Slow Cooker Frittata with Courgettes (Zucchini), Tomato and Feta
Keep your kitchen cool with this super easy frittata made in the slow cooker. Courgettes (zucchini), cherry tomatoes and feta cheese join our eggs to make a delicious, light and summery dish.
I may have mentioned this before, but I really don’t understand people who say the slow cooker is a wintery appliance. Sure, it makes great soups and stews which are generally enjoyed more in the lower temperatures, but it makes nearly anything else as well. So why not take advantage of the fact that it won’t make your kitchen feel like a bikram yoga studio? My oven has been out of commission since I think June. I can’t bring myself to turn it on when my kitchen thermostat reads 30C (yeah, imagine what it’s like outside when it’s so hot in the house…). And now that I have a little chewing machine running around under my feet, I hate to attempt anything that involves a hot stove as well. Westley seems to know the exact second that I have to give my full attention to something else (be that a frying pan or my um, phone), and that’s when he chooses to jump on the couch and go for the cushion he really really really wants to eat. So yes, the slow cooker has been my best friend this summer, and if it wasn’t for that we’d have been eating take out every day.
So, the recipe. I’ve used Greek summery ingredients, courgettes (zucchini in the US – sorry I keep repeating this but you know, SEO and all that), cherry tomatoes (actually I think mine were what you call grape or acorn tomatoes but they’re more or less the same thing) and feta cheese. The frittata base is a good one to use and then switch things up according to your own preferences or fridge contents, so feel free to experiment with the veggies or cheese.
A couple of notes. As you can see from the icon on the left, I used a 3.5lt slow cooker. If yours is larger adjust the quantities accordingly, otherwise your frittata will be too thin and the cooking times will be off. Also, I’m going to be honest. The one issue I had here was the washing up. The egg sticks to the stoneware and needs a bit of a scrub afterwards. Next time I might try lining the crock with grease-proof paper to see what happens. One thing is certain though. There will definitely be a next time. This was really easy, and really tasty. A keeper.
Hi! My name is Eleni. I’m slightly obsessed with recipes, cooking and food in general. So what else was I to do? I started a food blog.
i always love making frittatas but never made one with a slow cooker before, definitely something that i need to try!
I highly recommend it! Thanks for the visit!
I LOVE that you made this in the slow cooker, what a neat idea! It’s a perfect way to keep the house cool during the hot summer. How would you recommend adjusting the recipe for a 5 qt slow cooker? Would I need to increase the quantities quite a bit?
Thank you! A cool house is always a good thing in the summer! For 5qt I would increase the quantities by another half, so 3 med zucchini (1 1/2 cup grated, drained and squeezed) – 9 eggs, 15 cherry tomatoes, 225 gr feta etc etc. I would be a good idea to check on it after 2 hours, as it might be slightly thinner than mine… Good luck, hope you like it!
Any nutritional info so I can see how many Weight Watchers points each serving is?
Hello. There are several sites which will give you nutritional info for any recipe. I suggest you search using the term “calculate nutritional information for recipe” or something similar. Hope this helps!
Do you have any difficulty getting the frittata out of the slow cooker? Any tips would be gratefully received.
Truth be told this isn’t the easiest thing to get out of the stoneware. Personally I cut it before taking it out with a large fish slice. If for some reason I wanted it whole, I would probably try lining the crock with grease-proof (parchment) paper before cooking. Let me know how it goes!
why would you cook something for 3-5 hrs. when you can do it for maybe 30-60 mins?
Well, there are several reasons, for me at least. Cooking in the slow cooker doesn’t require any attention. I would never leave the house if my oven was on, but I don’t mind letting the slow cooker work all on its lonesome. Also, sometimes it’s nice to do the prep for dinner, then get some other important jobs done before serving it. Like going out for a pre-dinner drink or coffee. Finally, the cost of electricity consumption for 5 hours of slow cooking is nothing compared to an hour of having the oven on. Oh, one more, here in Greece it’s getting super hot. Can’t even imagine having the oven on in the summer, whereas the slow cooker doesn’t heat up the kitchen!
This is a wonderful recipe and thank you for sharing it.
An unattended appliance is a fire hazard. If the slow cooker were to short out electrically, then a fire could start. When no one is in the home, this could be a disaster. There are many people who go to work and leave the slow cooker going with no one at home.
Thank you for your input Maryanne.
You could apply this to anything electrical left on standby like a TV. It’s a low risk.
Do you leave the lid on or off to cook?
Lid on! There will be some condensation under it towards the end of cooking time, but it won’t ruin the frittata. You can lift the lid and quickly turn it upside down to avoid letting the water fall back in.
sticky mess to clean up? Soak dish in hot water and sprinkle baking soda, leave for a bit….will clean up in a snap! Still stuck on, sprinkle more baking soda and scrub…you’ll be amazed! Cheap and better for the environment than other products you’re probably buying!
Great tip Lise! Thank you for sharing!
I made this yesterday with a few substitutions and it turned out great! I used what I had on hand – grated yellow squash instead of zucchini, 1 T of dried parsley, and 2 chopped up Roma tomatoes. I only added about half of the feta that was called for in the recipe. It reheated great for lunch today.
Yay! So glad it was a hit! I love the sound of the yellow squash, it’s not so easy to find here in Greece. And thanks a million for coming back to comment 🙂
I’ve been making frittatas similar to this for a while in the oven, but can’t wait to try it in my slow cooker. I suggest adding chopped onions and toasted pine nuts to the tomato & feta–it adds so much flavor and some light crunchiness! I’ve never tried adding zucchini, so I look forward to tasting that. Thanks!
I see what appears to be Greek writing under my name above. I’m American and don’t know how that appeared or what it means. I can only hope that it’s polite?
Hmm, I’m not sure what that writing might have been… Maybe an automated response by WordPress? My main site is Greek so maybe the response to comments (e.g. “awaiting approval” or something like that) might be in Greek… I will look into it, thanks for letting me know. I’m sure it was polite 🙂
Hi Susan. The onions and pine nuts sound like lovely additions, thanks for the tip! I would love to hear from you when you try the frittata in the slow cooker!
Can i use the oven instead of slow cook?? How much time?? Will sure do!! 🙂
Yes you can cook this in the oven, I would go for 180C temperature (350F). The time will depend on how thick your frittata is (how small or large the dish is for this quantity of ingredients) but I would imagine it would be between 30 and 45 minutes. You want the eggs to set, and for the frittata to turn a nice golden colour (something it doesn’t really do in the slow cooker). Good luck!
I’m a single older male and not well versed in cooking, but I don’t know if a Fritatta is a piece of bread (like a pizza crust) or does the recipe form it’s own crust, like say an omelet? Thanks for helping! Tom
Hi Tom! Frittatas are crustless, so yes they are more like omelettes! Thicker though, and usually made in the oven, or started off in a pan and then put under the grill. The slow cooker method is, however, way easier 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
I do not know how to convert “150 gr feta cheese, crumbled” into ounces.
The best way to convert measurements is to Google “how to covert .. to ..” So in this case “grams to ounces”. One ounce is roughly 28 grams. So 150 grams is about 5 to 5 1/2 ounces. Hope that helps!
Could you use broccoli instead of zucchini
Hi David! What a great idea! To be honest I hadn’t thought of it but actually it would really suit this dish. There are a couple of ways I would try this; I would either cut the broccoli into very small pieces (especially the stalks, maybe even peel the stalks with a peeler if they seem very tough as the inner part is softer), or – if larger pieces are preferable – I would blanch or steam them first and drain well. Either way, I don’t think it’s necessary to let the pieces sit in a colander (like we do with the zucchini) as broccoli doesn’t have such a high water content. I am intrigued now and I might try it myself as soon as broccoli comes back into season here! If you try it I would love to hear how it goes!!