The breakfast burrito, sometimes referred to as a breakfast wrap outside of the
American Southwest
The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...
,
is a variety of
American breakfast composed of breakfast items wrapped inside a flour tortilla
burrito
A burrito (, ) is a dish in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine that took form in Ciudad Juárez, consisting of a flour tortilla wrapped into a sealed cylindrical shape around various ingredients. The tortilla is sometimes lightly grilled or stea ...
. This style was invented and popularized in several regional American cuisines, most notably originating in
New Mexican cuisine
New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México.
This cuisi ...
, and expanding beyond
Southwestern cuisine and neighboring
Tex-Mex
Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...
. Southwestern-style breakfast burritos may include any combination of
scrambled eggs
Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs (usually chicken eggs) stirred, whipped or beaten together while being gently heated, typically with salt, butter, oil and sometimes other ingredients.
Preparation
Only eggs are necessary to make scramble ...
, potatoes, cheese, peppers (usually
New Mexico chile,
Jalapeño
The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...
, or other
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s), salsa, onions,
chorizo, bacon, or sour cream. In other variations of breakfast burritos, more ingredients such as tomatoes, cheese, ham, and other fresh products can be added.
Some fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's and Taco Bell sell breakfast burritos.
The breakfast burrito is also a popular
street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumpt ...
,
and street-style breakfast burritos are found in the food truck scene in places such as Los Angeles.
History
Tia Sophia's, a
New Mexican diner in
Santa Fe, claims the first use of the term "breakfast burrito" on a menu, in 1975, although a rolled tortilla containing some combination of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and cheese existed in
New Mexican cuisine
New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México.
This cuisi ...
well before that.
Fast food giant
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
introduced their version in the late 1980s, and by the 1990s, more fast food restaurants caught on to the style, with
Sonic Drive-In,
Hardee's, and
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.
In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...
offering breakfast burritos on their menus. In 2014,
Taco Bell
Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includin ...
launched their breakfast menu, which included breakfast burritos.
Preparation
The breakfast burrito can be prepared with myriad filling ingredients, such as eggs, ham, cheese, onion, chile or bell peppers, bacon, Canadian bacon, potatoes, sausage, avocado, tomato, spinach, beans, and olives.
In
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
, breakfast burritos are often served "smothered" (covered with a
chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
sauce) or "handheld" (with chile sauce or chopped green chile inside).
It is usually served heated up or cooked.
See also
*
Breakfast sandwich
*
Breakfast taco
*
Breakfast roll
The breakfast roll ( ga, rollóg bhricfeasta, ) is a bread roll filled with elements of a traditional fried breakfast. It is served at a wide variety of convenience shops, newsagents, supermarkets, petrol stations, and casual eateries throughout ...
*
List of American foods
*
List of breakfast foods This is a list of notable breakfast foods from A to Z. Breakfast is the meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking a day's work. Among English speakers, breakfast can be used to refer to th ...
*
Omelette
In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives ...
*
Wrap (sandwich)
References
External links
*
{{Street food
Tortilla-based dishes
New Mexican cuisine
Street food in the United States
American breakfast foods