Ingredients

1/2 pound ground beef 

1 cup shredded hash browns - thawed 

1/2 cup diced yellow onion 

1 zucchini 

8 eggs 

Fresh basil 

1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese  

Salt and pepper 

Optional: Top with diced tomatoes and serve with fresh berries

Air Fryer Beef & Veggie Frittata

Time: 30 min    Serves: 4

  1. Crumble the ground beef in the air fryer tray and season with salt and pepper. Top with diced onion. Spray with olive oil and cook on steak setting 375° F for 3 minutes; break up big pieces, stir; cook at 375° F for 2 minutes or until beef reaches an internal temperature of 160° F. Remove beef from tray and clean off grease.  
  2. Quarter zucchini lengthwise and cut into 1/8" slices. Place in tray and spray with olive oil. Cook at 375° F for 3 minutes. Add to beef mix.  
  3. Mix eggs, fresh basil, hash browns and cheese. Add ground beef and zucchini. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix together. Spray 6" round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mixture into pan. Cook on 350° F BAKE setting for 8 minutes; cut slits in top and gently stir middle; cook an additional 8 minutes on 350° F bake setting. 
  4. Top with extra shredded cheese and diced tomatoes.  


Note: Individual times may vary depending upon your model of air fryer.

How to Cook Ground Beef in the Air Fryer

The air fryer is a great way to cook ground beef.. Crumble the ground beef by hand and place it in the basket with some salt and pepper. Once you add the diced onions, spray a little olive oil over the ground beef. This will help keep the ground beef from drying out. Speaking of drying out, we recommend keeping the beef no leaner than 90% for this recipe. The air fryer will naturally bring the fat out of the ground beef. If you go too lean on this, you run the risk of having dried-out beef.  

Clean out the grease left in the bottom after this step. 

Cooking Zucchini in the Air Fryer

After the ground beef is cooked and the tray is clean, it's time to cook up the vegetables that make this dish. We love the taste and nutrients offered by diced zucchini, and we chose to finely chop it for this recipe. Add the zucchini to the air fryer tray and spray with olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper.  

This recipe also would be great with diced red peppers and fresh chopped spinach. Skip this step if you're only going to use spinach in this recipe. Instead, add the spinach with the rest of the ingredients in the next step.

Mix All the Ingredients Together for the Air Fryer Breakfast Frittata

Combine the ingredients that will go in the cake pan. You easily can skip a dirty dish here and mix the ingredients directly in the cake pan. We used a 6" cake pan for our air fryer, but you may find a different sized cake pan is needed, depending upon your air fryer model. A large diameter may decrease cooking time while a smaller diameter may increase it. Spray the pan with olive oil to help the frittata release after cooking. 

Tips for Cooking the Frittata in the Air Fryer

One risk you run with a frittata is having a beautifully browned exterior while the inside isn't quite done. Every air fryer model will be different on cooking times, but here are a few tips to make sure you find success. Halfway through the cooking time, make sure to cut a few slits in the top of the frittata and delicately stir the inside with a fork. Make sure you're also paying attention to the amount of browning that is happening to the frittata. You may want to cover it with aluminum foil if it is browning too much or too early.