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!
This was amazing. No spices needed because it’s already flavor packed. Even the kids liked it! We will be eating this again. For a 12inch skillet I used 12 eggs, an entire bunch if fresh spinach and almost the entire jar of peppers. We also added onion.
This one was just OK for me. I absolutely love feta, but found the spinach taste a bit too overpowering for my liking. I made it in a 12-inch skillet since I don’t have a 10-inch, so I used nine eggs, another two ounces or so of feta, and maybe an extra cup or 1.5 cups of spinach. I served it with bacon on the side, which worked well together.
I have a convection oven that doesn’t go beyon 250. What do I do?
I’m not sure. I’d need to test the recipe at that temperature. I’m not sure if or how it would work.
Hey, quick question, is your oven temperature in Celsius or Farenheit?
Sounds to easy and fantastic, I must try… Thankss
Prepared this recipe and it came out well. Thank u Beth
Is there a non-dairy milk that would work with this?
Hmm, I’m not sure the flavors would work. You’d definitely want one that has a higher fat content, though. If it’s too watery the frittata will not turn out well.
Great for a Christmas brunch as it’s easy to prepare and the colours are very seasonal.
Can you make one with just egg whites?
That will definitely affect the texture.
Hi Beth,
I wanted to add some salsa to a frittata for a different flavor. Do you think the extra liquid would mess with the egg/milk ratio? Would you add less milk or maybe cook longer?
Thanks for all the great recipes, we use them a lot!
It might mess with the texture, yes. I’m not sure simply reducing the milk will work because the milk has proteins in it that mix with the egg, whereas salsa will not. That’s a tricky substitution so I’m not sure I can really guess without having tried it.
Serve the salsa on the side as a sauce.
Ive made this twice and its great. If you want to to be thicker you can add more eggs. I made mine in a large 12″ pan with 11 eggs and about 1/2 cup milk. I added zucchini and mushrooms in addition to the red peppers and spinach. I usually dont have time to cook on a weeknight, but this comes together SO fast that I could. Thanks for the great recipe.
I had this tonight for dinner. It was quick, easy, and delicious. :)
Can I place all the ingredients in a pie crust. Wanting to make a quiche as opposed to a frittata?
Quiches tend to have more cream and cheese than frittatas, which are mostly egg. Having the crust might change the baking time and temperature required. I couldn’t say for sure without testing it myself.
I have never made a frittata before, I always assumed it would be difficult. Well, this was super easy and delicious! I’m always looking for quick meals for my daughter and me as my husband travels a lot and I love this site for recipes. This was really good and cheap. I also feel like it’s pretty healthy. Thanks for the great recipe and I look forward to having the leftovers for lunch today!
Hi beth, how do you clean your cast iron pan? I am hesitant to use mine.
I usually start with a salt scrub and if that doesn’t work, I resort to soap and a scrubby (shhhh, don’t tell!). I always rub it with oil after it’s dry. Here is a great tutorial on how to clean cast iron. :)
I only have a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Should I add an egg or two or will it cook ok? lol. New to cast iron!
I think I’d add a couple extra eggs because this one wasn’t terribly thick to begin with. I’m afraid it would be super thin if it was spread out over more surface area. Keep an eye on the cooking time, too, because it might be a little faster with that size skillet.
Thanks so much!