An Instant Pot Frittata is the best version of this famous egg dish, and this Reuben twist with pastrami, swiss, sauerkraut, and potatoes is dynamite!
Who knew a Reuben and a Frittata could make such a yummy baby. Rachael Ray knew, that's who.
Watching the Rachael Ray Show while I run in the mornings is one of my most favorite things and since falling in love with pressure cooking I find myself often times looking at her fabulous recipe creations and thinking, “Hmm, I wonder if I could make that in the Instant Pot?”
The day I saw her make this Reuben Frittata, I quickly jumped off the treadmill to write on my nearby notepad, “St Patrick's day recipe – Reuben Frittata.”
Anybody else keep a notepad at your side when you exercise? I leave my treadmill every morning with a page long to-do list, which makes me crazy, but running seems to have a way of surfacing all of my best ideas.
Anyways, for about 3 years (before Thai food entered my life) I would order a Reuben Sandwich at every restaurant. I've found the ultimate one in my home town, if you need a referral, but that is how much I adore this sandwich.
WHAT IS A REUBEN SANDWICH?
Oh, just the best sandwich in the entire world. Sauerkraut haters, hold your tongue, it really is. Tender pastrami (or corned beef), tangy sauerkraut, melty Swiss cheese, and my favorite part – the creamy Russian Dressing that I like a little sweet, a little spicy, and studded with briny bites of minced pickle. If you can find marble rye bread and cook it up like a grilled cheese, you are in serious business.
I actually won an award in a Cache Valley Cheese contest years ago for building the ultimate Reuben sandwich. I added red bell pepper pesto to mine and it was quite revolutionary.
All of these flavors cooked up into a frittata turned into my favorite dinner of the month. I've had enough Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage to satisfy me for life, so my new St. Patrick's Day dinner tradition just might be this frittata.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS EASY FRITTATA RECIPE
- Soft pillow-y egg filled with chopped pastrami, sauerkraut, shredded swiss cheese, diced potatoes, and flavored with pickle relish and brown mustard, then SMOTHERED TO THE MAX with Russian dressing – it sounds so wrong, but it's not, Rachael Ray is never wrong, duh
- Low carb lovers this is for you! You're getting all the flavors of a Reuben without all the bread!
- Carb lovers unite, this is for you too! This frittata on top of a toasted piece of marble rye bread is kiss-your-fingers-like-an-Italian-Chef good, MUAH!
- The Russian Dressing . . . can't stop, won't stop taking more than my share
HOW TO MAKE A FRITTATA IN THE INSTANT POT
- Toss together your meat, veggies, and cheese
- Whisk up your eggs and seasonings
- Combine everything and pour it into a springform pan (this makes for easy serving) and cook for 25 minutes
- Meanwhile, whisk together the Russian Dressing
- Let the pressure release naturally for about 5 minutes (always a good idea when working with eggs) then quick release any remaining pressure
- Top it with more cheese and brown under the oven broiler (optional, but amazing)
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST FRITTATA
Whisk Those Eggs!
- Whisk your eggs until the yellow and white is fully combined before you add any other ingredients. This is essential for even, fluffy texture
Season the Eggs!
- To make sure your eggs are evenly seasoned, add salt and pepper before you stir in the extras. Don't ever wait until after it's cooked to add seasoning (why do restaurants not season fried and scrambled eggs!)
Add Dairy, or Don't
- Some frittata recipes add milk or ricotta cheese for fluffiness. 1/4 to 1/2 cup to 6 eggs is a nice ratio for the Instant Pot. For this Reuben version, I left out the milk so I could stuff it with maximum fillings
Pre Cook Add-ins
- Add only cooked ingredients to the frittata. Adding raw onion, potato, meat, etc will lend too much excess moisture to your frittata and it's unlikely they will cook all the way through
Use The Right Pan
- I prefer a springform because it makes for easy/pretty serving. As far as the size of pan, as a good rule of thumb, the inches in diameter of the pan is about how many eggs to use for your frittata. For example, a 7 inch pan will fit a 7 egg frittata perfectly. I only use 6 in this recipe due to the add-ins
Pressure Cook Your Frittata
- Eggs and pressure cooking are just meant to be. I'm convinced it's the answer to fluffy eggs every time, like these Denver Style Egg Bites – YUM!
Follow these basics and you're sure to have a slam dunk frittata every time, no matter what you decide to fill it with!
In a world divided on its love for sauerkraut, I hope you take a leap of faith and try this absolutely fabulous, flavor to the max, memorable Instant Pot Frittata with a Reuben flare. It exceeded my expectations and reminded me that I needed to go back to traveling the world, one Reuben at a time . . . well as soon as I get tired of Thai food, which doesn't appear to be happening, ever.
Enjoy!
EXTRA TIDBITS
WHAT TO SERVE WITH A FRITTATA
A frittata tends to be a one pan meal, containing most food groups on the Pyramid, so I find I have to get a little creative
- Side Salad – this Instant Pot Poached Pears Salad would be incredible
- Fruit – sliced oranges, apple slices, grapes, you name it
- Bread – Whole Grain Toast, Instant Pot Crusty Whole Wheat Bread
Frittata vs Quiche
Seeing the Crustless Quiche recipe I linked to below made me wonder, what is the difference between a quiche and a frittata? Well, I researched it and it wasn't too tough of an answer – the crust. Chowhound teaches that a quiche typically has a flaky crust of some kind while a frittata is basically one big omelet. So now the question, is a crustless quiche actually a frittata? Who knows, even Google had 10 different opinions on that one, so feel free to call it what you want!
MORE FRITTATA RECIPES FOR THE INSTANT POT
- Try the Mini Frittatas Page 27 from Master the Electric Pressure Cooker – they are customizable and delightful!
- Instant Pot Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Sausage Frittata
- Pressure Cooker Crustless Meat Lovers Quiche
TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT FRITTATA
PrintInstant Pot Frittata – Reuben Style!
The Instant Pot Frittata gets a little Reuben flare!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained
- 1 ½ cups frozen diced potatoes, thawed
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided
- 1 cup deli pastrami, coarsely chopped (could substitute leftover corned beef)
- 6 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon deli brown mustard
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- For garnish: Chopped fresh chives
- For serving: Toasted Pumpernickel or Marble Rye Bread
For the Russian Dressing (double if you like a lot of sauce)
- 1/3 cup light sour cream or yogurt
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
- 1/2 –1 teaspoon sriracha or other hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 7 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine sauerkraut, diced potatoes, green onions, ¾ cup swiss cheese, and pastrami; toss.
- In another bowl, whisk together eggs, relish, mustard, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Pour egg mixture over meat mixture and stir.
- Pour into the prepared pan.
- Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker pot and place a trivet inside. Carefully set the springform pan on the trivet.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 25 minutes.
- While the frittata cooks, combine Russian Dressing ingredients and place in the fridge. This can be made a day or two in advance.
- When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Remove pan from the pressure cooker. Top with ¼ cup Swiss cheese. Place under the oven broiler to brown the cheese.
- Run a knife around the edge of the pan, remove the outer ring.
- Garnish with fresh chives.
- Serve wedges of the frittata with a large dollop of Russian Dressing and toast.
Notes
- Chopped leftover corned beef can be used instead of deli pastrami
- Do not buy canned sauerkraut. Look for bottled or bagged sauerkraut in the refrigerated section for the best flavor
- If you have leftover baked potatoes, dice them up and use that instead of the diced potatoes from the freezer aisle
Keywords: instant pot frittata, easy frittata, reuben sandwich
How can I make it in the oven?
Crystal, I’ve never done it, but in the original Rachael Ray oven recipe, she cooked it at 400 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes for a 12 egg version. So I would guess 15 – 20 minutes