Instant Pot Frittata. The classic egg dish, pressure cooked in a springform pan in my Instant Pot, with lots of variations. (And yes, it really works!)
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Pam Anderson's How to Cook Without a Book, taught me how to cook. Her book teaches basic techniques, not recipes. And the first technique in the book is the Big Dinner Frittata. I've made frittatas ever since, with whatever I can find in my refrigerator and pantry.
I stumbled across the idea of a pressure cooked frittata. My first thought was, "that will never work." My second thought was, "waitaminute - a frittata is like an egg-heavy cheesecake, right?" And I love making Instant Pot Cheesecake recipes. (So many Instant Pot Cheesecake recipes.)
🛠 Equipment
- A 6-quart pressure cooker
- A 7-inch by 3-inch baking pan, or 7-inch springform pan and a piece of 7-inch round parchment paper
- A rack or trivet with handles. I love this Pressure Cooker Bakeware Sling
Ingredient Options
- Eggs: Six large eggs or 1¼ cups of egg whites.
- Potatoes: any type of potato (including sweet potato), peeled or skin left on for a more rustic look, diced
- ½ pound protein: Sausage (any type), bacon, ham, or beans, sliced or diced into small pieces.
- 1 medium-large onion, diced
- Plus vegetables: Another ½ cup of vegetables. Pick one or more of the following:
- Tough vegetables (optional), added with the potatoes to steam: asparagus, broccoli, kale, or other vegetables that need more cooking time, diced or chopped into small pieces
- Tender vegetables (optional), added with the onions to sauté: Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, kale, or other vegetables that need a quick sauté, diced or cut into small pieces
- Cheese: 4 ounces shredded or grated cheese. I like pre-shredded blends, or just shredded cheddar cheese.
- Herbs: Basil, thyme, parsley, cilantro, green onions. Mince the herbs
How to Make an Instant Pot Frittata - the Basic Technique
Here are the steps to make an Instant Pot Frittata
- Prep the pan: Coat the inside of a 7-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray
- Eggs: Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until they are a little bubbly. Stir in most of the cheese, most of the minced herbs, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, and ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper.
- Steam-sauté the Potatoes and tough vegetables (optional): Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in an Instant Pot set to sauté mode until the oil shimmers. Add ½ cup diced potato and any tough vegetables, pour in ½ cup of water, cover the pot, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes brown on the bottom. Scrape the potatoes out of the pot (they'll want to stick) and stir them into the bowl of eggs.
- Protein: Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pot and add the protein. (If you're using bacon, skip the oil, it has enough fat already). Sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Onion and tender vegetables: Add the diced onion and the tender vegetables to the pot, and stir into the protein. Sauté until the onions soften and the protein browns around the edges, about 5 more minutes. Scoop the protein, onion, and vegetables into the egg mixture, and stir.
- Pour the loaded eggs into the springform pan, and sprinkle with the last bit of cheese.
- Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot, add a rack with handles, and carefully lower the springform pan into the pot.
- Lock the lid and pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the frittata, then scoop it out
- Done!
Variations
Here are some of my favorite combinations of options, mainly based on the types of omelets I can get at the restaurant:
- Country frittata: Potatoes, breakfast sausage, onions, shredded cheddar, no herbs
- Western frittata: Diced ham, onions, green and/or red bell peppers, shredded cheddar, no herbs
- Vegetable frittata: Potatoes, mushrooms, onions, red bell peppers, baby spinach, fresh thyme. (This is the version for the vegetarians in your life.)
- Southwestern frittata: No potato. Bacon, onions, canned diced green peppers, black beans, and chopped green onion.
💡Tips and Tricks
Cleaning the pot after sautéing and steaming potatoes
Steam-sautéing the potatoes makes them tender, but leaves a lot of potato starch stuck to the bottom of the pot. Use a nonstick inner pot if you have one, and then the starch will scrape up easily with a flat-edged wooden spoon. If you don't have a Nonstick pot, do three things:
- Extra oil: Add an extra tablespoon of vegetable oil in the beginning when you sauté the potatoes.
- Keep scraping: Scrape the bottom when the potatoes are done, and keep scraping with every subsequent step. You'll get some more of the potato starch in the sausage, and the onions and peppers.
- Simmer a little water: When all the sautéing is done, and the last ingredient is added to the bowl of eggs, add a cup of water to the pot and let it simmer while you mix the ingredients and fill the baking dish. Then, right before you add the baking dish to the pot for pressure cooking, scrape the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon - the simmering water will loosen a lot of the stuff stuck to the bottom. Scrape out as much starch as possible, dump the water out of the pot, and add a cup of fresh water for the pressure cooking step.
- Don't cover the baking dish with foil: I don't cover the dish. It cooks more evenly (and a lot faster) if you don't cover the frittata with foil. Steam will collect in the top of the dish while the frittata is pressure cooking, and that's OK. I use the edge of a folded paper towel to gently absorb the water after cooking.
Use a 7-inch springform pan with baking parchment rounds
I don't have a 7-inch baking dish, so I use the same springform pan I use for my cheesecakes. But, to ensure no egg leaks from the bottom of the pan, I put a 7-inch parchment paper round in the bottom before spraying it with the nonstick cooking spray. The advantage to the springform pan is it's easy to release the frittata - remove the sides, and you're ready to slice, no need to awkwardly scoop the first piece of frittata out of the pan.
Making your own parchment rounds
If you don't have pre-cut parchment, you can cut your own. Cut it a little bit larger than the bottom of the pan, so it comes up the sides just a touch.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Frittata
I consider frittata a one-pot (pan?) meal. I serve it with a big salad and bread.
Print
Instant Pot Frittata Recipe - Basic Technique with Variations
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 slices 1x
Description
Instant Pot Frittata. The classic egg dish, pressure cooked in a springform pan in my Instant Pot, with lots and lots of variations. (And yes, it really works!)
Adapted from: Pam Anderson, How to Cook Without a Book
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs, beaten
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 4 ounces Shredded Italian cheese (I used a 4 cheese blend including Asiago, Fontina, Parmesan, and Provolone)
- 1 tablespoon minced basil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound red potatoes, peeled (if you like) and cut into a ½-inch dice
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup water
- ½ pound bulk Italian sausage (or Italian sausage links, casing removed)
- ½ pound onion (1 medium to large onion), diced
- ½ pound diced bell pepper (1 medium pepper)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Prep the pan: Spray the inside of the 7-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. If using a springform pan, put the 7-inch parchment round in the bottom before spraying.
- Whisk the eggs: Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk until they are bubbling and frothy. Stir in the ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper, most of the shredded cheese, and most of the minced basil. (Save a little of the shredded cheese and minced basil for later.)
- Steam-sauté the potatoes: Set an Instant Pot to Sauté mode adjusted to high. (Use medium-high heat in other pressure cookers). Add the oil, and heat it until it starts to shimmer, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes in a single layer. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and pour in ½ cup water. Cover the pot (use a non-pressure lid if you have one) and let the potatoes steam for five minutes. Scrape the potatoes loose from the bottom of the pot, and scoop them into the bowl of eggs with a slotted spoon.
- Sauté the protein: Add the bulk sausage to the pot and cook, breaking it up occasionally, until it is cooked through and starting to brown on the edges, about 3 minutes. Scoop the sausage into the bowl of eggs.
- Sauté the tender vegetables: Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and sauté until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Scoop the vegetables into the bowl of eggs.
- Eggs into the baking dish: Stir the bowl of eggs until all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Pour the bowl of eggs into the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
- Prep the pot for pressure cooking: Wipe out the inner pot, put it back in the pressure cooker base, and add a cup of water. Put the dish with the eggs on a rack with handles, and carefully lower the rack into the pot.
- Pressure cook for 12 minutes with a 10 minute natural release: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker (Use "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" mode set for 12 minutes in an Instant Pot), or for 10 minutes in a stovetop pressure cooker. Let the pressure in the pot come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Unlock the lid and carefully lift the frittata out of the cooker.
- Slice and serve: If a little water collected in the top of the baking dish, use a paper towel to gently soak it up. Run a paring knife around the edge of the frittata to loosen it from the sides. (If you're using a springform pan, remove the springform before slicing.) Slice the frittata into pieces, and lift the pieces out with a spatula. (The first slice is always tricky.)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
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Jennifer W says
Looks great!
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks! It is great, give it a try. 😀