Healthy Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Frittata
This healthy frittata recipe from The Whole Smiths features broccoli, chicken and cheddar and is absolutely mouth-watering and great for meal prepping. It’s gluten-free and can easily be made paleo, Whole30 compliant or dairy-free.
Frittata love
The Smiths love frittatas. Personally, I like any and all frittatas as does Brad. I love how easy they are to make, how well they reheat and how tasty they are. I also love that there are endless varieties of frittatas that you can make.
Other than this healthy frittata recipe with chicken, cheddar and broccoli, I have a Salmon Breakfast Frittata and a Carnitas Frittata that you can check out.
Another Smith favorite is my Apple + Cherry Frittata. I know, fruit in an egg dish? Yep! In fact, it’s the kids’ absolutely favorite breakfast. They’ve even dubbed it a “fruit-tata”. Clever, aren’t they?
I think it’s safe to say that frittatas are quite versatile. You can make them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They pack up and reheat quite easily while retaining their flavor and texture and you can add all sorts of ingredients to them. Now that our frittata love is well established, let’s move on with this Broccoli Chicken + Cheddar Frittata, shall we?
Frittata ingredients.
While reading this recipe title should give you enough insight into the ingredients, I have a few tips for each these ingredients that will take your frittata to its tastiest. When cooking with just a few ingredients, I find the method that you prepare the individual ingredients is what’s key in maximizing flavor of the recipe.
So let’s start with the broccoli. Sure you could just throw the broccoli in raw with everything and let it bake in the oven forever but you’d ultimately overcook the eggs and have a rubbery, less than desirable outcome.
Instead, I chose to lightly roast the broccoli in the oven ahead of time. Not only does this get the broccoli to the appropriate level of doneness but it adds more flavor
than say, steaming it, would.
I also made sure to chop the broccoli into small, bite-sized pieces. There’s nothing worse than digging into a frittata and find a giant climb of something in it. You shouldn’t need a knife to eat a frittata.
Next up we have the chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this recipe because, quite frankly, it was what I had on hand. But truthfully, the thighs will give you more flavor anyways.
But again, we don’t want to just boil the chicken. There’s no flavor in that! Instead, I fried them up in the same cast iron skillet I’m using to cook the frittata in. Not only will that give a nice golden crust to the chicken but will flavor the rest of the frittata.
And finally the cheese. This one’s easy. A medium cheddar grated. That’s it!
Making the perfect healthy frittata.
It’s taken years of making frittatas to come up with the perfect frittata technique and ingredients combination. We’ve made a lot of frittatas over the years to come up with this so I’m here to lay it all out for you.
First off the eggs. 10 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 cup of milk (I prefer a lite coconut milk) make up the perfect egg texture for the base of your frittata. You’ll want to appropriately salt the ingredients you add into your frittata but as far as the egg base, that’s it.
I also find that pre-cooking it a bit on the stove helps speed up the cooking so the eggs cooks and curdles to the right texture. To do so you need to use a cast iron pan that can start on the stovetop and move to the oven. Make sure that cast iron skillet is well seasoned and oiled to prevent any sticking.
And finally, the ingredients! Pick a protein and chop up about 2 cups of it. Add another cup or two of a veggie of your choice and cheese if you will. Fresh herbs are also great, about a tablespoon.
And that’s it! Follow that outline and you’re on your way to frittata perfection every time!
Frittata supplies.
Fortunately, the supply list for making a frittata is at a minimum. However, you’ll want to make sure you have just what you need. First being a 10-inch cast iron pan. This is crucial, it really enables the frittata to cook up perfectly. Besides, I think every household needs a cast iron pan.
Remember how I talked about maximizing flavor in the ingredients that you’re using? Well this is a flavor maker. Every time for any dish.
Next, you want a good spatula to scrape any bits off the pan prior to pouring the eggs in and to lightly scrape the pan as you stir it. But you can’t use a metal spatula on a cast iron surface, so what to do?
These wooden spatulas are perfect! They’re non-stick but unlike other wooden spatulas have a finer ti[ that enables you to scrape things up a bit easier.
And that’s it! Now you know all you need to know about the ingredients, techniques and supplies to make yourself the perfect frittata.
How can I make this healthy frittata recipe Whole30?
The cheese in this recipe makes this recipe non-compliant to the Whole30 program. You can simply hit the cheese or add 1/4 of a cup of nutritional yeast to the beaten eggs to add a “cheesy” flavor.
Help! My frittata always sticks to the pan! What can I do?
First off, make sure your cast iron pan is well seasoned, that helps prevent the stick. Second, scrape up any remaining bits of chicken from the pan while you are sautéing the onions. Not only will that help prevent stick while the onions release some liquid into the pan but it will add even more chicken-y goodness into your frittata. If all else fails, add a touch more oil to the pan prior pouring the eggs in.
How long will this recipe keep?
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
I don’t like the taste of coconut, can I substitute the coconut milk?
Yep! No problem. Either regular dairy milk or almond will work. But I tell you what. I can
promise you that you won’t even taste the coconut milk. I prefer the texture the coconut milk adds over the almond but rest assured the almond milk will work as well.
Do I have to use chicken thighs? My kids don’t like dark meat.
Yep, yep. Any kind of chicken will do. Just shred or chop it up and you’re good to go. In fact, you can even use steak. Whatever leftover protein you have will do!
Tips for making this healthy frittata recipe:
- Don’t over mix your eggs once you pour them into the pan. Make slow love to those eggs and let them do their thing. Stirring to vigorously will result in a less velvety texture.
- While stirring and folding the eggs, make sure to get the eggs off the bottom of the pan. If they sit too long the bottom will burn and no one likes that.
- Feel free to use the egg base of this recipe to create other combinations.
Broccoli Chicken Cheddar Frittata
Ingredients
- 3 cups bite-sized broccoli florets
- 3 1/2 tsps oil
- 2 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 10 eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350* F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the broccoli, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl.
- Spread the broccoli florets into an even layer on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until the broccoli is tender.
- Season the chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon of the salt.
- Heat a 10-inch cast iron pan over medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil to the pan.
- Once the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs to the pan and cook them for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken thighs from the pan and let them cool. Once cool, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the same pan that you cooked the chicken in. If the pan is dry add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to the pan, otherwise cook it in the remaining oil. Cook the onions for 7 to 8 minutes, occasionally stirring until they are soft and lightly browned.
- Add the cooked broccoli and chicken back into the skillet.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the coconut milk to the beaten eggs and combine.
- Pour the eggs into the pan. Use a spatula to lightly stir and fold the eggs, creating large curds.
- Add the cheddar cheese and lightly stir the eggs for an additional 30 seconds. Top with fresh ground pepper to taste.
- Place the cast iron pan into the oven and bake it at 350* F for 8 to 10 minutes until it’s set. Let the frittata rest 5 to 10 minutes prior to serving it.
Notes
- Don’t over mix your eggs once you pour them into the pan. Make slow love to those eggs and let them do their thing. Stirring to vigorously will result in a less velvety texture.
- While stirring and folding the eggs, make sure to get the eggs off the bottom of the pan. If they sit too long the bottom will burn and no one likes that.
- Feel free to use the egg base of this recipe to create other combinations.
