Egg White Frittata, served with Green Chiles

At a glance

What stands out: This egg white frittata is loaded with the great flavors of green chiles, scallions, cheese, and spinach. It’s a lighter vegetarian start to your day and it’s packed with protein. Reliable for meal prepping!

How long it takes: 50 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: oven, oven safe skillet
Servings: 8

Our obsession with green chiles is probably old news to you by now, but we just love the flavor and mild heat they add to a recipe. If you haven’t used them and are scared off by the word “chile,” don’t be! They aren’t spicy at all and they add memorable flavor to recipes. We especially love them in creamy, cheesy recipes like our green chile mac and cheese.

If you’re still feeling skittish about the chiles, you may leave them out of this recipe and it will still taste fantastic. However, we'd encourage you to give them a try!

Recipe Tip

Don’t feel like making a whole frittata? We love to keep green chiles in the fridge to make a speedy egg white omelet with. They add such fantastic flavor!

This straightforward egg white frittata is packed full with nutritious spinach and has lots of flavor thanks to the green chiles and green onions.

Recipe Tip

Did you know you can freeze green onions? We often buy them to garnish a southwestern recipe or chili and don’t use them all. We slice them and throw them in a freezer bag and then we use them in our eggs or stir-fry recipes. They’re great in fried rice or cauliflower rice, too!

We use two kinds of cheese in this frittata: cottage cheese and cheddar cheese. The cottage cheese adds creaminess and tons of protein. The cheddar cheese adds the great flavor that you crave from cheese. We like to use the sharpest cheddar we can get our hands on!

How it comes together

Making this egg white frittata (and any frittata) is straightforward! It goes like this:

1. In an oven-safe skillet, sauté vegetables until nice and soft!
2. In a bowl, whisk together eggs and cheese. Pour over vegetables and stir to combine.
3. Move to a preheated oven and bake until eggs are set in the center.
4. Serve hot, warm, or cold!

Keeping leftovers

This frittata reheats well in the microwave if you want to make it ahead and have it available for speedy and straightforward weekday breakfasts. It will keep for 4 days in the fridge or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 35 minutes
• Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ cup thinly sliced green onions ( 4 green onions)
• 1 can (4.5 oz.) diced mild green chiles
• 4 cups firmly packed baby spinach leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups liquid egg whites
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. In an oven-safe skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add green onions and green chiles, and sauté until green onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Add spinach and stir and continue to cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. You can cover the pan for 1 to 2 minutes to speed the process of wilting the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste, keeping in mind that the cheese will add saltiness.
3. Pour the egg whites, cheddar cheese, and cottage cheese into the skillet on top of the vegetables, stirring to combine.
4. Carefully transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until eggs are set in the center. To check, insert a knife in the center. It should come out clean.
5. Cool the frittata slightly before slicing into wedges and serving. May be served hot, room temperature, or even cold.

Notes

Serving suggestions: we love serving this with fresh fruit or a side of fresh tomatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper. The tomatoes are great with avocados added in, too! It’s low-calorie so it would also be great with some roasted potatoes or a slice of whole-grain toast.

Storage: If you’re making this ahead, store slices in an airtight container. If you have more than one layer, place parchment paper between the layers. This will also help if there is excess moisture.

Using whole eggs: If you’d prefer to use whole eggs rather than egg whites, use 10 whole eggs instead of 3 cups of egg whites.