Combine my favorite cuisine (Mexican) with my favorite meal of the day (breakfast) and you get breakfast burritos as my go-to rise-and-shine dish.
This handheld meal is perfect for those rushed mornings, whether it’s served in the traditional way or sliced in the middle for a relaxing open-face treat. There are many tasty breakfast burritos in the desert, but I’ve chosen my favorites based on my mini burrito checklist: cheesy, thick and meaty, juicy, and flavorful.
Casa Mendoza, La Quinta
Breakfast Burrito
This burrito has four things going for it which are included in my informal burrito checklist: thick and meaty, cheesy, good flavor, and juicy. This burrito is made for forking. It’s smothered in a mouthwatering chile verde sauce, which is seriously the best I’ve ever had. The flavorful sauce has large bites of pork. Inside your palate will discover bacon, beans, eggs, and potatoes — and if that’s not enough to bring a smile to your face, it’s also topped with melted cheese. The downtown La Quinta location makes for a delightful morning: Start your day with a hearty Mexican breakfast and then head off to the farmer’s market.
The Carne Asada Breakfast Burrito is stuffed with eggs, carne asada, bacon, cheese, potato, beans, and green sauce.
El Ranchito Taco Shop, Palm Desert
Carne Asada Breakfast Burrito
This burrito should come with a challenge. It’s one of the largest, thickest burritos I’ve ever ordered, but also one of the best. The Carne Asada Breakfast Burrito is stuffed with eggs, carne asada, bacon, cheese, potato, beans, and green sauce. I love this one because it is neatly layered with the perfect portion of each ingredient. The eggs are fried, not scrambled, and the crunch of the bacon and the showering of cheese as the final layer make for a hearty bite. I had trouble finishing half of it due to the size, but I happily took the other half home and enjoyed it for my midnight snack.
Wexler’s deli-inspired Pastrami & Cheese burrito is a cheesy, melty marvel.
Wexler’s Palm Springs
Pastrami & Cheese Breakfast Burrito
One of the elements that makes for a superior breakfast burrito, in my opinion, is the cheesiness factor. Wexler’s deli-inspired Pastrami & Cheese burrito is a cheesy, melty marvel that uses minimal ingredients to maximize flavor. Pastrami, eggs, cheese, and crispy potatoes is all this breakfast burrito needs to make your morning a memorable one. The smokiness of the pastrami marries well with the creamy cheddar cheese and fluffy egg, leaving a taste that resembles a classic deli sandwich except wrapped in a flour tortilla.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ZOBO & MEESTERS
Egg, cheddar, refried beans, and chunky country potatoes make this burrito a morning comfort food must.
Zobo & Meesters, Cathedral City
The Bomb Breakfast Burrito
At this Diners, Drive-In & Dives stop made famous by Guy Fieri, you’ll find one of the best breakfast burritos appropriately titled “The Bomb.” It’s a “wrap your fist around” thick burrito with all the necessary fixin’s inside. Egg, cheddar, refried beans, and chunky country potatoes make this burrito a morning comfort food must. Add your choice of bacon, sausage, ham, chorizo, chicken, or pulled pork and you have yourself a meatier meal. The burrito comes with a side of fresh homemade salsa (red or green), which makes for the perfect dipper. I love this burrito because it reminds me of a classic country breakfast. (But this one’s even better because it’s wrapped in a 14-inch tortilla.)
Taco Gonzalez, Indio
Chorizo & Egg Burrito
This unassuming spot in an East Valley strip mall serves up authentic Mexican food and is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. everyday — a plus in my breakfast book. They have a solid offering of breakfast burritos including ham and eggs, beans and cheese, and my favorite, the Chorizo & Eggs. This monster of a burrito takes the base of chorizo and eggs and adds a generous helping of rice, beans, cheese, onion, cilantro stuffed into a flour tortilla. My favorite part is the first bite and the saddest is the last because I never want this unforgettable breakfast burrito experience to end.
Taco Gonzalez on Facebook
This monster of a burrito takes the base of chorizo and eggs and adds a generous helping of rice, beans, cheese, onion, cilantro stuffed into a flour tortilla.