixture in the bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Feel free to add hot sauce to the mixture.
Warm tortillas by wrapping six at a time in a clean towel and microwaving for one minute. Turn over and microwave for another 30 seconds or until the stack is heated through. Keep the stack covered as you wrap the burritos. Add the desired amount of Green Chili mixture to a tortilla and roll. The amount of burritos will vary depending on the size of the tortillas and how heavily they are filled. This should make about a dozen.
Serve immediately or wrap for the freezer.
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