Lockdown cooking is taking its toll on the best of us. Our brains are too fried to figure out what to cook and eat every day. But in need of a simple breakfast, lunch or dinner solution that isn’t another can of baked beans?
Enter: toasted tortilla wraps. It’s not hard to see why they’ve become such a lockdown food trend. Not only are they delicious and fun, they’re a genius way of using whatever leftovers you have in your fridge without making a massive mess – and the simple format works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
You can customise the wrap however you want – from a meaty meal of fried chicken and bacon with avocado to a dessert wrap with Nutella and smores.
Here are the basics: take a large tortilla, lay it out and cut a slit from the edge to the middle of the circle. From here, you have a blank canvas for your culinary creation. Mentally divide the tortilla into four quarters, place a different ingredient in each section, fold over, quarter by quarter – and grill or fry.
The best thing about this griddled gift of snack: it comes ready wrapped. Read on for tips and three starter recipes – and let us know what you’re trying.
Alexandra Johnsson, the woman behind the simplefood4u TikTok account, where her tortilla cooking hack video has been viewed more than 59 million times didn’t invent the food trend. She saw it going around on the app a while ago – and resurrected it. The following day, her video exploded.
“It’s so much fun to see and I love to inspire people,” she tells HuffPost UK. “I love that it’s so easy, you can make it in so many different ways.
“I always have tortillas leftover in the freezer from making tacos, it defrosts in no time and you can use whatever’s at home to fill it with. I’ve made one with avocados, bacon, jalapeno cheese, mozzarella, tomatoes, red onions, and deep-fried chicken. I also made a hamburger version with burger patty, cheese, caramelised onion, bacon, and truffle mayo.”
For those trying this at home, it’s important to include an ingredient that bonds everything together such as spreads, cheese, or sauces. It should be placed on the last bottom right fold as that’s what will help keep the tortilla closed.
“When you make the cut in the tortilla, do it up to the halfway mark and a little bit longer because it makes it easier to fold everything,” Johnsson advises. “Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy with the ingredients and don’t be afraid to fail. There’s no right or wrong way to make this, so just use whatever you like, combine different things that you wouldn’t normally do.”
Fried Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Wrap
Serves: 1 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
1 x large tortilla wrap
2 x slices of mozzarella cheese
1/2 avocado
1 x crispy bacon, cut in half
drizzle of jalapeño cheese
1 x crispy fried chicken breast
1/4 x tomato, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
Method:
1. Slice all the vegetable ingredients ready.
2. Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crispy, then slice in half.
3. Either use pre-cooked chicken or fry the chicken breast until crispy and cooked all the way through, then slice
4. Cut a tortilla halfway up then place all the ingredients in four different corners. Fold the tortilla one quarter at a time and toast in a sandwich grill or frying pan.
Eloise Head, aka FitWaffle, has embraced the trend by playing around with different flavours variations.
“When I first saw it, I thought it was a great idea. It’s one of those hacks that is pretty difficult to get wrong, and I really like the idea of cooking and keeping recipes as simple as possible,” Head tells HuffPost UK. “I love the fact you can do almost any combination you like and make it sweet or savoury. It really allows you to combine your favourite flavours into one serving and go wild.”
Head’s favourite combination is the breakfast wrap. “I’ve used some of my standard breakfast items and a generous helping of maple syrup,” she explains. “Adding maple syrup to a savoury breakfast is a habit I’ve picked up from holidaying in the US, and I love a sweet and savoury combo!”
Breakfast Wrap
Serves: 1 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
1 x large tortilla wrap
2 x rashers of bacon
1 x hash brown
2 x small sausages
1 x egg, scrambled
Drizzle of maple syrup
Method:
1. Cook bacon rashers until crispy
2. Cook hash brown and sausages in oven or grill until golden brown and cooked all the way through
3. Lightly oil your frying pan and pre-heat your pan to a medium to low heat. Whisk your egg in a small bowl and pour the beaten egg into the pan. Season with salt and pepper and using a wooden spoon or spatula constantly move the eggs until curds form and cook. Once your scrambled eggs have cooked set aside.
4. Cut a tortilla halfway up then place all the ingredients in four different corners. Fold the tortilla one quarter at a time and toast in a sandwich grill or frying pan.
Don’t fret If you don’t have a panini or sandwich toastie maker – you can still give this toasted tortilla trick a go. A pan or a skillet can work just as well. Just let your wrap toast for two to three minutes on medium heat or until the wrap is toasted to your liking.
Alternatively, you could also pop it under the grill for a couple of minutes. “The hack is simple to do, but I would be careful not to overfill your quarters and also be conscious of how an ingredient may melt down so it doesn’t spill out of its pocket,” Head advises. “The last quarter (bottom right) is the one that seals everything together, so I would use something sticky or binding here, like cheese, a sauce or a spread.”
Biscoff, Nutella, Oreo and Smores Dessert Wrap
Serves: 1 | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 2-3 mins
Ingredients:
1 x Biscoff spread
1 x Biscoff biscuits, crushed
1 x Nutella spread
1 x Oreo, crushed
1 x Marshmallow fluff, toasted
Method:
1. Cut a tortilla a quarter of the way up then spread the chocolate and biscuit spread on each corner, crumble biscuits on top, if desired. Fold the tortilla one step at a time and then toast in any sandwich grill or frying pan.