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For three years, I played trombone in my university’s marching band, which was one of the most formative experiences of my college career. I met some amazing people and made memories I’ll cherish for years to come, and I suspect that many of you who have also been in a marching band would say the same.
But you know what wasn’t exactly memorable in a good way? The food. In order for us to have ample time to practice, call time for the band came about 5-6 hours before the game started, and many times that meant leaving before the dining halls were open for breakfast. Moreover, a fast food chain that shall remain nameless provided our post-rehearsal/pre-game meals, so it probably comes as no surprise that there was not a vegetable in sight (there was, however, an abundance of mayo). Adding insult to injury mayo was the fact that the meals did not come with water, but rather, with soda. And let me tell you, when you’re spending 9+ hours outdoors in the southern California heat, the struggle to avoid dehydration is real.
Anyway, rather than attend a multi-hour practice on an empty stomach, I made a habit of hitting the vending machines before call time. The least junky option? Egg salad sandwiches. I still shudder to think about how old the sandwiches must have been and what preservatives they surely contained. It suffices to say, these lackluster vending machine egg salad sandwiches left me with some serious food envy as I watched the nearby tailgaters!
Whether you’re at the game in person or supporting your team from home, it’s important to fuel up for the day with a hearty breakfast, which is where these freezer-friendly breakfast burritos come in! Made with Pace® salsa, these burritos will get your taste buds revved up and ready to take on whatever the day brings. I’ve created two different recipes, one with sweet potatoes and black beans and one with sausage and TATER TOTS. If you’re feeling particularly indecisive or just super hungry, you could even combine the recipes and make humongous sweet potato/black bean/sausage/tater tot burritos! No judgment here. The beauty of these breakfast burritos (other than the taste, because trust me…they’re irresistible!) is that you can easily make them ahead of time and reheat them when you’re ready to eat. So if you’ve got an early start, you can warm them up and then either eat on the road or pack them in a cooler and share them with your fellow tailgaters when you arrive!
As much as I love fresh tomatoes (and I think I’ve shown how much I do), I prefer to use salsa in these burritos, since plain tomatoes don’t add quite enough juiciness for my liking. Thanks to Pace® salsa, these burritos are packed with zesty flavor and just the right amount of juiciness, regardless of whether you eat them the day of or make them ahead of time. After all, there’s nothing worse than a dry burrito, right? Okay, except maybe your team leading until the very last minute of play and then losing by one point after a blocked field goal in the final five seconds. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…
If you’re looking for more salsa-rrific recipes that are perfect for game day, Pace® has you covered – and you can find their salsas at Walmart! What are your favorite ways to fuel up for a big day?
- 14-16 ounces tater tots
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 ounces breakfast sausage
- 8 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa (I use medium, but feel free to use mild if you prefer)
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to the temperature specified on the package of the tater tots. Bake according to the directions on the package.
- While the tater tots are in the oven, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Cook the diced bell pepper and onion until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the bell pepper and onion to a bowl or plate when they’re done.
- In the same skillet, cook the sausage until browned, breaking it into pieces with a spatula as it cooks. Transfer the sausage to a bowl or plate when it’s done.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs in the skillet, cooking until they reach your preferred consistency.
- Assemble the burritos: place the eggs, sausage, tater tots, bell pepper, and onion in a strip down the center of each tortilla. Spoon salsa on top of the filling and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Roll up and serve or wrap with foil for later.
- If the breakfast sausage you choose has casing, remove the casing before cooking.
- If you are making the burritos ahead of time, refrigerate or freeze them until the morning you plan to serve them, and then microwave (remove the foil first) or bake until warm. From the refrigerator: bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes. From the freezer: bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
- 2 sweet potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 large flour tortillas
- 1 cup Pace® Chunky Salsa (I use medium, but feel free to use mild if you prefer)
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the cubed sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until slightly browned.
- While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Cook the diced bell pepper and onion until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the bell pepper and onion to a bowl or plate when they’re done.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together and season with salt and pepper. Scramble the eggs in the skillet, cooking until they reach your preferred consistency.
- Assemble the burritos: place the eggs, sweet potatoes, black beans, bell pepper, and onion in a strip down the center of each tortilla. Spoon salsa on top of the filling and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Roll up and serve or wrap with foil for later.
- If you are making the burritos ahead of time, refrigerate or freeze them until the morning you plan to serve them, and then microwave (remove the foil first) or bake until warm. From the refrigerator: bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes. From the freezer: bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
What fun marching band memory Mara! I was in marching band for one year in high school and it was hard work! These breakfast burritos are such a great idea for a quick breakfast!
Oh definitely, marching band is not for the faint of heart! What instrument did you play?
These breakfast burritos look delicious! I want to make them ASAP. Thanks for the inspiration Cake Pants Lady!
Thanks! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do 🙂
Now this is how you do breakfast! Love love love these… perfect for the whole fam!
Agreed! Thanks so much for stopping by, Karly!
Genius idea! Sometimes those early tailgate sessions are just a bit too early…and these burritos would be the perfect solution! Heck, I think I want these as breakfast-for-dinner tonight. They sound delicious! But I also feel your pain with the last second defeat. That happened this past weekend for my favorite team…but unfortunately I didn’t have any of these burritos on hand to ease the pain. Thanks for sharing! #client
I live within a mile of the stadium here and I’m always amazed by how early the streets are filled with tailgaters…sometimes before I even get out of bed! And that’s funny you should mention breakfast-for-dinner burritos, because we definitely did that earlier this week 😉
Wonderful idea, Mara! Thanks for sharing. Yum!!
Thanks, Debbie! I hope you get a chance to try them.
These burritos look great–tasty and healthy! I love anything with black beans and sweet potatoes together. My daughter plays trombone in her high school marching band now! It’s going to be a chilly, wet game for her this evening, I’m afraid! But she loves it!
I agree – black beans and sweet potatoes are great together! And that’s so cool that your daughter plays trombone! For years in middle and high school I was the only girl in the section.
Mara, thanks for sharing these wonderful breakfast burritos with us at Fiesta Friday! I love a meal that I can make in advance and freeze.
So nice to wake up and feel that breakfast is ready at your fingertips, right?
Thanks, Sandhya, and thank you for hosting! You know, I really can’t believe I didn’t start making these sooner, because it is SO nice to wake up and already have a tasty breakfast assembled.
I’m shuddering to think of your vending machine egg salad sandwiches too… eek! But you are more than making up for it now and these freezer burritos sound fantastic! So great to have on hand and grab for a busy morning (which most of them are, it seems) – can’t wait to make a batch!
Haha yes, these breakfast burritos are helping me make up for lost time! I hope you get a chance to try them 🙂
I’m back to work now and I love the idea of freezing these babies for a quick and hearty meal on the fly!
Thanks!
Michelle
Yes, definitely! They also work in a pinch for a quick breakfast-for-dinner 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
I would have loved a wrap like that in college. I shudder to think of the way we ate or didn’t eat. These burritos were be great to pop out of the freezer when you’re on the go, and Pace is our go to salsa for recipes like this.
Oh I know – I wish I could have somehow shaken a bit more sense into my college self about healthier eating! But live and learn, right?
Mmm hmm! *goes to whip up a batch of the sausage and tater tot burritos*
Enjoy! I find the sausage and tater tot version to be particularly irresistible 😉
I haven’t made breakfast burritos in such a long time! I have no idea why since they’re pretty much everyone’s favorite. Early dementia, I guess 😀 These look awesome, yum!
I’m the same way with certain recipes – even though they’re a huge hit, sometimes I forget about them for months or years at a time. Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
These look delicious – I never thought of using tater tots!! One helpful tip someone gave me long ago when I was first making freezer burritos and get frustrated that they always came out soggy: if you’re planning to freeze them, refrigerate all the ingredients and then pat with paper towels to remove excess moisture before serving, and you could add the salsa after warming back up to reduce moisture even further.
Thanks, Wendy! I had the idea of putting tater tots in breakfast burritos after having French fries in gyros. Those are great tips about cutting down on the moisture! I haven’t had a problem with that yet but I’ll keep what you said in mind in case I do in the future. Thanks for stopping by!
We made the sweet potato and black bean version of your recipe. It was a colorful and tasty meal! Thanks for helping solve the daily question of what to have for dinner.
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed these! That is indeed a difficult question to answer at times…