How Many Eggs Do You Use In The Tortilla/Omelet? This Trick Tells You The Perfect Amount
I understand that many people call it omelet because it has eggs, however, its real name is "tortilla", the thing is that "tortilla" in many Spanish-speaking countries also means something else. Anyway... I grew up with a Spanish grandmother, an Italian grandfather, and my Argentine parents so I know this recipe as "Spanish Tortilla", to me, an omelet is something else, so that's why, in this post, I will refer to this dish as Spanish tortilla or just tortilla.
The potato tortilla is one of the most emblematic dishes of Spanish cuisine. Its origin dates back to the end of the 18th century in Villanueva de la Serena, a small town in Extremadura, at the hands of José de Tena Godoy y Malfeito and the Marquis of Robledo. In the beginning, the tortilla was not made with eggs, but with potato flour and wheat flour. Over the years, the price of wheat began to rise, so this ingredient was removed from the mix and replaced with eggs.
Currently, when we are going to prepare the tortilla at home, one of the main questions that arise is how many eggs do we need. Well, it largely depends on how juicy we like the tortilla to be. If we like it very juicy, in such a way that when we break it we see the egg run, of course, we cannot skimp on this ingredient.
In order not to complicate our lives, some cooking books and professionals chefs give us the definitive trick to know how many eggs we need to prepare the tortilla. The ratio they recommend is two eggs to one potato. Simple, right?
The Best Tricks To Prepare a Potato Tortilla
To make it very juicy, instead of increasing the number of eggs, we can add a splash of milk to the beaten eggs. If what we want is fluffy and tall, it is as easy as adding a little baking powder before beating the eggs.
Potato tortilla with or without onion? There is a lot of debate around this issue. If you like it with onion, it is best to fry the onion and potatoes separately, in two different pans. This way you will get the tortilla to have a better flavor, appearance, and texture.
And finally, it should be noted the importance of choosing the best ingredients. Ideally, the eggs should be from free-range chickens because they have a more natural flavor. The potato must be special for frying and the oil must be olive, although of a mild variety so that it does not add much flavor.
With Or Without Onion?
Others even prefer potato tortillas stuffed with eels, bolognese sauce, ham and cheese, blue cheese, and mushrooms.
In addition to the ingredients that we can add, now the classic potato is replaced by potatoes with bagged chips. Just use a good quality bag, crumble it and mix it with the egg. It is advisable to leave them soaking in the mentioned egg for 15 minutes so that they soften. Some would consider this preparation an insult to traditional cuisine, but the reality is that it is also very good and it helps lazy people to enjoy the potato tortilla whenever they want.

The Reason Why You Should Not Keep The Tortilla In The Fridge For More Than Two Days
How To Preserve The Potato Tortilla
Food professionals recommend using small containers so that a large amount of air does not accumulate inside. The potato tortilla can last in the fridge between two and four days, or up to eight days if it is vacuum packed.
If it spends more time, we have to discard it to avoid any risk of food poisoning.
Can It Be Frozen?
Despite the difficulty, if we want to keep a potato tortilla in the freezer, the steps are as follows. It is essential that it is without curdling. Pour the potatoes into the bowl where we have beaten the eggs with salt and mash so that the potatoes are soaked in the eggs.
We wait a few minutes and place everything in a Tupperware, leaving a small space to fit when it expands in the freezer. We close the Tupperware, wait for it to cool down, and store it in the freezer.

Express PotatoTortilla Recipe
- 6 eggs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 spoon of milk
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Steps: