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Whether you’re a minimalist who sticks to egg and cheese or a maximalist who likes to pile on the ingredients, breakfast burritos are always the right morning choice.
There are varying accounts of where the breakfast burrito was born, but most sources point to this home staple being popularized and added to restaurant menus in New Mexico in the 1970s.
Sure, you can eat a normal burrito any time of day — we won’t stop you. But breakfast burritos deserve their own category, with a few common ingredients that set them apart:
- Tortilla: This is your foundation. If the tortilla doesn’t hold up, the whole burrito can fall apart, literally.
- Meat: While we love a vegetarian version, most have meat options, including chorizo, steak, sausage, or bacon.
- Beans: A tasty source of protein and fiber, and essential in your veggie burritos. Refried beans also act as a “glue” to hold things together.
- Cheese: A delicious binder for other ingredients.
- Egg: Without eggs, we’d argue you’re simply eating a regular burrito, not a breakfast burrito.
- Potatoes: Our anecdotal research finds that locals are divided into pro-potato and anti-potato camps when it comes to their ideal morning wrap. But papas have long been a standard part of breakfast tacos, so why not burritos too?
Thankfully, Kansas City has no shortage of places to find breakfast burritos, so there’s something for everyone’s taste. Check out the following for some of the city’s most popular, and delicious, options — and tell us your favorite picks that we missed.
Tarahumaras Mexican Restaurant #2
You might think you are walking into the past when you see the restored Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company advertisements on the side of the historic building, but Tarahumaras #2 is tucked inside with only a banner to let you know you’re in the right place.
Located on the corner of 6th Street and Sandusky Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, this Mexican restaurant serves all-day breakfast for those of us who can’t get enough.
The breakfast burritos come with beans, cheese, and several options for egg, meat, and potato combinations. We recommend the Huevos con Chorizo, and don’t skip the sauce: options include mild red, hot red, and – our favorite – hot green, which added a burst of fresh flavors to our savory burrito.
Wrapped in an 8-inch tortilla and presented in parchment, these are on the smaller side of options in town. If you’re extra hungry, you may want to grab a couple. Don’t worry about breaking the bank: our bill for one burrito was less than $5 before tip.
- Where: 503 N. 6th St., Kansas City, Kansas
California Taco Kitchen
The brightly colored building in Kansas City, Kansas, will lure you in with the scent of authentic Mexican home cooking. You’ll order at the counter – you may need to lean down to talk into the window so the cashier can hear you.
There are 13 breakfast burrito options, including a unique shrimp and egg burrito, but the $8.99 Campirano (steak and chorizo) is our favorite. All breakfast burritos are wrapped in foil for easy eating and served with chunky potatoes, eggs, and cheese on a perfectly grilled tortilla.
Sometimes the toppings are as important as the fillings. California Taco Kitchen offers a full condiment bar, including six salsas, limes, and jalapeños en escabeche, a traditional Mexican condiment of pickled carrots, onions, and jalapenos.
- Where: 19520 E. U.S. Hwy 40, Independence, Missouri
Red Kitchen KC
After one Chiefs Super Bowl win, the famed Lombardi Trophy made a tour stop at the Lenexa City Center, where Red Kitchen KC was previously located. Owner Alejandra de la Fuente created a special breakfast burrito to mark the occasion.
The Lombardi ($15.25) mixes potatoes, scrambled eggs, carne asada, avocado, cheese, and a spicy red chile de arbol salsa in a 10-inch tortilla.
All other breakfast burritos at Red Kitchen have a green salsa, but de la Fuente used red on The Lombardi as a nod to the Chiefs. She didn’t expect the burrito to become a staple menu item, but people wanted more. “Now I can’t take it off the menu because people love it,” de la Fuente told me with a laugh. “It became a thing.”
Red Kitchen KC also offers a 10-inch, build-your-own breakfast burrito for those who want to customize their experience. And they’ll do smaller, 6-inch versions, too: De la Fuente noted her favorite is the chorizo burrito.
The tortilla makes all the difference. De la Fuente said she had a hard time finding the right tortillas for her restaurant, but eventually met Reuben Leal, who owns Lawrence-based Caramelo tortillas. Red Kitchen KC became the first restaurant to feature Leal’s Sonoran-style tortillas, which have earned high accolades and were named as one of Bon Appétit’s tortillas to stockpile.
Kansas City’s James Beard-winning Yoli Tortilleria made that list, too, and both Yoli’s and Caramelo’s tortillas are available for purchase in local stores if you want to make your own breakfast burrito at home.
- Where: 7926 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, Kansas
Champion Burritos
Champion’s chorizo con huevos breakfast burrito ($9.75) is served piping hot with a side of chips. Grilled green peppers and onions pack an extra flavor punch when combined with chorizo, potatoes, cheese, and a thin layer of beans.
The potatoes are small, so they don’t distract from the rest of the burrito – even the anti-potato folks may find themselves on board.
Champion has five locations in the KC metro (North Kansas City, Gladstone, Shawnee, Parkville and Olathe). The dining rooms are no-frills, but you don’t need much ambiance to enjoy delicious, fresh-cooked food.
- 2028 Swift St, North Kansas City, Missouri
- 16322 W 65th St, Shawnee, Kansas
- 217 N Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, Missouri
- 7416 NW River Park Dr, Parkville, Missouri
- 539 E Santa Fe St, Olathe, Kansas
Hemma Hemma
Ashley Bare’s Waldo neighborhood restaurant took the classic breakfast burrito and gave it a twist with unique ingredients. Sweet potato and smoked cheddar find a beautiful marriage inside the Hemma Hemma Smothered Burrito ($14).
Combined with housemade chorizo and egg soufflé, this burrito is wrapped in a Yoli tortilla and smothered with salsa verde and a poblano crema drizzle. The outcome is a burst of savory, sweet, and spicy flavors.
Be advised: While it was previously a daily item, the Smothered Burrito is now available only on weekdays. Hemma Hemma also offers a more traditional breakfast burrito ($13) daily, which features egg soufflé, bacon, fried breakfast potatoes, scallions, and a side of spicy aioli.
- Where: 7122 Wornall Road, Kansas City, Missouri
More notable breakfast burritos
You could probably try a different breakfast burrito every morning of the year and still have options to try around Kansas City. Below are some more favorites, but we’d love to hear from you about your favorite burrito in town.
- Daisy’s Mexican Burritos in Kansas City, Kansas, offers a classic breakfast burrito with your choice of meat.
- Los Alamos Cocina, located in the Westside, is a great spot to enjoy a breakfast burrito with a hair-of-the-dog cocktail.
- McLain’s spicy pepperjack burrito, with eggs, sausage, serrano sauce, pepper jack cheese, and potatoes, is a staple for many breakfast lovers. Locations include Waldo, Overland Park, Shawnee, Stanley, and North Kansas City.
- Mildred’s is best known for its breakfast sandwiches, but many people flock there for the chipotle breakfast wrap with steamed eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes, cheddar, and chipotle aioli. It’s available at all three locations – South Plaza, Crossroads, and historic 9th Street in downtown Kansas City.
- Yoli Tortilleria’s retail shop in the Westside makes chorizo and vegan breakfast burritos with its award-winning tortillas.
