This easy crustless veggie quiche is light, creamy and full of vegetables, feta and herbs. With just 5 minutes prep it's perfect for brunch, lunch, picnics or any occasion. Learn tips to make the perfect quiche every time!
About This Crustless Veggie Quiche
Quiches are so simple but you can make them even simpler by making them crustless! This crustless vegetable quiche takes around 5 minutes prep and is perfect for a simple lunch, pot luck or picnic and can be served cold, warm or hot from the oven.
I'll also show you how to avoid the most common mistakes when making quiche. I have been making quiches since I was a teenager (with a name like Lorraine, it was destiny ha!) and they are some of my favourite things to make because they are so easy.
What is the difference between a frittata and a crustless quiche? A frittata is usually started on the stovetop and then finished off under a grill or in the oven to set. This crustless quiche is cooked entirely in the oven. Although the end result is quite similar!
Video How To Make Crustless Veggie Quiche
Video: How to Make a Veggie Quiche Without a Crust
Ingredients for a Crustless Vegetable Quiche
Cream - Pure or thickened cream works well. Double cream also works but isn't necessary but if you want your quiche super rich you can use it.
Milk - Gull cream milk!
Eggs - Medium or large eggs are perfect for this.
Feta - Go for Greek feta and make sure that you crumble it very finely (you can also buy pre-crumbled feta cheese)
Green onions - Use the green part of the green onions. Wash well as big bunches sometimes harbour dirt.
Basil leaves - Use freshly picked basil leaves.
Tomatoes - Heirloom, kumato, vine ripened or cherry or any combination of these. Heirlooms look particularly striking when cut (but are expensive!). Note: here they're just sold as heirloom tomatoes, not a particular breed and can be found at Italian grocers and specialty grocers.
Plain all purpose flour - Regular white flour is great.
Baking powder - Regular baking powder adds a rise to your quiche filling.
Salt and pepper - Essential for any dish with tomatoes. Opt for freshly ground black pepper.
Tips For Making Crustless Veggie Quiche
1 - Grease the quiche dish well so that it is easy to lift the quiche out once baked. There's no need to line it with parchment if you grease it well. I use a non stick oil spray. Tip: spray your dish in the sink so that you don't get the oil all over your kitchen counter.
2 - We are using a small amount of flour in our quiche mixture. This gives the quiche more structure and absorbs any excess moisture from the fillings and it also prevents the eggs from curdling and gives it a smoother, creamier texture. I don't always use it, eg in my Quiche Lorraine as the ingredients are bacon and cheese and aren't "wet" but I do with a vegetable quiche.
3 - Tomatoes (and potatoes) are two vegetables that need more salt than others so I salt the tomatoes specifically. The feta should be salty enough to salt the actual egg mixture.
4 - Slice the tomatoes thickly, around 1.5cm/0.6inch thick so that you can see them peeking through the egg mixture. This is an aesthetic thing so not purely necessary.
5 - Make sure that the feta is very finely crumbled so that it disperses well into the quiche. Large chunks of feta can also make it tricky to cut and lift when warm.
6 - Not tomato season? Try other vegetables! If you have any leftover roasted vegetables they are fantastic in a quiche!
7 - You can make these in muffin tins too if you want these to be individual serves. They won't need as long to bake, around 20-25 minutes (just check them after 20 minutes).
8 - Don't undercook the quiche or it will be very tricky to cut and lift. You want it puffed and golden on the edges.
9 - The quiche will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge. Because of the high water content of the tomatoes, I prefer not to freeze this quiche but if you use other vegetables you can freeze the baked quiche for up to 3 months.
375g/13.2ozs tomatoes or same weight other vegetables*see note
4 asparagus spears, top two inches
2 tablespoons/30g/1oz plain all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt and pepper
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - PREPARE Preheat oven to 200C/400F conventional or 180C/350F fan forced. Oil or butter a 25cmx4cm/9.8x1.6inch quiche dish.
Step 2 - FILLING Whisk the cream, milk and eggs together until you get a smooth mixture. Add in the green onions. Stack the basil leaves on top of each other and roll up into a little bundle. Thinly slice to chiffonade the leaves. Add to the egg mixture and pour this mixture into the prepared dish.
Step 3 -VEGETABLES Slice the large tomatoes thickly (around 1.5cm/0.6inch thick) so that they will still be seen when they are sitting in the egg mixture. Trim off the top quarter of the cherry tomatoes. Season the sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper then place carefully in the mixture. Add the asparagus.
Step 4 -BAKE Carefully slide the quiche into the oven. You can also place this on another baking dish if your quiche dish is very full (I don't bother usually - the quiche puffs up but it has never overflowed but for peace of mind, you do you!). Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the quiche around in the oven and bake for 15 more minutes. Sit for 10 minutes to cool. I like serving this with a green salad on the side.
Substitution notes and ingredients:
I used a mix of 1 heirloom, 1 kumato and 3 cherry tomatoes but use whatever tomatoes you prefer.
Vegetables like tomatoes, green onions and asparagus don't need pre-cooking but vegetables like pumpkin, sweet potato and broccoli do need to be cooked beforehand (like this broccoli quiche recipe). Other vegetables can be quite wet (mushroom) when cooking so avoid using them raw as they can release water into the quiche.
If you want a richer quiche, use 350ml/12.3flozs all cream rather than 250ml/8.8flozs cream and 100ml/3.5flozs milk.
I used large eggs for this.
You can also sub the feta for finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.
Basil can be subbed for oregano or more spring onion.
Spring onion can be subbed for fresh or dried chives.
Personal Note
This past weekend I was headed to the Southern Highlands with my friend Sophia. Mr NQN had a wedding to go to which I was sad I was missing but I love visiting the Southern Highlands and we were going to a food festival. I was going to be away for 2 nights so I left him some smothered pork chops for dinner on the Friday night and all he had to do was microwave it for 2 minutes. I also left a whole veggie quiche for him to have for lunch as well as some buttermilk pancakes for breakfast.
We had a bit of a situation about cars. We only have one car and I was headed south and Mr NQN was headed north to Church Point. We decided to go in Sophia's car so that she could get in some country driving practice and the car could have a long drive for her car's engine as she typically drives short distances. I offered to drive to the Southern Highlands and back because she has her full license but is not a confident driver at all.
Mr NQN carried my bags out and we packed the car. Sophia moved into the passenger seat and I got into the driver's seat. And then I realised that she didn't have a reverse camera. I've never driven a car without one and I panicked. "Maybe we can drive our car and you can drive her car?" I said to Mr NQN but Sophia didn't want to as he isn't covered on her insurance. "Just go around the block once and see how you go," he said.
Every car is different and this was no exception. The accelerator was very sensitive but the brake less so at least in comparison to ours. But after a block I realised that it would be ok especially as I may not have so much tight reversing into car parks as there is in Sydney. We got there and back no problems and Sophia got in some country driving practice too!
When I got back from the weekend I found out that Mr NQN couldn't be bothered heating up the smothered pork so he basically ate this whole quiche over the span of 2 days. Which isn't a bad thing as it was wholesome and healthy and had protein and vegetables. And best of all he loved it cold!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you prefer quiches with crusts or without? Do you prefer to eat quiches cold, warm or hot? And are you a good driver that can instantly drive another person's car?
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