This potato frittata with thyme and goat’s cheese is a delicious and easy oven-baked meal to start the day with! (It actually makes for a good lunch too.) Think about it, wonderfully puffy eggs with bites of potato, spiced with thyme, and goat’s cheese crumbled over to add a little indulgence. This is one of those family-style breakfasts you’ll find yourself whipping up on weekend mornings.
Frittatas can be made in so many different ways, and with so many different ingredients. They’re a fantastic and filling breakfast that just don’t get their due in the breakfast recipe hall of fame. Well, I’m here with my simple potato frittata recipe to change that. (Seriously, it’s pretty easy, but packed with flavour.)
Jump to:
What is a potato frittata
If you’ve not been introduced to the magic of a frittata before, it’s essentially a large omelette that’s been finished in the oven (meaning it’s puffier). A potato frittata specifically, is an easier spin on the Spanish tortilla, where cooked potato slices are incorporated into the base of the frittata to add heartiness to each slice of your frittata – potatoes are probably amongst the most popular ingredients to use in a frittata.
How to make a frittata?
The process of making a frittata is actually quite simple. You’re going to do three things:
- Cook up your additional ingredients (if needed)
- Incorporate your egg, cook it over the stove top.
- Bake.
Frittata vs open-faced omelette
I was at a restaurant a few years back, where I ordered the frittata with goat’s cheese, thinking I’d receive something like what we’re making in this recipe. Instead, I found myself receiving a simple flat omelette, and one of my brunch buddies explaining to me that in North America “frittata” is often used synonymously with “open-faced omelette”.
They’re not the same thing! And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, bestie.
- Frittatas are finished in the oven. Omelettes are cooked on the stovetop.
- Traditionally, omelettes have their ingredients added as toppings (though this isn’t always the case anymore), while frittatas have their ingredients mixed in with the egg itself.
- They look entirely different!
- Omelettes are French while frittatas are Italian (frittata comes from the Italian word for ‘fried’ – friggere)…and yes, they are sometimes also referred to as “Italian omelettes”.
- Omelettes are lonely. One omelette, one person, one meal. Frittatas are a party. One potato frittata, 3 or 4 people, multiple happy bellies. (You can eat them by yourself too…I do that all that time!)
Can you cook frittata on a stovetop
Afraid not. The hot oven means that the frittata will cook evenly on all sides, whereas the stovetop will result in the bottom overcooking (or even burning. Gasp! Shock! Horror!) before the rest of the frittata is cooked through enough.
The amount of cooked-through-ness is a matter of personal preference – some prefer a slightly softer almost-custardy centre, while others prefer it a bit more set. You do you, bestie.
Variation ideas
There are so many options to choose from here. If you’re looking to experiment a little, you can use this potato frittata recipe as a base – remove the thyme and goat’s cheese to accommodate whatever variation you choose. (Or don’t. Goat’s cheese is almost always a good idea.)
The suggestions below assume that you’ve chosen to keep the potatoes, however they’ll all work just fine without potatoes too:
- Onions, leeks, and cheese – double down on that caramelised onion deliciousness, throw in some leeks, and some sharp cheddar for a flavour bomb of a frittata.
- Mushrooms, thyme, and cherry tomatoes – earthy notes from the mushrooms (opt for cremini, if you can), and some freshness from the tomatoes makes for a delicious start to the morning.
- Smoked salmon & goat’s cheese – slice up the salmon into thin strips, and mix it into the batter. Top the cooked frittata with goat’s cheese crumbles, and be everyone’s favourite person.
- Spinach, turkey sausage, and sage – to add more heartiness (or for my fellow insatiable appetites), sliced up turkey sausage, spinach, and sage make a great combo. Make sure to cook them properly before adding them to the potato frittata.
- Frittata muffins are amongst one of the least attractive snacks out there. But they are delicious.
Storage suggestions
Frittatas are fantastic make-ahead meal option. Slice up the cooked frittata, and store it in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. (Serve warm or at room temperature.) There are sources online saying you can freeze a frittata for up to 2 months, but I’d personally avoid this, as I don’t feel the thawing process will be kind.
More easy egg recipes
- Cloud Eggs
- Cilbir (Turkish eggs)
- Cheesy oeufs en cocotte
- Shakshuka
- Scrambled eggs with smoked salmon
- Mushroom omelette with chevre, cherry tomato, and sausage
- Scrambled egg breakfast sandwich
Helpful tools
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Easy recipes like this one don’t need a lot of special tools. However, you will need an ovenproof pan…you know, because your pan needs to go in the oven. A cast iron pan is good to have around…there are dedicated ‘frittata pans’, but I’ve not found one that’s really worth recommending (they work fine, but are a bit too expensive in my opinion, unless you’re planning on making frittatas all the time!).
So…did you try this potato frittata recipe? With thyme and goat’s cheese? Or did you mix it up? Drop me a comment below, and let me know.
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📖 Recipe
Potato Frittata with Thyme & Goat’s Cheese
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 potato frittata 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This potato frittata with thyme and goat’s cheese is a delicious and easy oven-baked meal to start the day with! (It actually makes for a good lunch too.)
Ingredients
- 8 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp dried thyme (or one tbsp fresh, chopped)
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 2 medium potatoes
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp goat’s cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, thyme, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise. Slice each of the halves into thin “half-circles”. Set aside.
- In a large ovenproof pan, melt butter over a medium heat. Add, and cook the onion and garlic (okay to season with salt, to taste) for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften and begin to brown – around 10 minutes. Using a spatula, spread the cooked potatoes across the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pan – as the eggs begin to set, gently swirl and/or lift the egg mixture to make sure it fills all the gaps, and spreads evenly (and super importantly, to make sure that the uncooked bits of egg find some heat to cook over!). Cook until almost set, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Carefully transfer the pan into the oven, and bake for 6 minutes, or until the top has set.
- Let stand for 5 minutes to cool, and sprinkle with goat’s cheese crumbles. Dig in.
Notes
- Before cooking the potatoes, make sure to scrub, rinse and dry well. If you prefer your potatoes without the peel, you’d remove it before getting started on the recipe too.
- If you prefer to use the broil option of your oven, you can place the pan under the broiler on High for 2 minutes, or until the eggs are just set.
- When it comes to the goat’s cheese, you can sprinkle crumbles evenly over the frittata, or you can add tablespoon-sized dollops of goat’s cheese to the top as well.
- Most types of potatoes will work fine for this recipe so pick whichever you like. If you’re not sure where to start, the russet potato in always a good bet.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Potato frittata, potato and thyme frittata, goat’s cheese, chevre
Alex
This was great! So many useful information and ideas.
I have a note that may come handy and (energy) efficient as you won’t have to use the oven… I do it all the time. Cook in the pan with a lid on and when the bottom is ready, rinse the lid with cold water over the sink, cover the pan, flip the frittata on it and then slide it back in the pan to cook the other side. It works perfectly 😉
Alex, Greece
Riz
Hi Alex,
Thanks so much for commenting. That’s a great tip!