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Broccoli, ham and cheddar enveloped in a silky custard are irresistible in this crustless quiche. But wait! There’s more. This quiche is low-carb, gluten-free, filling, luscious, and take only minutes to prepare!
Sorry, crust. You used to be my favorite part of quiche, but the rich and cheesy filling in this pie is the star event, and I didn’t even notice you were missing.
EASY CRUSTLESS QUICHE RECIPE
Yes, you will forget all about the crust when you bite into the soft and ultra-creamy custard made with heavy cream and whole eggs and egg yolks. Grated cheddar, ham, and broccoli folded into the delicate custard add substance that is both pleasing and filling.
THE TRICK FOR EXTRA-CREAMY QUICHE
The trick to creating a tender and creamy filling is heavy cream (also called “heavy whipping cream” or just “whipping cream”) and a high proportion of egg yolks. That’s all there is to it.
I was tempted to load this with more vegetables, but decided to limit the filling ingredients in order to let the custard take center stage, where it belongs. Welcome to my Saturday brunch special!
MAKE IT AHEAD
Quiche is very forgiving, and this crustless version is no exception. You can make it ahead, refrigerate it for up to three days, or freeze it for up to one month.
To refrigerate and reheat the quiche:
- Let the baked quiche cool to room temperature, cover it with foil and refrigerate.
- To reheat it, take it from the fridge to the oven. Loosen the foil so it loosely covers the quiche. Bake at 350ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until it is hot all the way through.
To freeze and reheat the quiche:
- Let the baked quiche cool to room temperature and cover it with plastic wrap. Wrap it in double thickness of foil, label, and freeze for up to one month.
- To reheat it, remove the wrapping from the frozen quiche and loosely cover the top with foil. Bake at 350ºF oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is hot all the way through.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRUSTLESS QUICHE AND FRITTATAS
A frittata is like an omelet, with eggs and filling scrambled together and then baked or cooked on top of the stove in a skillet.
While a frittata consists of eggs and filling, a crustless quiche is made with eggs and milk or cream to make a custard. Cheese, various vegetables, and ham or bacon are added, and the filling is then baked in a casserole dish.
We’re eliminating the crust here, of course, but if you really wanted to, you could bake this filling in a fully baked pie crust of your choosing. The baking time is the same.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER QUICHE RECIPES!
Cheesy Crustless Quiche with Broccoli and Ham Recipe
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil spray (for the pan)
- 1 medium stalk broccoli, stem and crown
- 5 ounces ham steak, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar (about 7 ounces)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Special equipment:
- 9-inch round baking dish or pie pan
Method
1 Prepare the oven and baking dish: Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-inch round ceramic baking dish or pie pan with vegetable oil. Have a baking sheet on hand.
2 Prepare the broccoli: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cut a sliver off the bottom of the broccoli stem and peel the stem with a vegetable peeler. Slice the stem into 1/2 inch-thick, bite-size pieces. Cut the broccoli crown into small florets.
Cook the broccoli in the boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Strain the broccoli to remove the water, and spread the broccoli over the bottom of the baking dish.
3 Add the ham and cheese to the baking dish: Distribute the ham cubes over the broccoli. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheese to sprinkle on top of the filled quiche. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the broccoli.
4 Make the custard: In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolks together. Whisk in the cream, salt, and pepper. Pour the cream mixture over the filling in the pan and sprinkle the top with the reserved cheese.
5 Bake the quiche: Set the baking dish on the baking sheet and place it in the oven. Decrease the oven temperature to 350ºF.
Bake the quiche for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and the center puffs, but is still slightly wobbly in the center.
6 Cool the quiche: Set the baking dish on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into wedges. Quiche can be served warm or at room temperature.
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Sally Pasley Vargas is a freelance writer and the author of three cookbooks (Food for Friends, The Tao of Cooking, Ten Speed Press, and The Cranberry Cookbook). She currently writes the column The Confident Cook for The Boston Globe along with seasonal recipes for the Wednesday Food Section.
Cheesy Crustless Quiche with Broccoli and Ham
It tasted as good as it smelled. I’ve tried a couple of crustless quiches. This is by far the best. I followed the recipe as written and definitely would make again. I did not miss the crust.
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It ís in the oven right now and smells wonderful. I have a question about baking and freezing. To reheat I put it in the oven while frozen, is that correct?
Hi Rose,
How nice to have a future dinner to look forward to! You may reheat the quiche either directly from the freezer, or you may thaw it first. Obviously without thawing, it’ll take longer in the oven.
This recipe was excellent. I’m a big believer in heavy cream, I used eggs from my local farmer, they seem to be richer in color, I also used gruyere cheese for a nuttier flavor. This recipe is too easy to not try, again high fat cream not milk. Thanks!
xxxxxyyyyy
I love this recipe. I’m not keen on a crust so this was for me. With the times the way they are I made a few substitutions. I didn’t have the broccoli so I substituted cut up and steamed asparagus. I used the diced ham. Didn’t have the cream so I used the same amount of 1/2 and 1/2 but I also didn’t have large eggs so I added two more egg yolks to the mixture to give it the same richness. I improvised for what I had. It’s what my grandmother and grandfather taught me. Depression style way of cooking. Use what you have. Love this recipe. Will be making it again!
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I used whole milk since thats what i had on hand ( and left over ham and broccoli). Didnt reduce the amount of liquid. Took longer than 30 minutes to cook to gokden brown and puffed center. Heavy whipping cream must make a diffence!!
xxxxxyyyyy
Hi Myranda,
It’s frustrating when a recipe takes so much longer to bake than you expected! It could be your pan made the quiche slightly deeper (which will lead to a longer cook time), or maybe your oven is running a little low. But we hope it was worth it in the end! And yes, the heavy cream *does* make a difference, doesn’t it?
Heavy cream coons faster. But I often use lacT aid milk When guests need me to and just add 5 minutes to the cooking time!