Before I knew about the fritatta I was a quiche kinda girl. It is creamy and flaky, much like a pie for breakfast. Insert my 30’s and my slowing metabolism and I created crust less quiche. But it wasn’t the same. So I created a gluten free paleo inspired crust that was amazing but was still considered a treat. Between the cream and the crust the quiche was a brunch delight but only for special occasions. I needed something that was egg based, easy to make, and wouldn’t sabotage all my health conscious efforts. And like a beacon of light I stumbled across a frittata recipe. It reminded me of an omelet in pie form. It reheated beautifully, was easy to make, and was guilt free. My most favorite thing is that you can literally put whatever you want in the frittata! I make this on average once a week with whatever I have in the fridge and it is a great way to use up leftover meats, veggies, and herbs.
Here is a very basic frittata recipe, you can tailor this to your tastes but I do always use ricotta in my frittata. I LOVE how it improves the texture of the dish, in fact I keep ricotta frozen in 2 cup measurements in my freezer! I do highly recommend getting the whipped ricotta, it is not as watery as the regular kind so you don’t have to squeeze out the excess water. If you’re going to add other ingredients I recommend about a cup of additional meats and vegetables. Everything should go into the egg mixture already cooked. This reduces the amount of extra liquid that goes into the dish and prevents it from getting soggy. NO ONE likes a soggy frittata. If a vegetable still seems to be very wet after being cooked give it a good squeeze. I have to do this with broccoli and spinach, as they seem to be very wet.
Here are some of my flavor combinations:
- Turkey Breakfast Sausage with roasted red peppers and onions. (made with my own breakfast sausage seasoning!)
- Bacon, Ham, Maple Sausage
- Bacon and Extra Cheese (usually pepper jack or cheddar)
- Ham and Broccoli
- Veggie (onion, peppers, broccoli, and kale)
I hope you enjoy this meal, let me know in the comments what different flavors you came up with!
Spices used in this meal…
-
Breakfast Sausage Seasoning$6.00 – $40.00 -
Loaded Salt and Pepper$6.00 – $40.00
Basic Frittata
Equipment
- 1 12 inch Skillet
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Wire Rack optional
Ingredients
- 12 Large Eggs
- 2 tsp Loaded Salt and Pepper find it here! https://rachelsspicecompany.com/product/loaded-salt-and-pepper/
- 1/2 cup Fresh chopped 8 flat leaf parsley (leave a tablespoon to garnish with)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes find it here! https://rachelsspicecompany.com/product/red-pepper-flakes/
- 2 cups ricotta cheese I prefer to use whipped ricotta!
- 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese See my note about cheese options.
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin…I prefer lite tasting
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone or muenster
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F, with rack at center.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all the eggs. Season the eggs with loaded salt and pepper and all but1 tablespoon of the parsley and the red pepper flakes (if using) and whisk to combine. Whisk ricotta, then Parm and pecorino into the egg mixture.
- A note about the cheeses: depending on what store you shop at cheese availability may be different. Many companies offer some of these cheeses in blends, don’t be afraid to experiment! I last used a romano, parm, asiago blend because that was the closest thing. Just as long as you are adding the correct amount of cheese (3 cups) and it has a similar taste profile it will be just fine, maybe even better!
- Heat a 12-inch nonstick oven-safe skillet over medium heat with EVOO, melt butter into oil and swirl to melt. My personal favorite is my cast iron skillet but any oven safe variety will work. When butter foams, add the egg mixture and gently turn and settle the mixture until the bottom sets a bit.
- Transfer to the oven and bake 15 to 17 minutes until set enough to add the remaining shredded cheeses to the top of the frittata. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more until very puffed and golden. Cool on wire rack to set, then slide onto serving platter or large plate.
- Top the frittata with reserved parsley and more red pepper flakes (if using).
- VARIATIONS: This is just a basic cheese frittata. You can add vegetables and meats to it. Just make sure the vegetables and meats are cooked so that they don’t add extra water and make your frittata soggy! Try my breakfast sausage seasoning if you want to add homemade sausage!https://rachelsspicecompany.com/product/breakfast-sausage-seasoning/
Is there a substitute fir ricotta cheese? That is not normally in my refrigerator. Maybe part cream cheese and part sour cream? Unflavored yogurt? This sounds so good. I have your loaded salt and pepper. Anxious to try it.
Hi Bobette!
GREAT question. So cottage cheese would be my next substitute and I use that often. I have never used cream cheese but that sounds fabulous and I may have to try it. I would start with a touch less cream cheese as it has a strong flavor. You could also add heavy cream or half and half, that would help keep the creamy texture. You could also just add other cheeses and omit it all together. The texture would be more quiche like and there’s nothing wrong with that!
Thanks for the amazing question and let me know how it goes!