How To Prevent Your Breakfast Burrito From Drying Out In The Microwave

Burritos. Hearty, satiating, colorful on the inside, and packed with contrasting flavors. Loads of people line up to places like Chipotle or Qdoba every day to customize their favorite fillings inside a large, warm tortilla. Such fixings usually include rice, beans, meat, and vegetable toppings, as well as salsa, cheese, and sour cream. But is it possible to enjoy such wrapped madness during the early bird hours? Breakfast burritos certainly think so.

Granted, you can enjoy them at any hour, but what better way to celebrate the start of a new day than by noshing on a mixture of scrambled eggs, cheese, veggies, and sausage pieces? Believed to have been invented in 1975 at Santa Fe restaurant Tia Sophia's, the original breakfast burrito was similar to the aforementioned one, except it contained bacon and potatoes instead of sausage and veggies, per Salvation Taco.

Breakfast burritos are of course best eaten as soon as possible. But sometimes, there are leftovers, or such a burrito is intended to be consumed at a later time. In that case, the microwave is your best bet for quickly reheating a breakfast burrito, though it's often met with a dry tortilla and filling. Here's how to prevent such a mishap from happening.

America's Test Kitchen recommends taking a damp paper towel and wrapping it around the burrito to prevent those unpleasant dry textures. This works for fresh or frozen burritos. And whatever you do, do not microwave the foil it came in.

The Tasty Tip explains that microwaves tend to zap the fillings of moisture, which also dries out the tortilla. Damp paper towels, as well as small microwave increments, will help to keep that moisture intact. Instead of microwaving a burrito for say, two full minutes right off the bat, it's best to break this up into smaller numbers. Small burritos initially get 30 seconds while larger ones get 45 seconds. Flip it and add 15 to 20 seconds to the microwave time and keep following the 15 to 20 second rule until the burrito has been restored to its full, warm potential.

For a crispy exterior, throw the newly heated burrito in a skillet, toaster oven, or under a broiler. Wait until it cools down, then enjoy. Or, you can stick it back in the original foil it came in for that authentic breakfast burrito experience.