The Best Breakfast Tacos In Austin

Unless you’ve been to Granny’s—or have your own grandmother with a family recipe for excellent mole and chilaquiles—there’s a good chance you haven’t had a breakfast taco quite like their chilaquil taco. Here, crispy corn chips in a fluffy flour tortilla get topped with a spicy and earthy housemade mole, cotija cheese, onion, and pickled jalapeno. Unlike it’s more popular breakfast cousin—migas—this is an eggless taco. But after a few of those ultra-savory and crunchy bites, you’ll forget eggs ever existed. And if you prefer a more classic rendition of chilaquiles, you can opt to swap the mole for a red or green salsa.

What to get: Chilaquil taco

At Pueblo Viejo, you have options. You can order a simple, excellent breakfast taco like a bacon, egg, and cheese—or if you’re paralyzed by choice, there’s a set menu of more elaborate options. And while most breakfast taco places have two salsas (red and green), Pueblo Viejo has five: pico, tomatillo, creamy jalapeno, roasted habanero, and habanero and ghost chili. So when you’re ordering, just stay calm, follow your heart, and know you can’t go wrong. There are a few locations around town, but our favorite is the trailer down south at Cosmic Coffee + Beer Garden (where you can get coffee, beer, and cocktails).

What to get: Migas taco; Taco Viejo

The migas taco at Veracruz All-Natural sets the bar for all other migas tacos. Like Super Mario Bros. 3 or the brisket at Distant Relatives, they’re best in class. What makes these migas tacos so much better than all the other ones out there? The ingredients (they make their own tortilla chips), the execution, and the attention to detail (they take their time cooking things). Veracruz has over a half dozen locations across town, and you’re probably going to have to wait in line no matter which one you go to. But just know these tacos are always worth it.

What to get: Migas originales (add the molcajete salsa); Migas poblanas

It’s hard to miss Taqueria Anyeli, parked outside of a gas station on the corner of North Lamar and 32nd Street, right by all the medical offices. It’s very pink. There will inevitably be a line, or a crowd of people waiting for their order at the picnic tables out front, because the breakfast tacos here are dependable, quickly made, and affordable ($2.50 each at the time of this writing). These are not fancy cheffed-up tacos. No, these are the tacos for the people. Just remember to bring cash (they don't take credit cards).

What to get: Migas, egg, and cheese; Chorizo, egg, and cheese

There's often a wait at Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop, and that’s because of the exceptional Tex-Mex/Mexican diner food (and the pan dulce, too), especially the breakfast tacos made with fluffy house-made flour tortillas. Get the miga taco con todo, with still-crispy tortilla chips, as well as the super-crispy bacon that defies the laws of pork-belly physics.

What to get: Miga taco con todo; Bacon, egg, and cheese taco; Carne guisada taco

Migas tacos usually follow a basic formula that involves a ratio of eggs and tortilla chips to cheese and beans that all leads to a delicious outcome. Nixta uses the same formula, but with little enhancements along the way, leading to a breakfast taco that’s both familiar and entirely new at the same time. The beans are refried in duck fat, the tortilla chips are made from nixtamalized corn, the addition of chorizo adds a savory pop, and a bit of tangy avocado crema and queso fresco brightens the whole thing up. It’s a migas taco that plays by all of the rules, but also makes up its own—and we’re entirely OK with that. 

What to get: Migas taco

Popular with locals and generally hungry people, Ken's Subs, Tacos, & More is best known for their enormous and affordable breakfast tacos. While it can get busy here during peak breakfast hours, it’s a very efficiently run operation with multiple cash registers and a kitchen that turns out food fast. We like the migas tacos the best, but we do wish they’d griddle their flour tortillas a bit. Be prepared for a slow-moving Mad Max-style parking lot situation. 

What to get: Migas; Chorizo, egg, and cheese; Carne guisada

Sabor Tapatio in South Austin might serve some of our favorite birria tacos, but they're also very good at making breakfast tacos. We're especially big fans of the migas taco that comes absolutely loaded with eggs and chunky, crispy tortilla chips.

What to get: Migas taco

The UT students who have clearly just rolled out of bed and stumbled over to Vaquero Taquero’s brick-and mortar have no idea how good they have it. The al pastor tacos on handmade corn tortillas and the quesadillas are what put this place on the map. But it’s the insanely good breakfast tacos—especially the bacon, egg, and cheese (with the cheese crisped up on the griddle first)—that make us consider going back to school. We’d study for a PhD just to get that machacado.

What to get: Machacado and egg; Bacon, egg, and cheese.

Waiting in lines for food is basically a sport in Austin. There’s often a good reason for the line—and at El Primo’s it’s the fantastic breakfast tacos. Like moths to a light, people are powerless to the migas tacos (the default version is made with deli ham, which is pretty unique to this place) and the housemade chorizo and egg. You’ll see crowds waiting patiently for their orders while traffic whizzes by on South First.

What to get: Migas (with ham); Chorizo and egg

The breakfast tacos at El Tacorrido won’t change the world, but they’re consistent, dependable, and very affordable. In contrast to every other place on this list however, El Tacorrido conveniently has drive-thrus at all their locations, so you won’t even have to get out of your car. Inconveniently, sometimes the drive-thru lines can be a little long in the morning. While they have the standard red and green salsas, there's also the spicy and rich molcajete salsa, made with roasted tomato, jalapenos, and serranos.

What to get: Chorizo, egg, and cheese; Bacon, egg, beans, and avocado.

The first time we went to Tacos Guerrero, we opened the foil and had one of those "holy sh*t" moments. The breakfast tacos coming out of this tiny, orange, one-woman trailer on the East Side are spectacular—like the migas, with still-crispy tortilla strips, that by default come with refried beans. There’s a standard red and green salsa, but make sure to get the molcajete salsa made from roasted tomatoes and chiles.

What to get: Migas; Chorizo and egg

Mi Trailita Y Mas on Manor Road makes consistently outstanding breakfast tacos, filled with things like their herby breakfast sausage, all with a generous shower of cheese. While their very good corn tortillas are handmade, the flour tortillas are store-bought—but they spend the right amount of time on the griddle. During peak hours there can be a wait, so it’s best to call ahead.

What to get: Sausage, egg, and cheese; Migas and cheese

At Marcelino’s on the East Side, the tacos are scoop-and-serve—made assembly-line right in front of you. But Marcelino’s is so consistently busy that they’re hustling and preparing food non-stop. You can get a basic bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast taco, and it’ll be far superior to most you can get around town—but Marcellino’s system allows them to have many more options that you don’t see often, like repollo asado (grilled cabbage), calabacitas (squash), rajas (poblanos in cream), smoked Elgin sausage, and the incredible papa ranchera (French fries tossed in salsas). We think about the papa ranchera a lot. Also, at Marcelino’s, the cheese isn’t grated—they peel a slice off of a huge stack and slap it onto a warmed tortilla, where it immediately melts.

What to get: Papa ranchera and egg; Rajas and egg

Bouldin Creek Cafe serves glorious breakfast tacos so enormous that you’ll need to use a fork before even trying to pick one up. The vegetarian chorizo is homemade and delicious, and you can get it with free-range eggs and cheese, or go vegan with the chorizo-tofu scramble that’s tender and spicy, almost like a mapo tofu. You can’t say you’ve really experienced this city’s breadth of talents in the world of breakfast tacos until you’ve tried these at Bouldin.

What to get: Egg, veggie chorizo, and cheese; Tofu veggie chorizo

On a sunny Sunday, you’ll most likely find us at Mi Madre’s during brunch on the patio double-fisting a couple of their enormous breakfast tacos. While they clock in around $4 or $5 each, two are more than enough (unless you just finished running a marathon, then OK maybe get three). The menu has 18 pre-set breakfast tacos, and our favorites are the #9 with homemade machacado and eggs (add cheese) and the #4 with black bean, egg, and cheese (add avocado). A couple of warnings: 1. The grackles on the patio are very hungry and want your leftovers, and 2. The tortilla chips here are very delicious and you will have to exercise restraint to not fill up on them before your tacos arrive.

What to get: Machacado and egg; Black bean, egg, and cheese; Carne guisada.

Ñoño’s Tacos is a rather lo-fi operation, and their claim to fame might be their chicken al carbon. But we’re also big fans of the affordable yet hefty breakfast tacos served on fluffy homemade flour tortillas, slightly toasty after spending a little time on the griddle. While there are the standard options for fillings, the migas taco—with the still crispy tortilla chips—is one of our favorites. There’s also a somewhat uncommon steak and eggs breakfast taco.

What to get: Migas; steak and eggs

We often go to Tex Mex Joe’s for brunch because of the shady deck out back, the frozen margaritas, and breakfast plates like chilaquiles and the huevos rancheros. We also like the infinitely customizable breakfast tacos with a wide variety of ingredients, all served on homemade corn, flour, or spinach tortillas (corn tortillas with spinach mixed in so they’re bright green). But when we’re feeling particularly indecisive—especially after a late night out—we’ve come to rely on the “Tacos Locos” menu with more creative combinations for breakfast tacos that we probably would have never come up with on our own, like one with carne guisada, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese. 

What to get: Carne guisada, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese; Hashbrowns, egg, and pico de gallo.

Rosita’s specializes in al pastor, but the breakfast tacos are where this place really shines. What makes them stand out is the incredible, pillowy housemade flour tortillas—they're the perfect foundation for the tremendous breakfast tacos, filled with eggs briskly scrambled on a flattop. Order a chorizo, egg, and cheese, and it all turns a fiery bright red.

What to get: Bacon, egg, and potato; Chorizo and egg