This Gluten Free Quiche is light and flaky for a delicious savory egg custard filling. A gluten free pie crust that’s been tested to perfection, it’s the ideal brunch recipe. Customize the filling with your favorite veggies, meats, and cheeses.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flaky crust that’s gluten free: The key to a good gluten free quiche is starting with a great gluten free quiche crust. My recipe is just as buttery and flaky as a regular crust, just without the gluten. It also uses a 1:1 baking flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill, no laundry list of flours needed.
- Creamy custard: You also need a great crustard. I’ve found the best egg to milk ratio for a quiche custard is 8 large eggs to 1 ½ cups half-and-half.
- Versatile: with a great gluten free crust and a decadent custard in hand, you’re set up for a great gluten free quiche. Now let your imagination run wild and use your favorites meat, veggies and shredded cheeses!
Ingredients
- Gluten free quiche crust: my recipe uses 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, butter, salt, sugar, an egg, a dash of vinegar and water.
- Eggs: the ideal amount of eggs for a 9-inch deep dish quiche is 8 large eggs. If you are using smaller eggs, measure the eggs by weight. You’ll need 400 grams of whole eggs total.
- Half-and-half: I find the best quiche custard is made with half-and-half, you’ll need 1 ½ cups total. Half-and-half is creamy and luscious without being overly fatty or decadent. You can also use whole milk, though it won’t be as creamy or silky.
- Seasonings: the main players here are kosher salt and pepper (black, white, red pepper flakes, or cayenne). Depending on the filling ingredients, you may also want to add a dash of nutmeg, smoked paprika or Italian seasoning.
- Cheese: Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, Fontina, cream cheese, brie and goat cheese are all great options.
- Veggies: the options are endless here. Onions, broccoli, potatoes, asparagus, bell peppers, roasted bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and mushrooms are just a few.
- Meats: diced ham steak, cooked sausage, crispy bacon, frizzle prosciutto or pepperoni are all great options.
Foolproof Gluten Free Pie Crust
Making a gluten-free pie crust (or in this case, quiche crust) is just as simple, if not a bit easier, than making a regular crust using all-purpose flour.
Usually, when it comes to making a pie crust, it’s important to not overwork the dough and create too much gluten. Luckily, that isn’t an issue in gluten-free baking so you can work the fat into the flour without worry too much about over mixing. This also means you can make the dough either by hand or using a food processor and the results will be the same.
And since there isn’t any gluten to the hold the dough together, a key ingredient in this gluten free quiche crust is an egg. The protein in the egg works similarly to gluten protein strands and binds the dough together.
How to Make Gluten Free Quiche
- Make the gluten free quiche crust by cutting the butter into the gluten-free flour. Whisk together an egg and a splash of vinegar then stir into the flour mixture. Add water by tablespoon until a dough comes together. Chill before rolling out.
- Roll out the quiche crust then transfer it to a deep dish pie plate. Fold and crump the edges then freeze the pie plate to set the crust.
- Blind bake the quiche crust by lining the frozen dough with foil and filling with baking weights. Bake until the bottom and sides are set. Remove the foil and weights and bake until the crust is dry to touch.
- Whisk together the custard ingredients (eggs, half-and-half, salt, pepper and spices).
- Cook the vegetables for the filling. Once cooked and cooled combine the vegetables with the shredded cheese and meat, if using.
- Spread the filling ingredients into the bottom of the par-baked quiche crust.
- Pour the custard over top.
- Bake the quiche until the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. This will take 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Expert Tips and Variations
- Dairy free option: use full-fat canned coconut milk instead of half-and-half. Skip the cheese and use vegan butter in the pie crust.
- Quiche Lorraine: Gruyère cheese, caramelized onions and cooked bacon are the name of the game here. Use this Crustless Quiche filling recipe as the guide.
- Spring asparagus quiche: use a combination of mushrooms, chopped asparagus, scallions, diced cooked prosciutto and Gruyère cheese.
- Italian sausage quiche: use cooked Italian sausage, cooked diced onion, chopped roasted red peppers, parsley, a bit of minced garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and fennel seed. Use shredded fontina and Parmesan.
- Broccoli and Cheddar quiche: I like to use 2 cups Cheddar, 2 cups small broccoli florets and 1 cup diced onions. Use this Broccoli Cheese Quiche filling as a guide.
Storage
- Refrigerator: Quiche can be stored at room temperature for a few hours. Store in the refrigerator overnight and gently reheat in a 325ºF (163ºC) oven when ready to serve.
- Freezer: I recommend freezing unbaked quiche instead of baked quiche. This is the best make-ahead method and results in the most desireable texture. Assemble the unbaked quiche as directed and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap followed by foil and freeze (a tight-fitting lid will also work). Prior to baking, transfer the quiche to the refrigerator and allow it to thaw completely. This can take 1 or 2 days. Bake the thawed quiche as directed in the recipe. An unbaked quiche can be frozen for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with this Gluten Free Quiche Recipe
From my years working the brunch shift, I firmly believe a slice of quiche needs a bright and tangy side salad. Serve quiche with my Fennel Salad, Butter Lettuce Salad or Apple Walnut Salad.
A side of fruit is also a great option, depending on what’s in season, try my Grape Salad, Strawberry Salad or Savory Citrus Salad. This Avocado Grapefruit Salad is also a fabulous side dish for brunch!
If you’re serving a big ‘ol brunch spread, serve up some Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins or Whole Wheat Muffins (if not everyone is eating gluten free).
If you’re serving quiche for lunch, consider serving it with Broccoli Potato Soup along with my Grain Free Seeded Bread or Gluten-Free Cornbread.
FAQs
Absolutely. I’ve got a great recipe for a crustless quiche that you can follow.
The key is to blind bake the crust and then remove the foil and continue baking the crust until it’s lightly golden brown and dry to the touch. The crust needs to be fully cooked before adding the custard.
Additionally, I find it’s important to add the filling and custard to the crust while the crust is still hot from baking. The heat cooks the initial layer of egg against the crust and somewhat “seals” the crust layer.
Yes, this is key to creating a flaky quiche crust. If you skip this step the crust will be gluey and stodgy.
A frittata is a crustless egg bake made in a large skillet. Generally, a frittata is started on the stovetop before being finished in a hot oven. On the other hand, a quiche features a crust and is cooked entirely in the oven.
Quiche fillings are most custardy so they have a higher percentage of milk and fat while frittatas are less creamy and more egg-based.
Swap out the half-and-half for a can of full-fat coconut milk and skip the cheese in the filling. Use vegan butter to make the gluten free crust.
The base of the filling is eggs, milk (half-and-half or cream), and cheese. You can add all kinds of vegetables and cooked meats as well.
More Gluten Free Breakfast Ideas
Looking for more gluten free recipes? Here are some breakfast recipes.
- Oatmeal is always a winner in my book when looking for gluten free breakfast ideas. Try my Banana Oatmeal which has bananas in it and caramelized bananas on top. It’s too good! Or use those oats in the pantry to make Gluten-Free Granola.
- Craving pancakes? Try Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pancakes! I love them with caramelized apples or pears over top. These Gluten-Free Buckwheat Waffles are also a great option.
- If you’re looking for a high-protein and satisfying breakfast, try my Steak Hash. It uses leftover steak so it’s quick and easy.
- Turkish Eggs are one of my favorite breakfasts—they’re bright, fresh and loaded with protein and veggies.
- Breakfast Fried Rice is another great gluten free option. Bold in flavor, this recipe is made with ground pork, tons of veggies, an over easy egg and finished with most delicious spicy mayo.
- Breakfast tacos! Make Migas Breakfast Tacos! This recipe is inspired by the famous breakfast tacos from Austin, TX.
Gluten Free Quiche
Description
Ingredients
- 1 recipe gluten-free quiche crust dough
Custard
- 8 large eggs
- 1½ cups half-and-half
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- pinch grated nutmeg
Filling
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 cups vegetables and/or cooked meats of your choice
- 2 cups shredded cheese such as Cheddar, fontina, Gruyere, or Parmesan
Instructions
Gluten Free Quiche Crust
- Heat oven to 375°F (190ºC) with rack set in middle position.
- Roll dough out into an 11-inch, ¼ -inch thick round, transfer dough to a 9-inch deep dish pie plate and gently press into bottom and up sides. Fold edges under and crimp, freeze 20 minutes. Line pie shell with parchment paper and fill with baking weights or dried beans.
- Bake crust until edges are golden brown, and bottom is set 40–45 minutes. Remove parchment and baking weights, and bake until bottom is golden brown about 15 minutes more. Use as desired according to quiche or pie recipe.
Custard
- In a large bowl, whisk together 8 large eggs, 1½ cups half-and-half, 1½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika and a pinch of grated fresh nutmeg. Set aside.
Filling
- For filling, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat until foamy; add vegetables and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes depending on the vegetables. Let vegetables cool, then combine with meat (if using) and cheese.
- Arrange vegetable and cheese mixture in bottom of pre-baked crust. Pour custard over top.
- Bake quiche until edges are set and center is slightly jiggly, 1–1½ hours (if crust edges start to get too brown, use pieces of foil to shield them).
- Let cool about 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
