Breakfast burritos are the ultimate way to start your day: Some combination of eggs, vegetables, beans, melty cheese, and savory bacon all wrapped up in a stretchy, chewy tortilla. It's a real breakfast of champions.
The Best Ways to Reheat Frozen Breakfast Burritos
Published Aug. 11, 2022.
They’re also the unsung hero of the freezer. They freeze well and are ready when you need a quick breakfast on the go.
But they can be tricky to reheat. So many breakfast burritos come out of the microwave with soggy surfaces, hard edges, or blown-out centers. Here are some reheating methods to ensure that your breakfast burritos are just as good as when you made them.
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How to Cook a Frozen Burrito in a Microwave
This is the initial step for all of our reheating recommendations—it’s the fastest and most even way to heat up food because it transfers energy directly to the food, rather than heating up the air around the food.
But here's the secret: Wrap the burrito in a damp paper towel. This will keep the tortilla from drying out in the microwave while steaming the tasty fillings.
You can stop after microwaving (and even wrap it back in the foil for an on-the-go breakfast) or take it a step further by crisping the warmed burrito up in the toaster oven, skillet, or broiler.
- Remove burrito from foil and wrap in a damp paper towel.
- Microwave for 2–4 minutes.
- Discard paper towel and serve.
How to Cook a Frozen Burrito Using a Toaster Oven
The toaster oven will crisp up the outside of your Kale and Black Bean Breakfast Burritos and is a smaller, more efficient alternative to heating an entire oven for one just burrito. (Although an oven would work, too.)
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 from microwaving steps above.
- Discard paper towel and transfer burrito to toaster oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Serve.
How to Cook a Frozen Burrito Using a Skillet
Resident Mexican Pizza expert and crunch enthusiast Sam Block offers the following tips to achieve a beautifully brown, ultra-crunchy exterior like our Breakfast Burritos with Chorizo and Crispy Potatoes.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 from microwaving steps above.
- Heat ½ teaspoon oil (per burrito) in medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Cook burrito until golden brown and crispy, 1–2 minutes per side. Serve.
The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook
The experts here at America’s Test Kitchen have eliminated the guesswork of cooking in advance with 500 recipes that spell out all the make-ahead options.How to Reheat a Frozen Burrito Using a Broiler
Sprinkle your burrito with cheese and then broil it to get the best of both worlds—an extra-flavorful tortilla with cheese on the inside and outside (never a bad thing). The broiler blasts the surface of the burrito with heat, quickly melting cheese for a deliciously crispy, salty crust.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 from microwaving steps above.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese over burrito (a couple of tablespoons per burrito) on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Transfer to oven and broil until cheddar is melted and starting to brown, 3–5 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through broiling. Serve.
How to Cook a Frozen Burrito in an Air Fryer
Or, skip the microwave altogether and pop that burrito straight from the freezer into the air fryer. Air fryers are ideal for reheating burritos; they maintain a consistent temperature (moreso even than an oven) and the burrito’s exterior crisps up as part of the process. This method works for our Air-Fryer Make-Ahead Breakfast Burritos or any other frozen burrito that needs reheating.
- Arrange up to 4 burritos (still wrapped in foil!) in your air-fryer basket, spaced evenly apart.
- Place basket into the air fryer.
- Set temperature to 400 degrees and cook until burritos are crisp, about 15 minutes.
- Unwrap and serve.