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Cheesy Frittata
Updated Jan. 8, 2024
![Cheesy Frittata](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/01/05/multimedia/101REX-cheesy-broiled-frittata-bfpz/101REX-cheesy-broiled-frittata-bfpz-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 8large eggs
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Up to 2 cups frozen, cooked or quick-cooking mix-ins (such as packed kale, cooked rice, leftover pasta, frozen corn, tender herbs, pitted olives, chopped tomatoes or cooked chicken)
- 3 to 6ounces any cheese (such as mozzarella, Cheddar, feta, halloumi or pecorino)
- 2tablespoons any fat (such as butter, olive oil, bacon fat, ghee or neutral oil)
Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Step 2
Chop or tear your mix-ins so they are all bite-size. Shred, tear, crumble or chop the cheese into small pieces. Set a rack about 6 inches below the broiler and heat on high.
- Step 3
Add the fat to a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron or broiler-safe nonstick skillet and heat over medium until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add any quick-cooking or frozen mix-ins first, lightly season with salt if needed, and stir frequently until wilted and tender, 2 to 7 minutes. Add any cooked mix-ins next, lightly season with salt if needed, and stir frequently until warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 4
Reduce heat to medium-low and pour in the eggs. Stir to combine and cook. As the edges and sides set, use a spatula to scrape them into the middle, allowing the runny center to flow to the edges. Repeat this process until you have some large curds set within the mostly runny mass, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 5
Reduce the heat to low and spread the mixture flat into an even layer, giving the pan a firm tap against the stovetop to evenly settle the mixture. Cook, undisturbed, until the bottom and sides feel set when you shake the pan, while the eggs on top are slightly runny, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Step 6
Remove from heat, dot with cheese and broil until puffed and browned, the top is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 to 3 minutes. Let rest for at least 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
For most beaten egg dishes, like a frittata, I mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch to 3 tablespoons water into a slurry, add seasoning and aromatics and add to the beaten eggs. It yields an excellent binder, distributes the seasonings in the mixture as well as fluffing and puffing the eggs for increased volume.
If you have a glass cooktop, do NOT give the pan a “firm tap” against the stovetop unless you want to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new glass cooktop. Shaking the pan on a glass cooktop is likewise a bad idea.
My favorite ingredients for frittatas are caramelized onions made in advance and kept in a jar in the refrigerator and the leaves from a bunch of radishes or beets.
My favorite filling, in a one to one-half ration: fresh cup up asparagus for the main, Then 1/2 each of diced onions and red peppers, to equal the amount of asparagus. Sauté all until veggies are just beginning to get tender and remove from heat. Mix eggs and milk, salt & pepper in a bowl, add grated cheese (half Cheddar and half Gruyere are good) and stir into eggs. Then place in a well buttered casserole; bake in oven at 350 until set. Much easier than dealing with a cast iron pan.
In my experience of making a weekly frittata, there is no need to stir things. Start with sauteing onions, add the other veg. (leftovers or uncooked), once they are browned and softened, pour eggs over the lot, add some cheese, leave on the stove top for a few minutes (covered may help) then transfer to the broiler. Perfection. (Dollops of Labneh are my newest cheese addition.)
After they're sautéed, I'll toss all the non-egg goodies into a large bowl with the cheese and eggs and give a good mixing. This generally ensures good distribution of ingredients. That gets put back in the pan over medium-low heat and cooked until the sides are set and small bubbles begin to form in the middle. After that I'll stick it in a 350º oven for 12-15 minutes. Perfection.
Don't tap especially if you are using a cast iron pan on a glass stove top!
I don't use a broiler. I've always flipped my frittata by inverting the skillet over a pizza pan and then sliding the frittata back into the skillet to cook/brown what was the top side.
Italians and Spaniards cook all the stuff you want to add first and then add it to the scrambled eggs in a bowl. Let it sit and the heat makes them stick together. Then clean the pan and start over to make the frittata. Don't burn it. When crust forms flip it. When done it looks like a pie. In Spain you will see Tortilla Espanola served by the slice for lunch with bread and a salad.
I make a frittata for the two of us every Friday with whatever leftovers I have from the week: in an 8" nonstick cake pan goes whatever I'm using along with 4 well-beaten eggs, and everything goes in the pre-heated air fryer for 12 minutes at 360. Golden, puffed and always delicious: not to mention super easy!
I have just one question: what are leftover french fries??
This is the method for a Spanish tortilla. Traditionally, it is made with thinly sliced potatoes and, for some cooks, onions. It is equally adept at using leftovers and bits & bobs. I favorite is ham, onions and marinated artichoke hearts.
I made this recipe this morning, as is, and loved it!
Step 6 says to remove the pan from the heat, dot with cheese, and broil.
Sohla, your video lesson on cooking eggs so many different ways is fab. Sharing it with every egg lover I know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPqnS1K4vgw
With our 12-inch cast iron, 9 eggs, 1/2 t fine sea salt, a large onion caramelized in 2T olive oil, close to two cups diced chard stems, a tablespoon fresh thyme, over a half cup chunked feta, and a sprinkling of torn tarragon leaves to finish. Excellent!
If you have neither broiler nor air fryer, how do you finish? Very hot oven?
Love this clean out the fridge method. And I did and it was super tasty. I did overcook the frittata somehow. Maybe cuz one of my add-ins was breadcrumbs. Or maybe cuz I let it go past the "jiggly" phase when it was on the desktop or perhaps it overcooked in the broiler phase, not sure. I'll make this again, but would watch that.
Great cues for putting together a "whatever you want" frittata. I used 12 eggs (for weekday leftovers), a small amt of olive oil, a number of veggies, cheese and a couple slices of leftover ham. I was worried that sauteing the mix-ins all in the same pan as the egg mix would make it stick but it didn't- came out in perfect slices. Very quick, easy and delicious, adapts to whatever you have on hand.
I prepared this morning and thought it was delicious and easy. Using an assortment of vegetables it came together quickly. More broiling time was needed for browning.
We were iced in and I had no frozen mixed veggies, so I used match stick carrots, red pepper, and shredded red cabbage. I had frozen peas so used those. Sautéed the raw veggies before the aromatics. Tasted better after some sesame oil and Maggie sauce. Did not care for ketchup so used some Sriracha as was all we had. Definitely comfort food on a cold icy night! Looks like some great leftovers.
I needed to cook this significantly longer than stated. Using a cast iron pan and an induction stovetop, I found that the center was solidifying faster than the edges. Next time I would prewarm the pan in the oven if I used the cast iron again. All in all, I would make it again. It still turned out well and the kids gobbled it up. I added the butts from whole grain bread, frozen peppers from last summer’s garden and some baby Swiss chard past it’s prime.
The farro texture was surprisingly meaty. I even did a double take, thinking it was sausage. My family assumed the same thing… delicious
This was delicious! I was skeptical of some aspects of the technique, but I followed the instructions exactly and my frittata came out perfectly. This will be my new go-to method! The only thing I did differently was started sautéing onions ten minutes before everything else to give them time to caramelize, then added red peppers, asparagus and halved cherry tomatoes for the recommended quicker sauté. Added a bunch of fresh chives with the eggs, tipped with cheddar and goat cheese, et viola!
My version, not looking for a browned end product, sauté mix-ins, mix eggs with a cup of cottage cheese, shredded cheese of choice and mix-ins. Pour in a pie pan and cook in the oven at 350° for about 30 minutes.
This was amazing. I had leftover pork tenderloin, roasted potatoes and added bacon and tomato and Gouda, Cheddar and Feta cheese. Sooooo good!
I made this night with leftover cooked veg plus sautéed onions and red peppers. As some cooks suggested, I popped the whole business in a casserole dish, put chucks of goat cheese on top and baked till golden brown and delicious. No broiler. It was delicious.
In this time of climate chaos, energy conservation is necessary as well as efficiency. Inverting the frittata instead of turning on the broiler is worth doing—especially on my induction cooktop.
I have just one question: what are leftover french fries??
We do “clean up the refrigerator omelets and frittatas regularly. Use spices and herbs and seasonings as appropriate for the ingredients and your taste. We ALWAYS have a variety of cheeses, which sort of marry the ingredients. Hot, nutritious, tasty, no waste, what’s to not like?
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