frittata

American  

[fri-tah-tuh, freet-tah-tah] / frɪˈtɑ tə, fritˈtɑ tɑ /

noun

Italian Cooking.

• frittatas,
  plural
• frittate
  plural

1. an omelet resembling a large pancake and containing vegetables, seasonings, and often ricotta, Parmesan, or other cheese.

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frittata British  

/ frɪˈtɑːtə /

noun

1. an Italian dish made with eggs and chopped vegetables or meat, resembling a flat thick omelette

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• frittatas
  plural
• frittate
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of frittata

1930–35; < Italian: omelet, equivalent to fritt ( o ) fried ( see frit) + -ata -ade ¹

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Explanation

A frittata is an egg dish that's usually made with meat, cheese, and vegetables. You can think of a frittata as an Italian omelette. The origin of the word frittata is the Italian friggere, "fried," and in Italy it was once a common way to describe any egg dish cooked in butter or oil in a pan. Some chefs describe frittatas as "open-faced omelettes," since omelettes are eggs folded around a savory filling, while a frittata's ingredients are incorporated into the egg mixture. Next time you have a bunch of eggs and some cheese and peppers, you should try making a frittata.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frittata frittatas

Whenever Celenza has a leftover vegetable, his go-to is usually a frittata or a stir fry.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

Meghan also visited a women's refuge in Melbourne, where she served plates of frittata to people at the centre.

From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026

My favorites: the spinach frittata and maple bacon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

If I go to Sqirl, I really like the sorrel pesto rice bowl, or the frittata thing they do is beautiful.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

She put an omelet in front of him, with toast grilled on the stove with olive oil, or semolina pancakes, or a frittata with peppers and mushrooms.

From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead

This book teaches you how to cook via basic templates for a variety of main dishes such as frittatas, stir-fries, rice bowls, pasta dishes and soups.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2023

Egg salad, hard boiled eggs, deviled eggs, frittatas.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 1, 2023

Sarah Turner, head of development at catering company Social Pantry is a fan of quiches and frittatas for parties.

From BBC ● May 2, 2023

Whoever nabs this gift during the game can also stretch beyond waffles and make frittatas or pre-baked cinnamon rolls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

But asparagus soup, crostatas, vegetable frittatas, and spring-forward pasta recipeswill have to wait until a robin gently taps me on the shoulder and says, "it's time."

From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2022

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