Break Out The Muffin Tins For An Easy Breakfast Burrito Hack

Breakfast burritos are an ideal morning treat. They have plenty of protein and tons of flavor, and you can pack them with as much or as little meat and veggies as you wish. But as a quick snack or light breakfast, they can be a bit overwhelming to prepare, especially if you aren't sure how to best fold a burrito. On top of that, you're usually limited to making one or two at a time, when perhaps you might need three, six, or eight total to feed a whole family. And what if one person wants meat with their eggs, another all veggies, while a third asks for just egg and cheese? Extra time and effort!

Fortunately, there's a clever way to make smaller, portable breakfast burritos with as many different ingredients as you like in each, in as little as 20 minutes. You can create several tasty baked burrito bites by using large flour tortillas, one egg per bite, your desired fillings, and a muffin tin.

Though it's received renewed attention on TikTok, this recipe hack has been around since at least the early 2010s. And it's a hack that's definitely worth learning: It's easily customizable and if one attempt doesn't work, you haven't sacrificed too much time or too many resources. What's more, the finished breakfast food is as visually appealing as it is delicious and filling.

The goal with breakfast burrito bites is to make an attractive single serving that holds together and tastes great. Flour tortillas work best as they're less fragile than corn and large enough to roll two or three together to cut in half for sizable portions. When building breakfast burrito cups, set the cut (flat) part into the base of the muffin tin and spread the tortilla open to create a bloomed rose effect. Not only does it look nice, but it holds the egg in the center and throughout the "petals." Let the tops of the tortillas emerge a couple of inches above the tin.

Pour about one egg into each muffin cup, so that it mostly sits in the center of the tortilla flower, while also filling any gaps among petals. The egg should fill about half or two thirds of the burrito, leaving space to sprinkle other ingredients on top. Cheese, diced bacon, jalapeño slices, crumbled veggie sausage, spinach or arugula, and diced tomatoes all work well. 

When it comes to this creative use for a muffin tin, the larger the cups the better, particularly when using extra-large tortillas. In that case, clip each "flower" an inch or two above the tin to get several burrito bites from a single roll of large tortillas. If you want to avoid singing the tortilla edges, cover with foil then remove it about five minutes before the breakfast burritos are done baking.