I made breakfast burritos using 3 celebrity chefs' recipes, and Gordon Ramsay's disappointed me most
- I made breakfast burritos using recipes from chefs Trisha Yearwood, Gordon Ramsay, and Guy Fieri.
- All of the recipes took too long to make for me to whip them up regularly.
I've only ever ordered burritos for takeout or at a restaurant before, but have always wanted to try making them at home.
So I decided to test out breakfast-burrito recipes from three celebrity chefs — Trisha Yearwood, Gordon Ramsay, and Guy Fieri — to find the best one.
Read on to find out how they turned out, and which one I'll make again.
I started with Yearwood's recipe
Yearwood's recipe features a pretty standard list of ingredients — including cherry tomatoes, avocado, sweet onion, whole-wheat tortillas, pineapple, sausage links, and eggs — that were mostly easy to find at the grocery store.
I halved the portions to make it work for two people.
I was a little uncertain about what kind of pineapple to pick up, so I bought it canned since that's cheaper, easier to work with, and readily available year-round. I also couldn't find garlic salt, so I replaced it with garlic powder.
Though after reading the method, I realized how time-consuming it would be to prepare the salsa and burrito, about 45 to 50 minutes.
So I broke this recipe into manageable parts. I made the salsa the night before and finished prepping the other ingredients in the morning.
The recipe required a good amount of prep, and the tortillas could barely fold up
The salsa seemed pretty standard and required an ample amount of chopping, slicing, and dicing. After the mixture was prepped, I placed it in the fridge overnight to let all of the flavors meld together.
The next morning, I placed the tortillas on a baking sheet and popped them in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
I couldn't find precooked sausage links, so I bought raw ones. I seared the meat for one to two minutes on high heat, then for four to six more on medium, following the instructions on the package.
I then cut them with kitchen shears, per Yearwood's instructions, and got started on the eggs.
In a pan over medium heat, I added the butter and poured in the egg mixture, then quickly pushed it around with a rubber spatula until the texture was soft and supple but no longer runny.
I turned the stove off and folded in the grated cheese.
When it came time to assemble the meal, I divided the egg mixture in half and placed an equal amount on each tortilla. I then added the sausage, topped everything with salsa, and squeezed fresh lime juice over the burritos before folding them.
Though the burritos were overstuffed, so I had to use thin, wooden skewers to hold the tortilla shut.
The salsa really elevated this breakfast burrito
Despite its misshapen appearance, the burrito tasted incredibly decadent, especially with the sausage, egg, and cheese combination.
Relief for my palate came from the salsa, which was incredibly vibrant, fresh, tangy, and just a bit sweet. It was by far my favorite element of the dish.
Without it, the burrito would've been too heavy-handed and texturally one-note.
The leftover salsa was also very versatile — I could use it in omelets, on pan-seared chicken, or on avocado toast.
Though, in general, the filling could've been slightly cut down to better fit in the tortilla.
I moved on to Ramsay's recipe, which I had high hopes for
Considering the culinary giant's reputation, I had pretty high expectations for this recipe.
As offered in the ingredients list, I swapped out Kobe beef for lean ground beef and duck eggs for chicken ones, as these products were easier to source and more cost-effective.
The recipe also calls for serrano peppers and crème fraîche, both of which I couldn't find at my grocery store, so I respectively substituted jalapeños and sour cream instead.
On the whole, this recipe was pretty easy to throw together
Aside from all of the chopping and dicing, the recipe was relatively simple and straightforward.
I broke down the ground beef in a hot pan, then added a few dashes of cumin and chili powder.
After about eight minutes, I turned off the heat and added the meat to a bowl. I didn't need to drain the fat because I was using a lean cut.
Then I made the pico de gallo by putting diced tomatoes, onions, and chopped cilantro in a bowl. I added half a teaspoon of diced jalapeños to the mixture, along with olive oil, lime juice, and salt, then tossed it all together.
I scrambled the eggs in a pan with a splash of olive oil until they were soft and voluminous. I folded in the sour cream and added a few dashes of chili powder and cumin, quickly pouring everything into a bowl to prevent further cooking.
At this point, I was running out of steam. All of the recipes I had tested so far were not complex but very involved.
Still, I was quite hungry, so I skipped crisping up the tortilla.
When it was time to eat, I layered on the egg, beef, and sliced avocado, then topped it all with the fresh pico de gallo, but I noticed the ratios were completely off.
Ramsay's recipe says this makes two large burritos, but there was enough filling to easily feed four people. There was far too much food in each tortilla, so it was impossible to fold up. They started to tear.
I reread the recipe and noticed that it's inspired by Ronda Rousey, a former UFC champion, which I suspected was the reason for this imbalance and the excessive amount of protein.
Despite the sheer amount of filling, this burrito lacked flavor
This meal was surprisingly bland and desperately lacking salt. Plus the meat was juicy but flavorless — it got overpowered by the cumin.
Though I did appreciate the richness of the eggs and will add crème fraîche or sour cream to my future scrambles.
I concluded with Fieri's take on the breakfast staple
The first thing that struck me about Fieri's recipe was how unclear the instructions are. It also assumes a lot of the cook.
For instance, it calls for grilled skirt steak, but didn't say if it should be store-bought or explain how to prepare that cut of meat.
This occurred again when Fieri listed salsa roja, roasted tomatillo salsa, and pico de gallo as ingredients, but didn't offer links for how to make any of them from scratch. So I assumed these were all store-bought items.
I halved all of the ingredient amounts again to serve two people instead of four.
This recipe calls for griddling the burrito once it's assembled
I cooked the eggs on medium heat until they were a soft scramble, or about three minutes.
Then I sautéed the onions for four to five minutes until they became translucent. I added the diced potatoes to the mix and let the entire thing cook for 10 more minutes, or until a knife could easily pierce the flesh.
I preheated my griddle to medium-high before assembling the burritos. The instructions ensure that the entire thing could be filled and folded properly.
I first sprinkled the cheese on the tortilla, leaving a 1-inch edge around the perimeter. Then I added the cut lettuce, sliced steak, mixture of potatoes and onion, and scrambled eggs, spooning on the store-bought salsa roja to finish.
Then I folded it up, spearing the burritos with thin, wooden skewers to hold everything together while I grilled it.
I sped up the griddling process by using the panini-press function of my appliance, so it only took two minutes until the burrito got golden brown.
When it was time to serve, I plated it with store-bought roasted tomatillo salsa and pico de gallo. Since there were so many elements in this dish, I left the lime juice and hot sauce on the side.
This burrito was both pretty and tasty
Out of the three recipes, this burrito was definitely the best looking, the grill marks made it particularly appetizing.
The juiciness of the steak offered an umami hit but didn't overpower the other ingredients.
Of the three dishes, this one was the most well-balanced, plus the meat and cheese made it satisfying.
Fieri's burrito was the clear winner, but all of them were a bit too involved to consider a weekday staple
Anything classified as breakfast shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes to make, especially during the weekday when family and work schedules are hectic. That said, none of these recipes were time-friendly.
If you're going to tackle any of these, I'd recommend preparing one of the elements the night before or waiting until the weekend.
Yearwood's burrito was too heavy and made me want to have a long nap afterward.
And unless I was preparing to be an Olympian or UFC fighter, Ramsay's ratios were completely unbalanced. Plus the burrito tasted pretty dull, so I definitely won't make this option again.
Fieri's recipe was the clear winner. This burrito dish hit all of the marks — it was loaded with flavors and textures, didn't feel cumbersome and heavy, and was incredibly satisfying.
Out of all three celebrity-chef recipes, I'd definitely be keen to make Fieri's breakfast burrito again.
Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.
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