It’s the beginning of September and that is still summer, despite my local grocery store stocking huge amounts of Christmas cookies already (unbelievable). This late summer vegetable frittata makes best use of the cross-section of vegetables available at this time of year. Sweet pepper, mushrooms, and hardy greens make up the fillings here with eggs and spices rounding out the base.
You might see that ingredient shot and think but Alexandra, kale?! Kale, in early September? Yes, well, they had it at the market when I photographed this recipe and even though there hasn’t been a frost yet I still like kale. We were eating kale all summer in Sweden already and I think it’s fine even before frost – just a bit less sweet. (In the Oldenburg area in Germany, where most of my family live, kale is not eaten until around the beginning of November, and then celebrated all winter long with tours and festivals.)
Frittatas are often served for breakfast but we more typically have them for a weekend lunch or weekday dinner. It’s relatively quick, filling, and easy to make – an excellent meal as is or with a bit of whole grain bread.
Recipe Rundown: Vegetable Frittata
- Flavour: a good sweet pepper will really come through here and be the primary flavour, but you will also get some meatiness from the mushrooms and a mild egg taste. Depending on add-ins (see below) this will change.
- Texture: a properly baked vegetarian fritatta will have a light, silky texture. Overbaking will result in rubbery eggs so make sure to check that it’s not going over.
- Difficulty: medium. You have a couple steps to get right here and it’s important that the oven is preheated to the correct temperature and that you bake the frittata until just set to avoid overdoing it. Read through the instructions carefully if it’s your first time.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms: any mushroom you like. Wild mushrooms are excellent here, especially boletes. If you don’t like mushrooms you can use more of another vegetable like zucchini but you will lose out in terms of texture.
- Red pepper: I almost never use green or yellow peppers (they’re the same pepper type, just not fully ripe) because they lack flavour. You can use any type of sweet pepper for this recipe depending on what your personal preference is.
- Greens: use any hardy greens. Rucola (rocket/arugula), chard, kale, spinach, beet greens, whatever you have on hand and like.
- Milk: I’ve only tested this recipe with non-dairy milk (oat and soya) but dairy milk will, of course, work perfectly. If you want a richer dish you replace some of the milk with cream.
For more egg-based mains, try my leek asparagus frittata, green monster swiss chard frittata, and beets and green tart.
Step by Step Photos
Step 1: beat the egg mixture and set aside. You can do this while the veg is cooking if you’re a keen multitasker.
Step 2: cook the vegetables in a frying pan, searing off the mushrooms and cooking the onion in particular.
Step 3: add the vegetables and eggs to a baking dish.
Step 4: bake until puffed and lightly golden around the edges.
How to Store
Storage: keep for five days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It’s quite good cold but can be gently reheated if you prefer. Reheat slices on a baking sheet in the oven for about five minutes at 180°C (350°F).
Freezing: transfer cooled slices to an airtight container and freeze up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat in the oven.
Expert Tips
- Check your oven temperature: if your oven tends to run cold, you’ll run into problems when baking things like this that need that heat to puff properly. I sometimes work with an oven from the 90s and it runs about 40°C below the temperature it’s set to, but I always use an additional oven thermometre, so I know the actual temperature.
- Don’t over-bake: the centre should be just barely set, puffy and no longer wet looking. As soon as it reaches that point, the fritatta is baked. It will continue to set as it cools for a few minutes before serving.
- Using egg whites: it is simply too much trouble and a waste to separate eggs to use all or more egg whites than yolks – the yolk is the good part! It’s delicious!
- Preheat the dish: the easiest thing to do is to bake your fritatta in the pan you fry the vegetables in, but most people won’t have a large enough oven-safe frying pan to do that. The best alternative is to place the baking dish in the oven while it preheats and then transfer the vegetables and egg mixture to that as outlined here.
More Late Summer Mains
Pesto Pizza
Summer Roasted Vegetable Baked Eggs
Mushroom Fajitas
Vegan Burrito Bowl
If you make this Vegetable Frittata recipe or any other vegetarian dinner recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Late Summer Vegetable Frittata
Description
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 50 ml non-dairy milk
- ½ teaspoon sea salt adjust to personal preference
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes optional
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 150 grams mushrooms
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 large red pepper
- 2 handfuls hardy greens ~3 stalks kale, 4-5 stalks chard, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). If using a separate baking dish (see notes), place it in the oven while it preheats.
- Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the milk, salt, pepper, and optional hot pepper flakes. Whisk well, until foamy. Set aside.6 large eggs, 50 ml non-dairy milk, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- Heat a large frying pan* over medium heat. While preheating, slice the mushrooms and onion, and cut the red pepper into rough pieces about 5cm (2 in.) in length. Roughly chop the greens if using large leaves like kale, but no need to chop spinach.
- Once the pan is hot, add the mushrooms. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the onion and cook for another five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the pepper and cook for another five minutes. The vegetables should cook for 15 minutes total but should be added in this order. Stir in the greens to wilt.1 tablespoon oil, 150 grams mushrooms, 1 medium red onion, 1 large red pepper, 2 handfuls hardy greens
- Take the now hot baking dish out of the oven and add transfer the vegetables to it. Pour the egg mixture into the dish.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the centre is puffed and just set. It shouldn't look at all wet but will still be very slightly wobbly.
- Cool your vegetable frittata for about ten minutes before slicing and serving. It will continue to set as it cools. It's normal for the frittata to deflate as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.