Shredded sweet potatoes are a great alternative to the calorie heavy pie crust in this Spinach, Bacon, Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust. They add a touch of sweetness to this savory and hearty quiche!
On Monday I shared a sweet recipe, Gingerbread Dutch Baby with Cider Apples, for your Christmas morning breakfast and today I’m sharing a savory one. Spinach, Bacon, Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust is a must Christmas morning!
I made it through October, November and half of December only having to do a few of my runs on the treadmill. Luckily, none of them were my long Saturday run. However, it’s looking like my luck may run out. As of right now there is a chance of snow Saturday morning and the temperature when I go out to run will be a nice balmy 1 degree.
I dread having to do long runs on the treadmill every year. The boredom is almost more than I can handle. The first half of the run is usually the worst, by the second half I’ve kind of accepted it and stopped counting how many miles I have left. Luckily, there’s a TV in the basement so I can at least catch up on all the shows I’ve missed or put in a movie.
With any luck I’ll be able to run outside on Christmas morning. Every year since we moved to Colorado I haven’t been able to because we’ve had a big snow. I especially love running outside on holidays because there’s no cars out and it’s so quiet. Just me and the occasional wildlife sighting.
After the Christmas morning run, I’ll be making this quiche as part of our breakfast. My husband tends to sleep in whenever he has the opportunity, so I’ll have plenty of time to get everything prepared.
Can I Make the Quiche Ahead of Time?
The filling for the quiche can be made the night before and the sweet potatoes can be shredded and prepped. I wouldn’t advise assembling the quiche until morning so that the sweet potato crust stays crisp.
I loved using the shredded sweet potatoes as an alternative to pie dough for a couple reasons. First it’s lighter on fat and calories and it’s a vegetable, bonus! I also love the texture and bit of sweetness that it adds to the savory quiche. Pie crust often lacks flavor, but this sweet potato crust is full of it!
You’ll be adding a healthier, but extremely delicious alternative quiche to your breakfast table this year when you make this Spinach, Bacon, Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust!
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Spinach, Bacon, Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust
Shredded sweet potatoes are a great alternative to the calorie heavy pie crust in this Spinach, Bacon, Cheese Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust. They add a touch of sweetness to this savory and hearty quiche!
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Crust
- 3 1/2 cups shredded sweet potatoes
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon flour (use gluten-free flour or cornstarch if needed)
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Quiche Filling
- 4 slices of bacon
- 2 green onion, sliced thin
- 2 1/2 cups baby spinach
- 4 eggs
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 cup low fat milk
- 3/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Sweet Potato Crust
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a 9 inch cast iron skillet or other oven proof skillet with cooking oil.
- Place the shredded sweet potatoes in a bowl of water and toss around to release some of the starch.
- Drain and place the sweet potatoes in a clean towel and squeeze out any excess liquid.
- Place the sweet potatoes back in the bowl, add in the oil, egg white, flour, salt and pepper and toss until coated.
- Dump the sweet potato mixture into the prepared skillet and press into an even layer along the bottom and up the sides.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from the oven and add in the quiche filling.
Quiche Filling
- Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Heat a 9 inch cast iron skillet or other ovenproof skillet over medium heat.
- Use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut the bacon into bite sized pieces and add them to the heated skillet.
- Cook the bacon until crisp then drain it on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Remove the excess grease from the skillet, but don't wipe clean.
- Add the green onions and spinach to the skillet and sauté until the spinach is wilted.
- Remove the spinach and onions from the skillet and onto the plate with the bacon.
- Once the spinach has cooled enough to handle, squeeze out any excess liquid.
- In a large bowl whisk together all of the filling ingredients reserving 1/4 cup of the shredded cheeses.
- Pour the filling into the baked sweet potato crust and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
- Place the quiche in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is golden.
- Remove from the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 483Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 184mgSodium: 906mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 5gSugar: 13gProtein: 27g
Can I substitute the sweet potatoes for yams?
If you’re referring to true yams, which are often labeled incorrectly at the grocery store, then I wouldn’t recommend it. They’re dry and starchy so I can’t say for sure how they will hold up in this recipe and what adjustments would need to be made.
Love this recipe! Do you know if it would freeze well?
You can freeze it, however it will release a lot of moisture when it defrosts. My preference is to enjoy it the day it’s made and for 2-3 days following.
Is it possible to make this ahead of time?
I love using my cast iron skillet as a pie pan. It comes out nice and brown and crisp!
Do low fat cheeses work in this recipe?
Hi Barb. I haven’t tried making this with low fat cheese. Swiss is naturally lower in fat than most hard cheeses and as for the cheddar, if fat is a concern you could sub with part skim mozzarella.
The ingredient list for the crust shows 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil. Is this for spraying the pan or incorporating into the sweet potato crust mixture? Thanks.
Hi Linda. Sorry about the confusion. The oil should be incorporated into the crust mixture.
Thanks so much for your quick reply!
I’m planning to make your quiche in a 12″ skillet…it’s for a large group plus that’s the size cast-iron skillet I have! How would you adjust the instructions?
Hi Patricia,
I haven’t made this in a 12″ skillet so I’m not sure without testing it out what adjustments to tell you to make. I would suggest maybe making 2 quiches (double the recipe) and bake them in 9″ pie plates.
Thanks! I’ve got thenfilling in the fridge already and everything ready to make the crust in the morning! I’m excited about it!!
I’m making this tomorrow for a MOPS meeting. My question is can I make and bake the crust tonight then add the quiche filing tomorrow morning.
Hi Elisabeth,
I haven’t tried making the crust ahead of time. I’d be a little concerned about it getting too soft overnight since potatoes hold a lot of moisture. You can definitely make the filling tonight then just whisk it up again in the morning before adding it to the crust.
I want to make this for a pot luck. I’d like to do it in muffin pans for individual servings. Do you have any suggestions on adjusting the time?
Hi Jessica,
I would suggest you start checking on them at around 20-25 minutes and go from there. Enjoy!
Do you have to use a cast iron skillet or will a glass pan work? I don’t want the crust to be soggy!
A glass pan should work or an oven safe non-stick skillet.
This was scrumptious! When I made the crust I skipped the rinsing/drying part and it came out great! I combined bacon and ham and only had x-sharp cheddar, also used half and half instead of milk! Great GF option for a quiche, I will definitely make it again! Thanks for posting!
great thinking, I already love sweet potato and have shelved a lot of my quiches since the crusts are so calorie-heavy, so thank you for this creative solution and sweet potato crust recipe!
Silly question: how do you shred your sweet potatoes? Thanks!
Awesome recipe. I added mushrooms to the filling as well. It turned out great!!! Thanks for the recipe
Absolutely delicious!!! Can’t wait to make this for the family when I go home for the holiday weekend!
So happy to hear you liked the quiche Tish! Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Hi! Thank you for this recipe, which sounds delicious. How do you shred the sweet potatoes though? Do you microwave them first? Thank you!
Can I use frozen sweet potatoes or do I need to grate fresh ones? I’m thinking about making this to take into a work breakfast soon. Never made a quiche before, but it looks good!
Thank you.
Was the sweet potato crust baked in the cast iron skillet as well? Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Megan,
Yes, you bake the crust in the skillet and then pour the filling in and bake until the filling is set. Hope you like it!
OMG this was awesome! My 17 yr old daughter was a bit leary about the crust but claimed she couldn’t taste the sweet potatoes. She loved it! This is definitely a keeper…super easy, flavorful and healthy. Thanks!
I’m so glad you guys liked it Karen! As soon as the weather cools off I’ll be making it again!
This was absolutely amazing! Thanks so much for the great recipe :). I was intimidated to try the crust but it was so easy and turned out great!
I’m so happy to hear it was a success for you and you enjoyed it Susan! Thanks for giving it a try.
for a gluten free alternative, which flour would be strong enough to bind the potato and not impact on the flavor.
I use cornstarch to thicken gravy. Might work on this recipe??
I love quiche! This looks so delicious!