Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Frittata (2024)

FAQs

What cheese is best for frittata? ›

For a standard 12-egg frittata, stir in about one cup (shred it first). Want to top the eggs with cheese, too? Shoot for ¼ to ½ cup more. If it's an oozing texture you're after, pick cheeses that have superior melting quality: "This is your cheddar, gruyère, and fontina," says Perry.

Forgetting to add milk or cream.

This is the ingredient that gives frittatas their signature creamy, fluffy texture. Without this important addition, frittatas cook up flatter and a bit more dense. Follow this tip: After whisking the eggs together, be sure to whisk in some milk or cream.

If meat and vegetables figure into your frittata, cook them in the pan before you add your eggs—and I leave mine ever so slightly underdone. That way, they don't get soggy when they keep cooking in the oven (and I tend to like my vegetables with a little “bite” anyway, but it's a personal preference).

Never use uncooked vegetables in a frittata

Therefore, if you add them to the mixture raw, you'll end up with a watery frittata with undercooked vegetables. That's precisely why leftover vegetables are traditionally used, so while you could use fresh vegetables, you'll need to sauté them beforehand.

The Frittata Formula

Frittatas are incredibly simple. For every six large eggs, you'll want to mix in ¼ cup of milk or cream, ¼ cup of cheese, and about 3 cups of meat or vegetables. The small amount of milk and cheese keeps the eggs soft and creamy and the meat and vegetables give you endless options.

Tough vegetables like potatoes, squash and onions need to be pre-cooked since they will not have time enough to soften before the eggs are done. Raw meats such as bacon and sausage also need more time and heat to cook through safely, so get them prepped before your other ingredients.

The longer you cook an egg, the more likely it is to form a green coating on the yolk. Submerging an egg in ice water immediately stops the cooking. The green-gray color (and the whiff of sulfur smell that often accompanies it) comes from the reaction of iron in the egg yolk and sulfur in the egg white.

The eggs should be cooked through, not runny and a knife should come out clean when inserted into the centre. You can also give the skillet a gentle shake to determine if it is done; a runny frittata will jiggle when you shake the skillet.

Replace cover on the skillet, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the egg is lightly browned on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip the frittata and cook until the bottom is again lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes more.

The egg to dairy ratio: If you are making a smaller frittata use 6 eggs and 1/4 cup of dairy, and if you are making a larger frittata use 12 eggs and 1/2 cup of dairy. You can use milk, sour cream, yogurt, milk kefir, or any other form of dairy you have on hand - just make sure it is full fat.

What size pan is best for frittata? ›

It's important to pull it from the oven before it's completely finished. The size of your pan is important- general rule of thumb- a 12 egg frittata should ideally be cooked in a 11-inch pan, a 6 egg frittata should be cooked in a 9-inch pan.

The Frittata Ratio to Memorize

So how do you make a great frittata every time without always using a recipe? The answer is a ratio. For every six eggs, use 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1 cup cheese, and 2 cups total of vegetables and/or meat.

Just be sure too avoid adding anything with too much liquid.

Too much liquid will prevent your frittata from setting and, in some cases, make it kind of watery. For that reason, he warns against adding milk, and he recommends draining any vegetables that create a lot of water.

As the frittata bakes, the eggs will expand and puff up. That can leave them with a spongy texture that's dry and unappealing. You want to combine the eggs well, but stop once everything is fully incorporated.

A frittata is always going to deflate some after you take it out of the oven, you cannot prevent that. Air and the moisture in the egg expands as they heat, causing the frittata to grow. While it is grown in size the egg hardens, trapping the expanded gasses and stabilizing the structure.

I love the creamy goat cheese, but you could also substitute feta or any other soft cheese. Technique tip: I like to use a springform pan because it gives for a really nice presentation of the frittata.

We usually choose Edam, Gouda, or Cheddar, but other semi-hard cheeses you love will work too. We would usually make this recipe on weekends when we love to slow down and enjoy the morning with freshly scrambled eggs and sourdough bread, but honestly, they are perfect on any day of the year.

Jack cheese is mild and melts beautifully, making it the perfect scrambled egg addition. You can have it in its plainest form — Monterey Jack — or try other versions, like Pepper Jack or Colby Jack. Both of these still retain the perfect melting qualities of the Jack but add another flavor dimension.