I'm the type of person who can eat the same breakfast every day and not get sick of it. But, every once in a while, I want something different to jumpstart the day. I love my yogurt but put a plate of breakfast tacos with charred scallion pesto in front of me, and I can't say no. These breakfast tacos hit all the marks. The soft scrambled eggs, chipotle braised pinto beans, roasted cherry tomatoes, and charred scallion pesto work together to make one epic taco. And when I say epic, I mean EPIC. Let's jump in, shall we?
Breakfast Tacos with Charred Scallion Pesto
Ingredients
Roasted cherry tomatoes
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Chipotle braised pinto beans
- 28 ounces canned pinto beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp canned chipotle plus 1 tbsp adobo juices
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper
Charred scallion pesto
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 bunch scallions (about 8 scallions), chopped
- ½ cup cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 jalapeno seeded if desired
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup sliced almonds toasted
- ¼ cup cotija
- salt and pepper
Remaining ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- 8 eggs scrambled
- 2 avocados pitted, sliced
- ⅓ cup cilantro chopped, for serving
- cotija for serving
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Toss the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes or until blistered and lightly charred. Keep warm.
- Meanwhile, make the braised pinto beans. Combine the beans with the remaining ingredients for the beans (vegetable stock - bay leaf) in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low, and continue to simmer for 20 minutes. Season the beans with salt and pepper.
- Make the charred scallion pesto. Heat ½ cup oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped scallions and cook until lightly charred, about 6-7 minutes. Transfer the scallions with the oil in a blender and blend with cilantro, juice of 1 lime, jalapeno, water, almonds, and cotija until it becomes a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper.
- Scramble the eggs and heat the tortillas. Assemble the tacos by topping the tortillas with chipotle braised beans, roasted tomatoes, scrambled eggs, charred scallion pesto, avocado, cotija, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges if desired.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I take that to heart especially on busy days and try to take the time to make a delicious breakfast. That's when these breakfast tacos with charred scallion pesto come into play.
There are several components to these tacos, but you can prepare almost everything the day before. Braise the pinto beans, make the salsa, and roast the tomatoes the day before. Then, on the day of, simply cook the scrambled eggs and your tacos are ready to be assembled.
To make the tomatoes, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast them in the oven at 425 degrees F for 25 minutes. Cook the tomatoes until they're slightly charred and softened.
Meanwhile, prepare the braised pinto beans. I used canned beans but if you're using dried, soak the beans for at least 8 hours. Simmer the beans with vegetable stock, spices, and chipotle until tender. The chipotle adds just a touch of spice and makes the beans so flavorful.
For the pesto, cook the scallions in hot oil until charred. Transfer the scallions with the oil and blend them up with the remaining ingredients until smooth. Season the pesto with salt and pepper and give that a taste. Delicious, right?
Now that the toppings are ready, it's time to cook the eggs. Cook the eggs how you like them and give them a good seasoning of salt and pepper.
Heat up the tortillas and it's time to assemble the breakfast tacos. If you want the full tasty experience, add some avocado, fresh chopped cilantro, and cotija to the mix.
Serve the breakfast tacos with charred scallion pesto fresh; these won't wait for anyone! Yes, these are a bit of work but man is it a flavor explosion! I'm not ashamed to say, my best breakfast tacos to date!
For more taco inspiration check out these blackened steak tacos with blood orange salsa!
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