Practically carb-free, this keto bacon and brie frittata is a fabulous breakfast, brunch, or dinner recipe. So easy to make, and it comes together in 25 minutes, start to finish.
Have I ever mentioned how much I love keto frittata? It’s honestly one of the recipes every keto dieter should learn how to make. So if you’ve never made one, I urge you address this oversight immediately.
The first meal I ever made for my husband was a spinach parmesan frittata. This was long before we were married, but we’d been dating long distance for about a year and I’d come to stay with him in Colorado for a few weeks. He went off to work and I puttered about his house, and found myself reading book on Italian cooking.
When I came across that frittata recipe, I practically ran to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients. It was so simple and so elegant, and I couldn’t wait to surprise him with a home-cooked meal. I’ve been hooked on this incredibly flavorful dish ever since.
I show you just how easy, and delicious, they are to make. Scroll down to the recipe to see my Keto Frittata Video!
What’s so great about keto frittata?
I could wax poetic about this classic egg dish all day long but here’s why I love it and why you need to make it:
- It’s extremely low in carbohydrates. A basic egg frittata typically has less than 5g total carbs per serving, depending on what else you put in it. And this keto bacon frittata has less than 2g per serving!
- It’s infinitely variable. Think of frittata the way you might think of a pizza crust. There are so many ways to shake it up, so many delicious variations, and the sky’s the limit. You can take any frittata base, which is just eggs, cream, salt, and pepper, and put your own spin on it. This bacon and brie version is one of my favorite keto frittata recipes.
- It’s deceptively simple to make. Once you have your ingredients together and your add-ins prepped, it takes only about 10 minutes. There is no real work involved, no huge fuss and effort.
- It’s great for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. It’s good hot out of the oven but it’s also good at room temperature, making it extra versatile.
- It’s perfect for keto meal prep. Frittata can be easily stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, and is just as good re-warmed in the oven or microwave. So you can make a big one, slice it all up, and have an easy keto meal any time of the week.
How to make a keto frittata
While frittata is incredibly easy to make, there are some tips to getting it right. My first every attempt was phenomenal, thanks to the tips I learned from my husband’s Italian cookbook.
There are many ways to make frittata, but the classic Italian method is to first cook it over low heat in a skillet, and then transfer the skillet to the oven and place it under the broiler. It gets puffed and browned with this method and it’s become my favorite way to make it. It’s very easy but there are a few tricks for getting it right.
Use an oven-proof skillet
It doesn’t need to be cast iron, but you want a good sturdy skillet that can go from stovetop to oven. It also should be able to withstand the heat of the broiler, so make sure your pan can handle heat of up to 500F.
Make sure your pan is not too hot
You actually want to cook a keto frittata quite slowly so keep the pan on low heat. If your pan is set over medium and you add the egg mixture, it’s going to fry quickly and your frittata will be tough.
Use plenty of oil
Don’t skimp on the oil you add to the pan before the eggs. You want the frittata to come out of the pan easily at serving time. Non-stick pans are fine with just 1 tablespoon of oil but cast iron and stainless steel need 2 or more tablespoons. I used the residual bacon grease for this bacon and brie frittata and I kept the majority of it in my cast iron skillet.
Let the sides set, undisturbed
Once the egg mixture is in the pan, leave it alone for a few minutes. Don’t mix it around, just let it be until the sides start to set. Wait until you can run a rubber spatula around the edges without liquid eggs spilling under. You want the center to still be quite loose, but you should also be able to feel the bottom firming up. That’s when you are ready to move on.
Watch it closely under the broiler
Broilers differ in strength so watch your frittata closely. Mine is extremely powerful and I rarely leave anything under it for more than 2 minutes. But in other places I’ve been, it may take 5 minutes to cook properly. Once your keto frittata is puffed and has a few brown spots, it’s cooked through.
Ready to make this delicious and easy keto meal?
More keto frittata recipes you might like
- Zucchini Parmesan Frittata
- Keto Sheet Pan Frittata
- Roasted Tomato Pecorino Frittata
- Mexican Frittata
- Jalapeno Popper Frittata
- Spinach Mushroom Frittata
Practically carb-free, this keto bacon and brie frittata is a fabulous breakfast, brunch, or dinner recipe. So easy to make, and it comes together in 25 minutes, start to finish.
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy 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)
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Cook the chopped bacon in a 10-inch oven-proof skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel lined plate. Leave at least 2 tbsp of bacon grease in the skillet (if you are using cast iron, you may want to leave more) and remove from heat. Let the skillet cool before proceeding.
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In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream, garlic, salt and pepper and about two thirds of the cooked bacon. Set the skillet over medium low heat and swirl remaining bacon grease to coat bottom and sides.
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Pour the egg mixture into skillet and cook undisturbed until edges are set up center is still somewhat loose, 7 to 10. Layer the sliced brie overtop. Sprinkle with the remaining bacon.
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Preheat the broiler to high and set an oven rack on the second highest setting in the oven. Broil until puffed and golden brown,2 to 5 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.
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Remove and let cool a few minutes before serving.
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?
Michael Prewitt says
I havent seen one of those in decades. Most modern gas ovens dont have the lower broiler. Its just a storage drawer.
The bacon and brie frittata is fantastic BTW. The garlic really makes it.
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!
Beth says
I have an induction stove top and none of my pans are rated to go under the broiler. Can I just cook it in the pan on the stove? I have lifetime pans and I see a fritta recipe that came with the cookware?
Carolyn says
You can certainly try!
Carolyn says
It’s going to take quite a while to cook through that way and your topping will never brown up properly. But you’re welcome to try!
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.
Deborah Kloss says
My niece and I made this for breakfast this morning….it is lovely. I am very appreciative of your well written and very yummy recipes. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Deborah!
Kelly Lister says
I made this tonight for dinner. It is so good! My first time making a frittata…I made a rookie mistake…I slice the Brie and then stacked it. It was a big glob by the time I was ready to put it on the frittata! I just chopped it up. Tasted great!
Lynn W says
haha, I did this too!
Lailani says
I added some leftover asparagus. Great recipe!
Catherine says
Was great! Thank you for the recipe!
Kimberly says
Absolutely incredible-super easy, too! It looks so fancy!
Lu says
For the Brie , do slice off the white part or do you leave it on? I like to make it this weekend and was wondering. Thank you
Carolyn says
I leave it on, but I love the rind of a good brie.
Lynn W says
yum! Just made this for Father’s Day, everyone, even the picky ones, liked it quite a lot! Will definitely make again.
Marla says
I made this for brunch (for just me) today. And I wish it were in a smaller size. I don’t like eggs enough to eat this 5 more times. I am SO GLAD I read all the comments because until today I had no idea I have one of the old gas stoves that has the broiler in the bottom! What a total pain in the the bum that is! I kept the rind on as suggested, but won’t in the future, it gave my Frittata a fishy flavor that I just don’t care for! I used this same brie at Christmas to make the Cranberry Brie bites and had cut the rind off. Those were fine. So while I’m glad for the experience, I just wish I liked it better.
Amy Ruff says
Made this today:) Sautéed mushrooms with the garlic and added to eggs. Used havarti instead of Brie (because it’s my favorite). My pan was 12 in instead of 10, so I think my frittata wasn’t as puffy and despite using a LOT of bacon grease, it still stuck on the bottom. Was the stove perhaps too warm? Still delicious and will make again:)