Often lauded as the most important meal of the day, breakfast is something Z and I celebrate on the weekends. Weekday mornings are generally rushed, an English muffin with peanut butter and jelly all I can manage to throw together as I jet out of the door. Highly unglamorous, this meal is purely functional, giving me a start to the day and a bridge to lunch. Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday on the other hand, is an event. As my sweet tooth is rather muted, our weekend breakfast regiment often begins with a mixture of eggs, and bacon or sausage in some manner. As I am always envisioning new ways to prepare these breakfast pantry standards, I was delighted when I caught a glimpse of Giada serving bite-sized frittatas on her show. I made a point of picking up a mini-muffin tin the next time I was out and about and have enjoyed mixing and matching the contents of these miniature egg morsels ever since. My favorite combo thus far has been the marriage of spicy chorizo sausage with the sharp bite of freshly grated cheddar cheese. Flecks of minced parsley add color and brightness, the eggs setting perfectly, encapsulating it all together for you to pluck simply from a platter. Ideal for a lazy weekend morning or as an elegant touch to a brunch buffet, I encourage you to use your imagination when making your mini frittatas. Feel confidence in knowing that this may very well be the most important meal of your day, wherever your breakfast journey may take you. Enjoy!
To begin, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Prep the ingredients by grating sharp cheddar cheese (you will need one third of a cup) and mincing one and one half tbs of fresh parsley. Set a small sauté pan over medium heat and add one tsp olive oil.
Once the oil is hot add one link of chorizo sausage, casing removed, and use the end of a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces. Cook for three to five minutes until browned. Remove to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Set aside and allow to cool.
Add four large eggs to a bowl along with one quarter cup whole milk, one eighth of a tsp kosher salt and one eighth of a tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Whisk together until well blended. Next add the cheddar cheese and the parsley. Make sure that the chorizo is at room temperature and add that to the egg mixture as well. Whisk lightly, until all of the ingredients are well combined.
Grease a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray or butter. My muffin tin is non-stick but it still needs a bit of help to ensure that the eggs come out in perfect bite-sized pieces.
Fill each cup three-quarters of the way with the egg mixture. This mix will make 15-20 muffins, depending on the size of your eggs. When my eggs are larger there is more liquid and I can stretch this to 20 mini-frittatas. On this particular day my eggs were more on the medium-large size and yielded 17 muffins. This recipe can easily be doubled to serve a crowd. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the eggs are just set. Carefully remove from the muffin tin and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Makes 15-20 Mini Frittatas
- mini-muffin tin – makes 24 total muffins and can be found at Target or Williams Sonoma
- one link chorizo sausage, approximately one third of a pound, casing removed
- one tsp olive oil
- four large eggs (farm fresh recommended)
- one and one half tbs minced fresh parsley
- one third cup freshly grated cheddar cheese
- one quarter cup whole milk
- one eighth tsp kosher salt
- one eighth tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- cooking spray/butter for greasing the muffin tin
