Crustless Vegetable Quiche
on Dec 07, 2020, Updated Jul 08, 2024
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This Crustless Vegetable Quiche has everything you love about traditional quiche minus the hassle and extra calories from the crust! Made with broccoli, bell peppers, onion, sun dried tomatoes and plenty of cheese. It’s the perfect savory dish to serve for breakfast or even dinner!
If you love this crustless quiche, try my broccoli crustless quiche!
This recipe and photos has been updated since the original post on 3/22/2015
Why you’ll love it
No pie crust – Traditional quiche is delicious, but sometimes you either don’t have pie dough, forgot to pull it out of the freezer, or just don’t want to deal with rolling it out and worrying about if it will bake through.
Healthy quiche – Crustless quiche is a healthier alternative to traditional quiche. Omitting the crust cuts back on both calories and fat, but doesn’t sacrifice the flavor.
High protein breakfast – If you’re someone who likes to include a good amount of protein with their breakfast, then this crustless vegetarian quiche is for you! There’s 18 grams of protein in each serving.
Versatile filling – The vegetables used in this quiche can easily be swapped with what your family likes or what you have on hand. For suggestions, see below in the frequently asked questions section.
The ingredients
- Onion, bell pepper, broccoli florets – The veggies for the quiche.
- Sun dried tomatoes – I love the sweet, rich tomato flavor they add to the quiche.
- Garlic powder, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes – Dried spice blend that give the quiche lots of flavor.
- Eggs – Both whole eggs and egg whites are used.
- cottage cheese – Adds extra protein and cheesiness to the quiche and you won’t even know it’s there because it melts in with all the other ingredients.
- Milk – Low fat , whole milk, half and half, or cream can all be used.
- Cheese – Cheddar, mozzarella, Colby Jack are all good options.
How to Make Crustless Vegetable Quiche
Making this crustless quiche is the same as making traditional quiche, minus the pie dough. Start by sautéing the vegetables. Once they’re soft, set them aside while you prepare the rest of the filling.
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, milk, spices and half of the shredded cheese. Add the sautéed vegetables in with the mixture and stir everything together. Pour the filling into a deep pie dish or casserole dish and then top it with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until it’s set. Let the quiche cool for 10 minutes or so before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make the Quiche Ahead of Time?
Yes. You can prepare it the night before then let it sit out on the countertop for about an hour before baking it in the oven. It may require extra baking time if you put it into the oven ice cold.
Do I Have to Use Cottage Cheese?
I’m going to say yes to this. If you don’t you’ll have more of a frittata situation and it won’t be as cheesy. If you aren’t a fan of cottage cheese I promise you won’t even know it’s in this quiche. When it bakes the texture of the curds melts right in with the other ingredients.
Vegetable substitutions for crustless quiche
- Zucchini and/or summer squash
- Cauliflower florets
- Tomatoes, but remove the seeds or the filling will be soupy.
- Corn
- Spinach or kale, again squeeze out any excess liquid.
What size pie plate should I use to bake quiche in?
I used a 9 inch pie plate that is approximately 2 inches deep. It holds 1.4 quarts.
Can I make crustless quiche using only egg whites?
Yes, but your quiche will likely be smaller and not as thick as what you see in the pictures. Vice versa you can also make the quiche entirely with whole eggs.
More egg recipes
Did you make this crustless vegetable quiche? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Crustless Vegetable Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 3 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 5 eggs
- 3 egg whites
- 16 ounces low fat cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup low fat milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Colby Jack or Mozzarella can also be used
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with cooking oil and set aside.
- In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, sun dried tomatoes, and broccoli to the skillet. Season with the spices, salt and pepper and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables have softened. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the vegetables cool while you prepare the filling.
- In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, egg whites, cottage cheese, milk and shredded cheese until the eggs are completely broken up and combined with the other ingredients. Pour in the vegetables and stir together.
- Pour the quiche filling into the prepared pie plate and bake for 45-55 minutes or until it's set. Test it by sticking a knife into the center and if it comes out clean it's ready. Let the quiche cool for several minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you de-seed the tomato before slicing it?
I just scoop them out with my fingers or use a spoon or knife, then slice.
Do you think adjusting cheese amounts would affect the texture much? It came out delicious but next time I’d like to add chicken sausage and cut down on the cheese to mitigate additional calories. Thanks for the recipe
Hi Robin,
You could definitely cut out some of the cheese and it shouldn’t have any affect on the quiche. Chicken sausage sounds like a wonderful addition, enjoy!
Danae, Since I plan on making this the night before and placing it uncooked in the refrigerator do I have to let it set out to get to room temperature before putting it in the oven? If it goes directly from the refrigerator to the oven does it need to be baked longer? Thankyou for the additional information.
Hi Jeremaih. If you make it the night before I would let it sit out on the counter and come to room temperature before putting it in the oven. This could take anywhere from 30 minutes up to an hour depending on the temperature of your house.
Just made this for the first brunch I ever hosted! I had my parents and my boyfriend’s parents over and it was a huge hit! Everyone adored it and my mom said “You can make this for me ANYTIME!!” I changed up the recipe a little bit by using 12 whole eggs instead of whites, whole milk and 4% milkfat cottage cheese and it worked out great with the changes
This just made my day Sabrina! I’m so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the quiche!
This looks fabulous! We’re having a potluck next week at work and I’d love to make this for that event! The only thing is: I don’t want to get up super early and be cooking that day, so I’d want to make this the night before and reheat it. Any suggestions on how to do that? Would that even be advisable? Thanks! :)
Hi Becca! Lucky for you quiche reheats well, so go ahead and get that extra sleep and make it the night before! To reheat it I suggest putting it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until the center is warm. You may want to cover it loosely with foil to prevent the top from getting to brown. If it needs to be reheated at work and a microwave is only available, I would probably recommend everyone reheat their slice individually. I hope it works out for you!
Can I skip the flour? I have some gluten free guests that will be coming and this looks delish!
Hi Liz, I haven’t made this quiche without the flour. The flour helps to thicken all of the liquid in the quiche and bind it together so I’m not sure how it would turn out if you eliminate it. You may want to try using a gluten free flour instead, there are lots of good ones out there now.
I didn’t see flour in the ingredient list, and didn’t see any mention of flour in the instructions – help
Flour or not to flour
Hi! The recipe has since been updated and no longer uses flour.
When do the tomatoes go in? Did I miss that part? I can’t see when I’m supposed to add them.
Hi Vanessa! I’m so sorry I missed including the step about the tomato slices! I updated the recipe to include it. The tomato slices are to be laid on top of the unbaked quiche before it goes in the oven. Thanks for catching my error! :-)
This is perfect for Easter brunch or any weekend morning! It looks like you could always add any veggies you have on hand and it will still taste delicious!
Thanks Kristy! You could absolutely switch up the vegetables in the quiche, I’ve done that several times. This time I wanted to make sure I got some tasty spring asparagus in it!
This is absolutely gorgeous! Perfect for the Easter table for sure. I’m a huge asparagus fan, too.
Thanks Julie! Huge asparagus fan over here as well!
One question about the quiche: I have no other use for the yolks from those 10 eggs I’d need for the egg whites, so could I just use the entire 12 eggs? I have no health fears about the yolks–in fact, nutritionists are now coming around to believe the yolks are the healthiest part of the egg. Or would the recipe not work if I used the entire egg?
You can definitely use the whole egg if you prefer, I see no reason why it wouldn’t turn out. It will just be a little richer than if you had used egg whites.