Do you ever start making a recipe and think, okay this is great, but what if there was also cheese? I do this to almost every recipe I make. So of course, the major twist on this Spanish Omelette I tried thanks to this easy recipe from Good House Keeping is adding cheese. Any recipe for a Traditional Spanish Omelette, will not include cheese – it really should be only the few ingredients to be authentic in its flavor. In all honesty, the first time I tried the recipe, I burnt the top and “fixed it” by adding cheese. It worked out!

There are a few reasons I liked this easy brunch recipe. It calls for a few ingredients that I always have on hand – potatoes, eggs, salt, onion, and cheese. (I loved not having to run to the nearest grocery store to pick up random ingredients.) Also, unlike some of the recipes I’ve attempted recently, this was ready to eat in one hour. On top of that, it still tasted great reheated the next day. Are you guys sold?
Okay, great! Here’s the recipe! (Have I been watching too many sales-y webinars? Maybe.)
Hot Tip 1: If you’re dairy free or simply don’t want cheese, it’s still delicious without it!
Hot Tip 2: Adding salt to the eggs as a first step makes the omelette more tender. The eggs need time to sit for at least fifteen minutes in salt.

What You Need for the Spanish Omelette
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 lb. golden potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8″ thick slices (I used a mandolin!)
- 1 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced (Again, the mandolin made it easy!)
- 1/4 -1/2 cup cheese (I used parmesan and colby jack cheese)

Spanish Omelette Instructions
- In medium bowl, beat eggs with 3/4 teaspoon salt. (This is essential as a first step.) Set it aside until later.
- In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- After the potatoes are well salted, add all of the oil to a 10-inch nonstick skillet and heat to medium. Add the potatoes and cook until tender (about 10 to 12 minutes) flipping occasionally. Once tender, move the potatoes to a bowl to cool.
- Onto the onion! Pour out all but 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the sliced onions to the skillet and cook until browned and very tender (about 12 minutes,) stirring occassionally. Once ready, add the onions to the potato bowl and combine. After the onions and potatoes have cooled (about 2-3 minutes,) stir in the eggs.
- Add two teaspoons of oil to the skillet and heat to medium-high. Then add ingredients all ingredients except cheese to the skillet. Try to make sure the potatoes and onions are spread in an even layer! Reduce heat to medium. Cook 7 minutes or until eggs are mostly set. (Good House Keeping advised to the sides are browned, but I’d recommend not waiting longer than the 7 minutes – that’s how I burnt my dish!)
- Here’s the tricky part. You’re going to flip the omelette and cook the top. Loosen the edges with a rubber spatula. Remove the skillet from heat and cover it with a large plate. Very carefully hold the plate to the skillet tightly, invert, and transfer the omellette to the plate. Next, slide the omelet back into the skillet.
- (If you’re not adding cheese, move onto Step 8!) Adding cheese: Sprinkle cheese. Top with a lid or foil and cook on medium 3 minutes or until bottom and center are set. Enjoy!
- No cheese: Cook on medium 3 minutes or until bottom and center are set. Enjoy!
How to put the Spanish Omelette Together
Make sure you cool the potatoes before adding the eggs. (The eggs will start to cook too soon if the potato-onion mix is piping hot!)
Add eggs to the onion-potato mix.
After the edges have browned a bit, loosen the edges.
Loosen the edges with a spatula.
The tricky part of this omelette is the flip. Carefully use a plate or cutting board to flip the omelette and cook the other side.
Flipping the Spanish Omelette
2 Comments
Linda Mason
April 25, 2020 at 12:24 pmShould oil be 1/4 cup? 1 1/4 seems like a lot.
Endless Brunch
April 26, 2020 at 8:03 pmIt is a lot! But it’s so you can fry the potatoes evenly. Dump out the majority of the oil before moving onto the onions 🙂