Western Omelette Taquitos

Eggs, bell peppers, onions, shredded cheese, and chopped cooked ham are the ingredients that make up the popular Western Omelette breakfast. For these taquitos, the omelette was fully prepared, rolled in a flour tortilla and baked until golden brown. These make a delicious breakfast that can easily be prepared in advance and frozen.

A few years ago, I experimented with a breakfast taquito recipe until I got it just right. That recipe had breakfast sausage in it, so I wanted to try another version that was free of meat – that way, John.e could enjoy it too. In the introductory paragraph above, I mentioned that chopped cooked ham was one of the ingredients in my Western Omelette Taquitos, but it’s completely optional.

In fact, it’s easy to have the best of both worlds if you have to live in a divided household like I do. John.e is a vegetarian, but McKenna and I are not. She introduced meat back into her diet a few years back. You can include the ham or leave it out with the recipe. Or, you can make the omelette mixture without the ham and add the ham to only half of the flour tortillas as you roll them up. That way, everyone is pleased.

THAT FIRST TAQUITO!

The first time I heard of a taquito was on one of my work trips to the States. They’re not too popular here in Canada – or at least not in my neighbourhood – but, I have seen them pop up on a fast food menu once or twice in the past couple of years.

I think I was in Texas the first time I saw them. I was travelling with a few other individuals and one of them ordered taquitos from one of the fast food stands at the mall food court. Having never heard of them, I assumed they were hot and spicy, so I stuck to what I knew – KFC.

Anyway, she comes back to the table with these crispy rolled tortillas filled with beef, cheese, jalapenos, etc. She dipped them in generous amounts of sour cream and salsa, and I knew right then and there that the KFC wasn’t going to satisfy me! The very next chance I got, I ordered taquitos and loved them! They come in many flavours, so let’s get to this breakfast version.

I’m going to tell you all about this breakfast recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to review the other Christmas recipes I have shared this holiday season. The last week of October, I finished up my first holiday recipe series for this year, called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Donuts. Then, I shared Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Appetizers. Just last week, I shared the last recipe in my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas series. I still can’t believe that was Volume 6 of that series!

And now, with Christmas just a short time away, I’m kicking off this next series called Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Breakfasts!

LORD BYRON’S 12 CHRISTMAS BREAKFAST SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! I’m calling this one Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Breakfasts. This series will focus on easy-to-make and some make-ahead breakfasts that are both delicious and festive.

I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy too. Most of them will require some baking, but they won’t be too complex that you can’t whip them up on Christmas morning, especially if you’re an early riser. Some are just assembly-type recipes, while others can be prepared in advance.

Just like every other holiday series that I’ve shared over the years, this series will see a new recipe shared every day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Breakfast series! Even though this is the third series for this holiday season, you can always take a look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Western Omelette Taquitos recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Flour Tortillas – Normally, I use 8-inch tortillas, but for this recipe, I used 12-inch. You can use the larger or smaller.
• Butter – I like to use salted butter here for more flavour, but you can use unsalted too.
• Red Onion – I prefer the milder taste, but regular white or yellow onion will work and so would shallots.
• Bell Peppers – I’m using both red and green.
• Cheese – I prefer shredded cheddar cheese in this recipe, but any good melting cheese can be substituted.
• Ham – Use cooked ham. You can dice it or chop it. Ham can be substituted with cooked sausage or cooked bacon.
• Eggs
• Cream – Regular whole milk will do in a bind, but I think the cream will give you more flavourful scrambled eggs
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper
• Nonstick Cooking Spray

HOW TO MAKE WESTERN OMELETTE TAQUITOS

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the butter, red onion, green and red bell pepper, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir with a spatula to combine and cook for 4-5 minutes or until veggies are just tender. In the meantime, whisk together the eggs and cream.

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet with the veggies and stir well. Continue slowly stirring until the eggs are scrambled and cooked thoroughly. This should take about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the egg and veggie mixture to cool for 15 minutes. While it cools, prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and coating it lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir in the cheddar cheese into the cooled egg mixture along with the diced ham and divide the mixture evenly onto 6 flour tortillas. Position the egg mixture so that it covers one half/side of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place them on the prepared baking sheet with the seam side of the tortilla facing down. Lightly coat the top of each tortilla with non-stick cooking spray and bake for 20 minutes or until the tortillas are golden brown. Garnish and serve immediately.

MAKE THESE IN ADVANCE!

You can certainly make these Western Omelette Taquitos well in advance. If preparing the night before, you can set them on a plate or baking sheet and wrap them well with plastic wrap and keep them refrigerated. In the morning, remove the wrapping and pop them in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and serve.

Alternatively, you can prepare the taquitos up to 4-6 weeks in advance. Again, do not bake them to melt the cheese! Wrap each taquito tightly in aluminum foil. Next, stack them into a large resealable Ziploc bag and place them in the freezer.

If you are reheating these from a frozen state, remove them from the freezer the night before and keep them refrigerated. In the morning, remove them from the bag and the foil. Place the taquitos onto a baking sheet that has been greased with nonstick cooking spray. Lightly coat the tops of the taquitos with the nonstick cooking spray as well. Bake them in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 22-25 minutes. Remove and serve.

WHAT IS A TAQUITO?

I had to know what they were. A taquito, which is loosely translated in Spanish for small taco, is a popular Mexican dish that usually consists of a small rolled-up tortilla with filling such as shredded beef or chicken, and cheese. The filled tortilla is then fried until crispy. (I baked my version because I wanted to keep the calorie count and fat content as low as possible.

Taquitos are often served with condiments such as sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole. The only reason there is none of those in the photos you see in this post is that I didn’t feel like having those strong flavours for breakfast. I like to enjoy these with some ketchup for dipping. To be honest, sour cream is so good with these as well!

You can make your Western Omelette Taquitos with sausage or bacon as I had previously mentioned. You can also serve these with a side of beans, which can almost always be found served with breakfast dishes in our home. I do hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!