Get more tasty, nutritious eggs in your diet: mini frittatas with cheese, bacon & red onion + ideas for alternative fillings
The much maligned egg & why it should be in your diet
I love eggs. Not just because they’re nutritionally amazing (and they certainly are, providing high quality protein as well as many vitamins, minerals and essential micronutrients) but because they’re also incredibly versatile.
So, I think it’s such a shame that millions of people came to believe that the number of eggs they could safely eat in a week was severely limited, not least because of a misunderstanding about foods that contain cholesterol. Besides our bodies needing some cholesterol, it’s been known for many years that the amount of cholesterol in the body has very little to do with eating foods that contain it.
Add to that the scares around salmonella and the scandal of insecticide contamination of imported egg products used in the food processing industry, then it’s clear that the poor old egg has had quite a rough time of it.
But if you have access to good quality, fresh, free-range eggs (as local to you as possible, I believe) then there’s no reason at all why you can’t enjoy them every day if you wish. But don’t just take my word for it, have a read of this excellent (eggcellent?) article by food writer Joanna Blythman.
Frittata, frittate or mini frittatas: they’re all good
I make frittata, a slow-cooked Italian egg dish similar to Spanish tortilla, every couple of weeks or so throughout the year as they can be adapted to whatever vegetables, meat or fish you happen to have to hand. In the spring and summer it might contain peas, broad beans, mint and goats cheese; in the autumn and winter, roasted root vegetables and kale flavoured with chilli flakes and sage. We have this for dinner with a salad, cold or warm depending on the season, and if we’re particularly hungry then some carbs in the form of baked or boiled potatoes or some brown ri
ce.
But what I have for you here are mini frittatas which are cooked in the oven in muffin trays. This method is even easier than the traditional one of starting a frittata in a frying pan and then finishing under the grill or in the oven, and you can still flavour them with virtually any filling you like. This recipe uses the classic pairing of cheese, bacon and red onion, but if you scroll down and take a look at some of my alternative fillings, you’ll see that there are so many different ways to enjoy them – even for a quick and satisfying breakfast.
By the way, if someone with better knowledge of Italian than me knows that the plural of frittata is frittate or frittata rather than frittatas, then do let me know.
These tasty, eggy delights can be used as part of a main meal but are also great to keep in the freezer so you can have them for a speedily-prepared lunch at home with some salad – they only take around 40 seconds to defrost in a microwave + another 40 seconds to heat through. You can also eat the mini frittatas cold which makes them a nice addition to a packed lunch instead of boring old sandwiches and, if you use mini muffin cups (mini-mini frittatas?) I think they’d be good as part of a buffet too.
The basis of the mix couldn’t be simpler, and it’s the same however you decide to flavour them: for six mini frittatas, you just whisk together in a jug 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon of yogurt with some salt and pepper. If you don’t have yogurt then you can use milk, cream, crème fraiche or anything similar you happen to have as it will make next to no difference to the finished frittata but, as I always have plain yogurt in the fridge, that’s what I use.
Cheese, Bacon & Red Onion Mini Frittatas Jump to Recipe
For my cheese, bacon and red onion mini frittatas, I sautéed some bacon and onion in a little olive oil then, off the heat, stirred in chopped spring onion (if chives were in season in my garden I’d have used a tablespoon or so of those instead). Then I seasoned the mixture with a little salt and pepper and set it aside while I prepped my muffin trays.
I make my mini frittata in silicone muffin trays as, after brushing each cup with a little oil or other fat, the frittata should just pop right out once cooked. Do make sure you stand the silicone tray on a baking sheet though, as this will make it easier to transfer to and from the oven. If you use metal muffin trays, you can line them with paper cake cases if you’re worried they’re not ‘non-sticky’ enough, but I’d still brush the paper cases with a little oil to be on the safe side.
For this recipe, I dipped a silicone pastry brush in the pan I’d cooked the bacon and onions in and used that to grease the muffin cups as there’s no sense in wasting the flavoursome fat.
Once greased, I divided the bacon and onions between the muffins cups and sprinkled a little finely grated Parmesan cheese over each one.
Next, I poured in the seasoned egg and yogurt mixture, again dividing it between each frittata. I topped this off with some grated cheddar cheese.
The tray is then put in a pre-heated, moderate oven. The muffins should be done in about 12 minutes: an inserted skewer will come out clean when they’re cooked through. If you want to brown the top a bit more then just turn the oven up to high for a couple of minutes.
After taking the frittatas out of the oven, I leave them for about three minutes before turning out as, besides being less likely to burn yourself, I think this helps to ensure they don’t stick to the sides.
If you can avoid the temptation of eating them all straight away, cool the frittatas on a wire rack before refrigerating or freezing.
Any flavour you like & good for using up leftovers too
Although I cooked the bacon and onion especially for this recipe, one of the great things about mini frittatas is that they’re so handy for using up leftovers:
- Breakfast mini frittatas: chop up cooked bacon, sausage, mushrooms. Add a little fresh or sun-dried tomato.
- Chilli mini frittatas: add leftover veggie or meat chilli
- Curried mini frittatas: add leftover curry & a little chopped coriander if you have it.
- Meat-and-two-veg mini frittatas: chop up leftover roast meat and some veggies from a Sunday roast. Add a little mint for lamb, horseradish for beef or dried sage for pork or chicken.
- Mediterranean mini frittatas: chopped Mediterranean veg roasted with garlic, e.g. peppers, courgette, red onion, aubergine, cherry tomatoes. Top frittatas with cubes of feta or goat’s cheese.
- Seafood mini frittatas: flaked, leftover poached salmon or other fish and/or cooked prawns. Add a squeeze of lemon.
- Ham and cheese: cooked ham with any cheese plus maybe a few spoons of your favourite chutney.
Whatever flavour combination you make, the basic, simple formula is the same: for every six mini frittata you’ll need 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon of yogurt or similar plus around 6 tablespoons of filling.
Once you’ve made a batch, you’ll realise the possibilities are endless and maybe, like me, find yourself dreaming up all sorts of potential flavourings – how about these for a tasty, economical idea? Sicilian-inspired mini frittata with tinned sardines in olive oil, lemon, fennel seeds and garlic. Served with salad and fruit they made a wonderful, nutritious lunch. Think I’ll add a few toasted pine nuts next time…
If you’ve tried my recipe, I’d love to know what you thought of it and also any other ideas you have for flavouring frittatas.
Cheese, Bacon & Red Onion Mini Frittatas
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil + extra for greasing muffin tray
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- 100 g smoked bacon finely chopped
- 3 spring onion (or 1-2 tbsp snipped chives) finely sliced
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 3 eggs beaten
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt or milk, cream or similar
- 60 g cheddar cheese grated
- 10 g Parmesan cheese finely grated
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4
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Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and saute the onion and bacon until the onion is soft and the bacon browned (10-15 minutes).
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Take off the heat, stir in the spring onion or chives, season with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.
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Whisk together the eggs and yogurt in a jug. Add a little salt and pepper (remember that the bacon and cheese may be quite salty) and set aside.
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Brush a silicon 6-hole muffin tray with oil and stand it on a baking tray. If using a metal muffin tray, you may wish to line with paper cases before brushing with oil.
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Divide the bacon and onion mixture between the muffin cups and sprinkle a little Parmesan over each.
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Pour the egg mixture into muffin cups and top with the cheddar cheese.
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Bake in the oven until a skewer comes out clean (12-15 minutes). To brown the tops further, turn up the heat and cook for another 2 minutes.
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Leave the mini frittatas to cool for 3 minutes before turning out. If not eating immediately, cool and refrigerate or freeze.