Nothing gets a day of hiking going faster than this warm and savory backpacker breakfast burrito! It has quickly become a mainstay among our camping meals. Packed with flavor and ready to eat in minutes after adding boiling water, the instant mashed potatoes serve as the backcountry substitute for breakfast hash-browns.
As with all of our recipes, they are completely customizable to suit your needs and preference. We find this recipe perfectly suited for multi-night backpacking trips, but for thru-hikers who need to bulk up the calories with minimal additional weight, we suggest adding extra cheddar cheese and butter powder.
You can also use to recipe without the tortilla to create a breakfast burrito bowl. If eating straight out of the bag, we recommend increasing the serving size by at least 50% (or double, depending on your appetite).
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If you use a camp stove, egg crystals make excellent backcountry scrambled eggs. These can then be added to the remaining ingredients in this recipe to create the breakfast burrito. Keep in mind that while egg crystals or powdered eggs are shelf stable, they require cooking directly over a camp stove, just like stove top scrambled eggs.
If, like us, you use a Jetboil for strictly just-add-water recipes, you’ll need to get pre-cooked freeze-dried scrambled eggs which rehydrate with the addition of boiling water. I have yet to find a great commercial source of freeze-dried scrambled eggs that don’t include extra ingredients like ham or bacon, so I order mine from independent suppliers on Etsy.
Breakfast Burrito Recipe for Backpacking
- 1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1/3 c + 1 Tbsp freeze dried scrambled eggs*
- 3 Tbsp freeze dried cheddar cheese
- 1 Tbsp freeze dried onions
- 1 Tbsp freeze dried scallions
- 1 Tbsp butter powder
- 2 tortillas
- 1 packet of hot sauce (optional)
*if using egg crystals and a camp stove, pack and cook these these separately
Preparation Instructions: Measure out all the ingredients and add to re-sealable mylar boil bag. Add an oxygen-absorber if you are planning to store the meal longer than month, are living in or traveling through a humid area, or simply don’t want to take the risk of the ingredients clumping together. (otherwise it’s one less thing to pack in, and one less piece of trash to pack out). If using hot-sauce packets, those can go into the bag as well.
Pack your tortillas separately. You do not want your breakfast burrito filling to be stored with the moisture from the tortillas.
Don’t forget to label your bag with the rehydration instructions!
Serving instructions: 1 + 1/4 cup boiling water. Wait 10-15 minutes.
Backpacker Breakfast Burrito
Equipment
- 1 Mylar Boil Bag
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1/3 c + 1 Tbsp freeze dried scrambled eggs
- 3 Tbsp freeze dried cheddar cheese
- 1 Tbsp freeze dried onions
- 1 Tbsp freeze dried scallions
- 1 Tbsp butter powder
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and seal in a mylar boil bag.
- To prepare, add 1 + 1/4 cup boiling water. Stir immediately. Reseal boil bag and wait for 10 minutes to rehydrate. Stir again before serving.
- Divide burrito filling equally between two flour tortillas. Top with hot sauce as desired. Fold and enjoy!
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Have you tried our backpacker breakfast burrito? Let us know how we did and share your suggestions with fellow hikers. We love to hear all the places this recipe has been enjoyed.