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Burrito w/ Tamari Quinoa, Sautéed Spinach, & Runny Egg

Burrito w/ Tamari Quinoa, Sautéed Spinach, & Runny Egg

A quinoa breakfast burrito is one of my favorite dishes of all time. They're quick and easy to make and hit the spot with a perfectly runny egg. This one has a Japanese-inspired tamari and rice vinegar quinoa and Ethiopian-inspired sautéed spinach with shallots and garlic. But feel free to mix and match whatever you have on hand or ingredients that you want to play up!
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Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Asian, Mexican
Servings 1 serving

Equipment

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

Ingredients
  

Quinoa

  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric fresh, minced
  • ginger fresh, minced
  • garlic fresh, minced
  • rice vinegar
  • tamari (or soy sauce of choice)
  • tri-colored quinoa
  • water
  • silken tofu (1 package)
  • high heat oil

Sautéed Spinach

  • 1 lbs. spinach
  • 1/2 shallot
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper
  • 1/4 c. olive oil

Burrito w/ Runny Egg

  • 1/4 c. quinoa
  • 1/4 c. sautéed spinach
  • splash water
  • 1 tortilla shell
  • 1 egg
  • splash olive oil
  • dollop hot sauce of choice (optional)
  • dollop Greek yogurt (optional)

Instructions
 

Prepare Ingredients

  • Prepare Quinoa w/ Sweet Potatoes, Rice Vinegar, & Tamari. This takes less than 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 quinoa in the fridge for exactly this purpose.
  • Cook Sautéed Spinach w/ Shallots & Garlic. This takes about 20 minutes and requires a food processor (optional) and stovetop.

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 1/3 cup quinoa and 1/4 cup sautéed spinach to the burrito and fold. 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 Eggs

  • 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.

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 Greek yogurt and hot sauce of choice. Omit or substitute with a vegan alternative for an entirely animal-product free recipe.
  • Serve immediately. Before the egg cooks!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

  • I used Fresh Turmeric in Olive Oil. You can easily substitute dried turmeric. But there is something particularly refreshing about fresh turmeric! And, if you can find it, mincing it and preserving in olive oil is the key to longevity.
  • 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!