Breakfast Burrito Quesadilla
Scrambled eggs, crumbled chorizo, pepper jack cheese, and crispy hash browns — all the components of a breakfast burrito pressed into a quesadilla. Ready in 20 minutes and significantly more satisfying than anything from a drive-through window.
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- ¼ lb Mexican chorizo casings removed
- 3 large eggs
Produce
- 2 green onion thinly sliced
Dairy
- 1.5 cups pepper jack cheese freshly shredded
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter divided — 1 tbsp for eggs, 1 tbsp for toasting tortillas
- ¼ cup sour cream for serving
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 2 flour tortillas large, burrito size
- ½ cup frozen hash browns thawed, or refrigerated shredded hash browns
- ¼ cup salsa store-bought, for serving
Seasonings & Spices
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Cook the chorizo in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles, for 4 to 5 minutes until browned and cooked through. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Leave 1 tsp of the rendered chorizo fat in the pan.
- Add the hash browns to the same pan in the residual chorizo fat. Press flat and cook undisturbed for 2 minutes until the bottom is golden and crispy. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 tbsp butter to the pan. Crack and beat the eggs lightly with a fork — season with a pinch of salt. Add to the pan and scramble gently, pulling from the edges toward the center, until just set and still slightly glossy. Do not fully cook through — they will finish in the quesadilla. Remove from heat.
- Lay both tortillas flat. Scatter ½ cup of pepper jack over one tortilla. Layer the chorizo, hash browns, and scrambled eggs evenly over the cheese. Scatter the green onion over the filling. Top with the remaining 1 cup of pepper jack. Place the second tortilla on top.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add the assembled quesadilla. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the bottom is golden. Flip carefully. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the second side is golden and the cheese is fully melted.
- Transfer to a cutting board and rest for 1 minute. Cut into wedges. Serve with salsa and sour cream alongside.
Notes
Pull the eggs off heat while they're still slightly underdone and glossy — they finish cooking inside the quesadilla during the 3 to 4 minute toast. Fully cooked eggs going into a quesadilla come out overcooked and rubbery.
Cooking the hash browns in the residual chorizo fat seasons them without any extra effort. That rendered orange chorizo fat has more flavor than plain butter or oil.
Mexican chorizo (the soft, fresh kind that comes in a casing) is completely different from Spanish cured chorizo. Make sure you're using Mexican chorizo — it's raw, crumbles when cooked, and releases that distinctive orange-red fat. Spanish chorizo is cured and firm and won't work the same way here.
This works equally well as a dinner recipe. The breakfast label is more about the ingredients than the time of day it gets eaten.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!