Easy Crustless Vegetable Quiche Recipe

Total Time: 60 min

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 45 min

Servings: 6 servings (1 slice each)

Quiche is traditionally made with a flaky, flour-based pastry crust and filled with an egg and milk (or heavy cream) mixture—plus any additional toppings such as meat, cheese or vegetables. Those following a low carb eating plan may feel the need to avoid quiche because of the crust. However this crustless, vegetable-packed version is an easy and great alternative.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to making quiches so you can play around with toppings and flavors based on your taste preferences or what you have on hand. That's why we love quiches for reinventing leftovers! The main concept is to spread an even layer of toppings (cooked vegetables, cheese, protein, etc) in a pie or quiche dish, pour a mixture of whisked egg and milk over the toppings, and bake it in the oven until the eggs are set. Then voilà, your quiche is ready!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sliced leeks, white and light green part only
2 cups frozen chopped spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
1 cup 2% or whole milk
4 ounces goat cheese
Black pepper

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Add olive oil to large non-stick pan and turn heat to medium. Add sliced leeks and saute, stirring frequently to prevent from browning, for about 1 minute to soften.
When leeks start to soften, add frozen spinach and season with just shy of 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook for about 5 to 8 minutes until spinach is thawed and any liquid that was released from the vegetables has evaporated.
Meanwhile, crack eggs into a mixing bowl and add milk. Season with small pinch of salt and a few turns of black pepper. Whisk well until thoroughly combined.
When leeks and spinach are finished cooking, remove from heat and let cool to slightly warm or room temperature. Once cool, transfer to quiche dish or pie plate that has been sprayed with a light coating of cooking spray or brushed with olive oil. Spread cooked vegetables into even layer in dish.
Top vegetables with crumbled or sliced goat cheese. Pour egg and milk mixture over the vegetables and cheese and place in center rack in oven.
Bake at 375F for 30-45 minutes until quiche starts to brown and center is set and cooked through. Center may be slightly soft but will finish cooking once out of the oven as it cools.

Variations and Substitutions

Cut back on on saturated fat in the recipe by replacing some of the whole eggs with more egg whites (for example, substitute 2 whole eggs with 4 egg whites) and use a reduced fat milk (but for the best consistency, not skim milk) instead of whole milk.
Modify the vegetables to your taste. For example, if you want more of an earthy flavor, add mushrooms, or if you want a sweeter onion flavor, cut down on the spinach and increase the leeks or add caramelized onions or shallots. If you want to add some more carbohydrates, you can also substitute the spinach with cooked diced or sliced potato which would pair very well with the leeks.
Add herbs and spices for different flavor profiles or even based on what you have in your pantry or fridge! Versatile herbs such as dried oregano, thyme, and parsley pair are great additions to vegetable based quiches. You can even sprinkle on some smoked paprika or cayenne after it comes out of the oven for added heat and spice.

Tips

Learn this easy trick for cleaning leeks. Leeks can contain a lot of dirt or sand in between each layer, so the easiest way to clean them is to slice them in half lengthwise and hold each half under running cold water, fanning out the layers to make sure you get them as clean as possible.
Whisk eggs and milk extra vigorously, or use an immersion blender, to get an extra fluffy quiche by whipping more air into the mixture.
Turn this into a firmer frittata-like dish, by simply omitting the milk and adding two to three more eggs or egg whites.

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