Wake up to breakfast burrito bowls from the slow cooker
A good breakfast burrito is proof that it’s what’s on the inside that really counts. In this case, that’s a combination of fluffy potatoes, seasoned sausage, creamy beans and eggs bathed in salsa and chiles.
Here’s the plan: Scan this ingredient list before you head to the grocery store and find 30 minutes after dinner this week for a little prep. With some help from the slow cooker, a hot, homemade breakfast is an attainable reality.
In the slow cooker you can cook the browned sausage, potatoes, beans and salsa overnight and wake up to a ready-to-serve filling you can eat by the bowl with a sunny egg to top.
Key steps
Brown the sausage. Browning the sausage before it goes in the slow cooker makes for a much tastier finished bowl. Don’t skip this step.
Rely on some canned staples. Canned pinto beans, salsa and chiles make up the bulk of the bowls. If you have any cooked beans on hand – pinto, black beans, or otherwise – feel free to use them. Choose a salsa you love, because it’s going to do the heavy lifting as a seasoning.
Use up odds and ends. Don’t have Yukon Golds? Use peeled russets or sweet potatoes. Swap the pinto beans for black beans or kidney.
Cook the eggs as needed. Eggs cooked directly in the slow cooker have their place, but not with this recipe. When it’s time to dish up breakfast, cook the eggs just how you like them.
Eating the bowls
By all means, grab a tortilla and roll yourself a traditional burrito. But another option is to tuck tortilla chips under the saucy potato-sausage mixture. They soften a bit and you’ll probably sigh with delight after each bite. Top the finished bowls with avocado, yogurt or queso fresco as desired, and keep the hot sauce close!
FYI
This recipe is cooked in a four-quart slow cooker and makes enough to feed six to eight with eggs. If you need to double the recipe, move up to a larger slow cooker.
The potato-sausage base cooks on low heat for six to eight hours but can cook for up to 10 hours if you need the extra time for important things like, say, sleeping.