Crispy Air-Fryer Breakfast Burritos

The breakfast burrito is the great equalizer of American breakfast — a gas-station meal and a brunch-spot meal at the same time, depending on the wrapper. The version that matters is the one you make six of on a Sunday morning, wrap individually in foil, and freeze. For the next two weeks, every weekday morning, you take one out, run it under hot water for ten seconds, drop it in the air fryer for five minutes, and you have a breakfast that does not taste like it came out of a freezer.

The four-ingredient principle: scrambled eggs (soft, butter-cooked, slightly under), breakfast sausage (or chorizo if you want it spicier), crispy diced potatoes (the air fryer handles these — same temperature as the burritos eventually go, just a different batch), and shredded cheddar (or pepper jack). Everything else is optional. Salsa verde folded inside, hot sauce drizzled on the eggs, chopped scallions, black beans — go ahead. But the base four are the load-bearing wall.

The thing that separates this from a microwaved burrito at the office is the air-frying step at the end. You don't have to do it — you can eat the burrito as soon as it's rolled, warm and soft. But four minutes at 380°F gives the outside of the tortilla a crackling, slightly blistered crust that is, structurally, what makes the burrito feel like a thing and not just a wrap. The photo shows what's inside one. Hold it together with both hands.