Eggs are the best source of protein out there but I often leave them to have for breakfast and forget about dinner egg options. Baked frittatas are the key to making eggs more dinner friendly. I love the pizza-inspired flavours of this recipe but feel free to play around with it.
The ‘Pizza’ Baked Frittata
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- handful grated parmesan cheese + shavings to top
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes 250g / 9oz, halved
- handful basil leaves optional
- 1 bag salad leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C (400F). Grease and line a 20cm (8in) spring form pan or oven-proof skillet.
- Crack eggs into a bowl and sir in the grated cheese. Season with salt. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared pan. Top with cherry tomatoes cut side up and scatter over extra parmesan shavings.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the eggs are just set and no longer runny.
- Slice frittata in two and serve with basil leaves on top (if using) and salad on the side.
Variations
dressed salad – whisk together 1 tablespoon sherry or wine vinegar with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season and taste. Toss in the leaves to dress.
dairy-free/paleo – just skip the cheese or replace with a handful of sliced almonds sprinkled over the top.
carnivore – add some cooked shredded chicken or cooked sliced sausages or salami to the egg mixture before baking. Or serve with proscuitto or salami.
carb-lovers / more substantial – serve with garlic, toast or crusty bread on the side or add a few handfuls of cooked short pasta or drained canned chickpeas to the egg mixture. The frittata also makes a lovely sandwich filling.
more substantial (low carb) – add extra cheese and some roast nuts.
no basil – just omit it or serve with a dollop of pesto on top. Or replace with other herbs such as chopped chives, flat leaf parsley or thyme.
more veg – add grilled veg to the egg mixture such as eggplant, red peppers (capsicum), mushrooms or zucchini. Or add chopped raw veg to the salad such as radish, cucumber, carrot or snow peas.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
eggs – will keep in the fridge for weeks or use for another meal.
parmesan – keeps for longer in a chunk so only grate when you’re cooking. I wrap in waxed paper or baking paper and then keep in an airtight container or a sealed ziplock bag. I prefer this over just wrapping in cling wrap because the air in the container allows the cheese to breathe and not sweat but the container / plastic bag prevents from drying out in the dry fridge air. Either way will keep for months.
cherry tomatoes – either halve and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes (180C / 350F) OR just cook in a pan with a little oilve oil. In either case store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks. Or freeze the cooked tomato for longer periods.
basil – make basil oil by packing washed and dried leaves in a clean jar and covering with extra virgin olive oil. Or you can freeze the leaves, they’ll wilt but will still be delicious.
salad leaves – are highly perishable. My first path would be to use them for another meal (salad for breakfast!) but if that isn’t possible you can pop them in the freezer. They will wilt down but can then be used anywhere you’d use wilted greens. At least this way they won’t go slimy.
Problem Solving Guide
watery – there can be a fair bit of liquid from the tomatoes. Keep cooking a little longer.
rubbery – overcooked eggs! Next time get out sooner but for now adding more cheese or a dollop of pesto can help.
egg leaking from the pan – if your springform pan doesn’t seal properly egg can leak out. If you think it might happen to you, best to pop an oven proof tray under the pan to catch any spillage. Next time use another pan without leaks.
bland – use more parmesan and/or salt.
Serving Suggestions
Lovely on its own with the salad or as part of an Italian inspired meal.
Prepare Ahead
No! Best when freshly made. However leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks. Don’t freeze.
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Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I made this in my new 21cm cast-iron skillet, and hardly had room on top to add a whole punnet of halved cherry tomatoes. Admittedly I may have overloaded it with some cooked zucchini on the bottom and cooked mushroom on the top, but it took a long time to set, even when I kept bumping up the oven temperature every five minutes after the 15. I finally gave up and stuck it under the grill to finish, but even then the cherry tomatoes were still wet. Good, but possibly semi-dried tomatoes would work better.
The zucchini and musrhooms would have been controbuting a lot of moisture as well Mark – so maybe dried tomatoes would be a better call if you want to include the extra veg 🙂
I made the double recipe in a 9×13 glass pan. I threw in a smidge of oregano and put some pepperonis on top, and it was wonderful! Whole family loved it. This one is going into our favorites! We also have chickens. Thanks so much Jules!
Oh yay Jessica!
I’ve just got 4 new chickens who are starting to lay this week. Will have to try this frittata with your pepperoni idea 🙂
Perfect recipe, thank you! You’re a real life-saver posting this, as I realized that my skillet was not oven-proof. This came out as baked perfection! 🙂
So glad you like it!
Jx