A delicious quick dinner or brunch option, this sausage and kale or Swiss chard frittata takes just minutes to make. It uses healthy greens and the sausage of your choice to make a meal everyone will love. Add a salad and some crusty bread and you're set.
I raved about frittatas here because they really are a great way to use up food in a way that's delicious and healthy. Having recipes like this sausage, kale or Swiss chard frittata in your back pocket can really help to reduce food waste in the kitchen.
But that's not the main reason frittatas find their way onto our menus so often. No, it's because they are quick, easy, and so yummy that everybody loves them!
Whether it's using chard or kale and sausage like this recipe, chicken and spinach like this one, or potatoes and caramelized onions like this recipe, frittatas will have your back when it comes to meal planning.
What is a Frittata?
A frittata is a base of eggs to which you add anything you want and cook it all in a skillet. They are started on the stovetop and then finished either under a broiler or heated in the oven.
They are frugal, since you can use up all your little leftover pieces of meat and vegetables, super easy, but best of all - VERY tasty.
I make this sausage-greens frittata again often using any I have on hand - chard, kale, or spinach - and any type of sausage, though we really like a spicy sausage.
You can even make this plant-based and leave out the sausage, it's up to you - it's a pretty flexible recipe.
Sausage & Kale or Swiss Chard Frittata
Ingredients
You only need 7 ingredients for this recipe (without counting salt and pepper and oil for the pan):
- onion
- garlic
- sausage, any kind
- greens like chard, kale or spinach
- eggs
- milk (or water if you don't do dairy)
- cheese (or non-dairy equivalent)
I'm using Parmesan here, but have used feta, goat, and all kinds of shredded cheese. It's a pretty flexible recipe - I've even used bits of other vegetables like peppers and broccoli or leftover meats like chicken or bacon. Play around with it!
Directions
Add chopped onion and garlic to a large oven-proof skillet and cook until the onion is starting to brown, then add the sausage (my sausage is precooked, but if yours is raw, add it a little sooner and cook it with the onion).
Add the chopped kale or chard, cover and let the greens steam while mixing up the eggs and water. You'll stir in some of the cheese into the eggs and leave some for a topping.
Pour the egg mixture over the ingredients in the pan. Do not stir. Cook over medium heat until the edges of the eggs are set.
Then using a spatula, gently pull up on the edges while tipping the pan, allowing the raw egg in the middle to run to the edge and under the cook egg. Do this all around the edge until most of the raw egg is gone. (TIP: Go to this recipe to see this illustrated.)
Put the frittata under the broiler and cook until no raw egg is left, about 4 minutes - poke a knife in the middle to make sure the egg is cooked. Since ovens vary, I'd keep a close eye on it - it can start burning very quickly.
TIP: If you don't have a pan that oven proof, cover the handle with a piece of foil.
Sprinkle it with the remaining cheese and place it back under the burner just for a few seconds until it melts.
You can transfer the frittata to a large platter with a spatula or simply serve directly from the skillet.
Serving Suggestions for Frittatas
While this can serve as a one dish meal with the vegetables and protein included, rounding the frittata out with a salad and bread is really good. Here are some serving ideas:
- Heirloom Tomatoes and Feta Salad (a 5-minute recipe) (This is SO good with frittatas!)
- Roasted Beet Salad With Goat Cheese Recipe
- Orange Almond Salad with Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Easy Artisan Bread Recipe
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe
- Oh, and don't forget the Addictive Tomato Chutney to spoon on top - SO good!
Sausage & Kale, Spinach, or Swiss Chard Frittata
Equipment
- 10-inch oven proof skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pound sausage any kind
- 4 cups chopped greens: chard, kale, spinach
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk or water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup grated cheese like Parmesan, feta, goat, or cheddar
Instructions
- Heat a 10-inch or larger skillet with oil. Add the onion and sauté about 2 minutes before adding the garlic. Cook another minute before adding the sausage - if it's precooked, sauté another couple minutes to heat through, if sausage isn't precooked, sauté until cooked thoroughly and no pink is showing.
- Add the chard, kale, or spinach, stir a bit, and cover for about 4 minutes to steam.
- Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and milk (or water) together and season with salt and pepper. Add half of the cheese and stir to mix.
- Remove the cover and stir the mixture in the skillet. Let it cook a little more, allowing any liquid to evaporate. Pour the eggs evenly over the top. Do not stir - let the eggs set around the edges and somewhat in the middle.
- Turn on the oven broiler to preheat.
- Using a thin spatula, lift the edges and tip the pan so the liquid egg from the middle runs to the edge and under the cooked egg. Continue all the way around the edge until most of the egg is cooked.
- Put the pan under the broiler (cover the handle with foil if it is not oven proof) and broil 3-5 minutes until all the egg is cooked and the top is browning (Put the tip of a knife in the middle of the frittata to see if the egg is cooked through.)
- Remove from under broiler, sprinkle with remaining cheese and then broil for another minute until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Frittata Recipes to Try:
This recipe has been updated - it was originally published in August of 2009.
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Leslie says
Can you just cook it in the oven without the stove top part or the broiler part? Trying to find a recipe that just has you bake it.
Jami says
Sure Leslie, you just cook it like you would an oven omelette: 25-35 minutes at 400 degrees in a cast iron or completely oven proof stainless pan. The texture is a bit fluffier, but it's all done in the oven!
[email protected] says
We get lots of swiss chard with our CSA box, I will have to remember this recipe. I always have turkey sausage in my freezer. It looks very good.