Spanish Tortilla: A Classic Omelette Recipe And Its Variants + Photos And Videos

2025 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:41

Appetizing Spanish tortilla: a selection of recipes for every taste

Among the many options for breakfast or snacks during the day, chicken eggs are quite popular - hard-boiled or soft-boiled, poached, a variety of scrambled eggs and omelets with all kinds of fillings and without. Fast cooking, nutritional value, affordability, and the ability to experiment - these are the reasons why egg dishes have so many fans around the world. There are many traditional recipes with chicken products in the cuisines of the peoples of the world. For example, you can diversify your diet by including a Spanish tortilla.

Content

• 1 How the Spanish tortilla appeared

• 2 Main ingredients and possible additives

  2.1 Photo gallery: what a dish can be

• 3 Step by step recipes (with photo and video)

  • 3.1 Classic tortilla

    3.1.1 Video: how to make an original potato omelet

  • 3.2 With onions (in the oven)
  • 3.3 With ham and cheese
  • 3.4 With jamon and parmesan
  • 3.5 With black olives and parsley

  • 3.6 With mushrooms and salmon

    3.6.1 Video: Tortilla with mushrooms

  • 3.7 With vegetables (in a multicooker)

How the Spanish tortilla came to be

According to one theory, the first tortilla appeared in the 19th century during the Carlist wars in Spain. General Tomás de Sumalacarregi, who was staying overnight with one of the hostesses in the province of Extremadura, pondered how to feed his hungry army. After the woman treated him to a great egg and potato omelet, the problem was solved.

Other sources claim that the tortilla was invented in the XVIII. The severe famine in Europe has forced civil servants to think about how to feed the population cheap and satisfying. The solution came in the form of egg and potato cakes baked in a pan.

Main ingredients and possible additives

One way or another, the dish, which once served as a salvation from hunger for ordinary people, is now widely popular. Spanish tortilla is also called potato tortilla: in the original version, this dish is an omelet made from chicken eggs with the addition of potatoes. Onions are often the third ingredient. In addition, there are many options for tortillas with a variety of additives. For example, they add to it:

• vegetables (garlic, bell peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, etc.);
• legumes (beans, peas);
• jamon and sausages;
• different types of meat and poultry;
• fish and seafood;
• mushrooms;
• olives;
• cheese;
• spices.

Served at breakfast and throughout the day, Spanish tortilla is often used as an ingredient in sandwiches and snacks. This dish is used both hot and cold.

Photo gallery: what a dish can be

Onions give the Spanish potato omelet a wonderful aroma, and the taste of the food becomes richer.

Potato tortilla can be cooked in the oven by baking it in bell peppers

Both adults and children love tortilla with ham and cheese

Spanish potato omelet with Swiss chard and olives

An amazing dish from skilled chefs - Spanish tortilla with crispy bacon

Chorizo tortilla is very popular among the people of Spain

Fragrant Spanish tortilla with bell pepper and ripe tomatoes

Gourmet and mouth-watering potato tortilla with shrimps and parsley

You can also serve tortilla as mini burgers.

Original serving of tortilla with onion jam

Step-by-step recipes (with photos and videos)

In Spain, ready-made tortilla can be easily purchased at any of the supermarkets, ordered at a bar or in a restaurant. However, many do it themselves. The cooking process for this versatile dish is simple and enjoyable.

Classic tortilla

The classic Spanish tortilla looks like a large egg and potato casserole

Having mastered the simplest version of the dish, you can easily cope with more complex recipes.

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes;
• 4 large eggs;
• salt;
• olive oil for frying.

Cooking steps:

1. Using a peeler or sharp knife, peel the potatoes. Cut the prepared tubers into small cubes or free-form pieces with sides no more than 1 cm.

2. Place the potatoes in a skillet with preheated olive oil and saute until soft over medium heat. Make sure that the food does not burn, otherwise the taste of the dish will be spoiled.

   

   Fry the peeled and diced potatoes until soft in olive oil

3. Transfer the cooked potatoes to a large bowl, using a slotted spoon to remove excess fat from each serving of the ingredient.

   

   Transfer the finished potatoes to a large container

4. Beat the eggs into the mass, add a couple of pinches of salt.

   

   Combine fried potatoes with chicken eggs and salt

5. Mix all the ingredients of the future tortilla thoroughly. If the mixture is too thick, add another egg.

   

   If the mixture is too thick, add another egg

6. Pour some oil into a non-stick skillet (you can use the one left after frying the potatoes) and heat over medium heat.

   

   Heat the olive oil well

7. Put the potato and egg mass in a frying pan, smooth the surface of the omelet with a spatula or spoon.

8. Cook the dish over low heat for 15-20 minutes. During this time, the tortilla should be baked and well browned on the underside.

   

   Smooth the surface of the omelet with a spatula and toast the tortilla over low heat

9. Cover the skillet with the lid.

   

   Cover the pan with a convenient lid

10. Lift the container and gently turn it over so that the tortilla is on the lid.

    

    Turn the pan gently so the omelet is on the lid

11. Let the omelet slide uncooked into the skillet. Continue cooking until browned.

    

    Transfer the tortilla to a hot skillet and brown

12. Transfer the baked tortilla to a plate and serve hot or chilled.

Video: how to make an original potato omelet

With onions (in the oven)

The onion omelet turns out to be very aromatic and acquires a richer taste. And also one of the ingredients is the famous Spanish chorizo sausage, but it is up to you to add it or not.

Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes;
• 4 large eggs;
• half a medium-sized onion (or a quarter of a large onion);
• 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped chorizo;
• olive oil;
• salt.

Cooking steps:

1. Cut the peeled potatoes into thin slices 2–3 mm wide and transfer to a plate.

   

   Cut raw potatoes into slices of 2-3 mm

2. Finely chop the onion with a knife and mix with the potatoes.
3. Drizzle vegetables with a little olive oil and stir well.

4. Cover the container with cling film, carefully securing it around the edges of the dishes.

   

   Cover a plate of potatoes and onions with a piece of cling film

5. Place everything in the microwave. Heat vegetables for 45 minutes at 200W oven power.
6. While the omelet base is preparing, beat the eggs with a little salt in a bowl.
7. Add chorizo to the mixture, mix everything thoroughly and set aside for a while.
8. After a beep, which will notify you of the end of the process, carefully remove the container from the microwave. Let the potatoes cool a little: removing the film immediately after taking out the dishes, you risk getting burned by hot steam. Also, don't forget to use potholders.

9. Mix the potato and onion mixture with the beaten eggs and chorizo.

   

   Combine potato and onion mixture with beaten eggs and chorizo

10. Pour everything into a baking dish or baking sheet.

    

    Transfer the resulting mixture to a suitable container.

11. Place the future tortilla in an oven preheated to 180 degrees.

    

    Place the tortilla dish in the preheated oven

12. Bake the food for 5-10 minutes. During this time, the omelet will increase in size (rise) and brown.
13. Cool the finished dish slightly and gently transfer to a large plate.

For an original serving of Spanish omelet, use pastry molds

With ham and cheese

A hearty meal for the whole family!

Ingredients:

• 3 medium potatoes;
• 6 eggs;
• 200 g ham;
• 200 g of cheese;
• 300 ml of olive oil;
• salt and black pepper.

Cooking steps:

1. Wash the potatoes under running water, peel.

   

   Wash the potato tubers, cut the peel with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler

2. Cut the prepared tubers into thin slices.

3. Then finely chop the ham and cheese.

   

   Cut ham and cheese into thin slices

4. Heat the olive oil in a medium deep skillet (22-25 cm).

   

   Heat olive oil in a skillet

5. Lay out the potatoes and, stirring constantly, fry until soft.

   

   Fry the potatoes until tender

6. Separate the whites from the yolks.

   

   Separate the whites from the yolks

7. Beat the former until a white foam forms.

8. Pour the yolks into the whipped whites, one at a time. Stir the mixture, adding salt and black pepper to taste.

   

   Add the egg yolks one at a time.

9. Transfer the finished potatoes to a bowl of egg mixture using a slotted spoon or spatula. Do not pour out the remaining oil in the pan, as you will need it later for frying the omelet.

   

   Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the potatoes to the bowl of the egg mixture

10. Place the skillet with butter on the fire again. Pour half of the egg mixture into the preheated food and cook over low heat for 3 minutes.
11. Flip the potato and egg pancake over with the lid and place back into the pan.

12. Place ham and cheese slices on top of the piece.

    

    Place ham and cheese on a potato and egg pancake

13. Pour over the rest of the potato and egg mixture.

    

    Pour the other half of the potato and egg mixture into the pan

14. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for another 3 minutes, then turn the tortilla over again and fry on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes until cooked and browned.

    

    Cover the pan with a lid and continue to bake the tortilla until tender.

15. Place the dish on a large plate, cut into triangular portions and serve, sprinkled with fresh herbs.

With jamon and parmesan

You can diversify the classic recipe by preparing a dish with the addition of ham and cheese

Ingredients:

• 850 g peeled potatoes;
• 8 large eggs;
• jamon - 100 g;
• parmesan - 100-150 g;
• olive oil.

Cooking steps:

1. Cut the potatoes into thin slices.

   

   Cut potatoes into thin slices or small pieces of any shape

2. Chop the jamon into strips or small cubes.

   

   Grind the jamon

3. Finely grate the Parmesan cheese.

   

   Process the cheese on a fine grater

4. Place the potatoes in a pan with preheated olive oil and fry until tender. Remember to stir the food while cooking to prevent it from burning.

   

   Fry the potatoes until soft

5. Whisk eggs in a large bowl.

6. Place the fried potatoes, ham and cheese into the mixture. The last two ingredients contain a sufficient amount of salt, so you do not need to add it to the dish.

   

   Mix egg mixture with ham and parmesan

7. Stir the mixture thoroughly and pour into a large pan (at least 30 cm) with a little oil. If the dishes are small, the mixture can be divided into two equal parts and cooked in two passes.

8. Cook the omelet on low heat until you see the eggs begin to bake. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

   

   Flip the potato omelet with a lid or special plate

9. Gently turn the potato tortilla over with a drop of oil on the lid, place back in the pan and brown.

Bon Appetit!

With black olives and parsley

In the original recipe, one of the ingredients in a potato omelet may be black olives, often referred to as olives. However, it is allowed to use green fruits. This will not spoil the taste of the dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes;
• 1 onion;
• 2 large eggs;
• 1 can of black olives;
• a bunch of fresh parsley;
• salt;
• olive oil.

Cooking steps:

1. Prepare all the ingredients you need.

   

   Place the ingredients on the table to keep everything close at hand

2. Cut the peeled potatoes into thin slices.
3. Chop the onions as you like.

4. Saute vegetables in olive oil until soft.

   

   Fry the potatoes until soft

5. Throw the olives in a colander or sieve to remove excess liquid.
6. Rinse the greens, dry and chop with a knife.

7. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a little salt.

   

   Whisk eggs with salt and chop the parsley finely

8. Put the prepared potatoes with onions, olives and parsley into a bowl with the egg mixture, mix well.

   

   Mix all prepared ingredients

9. Pour everything into a skillet with heated oil and cook the tortilla over low heat for 10 minutes.

10. When the eggs are sufficiently baked, gently turn the omelette over and keep in the pan for another 2-4 minutes until golden brown.

    

    Cook with a tortilla until the egg and potato mass is completely baked and golden brown on both sides

With mushrooms and salmon

Connoisseurs of original recipes and unusual dishes will surely like the Spanish tortilla with aromatic mushrooms and tender salmon fillet. Preparing such a dish is no more difficult. In addition, a distinctive feature of this tortilla is that it does not contain potatoes.

Tortilla with mushrooms and salmon - a delicious and nutritious breakfast

Ingredients:

• 150 g canned (no vinegar) mushrooms;
• 140-150 g salmon fillet;
• 3 eggs;
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• fresh or dried parsley;
• salt.

Cooking steps:

1. Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Peel the onions.
3. Throw the mushrooms in a colander and leave for a while to drain the liquid.

4. Finely chop the onion, put in a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of preheated olive oil, and fry over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir constantly to avoid scorching.

   

   Saute the onions in olive oil

5. Add mushrooms to the pan, stir everything and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes.

   

   Add mushrooms to onions

6. Cut the fish fillet into small cubes or freeform pieces.

   

   Cut the salmon fillet into small pieces

7. Transfer the fish to a skillet with mushrooms and onions. While stirring, fry everything until the salmon slices lighten. Set the pan aside.

   

   Add fish to mushrooms and onions, stir and cook for a few more minutes

8. Whisk eggs and salt in a small bowl or deep bowl.

   

   Beat eggs with salt

9. Mix them with fish-mushroom mass, add herbs.

   

   Mix all prepared ingredients and add herbs

10. Pour the remaining olive oil into the pan, where the mushrooms and salmon were fried earlier, heat.

11. Transfer the resulting mixture to a container and cook the omelet for 5-7 minutes over low heat. Be careful not to burn the bottom.

    

    Pour the mixture into a skillet and keep over low heat

12. Once the tortilla is browned and baked enough and firm, turn it over and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
13. Remove the finished dish from the pan, cool slightly and serve with whatever you want.

Video: tortilla with mushrooms

With vegetables (in a slow cooker)

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium sized potatoes;
• 4-5 eggs;
• 1/2 bell pepper;
• 1 small onion head;
• 2-3 cloves of garlic;
• 1/2 can of canned green peas;
• salt and seasonings;
• olive oil.

Tortilla cooked in a multicooker is no less tasty than fried in a pan

Cooking steps:

1. Chop the onion and garlic, peeled from the husk.
2. Cut the bell pepper into thin strips or cubes.
3. Throw the green peas in a colander.
4. Chop the potatoes into thin slices.
5. Beat eggs with salt in a separate bowl.
6. Turn on the multicooker by setting the "Baking" mode. The optimal cooking time is 50 minutes.

7. Pour olive oil into the bowl of the appliance, let it heat up.

   

   Heat oil in a multicooker bowl and fry vegetables

8. Transfer the previously chopped onions and garlic to a multicooker, fry for 3-5 minutes, then add the bell pepper and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

9. Transfer the potato slices to the ingredients listed.

   

   Put thinly sliced potatoes with fried vegetables

10. Pour green peas into a bowl.

    

    Add green peas to the mixture

11. Season the preparation with spices to taste, mix well.

12. Pour the beaten eggs into the multicooker bowl.

    

    Pour the beaten eggs over the vegetables

13. Close the appliance and wait for the beep to signal the end of baking.
14. Open the multicooker, let the tortilla cool slightly, remove from the bowl and transfer to a plate.

Any tortilla recipe can be adapted to your capabilities and desires. It is allowed to experiment not only with the ingredients, but also with the methods of their processing: try cooking a dish in a frying pan, oven, microwave, multicooker, or even a bread maker.

Spanish tortilla is a wonderful dish in every sense. Be sure to find a place for him in the culinary notebook and time to please yourself and loved ones. And if you are already familiar with such an unusual omelet, share your recipes in the comments with the rest of the readers.