Breakfast quesadillas are one of my absolute favorite foods. Not just a favorite breakfast food, but a favorite any time food. Normally I stick to a quick fried egg and a slice of cheese, but this weekend I made these Sausage and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas, which are a step above my busy weekday version. And the best part? I froze the other five quesadillas so I can reheat them anytime (like I did for lunch today!)
What’s in a Breakfast Quesadilla?
Okay, so I kept these breakfast quesadillas super simple, but I’ve got some ideas for “spicing” them up below, if you’re interested. The only thing you need is sausage, eggs, cheese, tortillas, salt, and pepper. It’s just that easy! Since these quesadillas are super simple, they do have a more mild flavor (this one is for all my friends with sensitive tongues). If you want some extra flavor, read on.
What Else Can I Add?
Quesadillas are great for using up leftovers in your fridge. So whether you want to add more flavor or you just want to use up some things that are floating around in your fridge, here are some good picks for these sausage and egg breakfast quesadillas:
- Sliced green onions
- Pickled jalapeños
- Crushed red pepper
- Everything bagel seasoning
- Sriracha or chili garlic sauce
- Diced bell pepper (sauté with the browned sausage until tender)
- Crumbled feta
- Fresh spinach
- Mexican chorizo in place of country sausage
- Taco seasoning added to the eggs
- Diced green chiles
How to Serve Breakfast Quesadillas
If you’re in a hurry, or just lazy like me, you can eat these breakfast quesadillas just as they are. They make a great hand-held meal for when you’re on the go. If you are sitting down to your meal, you can serve them with a side of salsa and sour cream for dipping!
How to Freeze and Reheat
As I mentioned in the intro, I froze most of my quesadillas so I could reheat them later. To freeze the quesadillas, fill and fold the tortillas like you are about to toast them in the skillet, but instead stack them on a plate or baking sheet with parchment between each one. Transfer that to the freezer and freeze for about an hour or until they’re frozen solid. Once solid, transfer to an air-tight freezer bag for long term storage. They’ll probably be good for about three months.
To reheat, place one of the frozen quesadillas in a skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Cook on each side until golden brown and crispy. It’s VERY important not to have the heat too high, or else the tortilla will burn before the filling has time to thaw and heat through. So go slow.
What is Country Sausage?
I used country sausage for these breakfast quesadillas, which is a loose (not in links) raw sausage that is fairly mild in flavor (there are hot varieties). It is sometimes also called breakfast sausage, although it is not sweet like a maple breakfast sausage. I used this brand, but there are many recipes for country sausage online if you want to make your own using ground pork.
Sausage and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas
Servings 6 quesadillasIngredients
- 8 oz. country sausage ($1.45)
- 6 large eggs ($1.40)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 6 oz. cheddar ($1.27)
- 6 medium flour tortillas ($0.86)
Instructions
- Add the sausage to a skillet and cook over medium heat until the sausage is browned and crispy on the edges. When the sausage is cooked, remove it from the skillet using a slotted spoon so they grease stays behind in the skillet.
- While the sausage is cooking, crack six eggs into a bowl and season with salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp each). Whisk the eggs. Shred the cheddar cheese.
- Add the whisked eggs to the skillet with the sausage grease, and continue to cook them over medium heat, gently folding them as the eggs set. Cook until the eggs are set, but still moist. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- With the skillet off the heat, add the cooked sausage and shredded cheddar to the skillet with the scrambled eggs. Fold the ingredients together until they are evenly combined.
- Place about ½ cup of the sausage, egg, and cheese mixture into each tortilla, spreading it out to cover half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla closed. You can either toast or freeze the quesadillas at this point (see freezing instructions above the recipe).
- To cook the quesadillas, add them back to the skillet (I like to do this in a dry skillet) and cook over medium heat on each side until the tortilla is brown and crispy and the cheese on the inside is melted. Slice the quesadilla into three pieces, then serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Sausage and Egg Breakfast Quesadillas – Step by Step Photos
Brown 8oz. country sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Cook it until the edges are brown and crispy, not just until it’s no longer pink. When the sausage is cooked, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon, so the grease stays in the skillet.
While the sausage is cooking, crack six eggs into a bowl and season with salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp each). Whisk the eggs.
Shred six ounces of cheddar cheese.
Add the whisked eggs to the skillet with the remaining sausage grease. Continue to cook over medium, gently folding the eggs as they set. Cook the eggs until they are set, but still moist. Don’t overcook the eggs. ;)
Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked sausage and shredded cheese.
Fold the ingredients together until they’re evenly combined.
Add about ½ cup of the sausage, egg, cheese mixture to each tortilla, spreading it out over half of the tortilla, then fold it closed. Once filled and folded, they can either be cooked or frozen.
To cook the quesadillas, add them back to the skillet (I don’t add any oil or butter, but you can if you prefer). Cook over medium on each side, or until the tortilla is brown and crispy and the cheese is melted on the inside.
Slice each quesadilla into three pieces, then serve!
To freeze the quesadillas, stack them on a plate or baking sheet with parchment paper between each layer. Freeze for about an hour or until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. To reheat from frozen, simply add to a skillet and heat over medium-low until they are brown and crispy on the outside and heated through.
I made these a year ago and they were excellent – just remembered them as I have a ton of eggs that need to get used up! Last time I used a little less sausage which was a good ratio of egg/sausage. I’m going to do a batch with no sausage and instead add green chilis. These made such a great lunch and quick dinner from the freezer.
I love make ahead breakfasts! I’ve done frozen egg sandwiches which involved baking my eggs in a shallow pan before cutting and assembling but this was much easier. I added chopped bacon and half a block of thawed and drained frozen spinach to my eggs (also what I use for my sandwiches). If I had mushrooms I would’ve added those too. Next time I’ll probably sprinkle the cheese on the tortilla to sandwich the egg mixture and for more cheesy goodness.
I was impatient one morning and didn’t want to turn the stove on so defrosted in the microwave maybe 2 mins, then heated for 1 minute and it was perfect. And the tortilla wasn’t soggy–win.
Do you put these on the stove and cook them before freezing? Or do they get frozen uncooked
Hi there! You definitely want to fully cook the filling before freezing. Beth gives a step-by-step on freezing and reheating in the section of the blog posted labeled, “HOW TO FREEZE AND REHEAT.” I hope that helps! ~Marion :)
Added some orange pepper and spinach and used mild Italian sausage. Enjoyed by all! :)Â
This is the best. Try it in the air fryer. You can make it all with a heat resistant small pan, eggs sausage etc. Takes minutes at 350 stirring a bit. Then put it all on the tortilla and spray with some basic oil and air fry at 350 for 3 minutes flipping once. Buy precooked sausage for faster prep and less mess.
Some warning here… make sure you use a potholder to remove or even move the pan around once it has been in the air fryer. It will be scalding hot. I bought a pan at the thrift store that was heat resistant and unscrewed the handle so it could fit in my fryer easily.
These are well seasoned and very tasty! I like how convenient they are too whether fresh or frozen.