World Kitchen Tapas

Spanish Tortilla

Name: Spanish Tortilla
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 500 g waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced; 1 large onion, thinly sliced; 6 large eggs; 250 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tsp fine sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper; Aioli or crusty bread, to serve

The potatoes are not fried aggressively; they are poached in olive oil over low heat until tender and almost creamy.

By Dana Reyes

Tested at least twice · Updated September 2026

Spanish Tortilla — Potato and onion bound together with egg — simple ingredients, slow technique.

10 min

Prep time

25 min

Cook time

Serves

4.8

1,152 RATINGS

Why the potatoes need to be slow-cooked

The potatoes are not fried aggressively; they are poached in olive oil over low heat until tender and almost creamy. This gives the tortilla its soft, melting interior.

The onion is cooked with the potatoes so it sweetens and almost dissolves. Raw onion has no place here.

Ingredients

Makes 6

Instructions

About 35 min from start to finish

Heat the olive oil in a 20 cm frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion and salt. Cook gently for 20-25 minutes, turning occasionally, until the potatoes are tender but not coloured.

Drain the potatoes and onion through a sieve, reserving a few tablespoons of the oil. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and season with pepper.

Add the warm potato mixture to the eggs and stir gently. Leave to sit for 5 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the reserved oil in the same pan over medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for 4-5 minutes until the bottom is set.

Slide the tortilla onto a plate, invert the pan over it and flip it back into the pan. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Centre texture

The tortilla should still be slightly runny in the middle when you take it off the heat. It continues to cook as it cools.

Flipping confidently

Use a plate slightly larger than the pan. Run a knife around the edge first to loosen it.

Oil reuse

Strain the reserved oil and use it for roasting vegetables or making more tortillas.

Questions we get a lot

Do I need a special pan?

A 20 cm non-stick frying pan with a good handle is ideal. The tortilla should release easily.

Can I add chorizo?

Yes — fry cubes of chorizo before adding the potatoes and reduce the oil slightly.

How long does it keep?

Three days in the fridge. It is traditional to eat it cold or at room temperature.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.