Yellow Squash Frittata Recipe for a Quick and Nutritious Summer Breakfast

Yellow Squash Frittata

Every July, my neighbor walks across the street with a canvas bag of yellow squash from her garden, and I start planning breakfast before she even reaches the porch. This Yellow Squash Frittata is the recipe I reach for first.

It is a stovetop skillet dish that serves 4 and comes together in about 15 minutes, and it uses things I almost always have on hand: squash, butter, eggs, cheddar cheese, and a spoonful of Italian seasoning.

What makes it so handy is the order of the steps. You slice the squash into equal sized rounds, saute them in butter until they are tender crisp, then pour a beaten egg and cheese mixture right over the top and cook until the eggs are set and puffy.

No oven, no flipping, no long ingredient list. If you want to, you can cut a bigger squash in half instead of hunting down four small ones, which is exactly what I do once the garden starts producing the oversized ones.

On the plate, this frittata is soft and custardy in the middle with lightly browned edges where the eggs meet the pan.

The cheddar melts into the eggs and gives every bite a salty tang, the Italian seasoning adds a warm herby note, and the squash stays sweet and tender underneath. It tastes like a slow summer breakfast without any of the work.

I usually serve it straight from the skillet with buttered toast and a little hot sauce on the side, or I cut it into wedges and set it on a platter next to sliced tomatoes and cold watermelon.

It travels well to a brunch table, which is why it shows up at our church summer breakfast at least twice a season.

If you are feeding people who eat in shifts, you can leave it in the skillet on the stove and let everyone take a wedge when they are ready.

Just know that it is at its best right away, while the eggs are still puffy and the cheese is still soft.

For a lot of home cooks, this is also a friendly way to get vegetables into a breakfast that still feels like a treat.

Six eggs and half a cup of cheese make it hearty enough for a working morning, but the squash keeps the whole thing from feeling heavy.

Parents who are packing kids out the door, students cooking in a small apartment kitchen, and anyone watching what they eat can all work with a recipe this short. There is nothing to chill, nothing to roll out, and nothing that needs a special pan.

If you can slice a squash and beat an egg, you can make this.

A quick note from my kitchen: the last step says to cook until the eggs are cooked and puffy, so stay close to the stove at the end. Those final minutes are when the edges set and the top firms up.

Here is the nutrition information provided by the source, calculated per serving based on 4 servings.

ingredients

The ingredient list is short, and that is part of the charm. You need four small yellow squash, one tablespoon of butter, six eggs, half a cup of grated cheddar cheese or another cheese you like, one teaspoon of Italian seasoning, a quarter teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of pepper. That is it. No flour, no milk, no breadcrumbs.

A few things I have learned while shopping and prepping for this one:

• Small squash are easier to slice into even rounds, which helps them cook at the same rate. If your squash are big, cut them in half first, then slice.
• Grate the cheese yourself if you have a minute. Pre shredded cheese works too, but fresh grated melts into the eggs a little more smoothly.
• The recipe says cheddar, or your favorite cheese. I keep it at half a cup no matter which cheese I reach for so the egg mixture stays balanced.
• You do not need to peel the squash. The rounds soften nicely in the butter with the skin left on.
• Set the eggs out while you slice the squash if you can. They beat a little more easily at room temperature.

directions

The whole recipe is five steps and one skillet. Here is how it goes, exactly as written in the source.

1. Slice the squash into equal sized rounds. You can cut a bigger squash in half instead of using the small ones, if you want to.
2. Saute the squash in butter until it is tender crisp.
3. Beat the eggs with the grated cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the squash.
5. Cook until the eggs are cooked and puffy.

Step one is where most of the work happens, and it is also where a little care pays off. Even rounds mean every slice finishes at the same time, so you are not left with crunchy pieces hiding under soft ones.

I lay the squash on the board and slice them about the same thickness, working from one end to the other. When I only have one big squash, I cut it in half lengthwise and slice each half into half moons. They look a little different, but they cook just the same.

For step two, one tablespoon of butter is plenty. Let it melt over gentle heat so it coats the pan without browning, then add the squash rounds in a single layer as much as you can.

Give them a few minutes and stir once or twice. You are looking for tender crisp, which means a fork slides in easily but the slices still hold their shape.

If they go too far and turn soft and floppy, the frittata still works, it just loses a little texture.

Step three is the part you can do while the squash cooks. Crack six eggs into a bowl, add the half cup of grated cheddar, the teaspoon of Italian seasoning, the quarter teaspoon of salt, and the half teaspoon of pepper, then beat until the yolks and whites are fully blended and the cheese is evenly scattered through the eggs.

Some people like a few streaks left in the eggs. For this recipe I beat them smooth so the frittata sets evenly.

Step four is quick. Pour the egg mixture right over the hot squash in the pan. Do not stir it. You want the eggs to settle around the squash slices and hold them in place as they cook.

Step five takes the longest, and it is still only a few minutes. Keep the heat gentle and let the eggs cook until they are set and puffy. The edges will firm up first, then the center will stop looking wet and glossy.

If you want to, you can tip the pan slightly to check for loose egg in the middle. When it is set, slide it onto a plate or cut it into wedges right in the pan.

Questions & Replies

How many people does this frittata serve? The recipe is written to serve 4, and the nutrition numbers from the source are based on that same 4 serving yield. If you need to feed more people, I would cook it in two skillets instead of piling everything into one deep pan so the eggs set evenly.

Can I use a different cheese? Yes. The ingredient list calls for half a cup of grated cheddar cheese, or your favorite cheese. I have made it with whatever melting cheese was in the fridge drawer, and it came out fine. Keep the amount at half a cup so the egg mixture stays balanced.

Do I have to peel the squash? The recipe does not ask you to peel it, and I never do. Slicing the squash into even rounds and sauteing them in butter until they are tender crisp softens the skin enough that nobody notices it is there.

What if I only have one large squash? The recipe handles that for you. It says you can cut a bigger squash in half instead of using the small ones. Just keep the slices even so they cook at the same rate.

How do I know when it is done? The final step says to cook until the eggs are cooked and puffy. I look for set edges, a center that no longer looks wet, and a lightly puffed top. That is my signal to take the pan off the heat.

Is this a breakfast recipe? Yes, the source lists it under Breakfast. That said, I have served it for lunch with a green salad and for a light dinner with roasted potatoes. It works any time of day.

Can I make it ahead? I would not build the whole frittata ahead of time, because the eggs are at their best right after they cook.

What I do instead is slice the squash the night before and keep the rounds in the fridge, so the morning goes faster. The prep time is only 5 minutes, but every minute counts on a school morning.

What goes well with it? Toast, sliced tomatoes, a simple fruit salad, or a scoop of salsa on top. At our summer gatherings it sits next to pasta salad and a plate of cut melon, and it never lasts long.

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

This Yellow Squash Frittata was submitted to Food.com by a community member who posts as Zaney1. Their profile listed 7 followers, 181 recipes, and 36 tweaks, which tells you this is someone who has spent a lot of time cooking, posting, and adjusting recipes in a busy community kitchen.

One honest detail is worth sharing. The submitter noted that they had not personally made this frittata yet and were editing the recipe based on suggestions from reviewers.

I appreciate that kind of openness, and it is one reason I cooked it myself before passing it along to you.

Everything in this article follows the ingredients and the five steps as written on the source page, with the 5 minute prep, the 10 minute cook time, and the 4 servings kept exactly as listed.

If you make it this week, I would love to hear how it turned out in your kitchen. Around here it has become one of those recipes that gets scribbled on an index card and handed to a friend at the end of a potluck, which is exactly the kind of food this blog is about.

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Yellow Squash Frittata Every July, my neighbor walks across the street with a canvas bag of yellow squash from her garden, and I start planning breakfast before she even reaches the porch. This Yellow Squash Frittata is the recipe I reach for first.

• Total Time: 15 min
• Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

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4 small yellow squash
1 tablespoon butter
6 eggs
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated (or your favorite cheese)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

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Instructions

1-Slice squash into equal sized rounds: Slice squash into equal sized rounds. You can cut a bigger squash in half instead of using the small ones, if you want to.
2-Saute squash in butter until tender-crisp: Saute squash in butter until tender-crisp.
3-Beat eggs with the grated cheese, Italian: Beat eggs with the grated cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
4-Pour egg mixture over squash: Pour egg mixture over squash.
5-Cook until eggs are cooked and puffy: Cook until eggs are cooked and puffy.

Last Step:

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• Prep Time: 5 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: stovetop

Nutrition

• Calories: 211.5
• Sugar: 2.7
• Sodium: 370.3
• Fat: 15.2
• Saturated Fat: 7.2
• Carbohydrates: 4.7
• Fiber: 1.3
• Protein: 14.4
• Cholesterol: 339.7