You Could've Been Putting Leftover Bread In Your Frittata This Whole Time
There's been a lot of talk about the price of eggs lately, which has doubled since 2022 (per Today) due to outbreaks of avian bird flu, pandemic-related supply chain issues, and inflation. But even at today's higher prices, eggs are still a good, mostly inexpensive source of protein that can be cooked hundreds of ways and last several weeks in the fridge (per the USDA).
One of the most versatile ways to cook eggs is to scramble them into a frittata. If you've never made one, a frittata is similar to a crustless quiche or a substantial omelet. There are a lot of definitions and methods for making frittatas, from size and shape to ingredients, but all you need to know is that it's an open-faced, Italian-style egg dish that can be made with almost any combination of ingredients.
You don't need a recipe to make a brunch-worthy frittata, and you can scale them up to be as big as a casserole that feeds a family, or as small as an egg or two for an individual breakfast, lunch or dinner. They're also a great way to use up cheeses, vegetables, meats and grains that you've got hanging around the kitchen. It's a dish that's pretty hard to mess up.
Ingredients can be almost anything
There are millions of frittata recipes in cookbooks and on the internet, from vegetarian to meat lovers, which are great if you're stumped on where to start. But the easiest way to make a frittata is to take a look around your kitchen and see what you already have — chances are you've got two or three ingredients that will taste great when cooked up with some eggs and cheese. Leftover vegetables are an easy choice, especially broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, olives, fresh and roasted red peppers and even peas. Frittatas are also a great way to use up fresh herbs if you bought them for a specific recipe and have some leftovers wilting away in their little plastic boxes.
Cheese and proteins are equally versatile in frittatas. If you've got a rotisserie chicken, you can shred some up and add veggies and cheese, and some salsa or tapenade for a Tex-Mex or Mediterranean take. Or you can add some roasted salmon from last night's dinner, or grab some for a steal from the Whole Foods salad bar and fold it into your eggs with some cream cheese or goat cheese.
Your supermarket's olive bar is also a smorgasbord of frittata ingredients. Just mix up a small container of cheeses and veggies, and you've got the beginnings of at least one meal prepped.
Add bread to the mix
To make your frittata a complete meal with some complex carbs, serve your easy feast with a couple of slices of whole-grain toast on the side. The New York Times suggests that you can try adding a slice of leftover frittata between two slices of bread to make an elegant egg sandwich. You could also add a handful of cooked brown rice, quinoa, or polenta to the mix, or even some leftover pasta. Or you could do what acclaimed chef Wolfgang Puck does and add some bread right into the frittata.
In a video on TikTok, Puck makes his frittata with sautéed veggies, sausage, cheese, and pieces of torn up bread. Much like bread pudding, the bread sops up a little of the egg and gives your frittata a bit of an "inside out egg sandwich" vibe (per Martha Stewart). If you're trying to use up leftovers, adding bread to your eggs is a win/win because bread is one of the world's most wasted foods (per FoodHero).
And just like bread pudding, your bread can be a little past its prime and still taste great mixed up in a frittata. In fact, it will soak up more of the eggs and seasonings if you leave the bread out for a day to dry out, like you would if you were making stuffing.