Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto
It’s Asparagus season and one of my favorite breakfast recipes is Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto. This dish highlights the bounty of Spring using roasted Asparagus, peas, and baby tomatoes mixed with an Italian blend cheese, bits of salty prosciutto and rich ricotta. It’s a beautiful looking meal and company worthy if you so choose.
Table of contents
Why you’ll love this Easy Frittata recipe
Frittata is the easiest breakfast to make for one or twelve. Easy to substitute veggies, or protein and almost foolproof right? You can double and triple the yield on the recipe card easily. I’m a huge fan of baking eggs, and if you are too, you need to check out my Weekend Breakfast Casserole that is a kitchen sink type recipe. My other absolute favorites that I’ve posted is Baked Mexican Chorizo and Eggs, and Chorizo Egg Bites for on the go.
The texture of this frittata is fluffy and airy thanks to the ricotta. Every delectable bite has a bit of cheese, veggies and pieces of salty prosciutto to round it out.
What is the difference between a Frittata, Omelette and a Casserole?
The word frittata originates from the word friggere which means to “fry” in Italian. A frittata typically has vegetables, protein and cheese and the eggs are whisked well to create a fluffy texture. Frittatas typically are made in a pan, stove top. But baking them is an perfect alternative. An omelette typically has the eggs quickly blended right before adding to the pan, and most of the time can have the ingredients mixed in and folded over with cheese melted inside. A casserole typically contains the addition of potatoes along with the veggies, protein and cheese. All of these options are great breakfast or brunch options, but this one, is a little extra special.
Preparing ingredients
Let’s prepare to make this delicious recipe!
Roasted Asparagus:
- 1/2 lb asparagus trimmed of tough ends, washed and dried
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- pinch salt Kosher
Frittata:
8 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp Italian dried herbs
1/4 tsp paprika, sweet
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8-1/4 tsp Kosher salt (optional)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese, shredded
2oz Prosciutto, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if they on the large side.
1 cup peas frozen- cooked and drained very well. Pat excess water gently with paper towel.
1 cup asparagus roasted (this is the yield from what you are roasting.)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
non stick spray
How to make Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Roasting asparagus
Trim the tough asparagus ends. Wash and dry thoroughly and place on a parchment paper lined (optional to use parchment) baking sheet. Add tablespoon of olive and pinch of kosher salt and toss well to evenly coat each asparagus spear. Ensure that the spears are evenly spaced and roast for 20 minutes or until tender. NOTE: If the asparagus you are roasting is very thin, roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and baking sheet and allow to cool. Once cooled, chop into 2 inch pieces to yield about 1 cup.
Frittata
To prepare peas, cook 1 cup to package directions. Once cooked, drain well and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Spray a 3qt casserole dish with nonstick spray. Spray well so the frittata releases easily to serve.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together with dried Italian herbs, onion powder, paprika, kosher salt and milk. (NOTE: For salt, the roasted asparagus will already be salted and prosciutto is naturally salty so I recommend adding 1/8-1/4 tsp of Kosher salt as an option). Add Italian shredded cheese, tomatoes, peas, prosciutto, asparagus spears and ricotta. Stir gently until blended.
Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with grated parmesan cheese and place in preheated oven and bake 40 minutes. The frittata will be done when the center is set and edges are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and cut into quarters for serving.
Variations
Of the best variations of this frittata is to swap out asparagus and tomatoes for sautéed bell peppers and onions. And add cooked Italian sausage in place of the prosciutto for a hearty frittata.
Substitutions
Substitutions are so easy to adapt with this frittata. All of the vegetables can be equally swapped out for your favorites. Just make sure if you are using vegetables with high moisture content like zucchini, that you roast it or cook it to remove excess liquid. Best way to cook them is to oven roast or sauté them first. Examples of vegetables with high moisture are zucchini and other squashes, mushrooms, any frozen vegetable, and spinach. I use cherry tomatoes for my recipe, but if you choose regular sizes tomatoes, remove seeds and excess liquid since there is more of it in large tomato versus a cherry or baby tomato.
Shredded cheeses can be swapped out for cheddar, Monterey jack, gruyere or any other hard cheese that you prefer. The same for the parmesan cheese, this can also be replaced by any of the hard cheeses mentioned.
How to serve Frittata
I enjoy this Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto with a side of fruit and a piece of sourdough toast. It’s a perfect breakfast and a perfect one to serve for brunch. If you are using this recipe for a brunch, I like to serve the Frittata buffet style and offer fruit, assorted pastries and a wonderful Mimosa for my guests.
How to store leftover Frittata
If you have frittata left over, place in a container with a tight lid. I prefer to keep for no more than one day. To reheat, you can choose to heat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds depending the wattage of your microwave. You can also reheat in a preheated 400F oven covered with foil paper. Ensure that the Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto is heated all the way through and you don’t have cold or lukewarm spots.
Frequently Asked Question’s
Yes, a perfect recipe for meal prep. I suggest using a muffin tin to scale into individually sized portions. They can be frozen and heated in the microwave for about 1 minute, again making sure they are heated thoroughly. Also baking time should be shortened to about 30 minutes when using muffin tins or molds.
You can, but note that it will add a little bit of liquid to frittata. When you cut into it there will be some liquid at the bottom of the dish. If you don’t mind that, (I don’t) go for the frozen peas to cut down on one step.
Yes, combine all the ingredients, cover with tightly with plastic wrap, refrigerate and bake in the morning. Make sure you use a casserole dish that can transition from cold to a hot oven without issue.
No. A frittata doesn’t have the pie crust base. For quiche, the egg mixture will always be baked in a pie shell. If you are searching of a quiche recipe, I have a Deep dish broccoli and bacon recipe as well as decadent, Lobster and Asparagus recipe.
Yes. I suggest cutting by half on the full recipe.
Black Forest ham works well from the deli counter. Or any smoked ham is great.
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Asparagus Frittata with Ricotta and Prosciutto
March 27, 2023Equipment
- 1 3 qt casserole dish
- 1 rimmed baking sheet
- parchment paper or non stick silicone baking mat optional
Ingredients
Roasted Asparagus
- 1/2 lb asparagus trimmed, washed and dried
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- pinch salt Kosher
Frittata
- 8 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk whole
- 1/2 tsp Italian dried herbs
- 1/4 tsp paprika sweet
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/8-1/4 tsp salt Kosher
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese shredded
- 2 oz prosciutto chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup peas frozen. Once cooked, drain well and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- 1 cup asparagus roasted (yield from above)
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
- non stick spray
- 1 tbsp parsley fresh, finely chopped for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Roasting asparagus
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim the tough asparagus bottom ends. Wash and dry thoroughly and place on a parchment paper lined (optional to use parchment) baking sheet.
- Add tablespoon of olive and pinch of kosher salt and toss well to evenly coat each asparagus spear. Ensure that the spears are evenly spaced and roast for 20 minutes or until tender. NOTE: If the asparagus you are roasting is very thin, roast for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and baking sheet and allow to cool. Once cooled, chop into 2 inch pieces to yield about 1 cup.
- Leave oven set to 400ºF for the frittata.
Frittata
- To prepare peas, cook 1 cup to package directions. Once cooked, drain well and pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Spray a 3qt casserole dish with nonstick spray. Spray well so the frittata can be cut and easily served.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together with dried Italian herbs, onion powder, paprika and milk.
- Add Italian shredded cheese, tomatoes, peas, prosciutto, asparagus spears and ricotta. Stir until blended.
- Pour into the prepared casserole dish. Top with grated parmesan cheese and place in preheated oven and bake 40 minutes. The frittata will be done when the center is set and edges are lightly golden.
- Remove from the oven, garnish with finely chopped parsley (optional), cut into quarters and serve with your favorite breakfast side dish.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
