Catfish Out of Water

This burrito is full of calabaza squash. I'm incredibly fond of calabaza. It's a very large squash that's a bright orange hue with a sweeter and heartier flavor than your more typical butternut or pumpkin. Although both can easily be substituted in these recipes. I used calabaza in both the Slow Cooker Black Beans w/ Calabaza & Habaneros and the Brown Rice w/ Calabaza Squash & Anaheim Peppers. This is actually quite the typical burrito for me. The addition of the calabaza burrito is maybe a bit of a wild card, but squash is often found in Latin American-inspired food and burritos are often filled with black beans and rice. Plus, who doesn't enjoy a good breakfast burrito?

I'm incredibly fond of squash with eggs. They both have these quintessentially warm and inviting flavors to them. Most breakfast burritos have scrambled eggs because they're more shelf stable. But, when you're making it at home? Biting into that perfectly cooked oozing egg is one of my favorite things!

I also topped this burrito with Potluck Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts and a dollop of hot sauce. This is entirely optional, but I'm incredibly fond of it. It's kind of a cross between hummus and guacamole, but works with a broader range of flavor profiles and lasts infinitely longer in the refrigerator. It's my new obsession. I've been making it for months and probably will continue to until avocados are impossible to find!

Gallery

Variations of Calabaza Burrito

Burritos are a great way to mix and match ingredients. They're not as large a dish and quite as much of a commitment as a heaping plate of nachos or an entire batch of enchiladas. I like to play with the flavor profiles and mix and match all of my leftovers throughout the week. Burritos are quick and easy to toss together in about 15 minutes, maybe 20 if you're adding an egg or frying tofu to order. But they're my absolute favorite! And I've made several lately with a mixture of squash, beans, and rice.

Burrito w/ Calabaza Beans, Rice, & Runny Egg

This calabaza burrito combines slow cooker black beans with calabaza and homegrown habaneros and brown rice with calabaza and homegrown Anaheims. Add in a runny egg and a hefty dollop of avocado dip and hot sauce? And there is absolutely nothing better in the morning! It's the perfect way to start the day with something both delicious and nutrient-rich.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Latin American, Mexican

Servings 1 serving

Equipment

• Skillet w/ Lid (Preferably Cast Iron)
• Oven

Ingredients

  

Black Beans

• 1 ½ c. calabaza squash
• 1 ½ lbs. black beans
• 3 habaneros
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 4 ½ c. water

Brown Rice

• 1/2 calabaza squash roasted & puréed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 2 Anaheim peppers diced
• dash cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 2 ½ c. water (or vegetable broth)

Avocado Dip

• 6 avocados
• 6 cloves garlic
• 6 limes juiced
• 1 ½ c. Greek yogurt
• 2 c. walnuts
• 4 tbsp. olive oil
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Burrito

• 1/4 c. black beans
• 1/4 c. brown rice
• 1 tortilla shell
• splash water
• 1 egg
• dollop avocado dip (optional, omit or substitute sour cream)
• dollop hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• Slow Cooker Black Beans take 8 hours to cook. I recommend starting it the night before so that it cooks overnight or in the morning before going to work so that it's ready when you get home. It's also a good quick and easy recipe to start ahead of time and reheat later on.
• Cook Brown Rice w/ Calabaza Squash & Anaheim Peppers. This takes about an hour and requires a rice cooker or stove. You can also easily create a different flavor profile or utilize the produce that you have on hand. I almost always keep a batch of rice or quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
• I also topped this burrito with Potluck Avocado Dip w/ Greek Yogurt & Walnuts. This is entirely optional. You can easily substitute sour cream, Greek yogurt, or omit entirely depending on personal preference. Although this avocado dip is my new favorite thing and I highly recommend giving it a try. It's kind of a mix between hummus and guacamole. And is absolutely delicious!

Cook Tortilla

• Preheat the pan on medium-high. If you aren't using cast iron, make sure to lightly oil the pan to prevent sticking.
• Wet both sides of the tortilla and add to the preheated pan. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown.
• Remove the tortilla from heat and turn the stove off. Add toppings and fold the burrito. Wrap it slightly less tightly than you ordinarily would in order to leave room for the egg later on.

  We're also intentionally holding off on the egg! It will need to be cooked after the tortilla is prepared so that the egg doesn't completely set and remains runny.
• Turn the stove back up to medium and add the tortilla to the skillet immediately, before it preheats. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown. Rotate until all sides are cooked.

  The first side will likely take longer to cook than the subsequent sides, which may toast in as little as 2 minutes. Adjust the temperature if it's cooking too quickly and burning or too slowly and cracking.
• Remove from heat and set aside. It's best to cover so that it doesn't cool off to quickly. But this isn't entirely necessary.

Cook Egg

• Leave the skillet on medium heat and add oil.

  I use a pretty well seasoned cast iron pan to cook eggs, so I don't add any more than a spritz of oil. You may need upwards of a teaspoon for other types of pans, though. Use just enough so that your eggs don't stick!
• Crack egg into the pan.

  It should be hot enough that the egg sizzles, but doesn't deep fry or brown immediately.
• Let cook until golden brown on the bottom and you can flip the egg with ease. The whites should be fairly set on both sides, but not completely cooked.

  You want to cook this relatively quickly so that the egg yolk doesn't set, though. It should take about a minute or two. Turn the heat up if the egg whites don't cook quickly enough or down if the egg yolk starts to cook. Also immediately flip if this happens!
• Flip and turn off the stove. Cook for another 30 seconds, or until the egg white is completely cooked. It should already be mostly set and this should take no time at all!

Complete Burrito

• Carefully unwrap the burrito slightly and place the egg inside. Rewrap the burrito and squeeze slightly so that the egg begins to run.

  You don't have to break the yolk, but it will continue to cook inside of the warm burrito shell. So, if you don't, you might not get that runny egg! This will also be kind of messy and I recommend eating over a plate or wrapped in parchment paper or food storage wraps. I have a set of reusable beeswax wraps for this.
• Top with avocado dip and hot sauce of choice. I like to use Greek yogurt because it's oftentimes healthier than sour cream and this new avocado dip that I'm obsessed with is fantastic. Omit or substitute dip of choice.
• Serve immediately. Before the egg cooks!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For a more in-depth article on burritos, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Burritos. I highly suggest using cast iron and there is precise temperature that works best for cooking at that may vary slightly depending on your stovetop and type of skillet. If you're having trouble rolling the burrito without cracking, there are solutions for this as well!