I love this easy pressure cooker smoked salmon frittata! Takes mere minutes to throw together and is lighter than your usual frittata. Serve it warm or cold, for breakfast, lunch or even picnic snack.
Feels like my Instant Pot has taken a bit of a back seat lately while I busy myself with Royal wedding cakes and a ton of freelance work. I feel terrible for neglecting it!
The truth is I have been testing lots of new pressure cooker recipe ideas, but I want to make sure they are just right before I unleash them on you kind readers. I have a few in the pipeline waiting to be retested or photographed again.
This pressure cooker smoked salmon frittata was such a hit straight off though, that I feel like I need to share it now. Because you NEED to make it soon, it is so yummy and so ridiculously easy. It doesn’t have the rather dense texture of a traditional frittata, instead it is light and airy with an almost melt in the mouth texture.
I used smoked salmon, leeks, courgette (zucchini) and a little cheese here. You could play around with the ingredients to add whatever you think might work for you – sautéd veggies, potatoes, bacon, chorizo… the possibilities are making me quite excited!
I was looking for a suitable dish to cook my frittata in but none were small enough to fit inside my 6L Instant Pot. In the end I used a 15cm (6in) cake tin, sprayed with cake release. This worked a treat, but resulted in a fairly small frittata. I am on the lookout for a slightly larger soufflé dish to use for my next frittata recipe! If anyone has any recommendations, please leave a comment…
Pressure cooker frittata step by step
The first thing to do is sauté your leeks and courgette (zucchini) until quite soft. This can be done in the Instant Pot using the sauté function or in a frying pan on the stove.
Whisk the milk and flour together in a large bowl then add the eggs, cheese, dill and salt. Lightly whisk to combine, you don’t want to introduce too much air into the mixture. Stir in you cooked veggies and half the smoked salmon.
Carefully pour the egg mixture into your greased container and then dot the remaining smoked salmon over the top. I also added some dill fronds because they looked so pretty!
Pour 360ml (1 1/2 cups) water into your pressure cooker then lower the dish in using the steamer rack. If your steamer rack hasn’t got handles you will need to fashion a sling using kitchen foil.
Cover and cook 16 minutes then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure manually and lift the frittata out of the cooker. The frittata may have puffed up like a soufflé, but it will soon settle back down again.
You can serve it now or give it a couple of minutes under the grill (broiler) to give it some colour. Make sure it is not too close to the grill as it may puff up again.
Leave the frittata to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake tin and carefully invert onto a cooling rack or plate. You will need to invert it again, top side up before serving.
The frittata can be served warm or cold and keeps very well in the fridge. It is great for a light lunch or even breakfast or brunch. You could even pack it up and bring it on a picnic 🙂
Take a look at my (traditionally cooked) cottage cheese, kale and smoked salmon frittatacottage cheese, kale and smoked salmon frittata or this fully loaded breakfast frittata.
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 small leeks
- 1 medium zucchini
- 120 ml | 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp grated Parmesan
- 3 tbsp grated Cheddar cheese or Gruyere
- 5 medium eggs
- 100 g | 3 1/2oz smoked salmon in small strips
- 1/2 tsp chopped dill or parsley plus extra dill to garnish
- Freshly ground pepper to season
Top and tail the leeks, you only want to use the white and light green parts. Slice them thinly. Cut the zucchini (courgette) in quarters lengthwise and then slice thinly.
Heat the butter and olive oil in your pressure cooker or in a frying pan. Sauté your leeks and courgette (zucchini) until quite soft, 5-7 mins. Leave to cool slightly then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl. Rinse out the pressure cooker.
- Whisk the milk and flour together in a large bowl then add the eggs, 4 tbsp of the Parmesan, cheddar, dill and salt.
Lightly whisk together to combine, you don’t want to whisk too much or the frittata will puff up.
- Stir in you cooked veggies and half the smoked salmon.
- Carefully pour the egg mixture into a 15cm (6in) cake tin, sprayed with cake release.
Dot the remaining smoked salmon over the top. I also added some dill fronds because they looked so pretty! Season with freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour 360ml (1 1/2 cups) water into your pressure cooker then lower the dish in using the steamer rack. If your steamer rack hasn’t got handles you will need to fashion a sling using kitchen foil.
Cover and cook 16 minutes at high pressure, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes.
Release remaining pressure manually and lift the frittata out of the cooker. The frittata may have puffed up a little, like a soufflé, but it will soon settle back down again.
- Preheat the grill (broiler). Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the frittata then place under the grill – not too close in case if puffs up again. Cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden.
Leave the frittata to cool for 5 minutes in the tin. If it had puffed up, it will settle back down.
Run a knife around the edge of the cake tin and carefully invert onto a cooling rack or plate. You will need to invert it again, grilled side up, before serving.
Don't overfill your container – I used a 6 in (3 in deep) cake tin. You could use a similarly sized soufflé dish, grease it with butter and dusting with a little grated Parmesan.
Serve warm or cold, for breakfast/brunch or lunch. Great to bring to the office or a picnic.
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Monica says
I wanted to double the amount so I did this in an oven instead. The texture was perfect! Everything was the right amount. Replaced smoked salmon with ham, and it was still delicious.
Lucy Parissi says
Yes the pressure cooker version is a bit smallish (though tall) glad it worked in the oven too 🙂
Sammie says
I adore frittatas and this looks absolutely delicious. Pyrex sell an 8” soufflé dish – less than £5 from www dot mahahome dot com.
Right, this is going to sound silly, but I’m a bit scared of pressure cookers. I’m not sure why? Are they fairly simple to getthe hang of? I’ve seen loads of Instant Pot recipes and am wondering if it’s worth investing in one?
Lucy Parissi says
Instant Pot is the best… so easy to use and so versatile. Definitely worth investing in one!