I love that frittatas can be made with just about anything. As long as you have some fresh eggs and a few vegetables, you can make a frittata. Add some cheese and spices to make things even tastier. This Potato Crusted Spinach Frittata came to me one night when I was trying to come up with a quick dinner. What a fantastic experiment it turned out to be!
My stepdaughter loves all things potato. A few weeks ago I realized we had some leftover frozen hash browns– not enough for everyone to share, but I couldn’t let them go to waste. You all know I love a good breakfast-for-dinner (“brinner”) – and while my family loves my easy scrambled eggs (they are the best!), they’re always game to try something new. Suddenly the idea came to me – potato crusted frittata. It was so easy and such a success that I had to share it here.
This potato-crusted frittata is sort of like my own riff on the Spanish tortilla de patatas… and with Passover right around the corner, it could make a terrific easy mid-week meal.
Every regional cuisine has their own version of this eggy entree, from French omelets to Chinese egg foo yung to Spanish tortillas. The Italian expression “hai fatto una frittata,” which loosely translates to “you’ve made quite a mess,” is fitting given that the only required ingredients are beaten eggs, while the rest can be just about anything in your refrigerator.
In Italian kitchens, cooks will sometimes set aside the leftovers from a big meal to use in a frittata the following day. It’s unclear when the frittata first started making an appearance in Italy, but given that they can be made with simple, inexpensive ingredients, it seems likely that they’ve been around for quite some time.
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Potato Crusted Spinach Frittata
Ingredients
- 1 pound russet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes), peeled
- 6 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese (you can omit the cheese to make this frittata dairy free)
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Shred the russet potatoes to fine shreds using a hand grater or a food processor.
- Place the shreds in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let them sit for a few minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
- Beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water, salt and pepper until fluffy. I usually use around ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper (add less salt if using feta cheese, which is quite salty). Reserve the eggs.
- Place a cast iron skillet on the stove and heat over medium high. While heating, drain the shreds in a colander, then place them in the middle of a clean tea towel.
- Squeeze the shreds in the tea towel to remove excess liquid.
- When the skillet is hot, pour 3 tbsp olive oil into it. It should be hot enough that you’ll see wisps of smoke coming from the surface. Immediately spread out the shreds into the bottom of the skillet, forming an even layer of shreds along the bottom. The shreds will sizzle.
- Cover the skillet with a lid (any pot lid that covers the top will do) and reduce heat to medium. Let the potatoes cook for 2 minutes. Uncover the skillet. Spread out the chopped spinach evenly across the top of the potatoes in a single layer. Recover the skillet for 1 minute longer until the spinach is slightly wilted.
- Uncover the skillet and sprinkle evenly with the crumbled cheese.
- Re-beat the eggs, then pour evenly across the top of the cheese to cover.
- Place the skillet into the preheated oven and let it cook at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the skillet comes out clean. Remove the frittata from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes on the stovetop. Serve. The potatoes will form a golden brown crust on the bottom of each piece of frittata. Delicious!
Nutrition
So quick and easy and delicious. My kids thought it tasted like latkes. Delicious even without cheese.
Loved the potato crust. I didn’t have feta or goat cheese, so I used gruyere. Always looking for good vegetarian recipes that are quick and delicous. I will definitely make this again.
I did a little tweaking with some additional veggies (red peppers, green onions) for color and a small amount of cubed ham (to trick my husband into eating it… “no honey! This isn’t healthy!”). Also, thinly sliced some Roma tomatoes and laid them on top for a little pop of color. Forgot to take a picture but I will be sure to add one the next time I make it.
This was a hit with my family.
First attempt as indicated in the recipe.
In the second attempt, I used frozen Trader Joe’s frozen hashbrown potatoes (454g), increased spinach to 70g, eggs to 7, added 3 green onions and 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic.
Cooked the frozen hashbrowns for 5 minutes, and increased overall cooking time from 12 to 14~15 minutes. It was done when the top reached a very slight brown in spots.
Hi Tori; I do not have a cast iron skillet. Can a caphalon skillet work as well? If so will the time in oven change?? I am anxious to try this recipe.
Hi Dana, as long as the skillet is nonstick and the handle is heat-safe (not plastic) you should be fine!
Can you use frozen hash browns???
Yes, just need to thaw them enough to spread evenly on the surface of the pan.
Hi, quick question. Your notes say to use a lid on your cast iron pan but you dont show the picture. Where did you buy yours? I searched Amazon and there are several different types.
Thanking you in as advance for your response.
I just use a lid from another pot I own that happens to fit over the skillet. It doesn’t need to be a perfect fit.
I realize this may be not gourmet-style, but could I substitute frozen hash browns for fresh potatoes? Just two of us so I don’t keep fresh on hand.
I love your newsletter and recipes btw! This looks awesome!!
Absolutely! I have done that and it works great. The seasoned hash browns tend to have a lot of salt, so try to find unseasoned if you can to avoid oversalting.
Once again you have given us a reliable recipe, and one that is open to many variations. I have made it three times and next time I will put caramelized onions on top of the potatoes . Also, I used an old, worn out T shirt to dry the potatoes , so I could just toss it afterwards. I transferred the dry potatoes back to the strainer, so I wouldn’t set the shirt on fire getting them into the pan! I put goat cheese on half, cheddar on the other. Love this.
Very happy you like it!
I made this for brunch and it was awesome ! Id been wanting to make a quiche , but my company has celiac so needed an alternative and this was perfect.
I used 2 whole baking potatoes which ended up being arelynd 2 pounds potatoes , so I needed to add two addl eggs and a little more cheese.
I was worried the egg mixture wouldn’t incorporate evenly throughout , but it baked up ok.
I’ll def make this again , and with different ingredients! Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe!
Glad to hear it Mary! I also really enjoy this recipe and make all kinds of variations on it. 🙂
The trick to keep potatoes from turning brown is cover with water?
Hi Bev, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. Yep! That’s the trick. The water keeps the potatoes from being exposed to the air and oxidizing aka turning brown.