Potato Frittata
This delicious Potato Frittata has sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced potato, and scallions for a flavorful savory breakfast dish. It can feed a crowd, and leftovers keep beautifully. Make this easy recipe in less than 30 minutes!
Once you know how to make a frittata, you can make a thousand different frittatas, and its versatility is only one of its many merits.
A frittata is an egg-based blank canvas for so many different flavor combinations, either ones you want to dream up and try, or frittatas that use up leftover ingredients you have in the fridge. Sometimes using up what you’ve got in the fridge is the best way to find new favorite renditions!
Just like how eggs and Hash Browns go together, the potato here is hearty and delicious in this setting.
Often times I’ll take little bits of leftovers, like grilled peppers from dinner or a half-used package of goat cheese, and throw them together into this dish. You can use the ratios in this recipe to make other kinds of frittatas, and I do that all the time with different vegetables and ingredients.
What is a Frittata?
It’s basically a giant egg omelet that’s started on the stove and finished in the oven. It is then cut into slices, and looks like a crustless quiche. However, frittata recipes have significantly less cream added than the typical French quiche.
I love plating it either in the pan at the table, or cut it into slices on plates:
Vegetables and cheeses are very common ingredients for frittatas, but one of my favorite ingredients to add is potato. It’s reminiscent of the Spanish Tortilla I ate often while living in Spain, but is much less work to make.
Plus, potatoes are such a classic breakfast ingredient and add great heartiness to this recipe.
Frittatas are also great for entertaining, because you can whip up a big batch and cut it into slices for everyone. Even though I love waffles and pancakes, something about having to cook them in batches for guests feels stressful. I love how a frittata feels very easy!
Tips for Best Results
Use a cast-iron pan if possible – While any oven-safe nonstick skillet will do, what I like about cast-iron is how well it retains heat. Because this starts on the stove, when you transfer the potato frittata to the oven to finish cooking, the pan will already be hot, and cooking will be more even. Make sure the pan is well-seasoned.
Give the potatoes a head start on cooking – You will want to cook the potatoes before you add the frittata filling, so that they are tender by the time everything’s finished in the oven.
Keep your eye on the frittata while it’s in the oven – Even though I’ve determined a consistent bake time from my recipe testing process, it’s important to check on the frittata toward the end of cooking. Sometimes ovens heat differently and temperatures can fluctuate. You don’t want to overcook this.
Step by Step Guide:
Heat a large oven-proof non-stick pan over medium heat with some olive oil, then layer thinly sliced potatoes in the pan, and sprinkle with salt:
What Kind of Potato To Use
I have made this both with starchy potatoes like Russets, and waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold or red potatoes. They both work fine here. The difference is in the texture, and that is preference.
Russets have a fluffier texture (think French Fries) whereas the waxy potatoes are what are typically used in Potato Salad.
While the potato slices cook, prepare the frittata ingredients for the filling. Combine 8 large eggs, a splash of heavy cream, freshly grated cheddar cheese, sliced scallions, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl:
Ingredient Substitutions
I personally love the cheddar scallion combination with the egg and potato, but here are some other ideas. My favorite thing about a frittata is how versatile it is.
Swap the Cheese – Instead of cheddar, you may also try gruyere, Jack, mozzarella, Fontina, and other melty cheeses. Feel free to add some Parmesan cheese or harder cheeses, but keep half the cheese as a gooey or melty choice.
Swap the Green Onions – You may also try sauteed leeks, fresh snipped chives, or other herbs of your choice in place of the scallions.
Add more vegetables – You will need to saute it all separately, but you can add some sauteed red peppers (or any color bell pepper), sauteed zucchini, or sauteed broccoli. Try up to 1 cup.
Whisk that all together until the egg is well blended:
When the potatoes are tender, sprinkle with paprika, then pour the batter into the cast iron pan:
The egg will start cooking on the bottom and sides.
Quickly but carefully transfer the skillet to the oven, which should be preheated to 375 degrees F.
Continue cooking for another 15-18 minutes in the oven, until the egg is completely cooked through and the edges look lightly golden brown.
Take care to watch the frittata in the oven toward the end with a close eye, to prevent overcooking. You can tell it’s done if you jiggle the pan and there’s no liquidy egg moving around.
That right there is perfect!
How to Serve It
I like to serve the Potato Frittata with fresh cut cherry tomatoes and arugula to accent it with fresh flavors, but you can certainly enjoy it plain. It’s a fabulous recipe and healthy meal for breakfast, a light lunch, or even a light dinner.
Sometimes I put the whole thing right on the table and let people slice and serve from the pan as they choose, and sometimes I will put individual portions sliced with a Kale Salad on the side for brunch.
A side of Drop Biscuits or Homemade English Muffins is also wonderful to serve alongside this dish.
For more savory breakfasts, I love a classic Breakfast Burrito or Bacon Cheddar Waffles.
For sweet breakfast, I love these fluffy English Scones and Whole Wheat Pancakes. Enjoy!
Tips and FAQs:
Let the frittata cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You may also cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
I recommend reheating in a warm oven, wrapped, so it doesn’t dry out or overcook. 250F for 10 minutes should work well as a starting point. Be careful not to cook the frittata more when you reheat. The microwave is not recommended because it cooks too harshly and makes the egg spongey.
Yes, for up to two months. Let the frittata thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating, otherwise you risk overcooking the egg.
Yes, in multiple ways. First, you can whisk together the batter ahead of time and pre-cook the potatoes, then put the pan on the stove, heat up the potatoes, add the batter, and bake fresh. Or, you can completely make the entire thing in advance and reheat later.
Generally yes, but I find that I like the texture of a warmed up potato better than cold, so I always reheat.
No. Since the heat is coming from the bottom, the bottom will be quite overcooked by the time the top is done. You need the oven so the air cooks the frittata evenly on all sides.
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Potato Frittata
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb potato*
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- dusting of paprika optional (about 1/4 tsp)
- 2 scallions sliced
- 4 oz freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 8 large eggs
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes thinly (no need to peel the potatoes, unless you want to).
- Add the olive oil to an ovenproof 12-inch nonstick skillet that has a lid available, then layer the sliced potatoes in a single even layer.
- Season the potatoes with a pinch of salt (about 1/4 tsp), and a light dusting of paprika, if using.
- Place the pan over medium heat, and cover with a lid. Cook for about 8 minutes** until the potatoes are fork tender.
- In the meantime, whisk the scallions, cheddar, eggs, cream, and 1/4 tsp salt in a large bowl, until combined and a little frothy on top.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, pour over the egg mixture.
- Place the skillet into the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until the frittata is cooked through. You’ll know it’s done when there’s no visible liquidy egg on top when the pan is jiggled.
- Cut into slices and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in April 2022. Originally posted March 2014.
42 Comments on “Potato Frittata”
Thank you for the recipe, this turned out great! I don’t normally comment, but in case this is helpful to other readers, I made this recipe with variations based on what I had on hand, for 2 eaters. Firstly, I had leftover roasted veggies (Yukon gold potatoes, carrots and onion rings) that I’d roasted with pesto (!). So I kinda smashed them a bit and put them in an oven-safe skillet in which I’d smeared some butter. I can’t really tell you how much of the leftovers I had, but it covered the bottom of the 8 inch skillet with a few spaces. Left that on low on the stove (didn’t stir it or anything, just left it to warm up a bit since they were already cooked) while I whisked up the egg mixture. I had a small amount of mild cheddar open and another small amount of pepperjack cheese open, so shredded them up and added to a bowl of three eggs and cream (I pretty much eyeballed everything, didn’t really measure). Chopped up 2 green onions and added that as well. Added a sprinkle of paprika over the potatoes in the pan at your suggestion, and poured the egg mixture over all. I ended up with all the cheese at one end and all the onions at the other, LOL, so I had to spread it out a bit. Into the oven at your suggested temp and 15 minutes later, it was perfectly done and we both enjoyed a very lovely breakfast. Thank you so much for the recipe! I think we’d have been stuck with our normal, scrambled eggs and still had leftover roasted veggies to eat otherwise. I will definitely make this again, and probably again use what I have on hand. Thank you and best wishes!
Thank you Cheryl!
Bernard – Cape Town, South Africa
Happy days! I tried this last night for the first time, and it came out perfectly! I added some garlic and some normal onion chopped up really fine with the potatoes while they were cooking, which added some extra flavour. I also used butter rather than olive oil when cooking the potatoes, onion and garlic. I chopped up spring onions too and added those to the egg mix. YUM!
Also, I didn’t have any cream, so I used double-cream yoghurt.
All the family loved it. Shot! Thank you