Step up your egg game with this 15 minute Vegetable Frittata! It’s the simplest protein-packed meal that will satiate you and give you a brain functioning boost. No fancy ingredients or equipment necessary, just easy, flavorful, fast food.
Once upon a time I discovered what it’s like to cook in a cast iron skillet. It was love at first taste. The end.
Just kidding! I have way more to say, but that’s the short version of it for anyone to hungry to read more before getting to the recipe. I understand your struggle, whoever you are, and won’t hold it against you. Thankfully I’ve already filled up on vegetable frittata, so we have the all clear to keep chatting.
My relationship with eggs has undergone an intense transformation over the years. Whether or not I ate them as a little girl is a mystery to me (parents, feel free to share your memories here), and something tells me that it wasn’t a go-to for a long time. Hardboiled eggs made me wrinkle my nose, but only if they were cooked until the yolks turned grayish-green. Ugh. The smell still haunts me. I can’t have been the only kid to eat the whites and proceed to throw away the yolk when no one was looking, though. There’s got to be more of you out there, so speak up.
Fast forward to winter break of either eighth grade or freshman year of high school, when I stayed by my cousins to take sewing lessons instead of skiing. (Yes, I am a ninety-something granny at heart.) Lunch one day was omelettes, which I never heard of before, and couldn’t imagine liking because of the hardboiled egg trauma.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? With nothing else to eat, I resigned myself to my eggy fate. Eyes screwed shut, nose scrunched, I raised a morsel to my lips. Chew, chew, chew. Swallow. I survived! It tasted good! Lunch was saved!
Thus began a most egg-cellent journey.
I practiced my technique on my family, timing how long to cook the eggs before adding the vegetables and cheese, whether to flip or just fold, to cover or not to cover– that is the question. While working out the kinks I ventured into other territory. My days were full of plates piled high with fluffy scrambles. Sunny side ups for gloomy mornings. Baked in an avocado because I saw it on the Internet. The occasional quiche.
But none can compete with this cast iron skillet vegetable frittata.
Cooking it all in one pan that gives me the freedom to use both the stove and the oven is high up on my list of exciting discoveries. Right around the day I learned you’ll be warmer if you take off your socks in bed and when I figured out how to make decadent chocolate mousse. Even better, frittata is the answer to my morning struggles to decide what to eat with my eggs! A quick sauté in the pan before pouring in beaten eggs, then let her rip. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it’s ready in 15 minutes from start to finish.
I made this as part of my meal prep this week, then divided it wedges that I could toss in the microwave before 8:00 AM classes. When you need to focus that early in the morning, protein is a must, and eggs are full of it. They contain high levels of choline, which is the precursor to acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter in our brains that we need for proper cognitive function. Protein also helps slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, preventing major sugar crashes in the middle of your morning class or meeting.
In case you’re panicking because you don’t own a cast iron skillet, DON’T WORRY. First, you can use any oven-safe pan. Second, after you get some of this vegetable frittata in your system, go and get yourself a cast iron skillet, so that you too can experience the fairy tale ending I told you about in the first place.
One last thing before I can let you go. Now’s the time to start your egg-citing adventure. (Frit)tata for now! Ha, I crack myself up.
If you try this recipe, I’d love your feedback. Leave a comment below, save it on Pinterest, or tag #lensesandlentils on Instagram so that I can see your creations!
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chopped mushrooms
- ⅓ cup shredded carrots
- ¼ cup frozen peas
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- black pepper
- Preheat the oven to broil.
- Heat the oil in an 8-inch cast iron skillet on the stove, making sure to coat the sides as well, then turn to low and sauté the garlic for 1 minute.
- Add in the mushrooms, carrots, and peas, stirring occasionally for 4 more minutes.
- Beat the eggs, almond milk, nutritional yeast, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour over the vegetables and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the edges begin to set.
- Place in the oven on the top shelf and broil for 2-3 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat to serve.
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