dad’s birthday breakfast frittata

I’ve come to realize in life that not everyone is a breakfast person. Some people stick to a “coffee breakfast” or just forego it altogether with lunch being their first meal of the day. As hectic as some morning can be, I have a difficult time skipping what’s been said to be the most important meal of the day. I am DEFINITELY a breakfast person.

And that may be, in part, because my dad is a breakfast person. Growing up, when my sister and I rolled out of our beds at the crack of dawn on school mornings, we would idle sleepy-eyed into the kitchen always to find something waiting for us on the breakfast bar. Most mornings, it was simple, like instant oatmeal or cereal with milk. Some mornings, it was cheesy scrambled eggs.

Weekends, however, is when my dad’s breakfasts would really shine. Omelettes, loaded with veggies, ham, and cheese were one of my mom’s favorites. My sister and I loved his exceptional French toast. And when my mom pushed a healthier griddle breakfast, even his buckwheat pancakes were met with nods of approval.

Don’t get me wrong, both of my parents are stars in the kitchen. And most of what I’ve learned, I learned from both of them. But one thing I’ve always known to be true is that my dad is a breakfast person. So now, I’m a breakfast person.

And this year for his birthday, I made one of my dad’s very own specialties, a breakfast frittata. Loaded with potatoes, veggies, ham, and cheese, this frittata is truly the kind of breakfasts and is apt to turn even the most astute of “coffee breakfast” partaker into a true breakfast person.

A frittata is not a quiche. A quiche is not a frittata. Repeat after me.

While both the frittata and the quiche have earned their rightful places in the breakfast hall of fame, they are each their own, very distinct dish. I often hear frittatas referred to as crustless quiches, and honestly, that’s not fair to the frittata which has its own special thing going on.

Besides perhaps the biggest difference—the buttery, crumbly quiche crust which makes it more akin to a pie—the frittata and quiche also differ in the egg mixture and the way they are cooked. The frittata is an Italian egg dish, that can be made with a variety of different fillings, and an egg mixture beaten with just a splash of dairy. It is then cooked on the stovetop until the egg mixture has settled and is transferred to the oven for a few minutes to finish cooking. This results in an omelette-like texture with the fillings being the highlight of the dish.

A quiche is a French egg dish that, while it can also be made with a variety of fillings, is made with a more custardy egg mixture that calls for more dairy (like cream or whole milk) than egg. The crust of the quiche is baked prior to filling it with the toppings and the custard, making it a more labor-intensive process. The result is pie like dish, with the fillings giving more way to the silky custard and buttery crust.

The perfect frittata formula

Although I love how flexible frittatas are with the wide range of fillings to can include, this is my formula for the *chef’s kiss* perfect frittata:

Potatoes To give this dish a little extra substance, I lightly boil sliced potatoes before layering into the pan

Red pepper You can also substitute tomatoes here, but I love adding a little sweetness and a pop of color

Mushrooms My favorite umami contributor!

Honey-baked ham I’m not going to lie, I used leftover honey-baked ham from months ago. Sometimes you want a whole ham, but you just can’t eat it all! Luckily, you can cut it into chucks and freeze it for loads of future meals!

Gruyere While many different cheeses can be suitable for a frittata, I love the nutty flavor of Gruyere or Swiss cheese. It adds a punch of flavor without overwhelming the rest of the ingredients

Eggs Arguably, the most important ingredient here!

Fresh herbs If you have them on hand, I highly recommend adding a handful of chopped herbs to your frittata. I used rosemary, a personal favorite of mine, but thyme and oregano would also be delicious

I hope you love the frittata you make, and let me know what ingredients you used in the comments below! And, always remember…breakfast is awesome.

⟶ the recipe

dad's birthday breakfast frittata

ingredients

6-8 eggs

2 small, white potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Package of cremini mushrooms

1 cup honey baked ham, diced

½ cup shredded gruyere

A few sprigs of rosemary, chopped

Salt & pepper

Prep time

15 minutes

Cook time

15 minutes

Total time

30 minutes

6 servings

instructions

Crack 6-8 eggs in a large bowl, and add a splash of milk. Season with salt and pepper, whisk vigorously until well-combined, and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and throw in the potato slices. Cook for about 3 minutes or until potatoes have become softened, but not mushy. Drain in a colander and rinse with ice-cold water.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, and ham, and sauté until peppers have begun to soften. Transfer the ingredients to a plate, briefly, and layer the bottom of the skillet with the potato slices. Arrange the pepper/mushroom/ham mixture over the potatoes so it’s evenly distributed.

Pour the egg mixture over the fillings, and gently tilt the skillet so egg mixture is fully covering the circumference of the pan. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary and gruyere over the egg, and increase heat to medium-high. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the egg has set around the edges. The middle should still be slightly liquidy.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes until the egg has completely cooked through. Turn on the broiler for about 2 minutes if desired, to brown the top slightly. Remove from oven, and, using a large spatula, gently transfer to a cutting board or platter to cool. A 10-inch skillet should get you about 6 slices of frittata.

⟶ recipe notes

Feel free to play around with the fillings here. For example, if you don’t have honey-baked ham leftover in your freezer from months ago, swap it out for bacon or sausage!
I say to use 6-8 eggs, but this can depend on how large your eggs are and how eggy you want the frittata. You do want the egg to completely cover the fillings so they bind together, so if you load the skillet with lots of additional items, you may want to try up to 10 eggs instead. But if you have scant items in the skillet, you can potentially go down to 6 eggs. Start with fewer, and add more as needed

⟶ modifications

Please feel free to forego the ham and make this dish vegetarian. Frittatas in general are awesome vegetarian dishes, because the eggs are packed with protein, and the veggies make it super nutritious. It’s also gluten-free!