Spanish potato omelette, soft and classic
Spanish potato omelette with potatoes, eggs and onion: cooked in oil and flipped, soft and juicy inside. The classic Spanish one-dish meal, great cold too.
Are you looking for the real Spanish potato omelette, the kind that is soft and juicy inside and melts in your mouth?
Then this is the recipe for you. I’ll walk you through it step by step, made with just three ingredients, potatoes, eggs and onion, cooked slowly in oil and then flipped in the pan until you get that creamy center that makes it unmistakable.
The secret to this Spanish one-dish meal is all in the slow cooking. The potatoes are not fried to make them crisp, but gently confited in oil over medium heat, so they stay tender and soak up flavor without browning too much. When you add them to the beaten eggs and let the mixture rest, every slice gets coated and the tortilla cooks evenly.
Making a Spanish tortilla has at least three advantages: it is cheap and uses ingredients you always have at home, it is naturally gluten free, and it is good warm but also cold, the next day.
A practical trick is the flip: cover the pan with a flat plate, turn it over with one confident move and slide the tortilla back in to cook the other side for just a few minutes. If you like it really juicy in the middle, shorten the cooking of the second side.
It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days and becomes perfect cut into squares for an aperitif, tucked into a sandwich or served as pinchos.
Ready? Let’s make the Spanish potato omelette.
To make this recipe
A small selection of handy tools to keep within reach. Some links may be affiliate links.
Large non-stick pan
Useful for cooking and sautéing ingredients evenly without overcrowding the surface.
Steps
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices or even small pieces, so they cook evenly. Slice the onion finely.
- Heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry the potatoes and onion over medium heat for about 20 minutes: they should soften and gently simmer without browning too much. Drain them well from the oil.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl with a pinch of salt, then add the drained potatoes and onion and stir. Let it rest for a few minutes.
- In a non-stick pan with a film of oil, pour in the mixture and cook over medium-low heat, loosening the edges, until it sets but stays soft in the center.
- Cover it with a plate, flip it and slide it back into the pan to cook the other side for a couple of minutes. The inside should stay juicy.
Helpful tips
The debate is endless: with or without onion. The onion makes it sweeter and softer, but you can leave it out for the sin cebolla version.
Drain the potatoes well from the oil before adding them to the eggs: excess oil makes the tortilla heavy.
For a soft heart, shorten the cooking of the second side: it should stay juicy in the center.
It is also excellent cold, in pinchos or in a sandwich: perfect for picnics and aperitifs.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 26.0 g
- Sugars
- 3.0 g
- Protein
- 12.0 g
- Fat
- 19.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.0 g
- Fiber
- 3.0 g
- Sodium
- 340 mg
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