After a long working day, all we need is a quick, easy and delicious dinner, possibly made with the ingredients that are easily available in our pantry. Who doesn’t have eggs and cheese in their kitchen? Can you add at least one veggie? Here you are, your dinner is halfway through. This is how our vegetarian Italian spinach frittata was born. Of course, if you don’t have an extra veggie, you can always try my easy sunny-side-up eggs recipe!
In season and available fresh in stores from October all the way to spring, spinach is a very versatile ingredient that can be used for a delicious frittata as well as savory pies, creamy spinach pasta dishes, patties, and more. Raw or cooked, spinach is also rich in flavor and health benefits.
This is a vegetarian dish because we use eggs and dairy, but if you are following a fully plant-based diet, you can easily adapt our recipe to your needs with a few little tricks.
You will immediately see that the recipe of this spinach frittata requires a few ingredients, so the secret to its success is to use fresh and organic products. Once your batter is ready, you can cook it in a pan or in the oven for a slightly lighter result as we did for our baked asparagus frittata.
If you use a good-quality non-stick pan, you are not going to need a large amount of oil so your frittata will still be light and healthy. I make it in the pan most of the time and it’s pretty easy on our stomachs.
Versatile and tasty, this spinach frittata can be enjoyed warm or cold, for brunch or dinner, and in many other ways and occasions. Read on and let’s get cooking!
Try also my perfect sunny-side-up eggs without flipping!
Spinach frittata ingredients – Tips
- Spinach can be either baby or regular. For cooking, regular spinach probably gives a tastier result and a better texture. Baby spinach, on the other hand, is more suitable to be consumed raw in salads or smoothies also because of its more delicate flavor.
- I find the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano to be the best dairy addition to this frittata. Spinach has a strong taste, so the cheese should add a more delicate flavor. Other types of cheese like pecorino or even aged cheddar are too flavorful for this dish. You are totally welcome to try different variations or to use whatever you have at home and let us know the result!
- Eggs should always come from organic farms and happy chicks.
Check out below for all the exact measurements!
Instructions for making our spinach frittata – Tips and tricks
The step that takes longer really is to wash the spinach. Especially if you have spinach that has lived in your fridge for a couple of days, you need to go through it and make sure there is no ruined piece. Separate the fresh leaves and rinse them thoroughly under running water.
While the spinach is cooking, you can go ahead and prepare the rest of the ingredients, eggs, and cheese. I like to buy my Parmigiano Reggiano in big chunks and grate it each time I need it. This way the cheese stays always fresh, once grated, it gets old pretty quickly and doesn’t taste as good anymore. A good grater to make things quick and the cheese in soft flakes!
Once the spinach is cooked, you can just blend it with the eggs to form the final batter. I like to give it a quick blend with my immersion blender directly on the pan. This is an extra step that it’s really optional, but I found it makes the spinach frittata smoother and more uniform.
Check out below for the exact steps!
Variations
- Vegan: replace the eggs with chickpea flour and the cheese with nutritional yeast or vegan cheese if you have it available.
- Stretching: adding small pieces of mozzarella or cheese curds will make every bite stretched and succulent. And if you add a few halves of previously-baked cherry tomatoes, your pizza-like frittata will be complete!
- Crunchy: sprinkling some bread crumbs on top before placing it in the oven and turning on the grill a few minutes after it’s cooked will make it soft inside and crunchy outside.
- Spicy: we love spices! To add more flavor to this frittata, you can use your favorite herbs and spices. Some of the spices that better combine with eggs and spinach are black pepper, curcuma, paprika (both sweet and smoked), nutmeg, cumin, and curry.
How to enjoy your spinach frittata
Like most frittatas, also this one is very versatile and can be served as a main dish, as a starter, or as a snack. Here are some of the ways you can enjoy this Italian spinach frittata.
- Main dish: for lunch or dinner, it can be the main course or you can cut a smaller piece to make it the second course of a two-course meal after pasta or rice. Check out our ideas for great side dishes for frittata.
- Brunch: This Italian spinach frittata is a perfect entertaining dish to be served for brunch together with other snacks and bites.
- Sandwich or piadina filling: If you are preparing your lunch for work or a picnic, this vegetarian spinach frittata can totally become your sandwich stuffing and be eaten on the go or as a picnic lunch. I like to make my own piadina, so often when we go picnicking I prepare those.
- Aperitif: are you planning to host an aperitif in your home? A plate filled with squares of vegetarian spinach frittata will get emptied pretty quickly!
Do you like frittatas? Check out our delicious mushroom and artichoke frittata recipe!
Italian spinach frittata
Equipment
- 1 Pan
- 1 immersion blender
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Grater
- 1 Fork or Whisk
Ingredients
- 400 gr fresh spinach (14 oz)
- 60 gr parmigiano reggiano cheese (grated)
- 4 eggs
- 50 ml milk (it can be any milk, also plant-based. I used unsweetened soy milk)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil (extra-virgin)
- 1 clove of garlic (optional)
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash your spinach and place them in a pan with a pinch of salt (if you are using garlic, heat it up in the pan with a drizzle of olive oil before adding the spinach). Cover and the spinach let cook over low/medium heat. Once the spinach is soft (around 10/15 minutes), gently blend it directly from the pan.
- While the spinach is cooking, in a bowl whisk the eggs. Incorporate the cheese and the milk and whisk some more.
- When the spinach is ready, let it cool down a bit, and then add it to the bowl with the eggs, cheese, and milk.
- In a good non-stick skillet, add the oil, and once hot, pour the batter. Make it even with a spatula and cover. Let it cook over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. When the bottom is crispy, flip it over and let cook for another 5 minutes on the other side.
- Serve hot or lukewarm.
Did you try this dish?
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