Kitchen Sink Frittata

The ultimate use-what-you-have frittata, loaded with crispy potatoes, peppers, ham, andouille sausage, green chiles and plenty of cheese.

 

There are recipes you plan for, make a shopping list for, and buy all the ingredients for.

And then there are recipes that happen because you open the refrigerator and say, “Okay…what do we have?”

This frittata is definitely the second kind.

Lately, we’ve been much more conscientious about using what we already have in the house. Leftover potatoes? Use them. A container of cooked peppers and onions? Definitely. A little ham? Throw it in. One lonely sausage hanging around in the fridge? You’re coming too.

This is one of those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink meals, and honestly, those sometimes turn out to be the best ones.

That’s one of the things I love most about a frittata. Once you know the basic method, you really don’t need a recipe. You need eggs, a little dairy, some cheese, and whatever vegetables, meats, herbs, or leftovers sound good to you.

And a cast iron skillet.

I LOVE making a frittata in cast iron.

You can cook everything right on the stove, pour in the eggs, add some cheese, and move the whole thing straight into the oven. Easy. And the cast iron cooks everything beautifully and evenly.

 

 

 

---

 

Let’s Talk About Those Potatoes

 

I LOVE fingerling potatoes. They’re small, creamy, and delicious, and I happened to have some smoked fingerlings leftover in the refrigerator from a few days earlier.

 

 

 

Into the frittata they went.

You absolutely do not need smoked potatoes for this recipe, though.

Boil some small potatoes until they’re tender, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and then crisp those puppies up any way you want.

I like using the air fryer, but you can fry them in a skillet with a little oil or butter too.

 

The important part?

GET THEM CRISPY.

 

The inside of a frittata is soft and creamy, so those crispy little edges on the potatoes add great texture. No mushy potatoes for me!

And you know what else would be ridiculously good?

 

TATER TOTS.

 

Air fry some tater tots until they’re nice and crispy, break them up a little, and toss them into your frittata.

Oh, I am absolutely doing that next time.

 

---

 

My Pepper and Onion GOOP

 

Yes. I call it GOOP.

 

Sometimes I make a batch of peppers and onions just to have in the refrigerator because we use them on EVERYTHING.

This time of year, I love going to the farm and grabbing whatever peppers look good: bell peppers, long hots, jalapeños, poblanos, whatever catches my eye. Chop them up with an onion and cook everything in a little olive oil and butter.

Low and slow.

Let those peppers and onions get soft and sweet and yummy.

Then keep your GOOP in the refrigerator and suddenly you’ve got the beginning of breakfast, eggs, sandwiches, burgers, sausage, potatoes…or a frittata.

A spoonful of GOOP into some eggs and BOOM. Delicious.

 

 

 

---

 

Ingredients

 

Here’s what went into this particular frittata, but remember: this is a blueprint, not a set of handcuffs.

Eggs: I use about 6 to 8 large eggs, depending on the size of the skillet and how much filling I’m using. I also had some egg whites, so I added a splash of those.

Heavy cream or half-and-half: Just enough to make the eggs creamy and tender. You don’t need much.

Potatoes: I used leftover smoked fingerling potatoes and crisped them up before adding them. Regular boiled and crisped potatoes work beautifully too.

Peppers and onions: My GOOP! Use bell peppers, long hots, jalapeños, poblanos, banana peppers, or whatever you like.

Green chiles: I added some chopped green chiles for another little layer of flavor.

Ham: Cubed ham makes this hearty enough for dinner and is a great way to use leftovers.

Chicken andouille sausage: A little smoky, a little spicy, and SO good with the potatoes and peppers.

Cheddar cheese: Some goes right into the egg mixture and some gets scattered over the top before the frittata goes into the oven. Sharp cheddar is wonderful here, but use whatever cheese makes you happy.

Creole seasoning and paprika: I added a little of each directly to the egg mixture. They work especially well with the andouille sausage.

And notice what’s missing?

Salt.

I didn’t add any.

Between the Creole seasoning, cheddar, ham, and andouille sausage, there was already plenty of salt happening in that skillet.

You can always add salt at the table.

 

CANT TAKE THE SALT OUT!

 

---

 

Don’t Like My Ingredients? Good. Change Them!

 

That’s the whole point of a frittata.

Think of your eggs as the blank canvas and start digging through the refrigerator.

 

 

Try:

• Bacon, breakfast sausage, leftover steak, chicken, turkey, or prosciutto
• Spinach, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, corn, or kale
• Roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, scallions, or leeks
• Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyère, Monterey Jack, pepper jack, mozzarella, feta, goat cheese, or Parmesan
• Fresh basil, parsley, chives, thyme, cilantro, or dill
• Garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, taco seasoning, or a little cayenne

 

Have leftover roasted vegetables from dinner?

Use them.

Half a baked potato?

Chop it up and crisp it.

Three pieces of bacon nobody ate?

First of all, how did THAT happen? But yes, put them in.

 

A frittata is about using ingredients you already have and, more importantly, ingredients you actually want to eat.

 

---

 

The Secret to Making a Frittata Without a Recipe

 

So how do you make a great frittata every time without looking up a recipe?

 

Think in ratios.

 

A good starting point for 6 large eggs is approximately:

• 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• About 1 cup shredded or crumbled cheese
• About 2 cups total cooked vegetables and/or meat

 

You don’t have to measure everything down to the last tablespoon. I certainly don’t.

 

The important thing is not to overload the eggs with so many fillings that there’s nothing holding the whole thing together.

If you’re using 8 eggs, you can bump everything up a bit.

Once you’ve made a couple of frittatas, you’ll start eyeballing the whole thing. That’s when they become really fun.

 

---

 

Get Everything Ready First

This is one of those recipes where a little prep makes everything easier.

Have bowls of your ingredients ready to go.

Your potatoes should already be cooked and crisped. Raw vegetables that release a lot of water should be cooked first. Meat should already be cooked. Cheese should be shredded.

You’re not relying on the eggs to cook all that stuff.

You’re basically assembling a bunch of already-delicious ingredients and letting the eggs bring everybody together.

 

---

 

How to Make a Cast Iron Frittata

 

Heat your oven to about 375°F.

Whisk the eggs with the heavy cream or half-and-half. Add your seasonings and a handful of shredded cheese.

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat with a little butter or olive oil.

Add your cooked fillings and spread them evenly around the skillet. I added my crispy potatoes, pepper and onion GOOP, green chiles, ham, and sliced chicken andouille sausage.

Pour the egg mixture evenly over everything.

Let it cook on the stovetop for just a few minutes. You’re looking for the edges to begin setting while the center is still loose.

Sprinkle a little more cheese over the top.

Then move the entire skillet into the oven and let it finish cooking until the eggs are just set in the center.

Don’t cook it to death!

Eggs continue cooking from the residual heat after you pull the skillet from the oven. An overcooked frittata gets dry and rubbery, and we don’t want that.

Let it rest for several minutes before slicing.

Then cut yourself a big wedge and eat!

 

---

 

A Few Frittata Rules I’ve Learned

 

watery vegetables before adding them. Mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, and similar vegetables can release a lot of liquid and turn your beautiful frittata watery.

Cook your potatoes first. The frittata isn’t in the oven long enough to cook raw potatoes.

Be careful with salt. Ham, sausage, bacon, cheese, and many seasoning blends are already salty. Taste first.

Don’t overload it. More filling doesn’t necessarily mean a better frittata. You still need enough egg mixture to surround everything and hold it together.

And don’t overbake it. Pull it when the center is just set.

 

 

---

 

Breakfast, Brunch…or Dinner

Of course a frittata is wonderful for breakfast or brunch, but I actually love it as an easy dinner.

Add a simple green salad and some crusty bread and you’ve got dinner.

It’s also great cold or at room temperature, which makes leftovers pretty darn convenient. Cut a leftover frittata into wedges and refrigerate them for an easy breakfast or lunch the next day.

And because every frittata can be different depending on what you have in the refrigerator, it never really feels like you’re eating the same thing twice.

 

---

 

The Best Part? There Really Isn’t a Recipe

 

Okay, yes. There’s a recipe card below.

But you know what I mean.

The real recipe is:

Eggs + cream + cheese + whatever good stuff is hanging around in your refrigerator.

 

This particular combination of crispy smoked fingerling potatoes, peppers and onions, green chiles, ham, andouille sausage, cheddar, and Creole seasoning was REALLY good.

But next time?

Maybe bacon and broccoli.

Maybe spinach and feta.

Maybe leftover steak and peppers.

Or maybe those tater tots…

Yep.

Definitely making the tater tot version.

 

 

 

And that’s really the beauty of a frittata. There’s no need to overthink it. Open the fridge, see what needs to be used, grab some eggs and cheese, and start creating. Maybe yours has leftover veggies, maybe some bacon or sausage, maybe those crispy tater tots I now can’t stop thinking about. Make it with what you have and, more importantly, with what you love to eat. Sometimes the best meals aren’t planned at all. They’re just a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and somehow…dinner. ❤️