Practically carb-free, this low carb bacon and brie frittata makes a great holiday brunch recipe. And this KitchenAid Stainless Steel Cookware is a fantastic gift for any foodie on your list.
I have a new love and it’s called stainless steel cookware. I have finally replaced the good pots and pans I received for my wedding over 13 years ago. At the time, they were the height of good cookware and they were very good to me. But it was time to break up with them and move on. In part because they were old and rather scratched and in part because I’ve become increasingly conscious of the environmental and health impact of some of the coatings on older non-stick cookware. I’ve tried a number of things in terms of replacements. I have a growing collection of cast iron, both enamelled and plain, and I love it but it has its limitations (not least of which is the sheer weight of those pots and pans!). I have also tested out a number of eco-friendly non-stick options and found those to have some limitations as well. For one thing, it’s harder to sear and brown foods on those ceramic-based surfaces. And for another, the surfaces can be SO non-stick at first that food slides around in them a little too much. But they also scratch and damage easily so even with great care, the non-stickability begins to wear off quickly.
It finally dawned on me that non-stick was not the only game in town and that most culinary professionals prefer stainless steel. I knew it would be an adjustment but decided that it might be the best option for my purposes. I was very fortunate to have the chance to review a set of stainless steel cookware from Kitchenaid. It’s a beautiful set and comes in red and black, but I chose the classic polished steel.
When it came, it was so shiny and perfect I was hesitant to cook with it, lest I mar its beautiful surfaces. And I was right about needing an adjustment period: if you’re used to non-stick cookware, stainless steel can present a few challenges. You need plenty of butter or oil to keep things from sticking, which is hardly a problem among the low carb set. In a way, I find this to be an advantage as it adds great flavour and nutrition. You also need less heat, as the conductivity of these pots and pans is quite remarkable. I have to keep reminding myself of this when I go to cook with it, and I try to keep the burners are medium or below. Only in a few cases do I find that I need a higher heat, such as searing meats. I’ve been using these pots and pans for a few months now and I find them a joy to cook with.
A huge benefit to this cookware is that it’s dishwasher safe. Unlike my old wedding-present cookware, I can pop my pots and pans into the dishwasher for easy clean-up. In fact, I prefer to clean it this way because it comes out looking as shiny new as when it first arrived. There’s nothing quite like pretty shiny new pots and pans on display to make me want to get cooking! I also don’t have to be nearly so careful with these pots and pans; I can stir and lift and flip with whatever old kitchen tool I have handy. As someone who cooks a lot, this sort of durability is a huge plus. It’s very reasonably priced for a set of good cookware but you can also purchase most of the pieces individually. I’d happily recommend it to any serious cook looking to get away from non-stick. A great present for any foodies on your list!
Now, you don’t need stainless steel to make my Bacon & Brie Frittata, but you do need some sort of oven-safe skillet. Bacon and brie are a match made in low carb heaven and frittatas are just about the easiest meal ever. This would be great as a holiday brunch recipe, but it also makes a great dinner. Gooey brie oozing out of a bacon-studded open-faced omelet…what could be more delicious?
You also need to try this delicious Asparagus Frittata from Mindfull Mom!
Disclosure: I received a 10-piece set of stainless steel cookware from KitchenAid for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 4 ounces brie sliced thin (easiest to do when it's cold)
- In a 10 inch saute pan, cook chopped bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve skillet and 2 tbsp of the bacon grease.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs with cream, garlic, salt and pepper and about two thirds of the cooked bacon. Set skillet over medium low heat and swirl remaining bacon grease to coat bottom and sides.
- Pour egg mixture into skillet and cook undisturbed until edges are set up center is still somewhat loose, about 10 minutes.
- Preheat broiler to high and set an oven rack on the second highest setting in the oven. Lay slices of brie on top of frittata. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Broil until puffed and golden brown, about 5 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Remove and let cool a few minutes before serving.
Serves 6. Each serving has 1.91 g of carbs.
Food energy: 327kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 13.16g
Total fat: 25.93g
Calories from fat: 233
Cholesterol: 309mg
Carbohydrate: 1.91g
Total dietary fiber: 0.08g
Protein: 16.68g
Sodium: 658mg
Mary Anna says
Yum! Love bacon. Love brie. Must try!
Carolyn says
It’s so good! Hope you do try it.
Aimee says
The first thing I thought while reading your stainless cookware review was “Thank goodness it’s not just me!” as I too have had difficulty adjusting to stainless cookware after practically a lifetime of using non-stick! Perhaps I’m still not using enough butter/oil, but I do feel its getting better overall; I can’t wait to try this recipe out for the holidays!!
Carolyn says
Plenty of butter/oil and a lower heat setting definitely helps! We just got too used to the non-stick stuff, I think.
L. Wall says
Heat pan before adding oil or cooking spray then add food.
Recipe looks delicious. Thank you Carolyn for a steady stream of wonderful recipes.
Just treated myself to two of your new cookbooks!
Carolyn says
Thanks so much!
naomi says
Yep, I love my stainless steel pan. Its dishwasher safe and I love the way it performs. I have tried KitchenAid’s pieces yet, so this review is perfect!
Amanda says
Delicious breakfast idea!!!
Miss @ Miss in the Kitchen says
This looks like my kind of breakfast! I would love to give this KitchenAid cookware a try, it sounds amazing!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
This frittata looks fantastic! I love bacon and brie together! The pans are gorgeous!
Pam says
With stainless steel, even if the pan does get some burned on grease, you can soak it and scour it clean — if that happens with non-stick finishes, it’s ruined. I’m somewhat abusive of my cookware and I love my stainless steel!
Carolyn says
I know, I love it! 🙂
Nutmeg Nanny says
I love KA products. I have been using them for years and keep adding to my collection. This frittata looks pretty tasty too. Love the addition of brie.
Vicky says
OMG! I just died and went to low carb high fat heaven…………….. this is going to go on rotation. Carolyn, you’re a genius!
linda says
Carolyn, Finally getting around to considering this YUMMY recipe. I live alone and would want to be able to keep some of this for separate meals without having to eat it for 6 meals straight! With my quiche recipes, I assemble them and freeze them without baking (6 smaller quiche pans). When I’m ready to eat one, I bake them from frozen at 350F for about 45 – 50 minutes. Do you think this method might work with this recipe?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
linda says
Thanks – I’ll tell you how it works out…
Greta says
hi! I do not have a cast iron or stainless steel skillet, so I was thinking of baking this in the oven (doubling the recipe for Mother’s Day brunch), I was wondering what you thought the baking temp/time would be for that? I plan to add the Brie about halfway through once the eggs are set around the edges, but still soft in the middle.
Carolyn says
I think you will need a 350F oven for at least 30 minutes.
cimmaryn says
Made this today and loved it! When I make it again, I think I might add some onion, maybe mushroom, and definitely some tomato slices on top? It is really yummy, as well as on the salty side (to be fair, I think I added too much salt by accident) — I think tomato would really give it a bright flavor that would be awesome.
That said, it is pretty perfect as it is! Good sized portions, too. I’m taking it for breakfast at work for the week. Yay!
Thanks again for all you do — you make low-carbing much more fun!
Heather says
This is a perfect breakfast for my new Keto lifestyle. I like to prepare dishes Sunday for the week. This is going to be easy to grab and go.
Yum Yum Yum!
Patricia says
Thank goodness you were rewarded with a 10 piece set. For all the devoted work you do for us and others, it should have been all of the stainless. You go girl!
Amber says
Not a big fan of Brie cheese! Any other suggestions? And how much to use? This sounds delicious otherwise!
Carolyn says
Any cheese you want will be fine, and use the same amount I used brie.
Steve says
Gorgeous, added sautéed mushrooms as well, with a side of asparagus and a small pinot grigio, perfection
Carolyn says
Sound delicious!
Heather says
Do you perchance have an electric oven? Because your broiling instructions don’t make a lot of sense to to someone with a gas oven, so I thought I’d better check.
For those who’ve only used gas, electric ovens have a heating element at the the top of the oven compartment that’s used for broiling. The instructions are consistent with that kind of set up. Note that if there’s anything resembling a drawer below the main oven compartment, it’s used for storage.
For those who’ve never used gas, a gas oven has one burner at the bottom of the main oven compartment. The “drawer” under the main compartment is, in fact, the broiler so you can put things to be broiled under the burner. I’m going to have to see if I can fit a cast iron skillet under there far enough below the burner to not burn a frittata. I may have to remove the top piece from the broiler pan.
Carolyn says
Actually, while my current oven is electric, I’ve had several gas ovens previous to this (in the last 3 houses I lived in, in Boston) and ALL of them had a broiler element at the top of the oven. I have not seen one of the gas ovens with a broiling drawer in decades. So I am curious either where you live or how old your oven is!
Heather says
I currently live in Philly, and before that I lived in the St. Louis area. I have no idea how old my oven is, but it was here when I moved into the house in 1995, and it wasn’t exactly new then. Every gas oven that I ever remember using had a broiler drawer. The idea that one would have a burner at the top just sounds strange to me.
Heather says
Oops, used a different email address from what I used before, can you change the email address the previous comment is under?
Nicole says
This was heavenly! I make frittatas a lot, but this was the best one I’ve ever made, hands down. Thank you!
Margie says
Can this be done in muffin tins?
Carolyn says
Probably, as long as they are VERY well greased.
Susan Hawthorne says
I love, love, love this recipe. We have it every week 🙂 A favorite in our household, Thanks so much!!! 😀
Carolyn says
Yay! We love it too.
Kathleen says
This is so tasty and comes out of the oven looking beautiful! I used prosciutto in place of the bacon because that’s what I had on hand (I know, I know, and, yes, I am ashamed to admit that I temporarily ran out of bacon). Cooked the prosciutto to crisp it, then chopped and added to the eggs. I can’t cook without my herbs so I showered the top of the finished frittata with chopped fresh parsley and some chive flowers. Served it with tomatoes (thanks to cimmaryn’s comment above). Thank you for all your delicious recipes!
Carolyn says
Glad you liked it!
Joanne says
Looks amazing! I’m going to try it for a brunch this weekend. Did you know that you can season stainless steel pans to make them non-stick? Search Pinterest for the instructions. It’s on my list to try.
Emily harris says
Is it nice to eat cold?
Carolyn says
Not really. I think this one is better warm.
Nancy says
The top of the recipe says serves 10, but the end of th crecipe says serves 6…
Robin Bolton says
I am thinking this is easy to heat up the next day? Y/N?
Carolyn says
YES!
Linda says
This was SOOOOO good and really easy – no fussing with the eggs once they’re in the pan. The flavors are so nice together and I’m looking forward to the leftovers. another hit, Carolyn, thanks!
Esther R. says
Very easy to make . My girlfriends loved them .
Jennifer says
This may be a silly question, but do you take the wax off the brie before slicing? I haven’t cooked much with Brie.
Carolyn says
Wax? There isn’t any wax on brie. If you mean the rind, then no, you don’t remove it. It’s edible.
Rachel says
Absolutely delicious!
Stephanie Miller says
Can this be put together the night before?
Carolyn says
You could bake it the day before and re-heat but I don’t think putting it together and leaving it uncooked is a very good idea.