Spinach and Veggie Bacon “Frittata”

Frittata is one of my favorite brunch foods because it’s more fun than scrambled eggs or omelets, it feels indulgent, and it’s healthier than french toast or pancakes. It looks tricky but it’s actually super simple once you have the technique down.

Another great thing is that you can completely customize it based on the contents of your fridge/freezer. This week my fridge has been pretty under-stocked (I had to have matzo because we ran out of bread if that helps you visualize) but I did find:

  • organic version of egg beaters 
  • shredded mixed Italian cheese blend
  • frozen spinach
  • veggie bacon

Again, you can really use anything that’s in your fridge and if you are a real eggs person then you should crack the eggs in a bowl and mix them like you would do for an omelet because the trick of the frittata is not to touch it once the eggs hit the pan. You want it to come out of the pan, don’t you?

The first thing you want to do is prepare your ingredients. That means cooking anything that needs to be cooked. So in my case it was the veggie bacon and frozen spinach. As you might know, seasoning eggs is what will make them amazing or amazingly bland. You have two options for seasoning your frittata: season the vegetables, or season the egg mixture. This is easier if you’re using real eggs since you’ve already put them in a bowl to scramble them so you can just season in the bowl. Since my egg beaters were in a carton, I decided to season the spinach with some herbes de provence, salt, and pepper while it was cooking. Again, you can totally get creative with seasoning– do you like spice? Try red pepper flakes or cajun seasoning– some of my favorites for spinach! Once all your fillings are cooked, remove from pan and set aside. 

I want to talk about the pan for a minute– I used a small, non stick skillet. The trick with these skillets is to use olive oil or butter (not Pam– that will damage the non stick coating), and to get them pre-heated before you put the eggs in so that you get a nice golden brown color on the frittata and the eggs don’t stick to the pan.In order to watch the amount of oil I put in the pan I have one of these handy oil spritzers. I did use the same skillet for prepping my ingredients so I re-applied olive oil once I removed the spinach.

To build the frittata: distribute all non-cheese fillings evenly along bottom of pre-heated and oiled skillet, pour egg beaters (or egg mixture) over fillings to almost cover (this will be about 1/2 cup eggs), sprinkle cheese on top, cover and let cook for 3-4 minutes or until edges are golden brown and top is still wobbly.

This will get your frittata about 85% cooked. So you’ll need 5 minutes of your oven’s time to finish the job. Turn on your broiler. Place skillet in oven for 5-6 minutes until frittata cooks through. I would check on it after 4 minutes because you don’t want it to dry out. You’ll know it’s ready when the top is firm. REMEMBER THAT THE SKILLET HANDLE WILL BE HOT!! I know it looks inviting to touch it but don’t do it without an oven mit!

Turn your frittata out onto a plate and enjoy!