Are you searching for the best Spanish potato omelette recipe? With my easy step-by-step guide you will learn how to make this versatile, simple tortilla de patatas Española in less than 40 minutes.
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Everytime I'm short in time or I simply don't know what to cook, I end up making one of the most famous spanish foods. And I mean the Spanish potato omelette or Tortilla de Patatas as they call it in Spain.
Most of the times I make it plain with just eggs and potatoes, but there are also times when I add onion, red pepper, cheese or ham. Whatever I happen to have at the time. If you have chorizo, you can also use that to enhance the spanish style of this dish.
And if you love recipes with eggs, make sure to try my Shakshuka recipe (sausage egg tomato breakfast), my vegetable-rich Mediterranean baked frittata recipe (with eggplant, zuchinni and pepper) and my Greek oven baked fritatta with sausage, cheese and peppers.
😍 Why I love this recipe
Here are some reasons why I love this Spanish omelette with potatoes:
✓ Simple: Tortilla Española is a simple dish to prepare and requires only a handful of basic ingredients, that you probably already have in your kitchen.
✓ Versatile: It can be served as tapas, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's DELICIOUS hot, at room temperature, or even cold from the fridge. And you can add literally any other ingredient you like!
✓ Flavorful Comfort Food: If you've tried this Spanish dish, then you know!
✓ Great for Leftovers: This Spanish potato omelette recipe tastes even better the next day.
📋 Potato Omelette Ingredients
For this authentic Spanish potato omelette recipe you'll need the following ingredients:
Potatoes: Usually Russet potatoes are used, but you can also make this potato and egg omelette with any potato variety you usually use for frying.
🥣 Spanish Omelette Variations
Here are some different ways you can make this recipe:
With meat: If it's already cooked or cured (such as ham) add it 1-2 minutes before you add the eggs. If it's raw, add it about 5 minutes after you add the potatoes.
With cheese: goat cheese, manchego cheese, feta cheese. Add it in the egg mixture just before you pour it over the potatoes.
With vegetables: Onion, courgette, zuchinni, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, spinach. Depending on the vegetable and how soft you want it to be it can be added the same time as the potatoes or 5 minutes before you add the eggs.
With hash browns (shredded potatoes that are pan fried until they're golden brown). Follow this crispy hash browns recipe form simplyrecipes, and then add the eggs to make a hash brown omelette.
🔪 Spanish Omelette Instructions
Follow this easy step-by-step guide to make this Spanish potato tortilla recipe perfect every time:
Step 1: Rinse and peel the potatoes, then slice them into ¼-1/2 inch thick slices (½-1 cm). Then cut each slice into ¼-1/2 inch thick sticks (½-1 cm). Transfer the potato sticks to a bowl and salt them generously. Let them sit 2-3 minutes and pat dry with kitchen paper.
Step 2: Fry the potatoes in a pan with hot oil, stirring once in a while, until they're soft and tender (about 15-20 minutes).
Step 3: While the potatoes are cooking, break the eggs in a large bowl and beat them with a pinch of salt and a splash of water. The water will make the omelette a bit more fluffy.
Step 4: When the potatoes are done, remove them with a slotted spatula and drain the oil from the pan.
Step 5: Return the potatoes to the pan and pour the egg mixture over them. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the bottom is light brown and slightly crispy (about 5-6 minutes).
Step 6: Cover the pan with a large plate, flip the omelette and let it slide to the pan. Use a spatula to tuck the edges under the omelette in order to give the tortilla its classic rounded shape and cook for additional 4-5 minutes.
Step 7: Serve this Spanish tortilla as part of a Spanish breakfast menu, or as a simple everyday meal.
👨🍳 Expert Tips
To reduce cooking time, cut the potatoes thinner.
Add a splash of water to the eggs (about 2 tablespoons) to make the omelette more fluffy.
If you don't want to use too much oil, you can cover the pan with a lid. This will help the potatoes to steam and cook with less oil.
No flipping method: make the tortilla in an skillet that can can go into the oven and finish cooking by baking it for approximately 15 minutes or until set. This oven baked version is also great!
Filter the remaining olive oil through a cheesecloth or a fine meshed sieve and store it inside a glass jar or bottle, in a cool, dark place. According to The North American Olive Oil Association you can reuse olive oil up to 5 times.
💭 FAQs
Transfer any slices of leftover tortilla in an airtight container (or on a plate wrapped with plastic wrap) and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The Italian fritatta is similar to Spanish tortilla because both dishes have egg and potatoes as base. However, the Spanish omelette with potatoes is made with eggs and potatoes only, while the Italian frittata usually contains more ingredients such as sausage, cheese, milk or cream.
Tortilla de patatas is a Spanish omelette recipe made with just eggs and potatoes while tortilla Española most of the times also contains onions.
🍳 Food Pairing
Are you wondering what goes well with Spanish omelette?
Pairing any egg dish with a green salad is always a great idea, and this arugula salad with goat cheese is just perfect! You can also try a Greek tomato salad with feta (Horiatiki) or some kind of spread like Labneh (yogurt cheese) garnished with olive oil and chopped nuts or this Greek spicy feta dip (Tirokafteri).
Olives, grilled vegetables and foccacia bread can complete this dish and make it a wholesome meal.
More dishes to try:
If you tried this Spanish Potato Omelette or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
🎥Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
Spanish Potato Omelette (Tortilla de patatas)
Equipment
- 1 Deep frying pan or skilet, at least 9 inches (22 cm) in diameter
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 white potatoes* (peeled and cut in ¼ inch thick sticks)
- 8 eggs large
- A splash of water
- Salt (to taste)
Optional:
- ½ onion (sliced)
- Black pepper freshly ground (to taste)
Instructions
- Rinse and peel the potatoes, then slice them into ¼-1/2 inch thick slices (½-1 cm). Cut each slice into ¼-1/2 inch thick sticks (½-1 cm). Transfer the potato sticks to a large bowl and salt them generously. Let them sit 2-3 minutes, drain and pat dry with kitchen paper.
- Transfer the oil to a deep frying pan over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the potatoes to the pan. When they start to bubble, reduce heat to medium/high and fry, stirring once in a while, until they're soft and tender (about 15-20 minutes).
- While the potatoes are cooking, break the eggs in a large bowl and whisk them with a pinch of salt and a splash of water. The water will make the omelette a bit more fluffy.
- When the potatoes are done, remove them with a slotted spatula and drain the oil from the pan.
- Return the potatoes to the pan, level them with a spatula, and pour the egg mixture over them. Gently stir and shake the pan to distribute everything evenly, reduce heat to medium and cook until the bottom is light brown and slightly crispy (about 5-6 minutes).
- Cover the pan with a large plate and a folded towel (this will protect you from the heat), flip the omelette and let it slide from the plate back into the pan. Use a spatula to tuck the edges under the omelette in order to give the tortilla its classic rounded shape and cook for additional 4-5 minutes.
- Serve the tortilla as part of a Spanish breakfast menu, or as a simple everyday meal.
Stelios says
I used to eat this all the time when I was a kid. Delicious!
Makos says
me too!