Vegan Tortilla Espanola - Spanish Potato Omelette Recipe

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This Vegan Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Potato Omelette) is perfect for tapas night or hot summer days (as it is typically served cold or at room temperature)! And it's easy to make as well.

Ever since I had this amazing vegan Tortilla Española on my vacation in Madrid a few years ago, I've been wanting to make it at home as well. And it turns out, it's really easy to make and you don't even need a lot of ingredients.

If you're unfamiliar with Tortilla Española, it's often also called Tortilla de Patatas and is in its traditional form a Spanish omelet made with potatoes and eggs. For this vegan version, I've used chickpea flour and a very special ingredient, which you've seen in many other of my recipes where I use chickpea/garbanzo flour. It's also one of the 3 secret ingredients that I use in the kitchen all the time.

So what is Tortilla Espanola - a main dish? An appetizer? Well, it can be anything you want it to be! It's super versatile! In Spain, I've had this Spanish Omelette for the main meal together with other tapas, but also in a sandwich.

Traditional Tortilla Espanola doesn't use cooked potatoes, but the potatoes are fried in olive oil. I sacrifice authenticity for a healthier version. :)

You can eat it warm or cold - it's delicious either way. I prefer it cold, which makes it also perfect for hot summer days!

How to make Vegan Tortilla Espanola

As always you will find the whole recipe with detailed measurements in the printable recipe box below but I want to give you an overview of the key ingredients and basic steps with step-by-step photos first.

The ingredients

You will need:

potatoes: waxy potatoes like yukon gold are preferred
yellow onion: not necessary but it adds flavor, so recommended
chickpea flour: we're making a simple chickpea batter for the egg replacement
kala namak: it's Himalayan Black salt, it adds an eggy flavor because it's rich in sulfur and it's highly recommended for this dish
olive oil: for the pan

The basic steps

boiling potato cubes — Step 1: Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes, and boil them until medium-done, they don't have to be super soft.

cooking onions — Step 2: Cook chopped onion until soft.

potatoes, onions, and chickpea batter — Step 3: For the egg replacement, whisk together chickpea flour, kala namak, and water.

mixing the potatoes, onions, and chickpea batter — Step 4: Add the potatoes and onions to the batter and give it a mix.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Potato Omelette) in a pan — Step 5: Add the omelette mixture into a pan with a bit of olive oil. Cook it over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. When you can see that the edges are set and small bubbles in the middle, it's time to flip.

Tortilla Espanola (Spanish Potato Omelette) on a plate — Step 6: Flipping works best if you slide the omelette onto a plate with the not-cooked-side up. Then place the pan over the omelette and flip the plate, but be careful because the pan is hot.

What to serve with Spanish Omelette

You can eat this Tortilla Espanola for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer, or in a sandwich, it's very versatile. But my favorite way is to have it as part of a tapas spread!

This Spanish Omelette is perfect for tapas evenings! I also served mixed salad, store-bought vegan lemon shrimp (Zeastar brand), olives, garlic mushrooms, yogurt sauce, and sangria.

How to store leftover tortilla espanola?

You can keep it in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Tapas-Friendly Recipes

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I hope you enjoy this vegan Tortilla Espanola as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!

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Cheers, Bianca