I purchased three rather expensive ingredients for a different recipe this week: roasted red peppers, feta, and a large bag of fresh spinach. I was really intent on not letting any of that go to waste, so after I made my Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Wraps, I grabbed up the leftovers and tossed them into a Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Frittata.
Frittatas are great because you can throw just about any leftover vegetable, meat, or cheese into them and have it turn out pretty spectacular. They’re like a big omelet that you don’t have to worry about carefully folding. Just bake everything together, then slice and serve. Easy and good.
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What is a Frittata?
Frittatas are an egg dish originating in Italy, where eggs are cooked in a skillet with other ingredients added like, meat, cheese, and vegetables. Think of them kind of like an open-faced omelet. A small amount of milk or cream is sometimes added to keep the eggs tender, but not nearly as much as a quiche, which is more of a baked custard.
What Can You Put in a Frittata?
The wonderful thing about frittatas is that you can put just about anything in them, which also makes them a great catch-all for your leftovers. For this frittata I added spinach, roasted red peppers, and feta, but you can add virtually any meat, cheese, vegetable, or herb. Just be sure to pre-cook any watery vegetables, like zucchini, so they don’t make your frittata soggy.
Here are some other frittata flavor ideas:
- Broccoli, cheddar, bacon
- Ham, Swiss, and bell pepper
- Sausage and sun dried tomato
- Portobello mushroom and goat cheese
- Ratatouille
- Zucchini and corn
- Kale and Chorizo
Basically, any flavor combination that is good on pizza will probably be good baked into a frittata, too. ;)
How Long Do Frittatas Stay Good?
You can keep your leftover frittata in the refrigerator for about four days, or you can freeze it for about two months. When freezing, first chill it completely in the refrigerator, wrap it tightly to prevent exposure to air, place it in a freezer safe container, then transfer to the freezer.
Do I Have to Use a Cast Iron Skillet?
No, you can use any oven-safe skillet.
Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Frittata
Servings 4 to 6 servingsIngredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 3-4 cups baby spinach ($1.25)
- 1/2 12oz. jar roasted red peppers ($1.25)
- 2 oz. feta ($1.12)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.05)
- 6 large eggs ($1.62)
- 1/4 cup whole milk or cream ($0.16)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Mince the garlic and add it to a 10-inch oven safe skillet, along with the cooking oil. Sauté over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or just until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Fill the skillet with fresh spinach (about 3-4 cups packed) and continue to sauté until it has wilted (1-2 minutes).
- Remove the peppers from the jar and slice them into thin strips. Add the sliced peppers to the skillet and sauté for 1-2 minutes more. Season the vegetables with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if desired. Remove from the heat and crumble the feta over top.
- Whisk together the eggs and milk, adding a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the eggs over the vegetables in the skillet, then transfer the skillet to the fully preheated oven.
- Bake the frittata for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is puffed and the top is light golden brown. If more browning is desired, place the frittata under the broiler for 1-2 minutes. This will quickly brown the top without over cooking the egg inside. Slice into 6-8 pieces and serve (1-2 pieces per person depending on size and appetite).
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Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Whisk
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make a Frittata – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Mince two cloves of garlic and sauté them with 1 Tbsp cooking oil in a 10″ oven-safe skillet. Sauté over medium heat for about one minute, or until the garlic becomes fragrant and soft (try not to let it brown).
Fill the skillet with fresh spinach (about 3-4 packed cups) and continue to sauté until the spinach wilts. Spinach wilts fast, so it will only take about two minutes.
Remove 1/2 the peppers from a 12oz. jar of roasted red peppers, and slice into thin strips.
Add the peppers to the skillet and continue to sauté for a minute or two more, just to remove some excess moisture. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper (optional) to taste.
Crumble about 2 oz. of feta over the vegetables in the skillet. Remove from the heat. I buy my feta in an 8 oz. block, so it’s easy to just cut it into four pieces to estimate a 2 oz. chunk.
Quickly whisk together 6 large eggs and 1/4 cup milk (whole milk or half and half work best). Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture into the skillet over the seasoned vegetables and feta. The skillet should still be pretty hot at this point. Carefully transfer the skillet to the oven.
Let the frittata bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is puffed up and the top is light golden brown. If you want the top more browned than having just a kiss of color, place the frittata under the broiler for a minute. The broiler will quickly brown the top without overcooking the rest.
Brunch is served! You could also add some shredded mozzarella to this Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Frittata (before pouring in the eggs or sprinkled on top), or maybe some crumbled bacon, artichoke hearts, or ham. Frittatas are extremely versatile!
Hello Beth, haven’t tried your frittata recipe yet, accidently found your web site while looking for egg recipes, it sounds delish. We are seniors struggling to put protein on the table. We were blessed by accident receiving another customers grocery pick up order. We called the store and they told us to use it or give it away, they could not put order back on the shelf once customer took it home. The order contained 2-18 count egg cartons and 2-12 count egg cartons. Feeling Overwhelmed with amount of eggs, and no neighbors needing them, I wondered if this blessing might be an answer to prayer and also teach me how to use the egg protein alternative and certainly not wasting the eggs.
I was intrigued by your statement……”I’m a food lover, number cruncher, and meticulous budgeter”. I need to adapt this philosophy into my current lifestyle. We have never recovered from pandemic price increases. What we budgeted prior pandemic allowed us to have protein for our big daily meal. We spend same amount of money and get half of what we used to get. Protein has become a luxury. I’m creative but at a loss. Do you have any ideas up your chef sleeves for us? Egg dishes and other budget cruncher meals. We eat very simple, hubby prefers meat and potato type dishes, I love fresh veggies and fresh fruit to mix in during the day which has also become a luxury we don’t indulge in due to our current market prices. We shop at WALMART and Kroger, the only stores near our home. I did buy frozen flounder in hopes that I could pull off a simple baked flounder with bread crumbs, lemon, and sliced almonds. My hubby’s favorite from Luby’s cafeteria. I’ve never cooked fresh or frozen fish other than can tuna or salmon for croquettes. Part of our thanksgiving grocery blessing included 2 packs of fresh mix of Poultry herbs. 1st time I ever used fresh herbs for my thanksgiving cornbread dressing. I sauteed them with butter, onions, celery. I removed them before assembling the dressing. It was just as tasty as dried poultry seasoning maybe less pungent which was an added blessing. It wasn’t that bitter after bite that too much powdered poultry season can give. Hoping you have some creative suggestions for us. Signed hungry for protein, needing alternative economical budget friendly dishes. Our budget for the month is $300.00. that includes toiletries, cleaning, laundry, bottled drinking water and groceries for the month. $250.00 for food would be my best guess per month.
Oh yum! Christmas in a Skillet! Made this today for brunch and it was easy and delicious. I wondered whether it might need onion as well as garlic, but….Nope! Perfect just as is. Another winner. Thanks!
So tasty, I used fresh mozzarella instead of feta and it was melty and delicious. Great recipe!
Great recipe with all the ingredients I keep in my pantry…perfect for a Sunday morning breakfast. Served with sausage patties on the side and a bit of creme fraiche (or siracha) on the side.
I prefer goat cheese over feta..would it work as well?
We haven’t tried it that way but I think it could be good!
Love this recipe I make it every week for breakfast for work but can you let me know that calories please thank you
I made a few variations:
– I was feeding a family of 5 so I used 10 eggs and didn’t bother to measure the milk.
– I used my standard frittata method of setting on the stove and finishing it in the oven.
– Added more garlic. (A friend of mine recently asked on Facebook if she’s the only one who automatically doubles the amount of garlic in recipes… She’s definitely not alone, based on all of the responses in favor of adding more.)
Even my pick 6yo liked this and ate most of what I served her. (This has never happened when I make frittata. Usually she picks at it and leaves most of it.)
Looks good. Counld you subsitute the feta for a vegetarian cheese like mozzarella?
I’m not sure how a vegetarian cheese will do in this recipe, since they don’t melt quite the same.