Skinny Baked Frittatas

These Skinny High-Protein Baked Frittatas are the perfect anytime breakfast recipe! Perfect for meal prep and freezer friendly!

There’s just something awesome about a frittata.  They are rustic yet elegant.  They are comforting and one of my favorite anytime meals. 

Now, what prompted this whole frittata craze is I was at the store and saw the cutest little paper baking cups.  They were about 3-4″ round and about an inch high.  Immediately I knew I wanted to make frittatas in them. 

For those of you that do not have those paper baking pans, no worries. You can easily use muffin tins or those individual cake pans that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Omelet vs Frittata

Before I continue I often get asked: “What’s the difference between a frittata and omelet?” Honestly, not too much. 

The biggest difference is how they are cooked. 

• A traditional French omelet contains eggs with a splash of water (I prefer to use milk but that’s just me), a pinch of salt and pepper. Pretty simple.  Next, the eggs are whisked until very frothy and are cooked in clarified butter over medium-high heat. They are then turned out (in a rolling type fashion) where the top is still a little custardy and unset, and if made correctly, they do not have any color on them. If you’ve ever wanted to see a true master make one, watch Ludo make one. 

So when we Americans discovered the omelet we decided to ‘Americanize it’ by making it bigger, badder and more full of stuff.

An American omelet is generally cooked until mostly dry on top and golden on the bottom. And instead of rolling it out of the pan, we got lazy and just kind of folded half of it over (to help melt the cheese) and then plated. They kind of look like a taco shell.

Typically our omelets are thicker and stuffed full of … stuff. If yours are like mine they usually contain whatever I’m trying to get rid of in the fridge before it goes bad. 

When it comes to food it’s as if Italy is at war with France.  If one introduces a dish, then the other comes out with their adaptation of it. 

• Well, the frittata is Italy’s answer to the omelet. Frittatas are considerably thicker than traditional French omelets, the ingredients placed in a hot buttered pan (or muffin cup) then the egg mixture is poured over the top. 
• Traditional ones are cooked on the stovetop and then finished under the broiler. Frittatas are sliced like pie and served either warm or at room temperature.

With us skinny-fying our foods I will saute all of my ingredients, put them into individual baking cups, and then pour the eggs over top.  Or if I’m serving a crowd I’ll do the same but use a large pan. Instead of cooking mine on the stove, I bake them that way I don’t need the additional butter.  And I also use more egg whites than whole eggs.  Every little bit helps, right?

Freezer Friendly

With the way I make these I get great portion control, I can make a variety of fillings for them that way I don’t get tired of the same old thing day after day.  And, once these are baked and cooled they freeze/reheat beautifully. 

1. What I’ve been doing as of late is making a dozen over the weekend and then double wrap them in plastic wrap, stick them in a plastic freezer bag and then pop them in the freezer. 
2. Then when I’m heading out the door in the morning to work, I’ll grab one from the freezer, pop it in my lunch bag and by the time I get to the work, finish my morning workout all I need to do is pop this in the microwave or toaster oven for a few minutes and it’s total yum!  Trust me, I’ve had many co-workers follow me back to my office to see what “Lori has good today” as they put it.

What can you add to a Frittata?

The answer is – pretty much anything!

And just like American omelets, you can pretty much clean out your fridge when you make these by adding just about anything. 

The mix-ins are endless. What I love about these, over omelets you can eat these hot, warm, or even room temperature. 

They slice beautifully and are perfect for brunch. Plus if you want breakfast for dinner letting the kids make their own one can be super fun! We need to get our kids more in the kitchen and showing them that cooking and baking are fun…and delicious!

So definitely set aside a little bit of time and make a batch of these for your weekly meals. 

They are super high in protein and can be super healthy (provided you don’t add fattening foods in it… yes I hate to say it but bacon – but then everything in moderation, right?) This is on my to-do list tomorrow as I just finished my last one today.

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