This Ham and Cheese Frittata features caramelized onions and melty gruyère cheese. Simple but delicious, and perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch.
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Why Make This Recipe
- 30 Min Meal: Frittatas are so quick and easy to make—this one takes just a few minutes of prep time before cooking.
- Perfect for Leftovers: This is one of my absolute favorite meals for when I have leftover ham, say from Easter or Christmas dinners. But you could substitute all sorts of other ingredients as well, depending on what you have in fridge.
- Make-Ahead: Frittatas are fantastic warm, just out of the oven, but they also are completely delicious at room temperature. I love making this for potlucks or holiday celebrations since I can make it in advance, and bring it over later.
🥗 Ingredients
- Ham: This Ham and Gruyère frittata works with ham steaks, chopped sandwich meat ham from the deli counter, or leftover honey-baked ham (my favorite!). Of course, if you don’t have ham, you could replace with chopped cooked bacon or roasted turkey as well.
- Gruyère Cheese: I love the combination of ham with gruyère cheese, but you can substitute other cheeses as well. Cheeses that melt well are best, like fontina or Swiss cheese.
- Dijon Mustard: You could use coarse-ground mustard instead, if you enjoy a sharper mustard flavor. Or replace with 1 teaspoon of dried mustard.
- Heavy Cream: I love the decadence of a touch of cream in this frittata, but you can replace it with light cream, ½ and ½, or full-fat milk.
- Herbs: Topping this frittata with some fresh herbs is really a lovely combination. Try fresh basil, fresh thyme, or just a sprinkle of chopped chives.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Chop ham into ½-inch pieces or smaller. Peel onion, cut in half, and slice into thin half-moons. Grate gruyere cheese.
Heat a 10-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-low, then add butter.
When butter melts, add the sliced onions and sauté. Cook until onions are lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cheese, dijon mustard, and cream together in a medium bowl, with ¼ teaspoon pepper.
Add the chopped ham to the egg and cheese mixture and stir, then pour into the pan with the onions. Spread the filling around so it’s evenly distributed through the eggs.
Preheat the broiler and set the oven rack a few inches underneath the heating element.
Turn up the heat under your skillet to medium high. Cook the frittata on the stove for 5-8 minutes. The best way to do this is to slowly lift the edges of the frittata with your spatula, tip the pan, and let the uncooked egg mixture pool underneath. Do that a few times in different spots, as it cooks. Turn down the heat if it looks like your frittata is browning too quickly on the bottom.
When the bottom is totally set, and the egg mixture on top is a little more than halfway cooked, you’re ready to put it under the broiler. Note: it’s ok for the top to still look raw.
Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese.
Slide your pan onto the oven rack, and broil. Watch closely because this can happen fast: take it out when the frittata puffs up pleasingly, looks entirely cooked, and has lightly browned on top, 1-3 minutes.
Take it out, and let it rest for a few minutes. It will continue to cook in the pan as it sits. Then give it a quick hard shake and slide it out onto a cutting board. Slice and eat!
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Ham and Cheese Frittata
This can be a little tricky, because if your frittata is not cooked enough when you put it under the broiler, you can brown the top and still have some of the filling not cooked through in the middle. So it may take a little practice until you know exactly what you’re looking for. The best tip I can give you is to make sure the center of the frittata doesn’t jiggle when you take it out of the oven. If the top is well browned but the frittata is still jiggly, just turn off the broiler and let it sit in the oven for as long as you need for the center to not be jiggly. The frittata will continue to cook with the residual heat from the oven.
You need a nonstick skillet that is oven-safe up to high temperatures. Don’t put anything under the broiler that has a rubber or wooden handle that could catch fire. A well-seasoned cast iron pan would be a great choice for this recipe as well.
This ham and cheese frittata will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container or wrapped in foil. Frittatas also freeze well, so feel free to wrap them in foil or in a freezer-safe plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to freeze individual slices, so they are easy to take out if you need a quick breakfast or lunch one day.
I like to add milk or cream to a frittata for a creamier, lighter filling. I see no reason to add water to a frittata, but you can leave out the milk or cream entirely if you don’t have any. As long as there is some cheese in your filling, you’re good to go!
The main difference between a frittata and a quiche is that quiches typically have a crust. That means that they can support slightly runnier fillings since the filling does not have to stand up on its own. There are crustless quiches that are very similar to frittatas—however, these are usually baked in the oven rather than cooked primarily on a stovetop.
As for frittatas vs. omelets, a frittata is generally larger and serves 4-6 people, while an omelet generally serves only 1 person. In addition, a frittata takes up the entire pan to cook, forming a circle when done, that is then cut into triangles to serve. Omelets are more free-form, and are cooked differently. For an omelet, you generally start by adding whisked eggs to a pan and cooking, then adding filling on one side before folding one side of the omelet over the other side. Unlike a frittata, the fillings are not usually interspersed through the omelet itself.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
The trickiest part of this recipe is not overcooking the eggs. Overcooked eggs become rubbery. You may need to test a frittata recipe a couple of times using your pan and stovetop, since everyone’s tools conduct heat differently. But my best advice is to put your frittata under the broiler when the top of the frittata still looks raw, but it is getting harder to pour excess egg under each side. Then broil until the top is just set and nicely browned.
This ham and cheese frittata is super versatile. In addition to changing up the protein and the cheese, you can add in all sorts of vegetables. Cooked spinach or mushrooms would be particularly good, but you could also add broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, and more.
This is a crustless ham and cheese frittata, so it works wonderfully for anyone following a gluten-free diet. Check out my other frittata recipes below for other gluten-free options, or try this Cheesy Crustless Quiche Lorraine recipe.
I love serving this frittata with soup or salad on the side. Some of my favorite pairings include:
- Carrot Ginger Soup with Crème Fraiche
- Tomato Salad (Salade de Tomates)
- French Lentil Soup
- Pear Gorgonzola Salad with Glazed Walnuts
- Vegan Potato Leek Soup
- Arugula Salad with Apples and Quinoa
- Melon Soup (Soupe de Melon)
Other Delicious Frittatas and Quiches
You can find all of my breakfast and brunch recipes in my Breakfast archive. But as I am a huge fan of frittatas and quiches of all kinds, I wanted to pull out a few of my favorites:
If you try this Ham and Cheese Frittata recipe, I would love to hear from you! Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
Ham and Cheese Frittata
This delicious Ham and Cheese Frittata features caramelized onions and melty gruyère cheese. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or lunch!
Ingredients
- 7 ounces ham steak
- 1 large onion
- 3 ounces gruyère cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 8 eggs
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil or thyme, to garnish
Instructions
- Chop ham into ½-inch pieces or smaller.
- Peel onion, cut in half, and slice into thin half-moons.
- Grate gruyere cheese.
- Heat a 10-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-low, then add butter.
- When butter melts, add the sliced onions and sauté. Cook until onions are lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cheese, dijon mustard, and cream together in a medium bowl, with ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Add the chopped ham to the egg and cheese mixture and stir, then pour into the pan with the onions. Spread the filling around so it’s evenly distributed through the eggs.
- Preheat the broiler and set the oven rack a few inches underneath the heating element.
- Turn up the heat under your skillet to medium high.
- Cook the frittata on the stove for 5-8 minutes. The best way to do this is to slowly lift the edges of the frittata with your spatula, tip the pan, and let the uncooked egg mixture pool underneath. Do that a few times in different spots, as it cooks. Turn down the heat if it looks like your frittata is browning too quickly on the bottom.
- When the bottom is totally set, and the egg mixture on top is a little more than halfway cooked, you’re ready to put it under the broiler. Note: it’s ok for the top to still look raw.
- Sprinkle on the parmesan cheese.
- Slide your pan onto the oven rack, and broil. Watch closely because this can happen fast: take it out when the frittata puffs up pleasingly, looks entirely cooked, and has lightly browned on top, 1-3 minutes.
- Take it out, and let it rest for a few minutes. It will continue to cook in the pan as it sits.
- Give it a quick hard shake and slide it out onto a cutting board. Slice and eat!
Notes
Make-Ahead: This ham and cheese frittata will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in an airtight container or wrapped in foil. Frittatas also freeze well, so feel free to wrap them in foil or in a freezer-safe plastic bag and freeze for up to 3 months. I like to freeze individual slices, so they are easy to take out if you need a quick breakfast or lunch one day.
Expert Tip: The trickiest part of this recipe is not overcooking the eggs. Overcooked eggs become rubbery. You may need to test a frittata recipe a couple of times using your pan and stovetop, since everyone’s tools conduct heat differently. But my best advice is to put your frittata under the broiler when the top of the frittata still looks raw, but it is getting harder to pour excess egg under each side. Then broil until the top is just set and nicely browned.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 290mgSodium: 715mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 20g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this Ham and Gruyère Frittata recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Josiah - DIY Thrill says
This ham and cheese frittata looks irresistible, love how easy it is to make!
Chef Molly says
Thanks so much! Yes, love it when something easy is this tasty.
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
What a delicious way to start the day, and perfect way to use up those leftovers! My family would LOVE this!!
Chef Molly says
It's a favorite around here too!
Nadja says
I have never thought about doing the broiler trick. I enjoy the idea of making it ahead of time, some mornings, and there is no time to make breakfast. Thanks for sharing this delicious frittata recipe!
Chef Molly says
Thanks Nadja! Yes, I love this so much for make-ahead. I often freeze slices too so I have a quick meal always on hand!
Sara Jelinek says
This looks incredible. I love the section on the difference between a frittata and quiche. It was very informative!
Chef Molly says
Thanks! They are similar dishes for sure, but it's nice to know how they differ in case you're looking for one kind or another!