Growing up, my family enjoyed a lot of crustless recipes, like pumpkin pie and quiche.
This is probably because my mom didn’t like the effort involved in making a crust. (I get my kitchen laziness from her– if it’s not quick and easy, I’m not doing it!) Why make a crust for pumpkin pie after making an entire Thanksgiving dinner? All of the flavor is in the filling, anyway.
The same logic can be applied to this quiche. All of the delicious flavor I love is packed in this protein-rich filling, and the crust just seems like unnecessary effort that could be better used doing other things… like sleeping in, if you’re lucky, or playing outside with your son who wakes up WAY too early on the weekends.
Rather than using flour or heavy cream, this recipe gets its “bulk” from cooked spaghetti squash, which also provides a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, B-6, niacin, folate and manganese. I like to bake a couple of spaghetti squash over the weekend, so that they’re ready to go for any recipe I’d like to prepare quickly during the week, and I highly recommend you do the same so that this process is as easy as possible. (For ideas to use up the other half of your spaghetti squash, see more recipes here.)
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Gluten-Free Crustless Quiche
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (about 1/2 of a 3.5 lb squash)
1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
1 onion, chopped
1 cup baby kale, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
2 ounces raw cheddar, shredded (about 1/2 cup) and divided
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
coconut oil or butter for greasing the dish
Directions:
If you have not already done so, bake the spaghetti squash using these directions. Allow it to cool to room temperature, and save one half of the squash for another use.
If the oven isn’t already hot, preheat it to 350F and generously grease a 9-inch pie dish (I use this one) with coconut oil or butter. In the meantime, melt the coconut oil or butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion until tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the chopped kale, and sauté until it’s bright green and tender, about 3 to 5 more minutes.
Transfer the sautéed veggies to a medium mixing bowl, and add in 4 eggs, 2 cups of cooled spaghetti squash strands, 1 ounce of shredded cheese, and season with salt and black pepper. Stir well and pour the mixture into the greased pie dish. Top with the remaining ounce of shredded cheese and bake at 350F until the top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. (The center will rise with baking, but will later deflate when you remove it from the oven.)
Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to one week.
Gluten-Free Crustless Quiche
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (about 1/2 of a 3.5 lb squash)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or butter
- 1 onion , chopped
- 1 cup baby kale , chopped
- 4 eggs , beaten
- 2 ounces raw cheddar , shredded (about 1/2 cup) and divided
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- coconut oil or butter for greasing the dish
Instructions
- If you have not already done so, bake the spaghetti squash using these directions. Allow it to cool to room temperature, and save one half of the squash for another recipe.
- If the oven isn't already hot, preheat it to 350F and generously grease a 9-inch pie dish (I use this one) with coconut oil or butter. In the meantime, melt the coconut oil or butter in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion until tender, about 8 minutes. Add in the chopped kale, and sauté until bright green and tender, about 3 to 5 more minutes.
- Transfer the sautéed veggies to a medium mixing bowl, and add in 4 eggs, 2 cups of cooled spaghetti squash strands, 1 ounce of shredded cheese, and season with salt and black pepper. Stir well and pour the mixture into the greased pie dish. Top with the remaining ounce of shredded cheese and bake at 350F until the top is golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. (The center will rise with baking, but will later deflate when you remove it from the oven.)
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes and serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to one week.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 109, Fat: 6g, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 6g
Notes:
This recipe can be easily adapted to use any veggies you have on hand. If you need to substitute the spaghetti squash, zucchini or yellow squash can be used, but be sure to squeeze out the excess moisture before mixing it with the eggs to avoid a watery result.
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Reader Feedback: Do you have any other crustless favorites?
I’m just marveling at the fact you made a quiche out of spaghetti squash. I’ll admit, I love a good homemade crust out of Crisco nonetheless! But when you stop and actually analyze what Crisco is…….nothing good comes to mind. I mean, really, what is it?? So crustless anything is awesome these days. I didn’t grow up in a home that made crustless pumpkin pies, now, only in my mid 30’s have I come to appreciate how satisfying a crustless pumpkin pie can be. I made one for my birthday and did not feel cheated at all. And now, I’m just as eager to try your crustless quiche.
I’d really like to make this, but I have to ask, can you taste the squash? I’ve made several recipes from your site previously and the family loved them- I didn’t tell them what was in any of the recipes… I can only make it if you can’t tell the squash is there!
I can’t tell at all and the flavor is amazing
Awesome! Thank you, fellow Kelly!
I can’t wait to try it AND the pumpkin pie. Thanks Megan!
Looks fab – I wish it were easier to get hold of spaghetti squashes in UK but I think this would work great with butternut too – I am all about crustless thing – especially crust less cheese cake!
This looks great!
I made this late last night and enjoyed some for breakfast this morning. It was really good! I did use spinach instead of kale because that is what I had on hand. Thanks for all the great receipes!
This sounds wonderful! I have all the ingredients on hand and will be perfect for my Whole30 (sans cheese). Thanks for all your easy and healthy recipes!
Just made this without cheese, subbed spinach and added some cooked bacon and it was delish! This will be perfect for a large gathering!
Thank you, Megan! This is fantastic! Quiche is one of my mother’s favorite foods, but she can’t have any mammal’s milk based products. I know of so many different whole food dairy-free cheese substitutes, but I wondered which one you feel is the best compliment for this recipe’s flavor & consistency? Jess, it sounds like whatever you used to tackle the dairy-free challenge for this worked beautifully! Did you just eliminate the goat cheese altogether, or did you use a replacement of some kind? Thank you so much Megan and Jess for any thoughts!
I was wondering if no cheese would work- thanks for sharing! We can’t do cheese at our house.
I just omitted the cheese all together–it turned out fantastic!
If you need another dairy-free frittata option, check out my Lox frittata:
http://crunchyhotmama.com/2014/11/06/one-pan-meal-lox-frittata-dairy-free/
Would nutritional yeast work in place of cheese?
Where do you find raw cheddar? Does anyone know if you can find it in Canada?
This quiche is delicious!!!
Amazing recipe! I just made this and everyone loved it! The quiche was just firm enough, and the cheese on top was nice and golden. I also added in some diced tomato, bell peppers, and zucchini, as well as some mixed herbs. Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
This was a HUGE hit in our family. We LOVED it. Will make again for sure.
Just made this with the addition of a bunch of garlic, because we feel like we’re coming down with a bug! It was delish- thanks!!!
I just made this last night…it is amazing!! I’m fairly new to eating spaghetti squash with any frequency, but this was the perfect way of using up some leftover from a recent dinner. Delicious and I love that your recipes always turn out!! thank you!
I made this for a girls’ lunch I had. One of my friends has Celiac disease. I have to say, it was awesome!!! Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful, healthy and tasty recipe!
I just made this – doubled the recipe in 9×13 as I have lots of mouths to feed. Then I just decided to not measure my squash and throw in the whole thing, it looked like it might be more like 5 cups? I think that was a mistake, it made it a bit too watery tasting. Also we may have pulled it out of the oven a bit too early, it wasn’t as brown all over yet like the picture. I think my guys thought it was a little boring but I will definitely try it again, if no one else eats it, I still thought it was a yummy way to eat my veggies!
I was surprised to find SIX EGGS in your quiche recipe! . Granted it’s a quiche, but I though this was a vegan SITE, or at least a healthy site.
While I do share hundreds of vegan recipes on this site, it’s not exclusively vegan.
eggs are healthy
I made this recipe this morning and it turned out just perfect and delicious. Even my husband who has never eaten spagetti squash before like it (i didnt tell him the sq was it in) I will def make this again however I will decrease the amount of the spagetti squash a bit.
I was a little leery of this for the same reasons that everyone below has been leery: the spaghetti squash. But I made it over the weekend and I thought it was absolutely delicious! I have a sensitivity to eggs and I’m allergic to gluten, so I haven’t had quiche in about a decade, but the first bite took me back to a happier time. I used goat milk cheddar instead of raw cheddar, added in some sauteed mushrooms and topped it with Tapatio, and I love how the spaghetti squash adds a bit of heft to it without it feeling heavy. (Not sure if that makes any sense.) Anyway… Highly recommend it. I would definitely make this again.
Made this without the cheese and my husband and I loved it! I have added this to our healthy menu. Thanks for sharing your recipes!
I made this the other day and my husband has requested it again today! I would say it will be added to our “healthy menu” meals. I left out the cheese and it still tasted great! Thanks for sharing your recipes, I love them!
This is a new favorite in our household. I was wondering if you had tried making this into individual sizes (like muffin pan size) and freezing? How the thawing/reheating would go?
This is delicious and easy to make. The spaghetti squash definitely adds a heartieness to the quiche, without the calories. I served with some salsa and grilled asparagus for a lovely Saturday brunch. Loved it with the Kale and Onions and will definitely try iwth other veggies
can this be made the night prior and reheated the next morning? I am looking to make a dish for a work potluck and most of my co-workers are vegan/gluten-free eaters. I live about 45 minutes from where I work so it would be easier to make something the night before, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it with this dish or not. Thank you!
Yes, I think this would reheat well. If you need a vegan dish, try my Quinoa & Black Bean Salad– it’s a HUGE hit at parties! https://detoxinista.com/the-best-quinoa-black-bean-salad/
I think you could prep it and just bake it in the morning for a party. I definitely reheat leftovers but it’s really great fresh and hot
This is a great way to use up spaghetti squash. They are big producers in my garden and I still have a few left. Your instructions ( bake the spaghetti squash using these directions) appear to be missing the link to cooking the squash.
It’s here: https://detoxinista.com/spaghetti-squash-in-the-instant-pot/
I used that method and it worked beautifully.
My quiche usually substitutes the traditional crust with a grated potato crust. Your recipe offers a much lighter option.
Sooo good! I made a few adjustments and made a batch for the entire week for my hubby and I. If you are adding cheese, try a smoked Gouda. It adds the perfect flavor.
Can’t wait to try it! For the spaghetti squash, can it be cooked in the Instant Pot, or is it best in oven for this recipe?
No one in my family likes spaghetti squash but everyone LOVED this quiche! I plan to make another one with the rest of the spaghetti squash! Thank you so much for sharing it!
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thanks for letting me know!
I’ve made this several times now, feels like such a healthy as tasty meal. My husband isn’t convinced, unfortunately but I love it. I’ve been doubling the recipe in a 11×7. However, I purchase a tub of baby kale and only use half of it, I wondered about pre-cooking the Kale and perhaps the onion as well, and freezing that for the next batch, what do you think?
I love this recipe and make it a lot! Do you think you could make this in an Instapot using the timing from your Instapot frittata recipe? I want to avoid using the oven since it’s so hot!