Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils, Cranberries, & Runny Egg

This Thanksgiving leftover breakfast burrito is packed with all of the delicious things that I have leftover from the holiday season. Even though we're in the middle of a pandemic, that's no excuse not to eat well! If anything, it's a great excuse to eat better. After all, if we're all stuck at home, why not foray into cooking?

Taking this sentiment to heart, I made far too much food for Thanksgiving. And have more leftovers than I know what to do with.

This has turned about to be the most delicious dilemma, though. Now that I have tons of leftover Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry Sauce, I have discovered the joy of Thanksgiving leftover burritos. You can pair anything that you have on hand after the holidays with this ultimate, not exactly traditional burrito. Nevertheless, the sweetness of the lentils and mashed potatoes pairs perfectly with the creaminess of a runny egg and sour cream. To top it all off, I add a hefty dollop of hot sauce. But that's entirely optional!

Gallery

What to Make Along with this Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito

For the rest of the recipes that I made during Thanksgiving this year, along with a breakdown of how to get them all in and out of the oven in time for dinner! Check out my blog on the pandemic holiday season. I also have a couple other Thanksgiving burritos to make with all of the leftovers!

I've been doing this for weeks, now. Trying absolutely everything that I have leftover from the holidays or even vaguely holiday themed and turning it into a fun burrito. A lot of people look to leftovers and immediately think sandwiches. But I've never been much of a sandwich person! I'd rather everything be wrapped up in a nice, neat little tortilla. Drown it in hot sauce. And maybe a bit of Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils, Cranberries, & Runny Egg

Thanksgiving Leftover Burrito w/ Lentils, Cranberries, & Runny Egg

This Thanksgiving leftover burrito combines mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce with sweet potato lentils and a runny egg. It's my new favorite way to utilize leftovers and the absolute perfect breakfast burrito! Add in a fun hot sauce that pairs well with the flavor combination? And I'll be dreaming about this burrito until the next holiday season!
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American, Latin American
Servings 1 serving

Equipment

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

Ingredients
  

Sweet Potato Lentils

  • 1/2 sweet potato diced
  • 2 habaneros minced
  • 2 red chilis minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • dash cinnamon
  • dash nutmeg
  • dash cumin
  • dash coriander
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1 ½ c. French green lentils
  • 3 c. water

Mashed Potatoes

  • 1 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
  • 1/2 c. milk room temperature
  • 4 tbsp. butter softened
  • hefty dash salt
  • hefty dash pepper

Cranberry Sauce

  • 1 lbs. cranberries whole, fresh
  • 1/2 c. raw honey
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Burrito

  • 1/4 c. sweet potato lentils
  • 1/4 c. mashed potatoes
  • dollop cranberry sauce
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • splash water
  • 1 tortilla
  • dollop sour cream (optional)
  • dollop hot sauce (optional)

Instructions
 

Prepare Ingredients

  • This is the ultimate holiday leftover burrito. I've thrown in everything plus the kitchen sink! I wouldn't necessarily recommend making all of these recipes back-to-back. They're more of an accumulate over the holidays type of scenario. But you absolutely can! I'm not going to say that I haven't...
  • Cook Sweet Potato Lentils. This takes a couple of hours to cook and purée the pumpkin and then make the lentils. It requires a pumpkin, garlic, shallots, sweet potatoes, and green or crimson lentils. You'll also need an oven, aluminum foil, food processor, and rice cooker.
  • Make Mashed Potatoes. This takes about a half hour and requires preferably Yukon gold or Russet potatoes, milk, butter, salt, and pepper. I like to mash mine with a potato masher. But a mixer will also do.
  • Prepare Cranberry Sauce. This takes about 15 minutes to make and primarily utilizes whole, fresh cranberries, honey, a cinnamon stick, and blood orange. It can be eaten as a side dish alongside a holiday meal or topped on crackers or toast.

Cook Tortilla

  • Preheat the skillet 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 lentils, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. 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.

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!
  • Immediately remove the egg from heat.

Assemble 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 sour cream and hot sauce of choice. I like to use Greek yogurt because it's oftentimes healthier than sour cream and pairs well with a lot of the same flavor profiles. Omit or substitute with a vegan alternative for an entirely animal-product free recipe.
  • 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!

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