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Crustless Quiche Recipe with Spinach & Bacon

I’m a huge fan of quiche, but I no longer want the gluten or the calories of the crust, so for a while, I just did without. Then I discovered “crustless quiche,” and it changed my life forever. It never occurred to me to make a quiche without the crust, but once I tried it that way, I realized how little I miss it.

This Crustless Quiche recipe with Spinach & Bacon is perfect for your Easter brunch!

A while ago, I discovered this recipe for Crustless Chard Quiche at my friend Lydia’s blog, and now I make all different of versions of it. Lydia uses chard and bacon, but you can substitute any leavy green or breakfast meat and get a different take on the dish. The non-negotiables are the eggs, heavy cream, caramelized onions, and gruyere. You could use other cheeses, of course, but I adore the rich flavor of gruyere with the eggs and cream… so good!

I usually make it with swiss chard, but these pictures use spinach. Either way, it’s DELISH.

This makes a tasty dinner with a side salad, or it’s perfect for a brunch. I always save any leftovers for future breakfasts. In fact, the rest of my family isn’t as fond of quiche as I am, so I usually have enough leftovers to provide a week’s worth of breakfasts. It’s very convenient. Of course, I feel a bit guilty serving them a meal I know they don’t care for, but they just fill up on the side salad, and all is well.

Crustless Quiche with Spinach & Bacon

It is not hard to make, but it does take some time, and it makes quite a few dirty dishes along the way. But the nice thing about quiche is, you can clean up while it bakes so there is no cleanup after dinner.

Also, you can serve it hot or at room temperature, so you it’s a great meal to do for company because you don’t have to worry about it being ready at a certain time. ENJOY!

Crustless Quiche with Spinach & Bacon

Author: Jo-Lynne Shane
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 servings
Ingredients:
  • 10 ounces bacon, diced
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 1 bunch chard or spinach, leaves removed from the ribs and chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded gruyere
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste
  • Pinch of nutmeg to taste (optional)
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter a pie plate. I sometimes use a casserole dish, or you can even use an oven-safe skillet or saute pan.
  2. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it’s crispy. Remove the bacon to a paper towel to cool, reduce heat to low and add the onion to the skillet with the remaining bacon grease.
  3. Cook the onions for 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and light brown. Add the spinach or swiss chard, and cook for five minutes or until the greens have wilted. Remove from heat.
  4. Combine the eggs, cream, cheeses, parsley and salt in a mixing bowl; whisk to combine. Place the chard and onion mixture in the pie plate. Sprinkle bacon on top and then pour the egg and cream mixture over it all.
  5. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until it is lightly browned and the middle is set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Join The Conversation

33 Responses

  1. We do something similar frequently for dinner. Sometimes I take it down the Spanish tortilla route w/ potatoes and other times I load it it up with mushrooms and bacon, like you have here. It’s less of a recipe than method: saute everything until wonderful, add beaten eggs, cook on the burner until set, and finish under the broil.
    I’d give it another try with other ingredients your family may be more interested in, unless it was a texture thing.

  2. We had this last week….well sorta. I didn’t use bacon and tossed in the cheese I had on hand, but even when using the substitutions (and added mushrooms) it was delicious! I’m looking forward to actually making it just by the recipe. And, I even ate the leftovers cold…right out of the fridge and it was still good!

  3. I make a crustless quiche about once every two weeks because my girls love eggs and, frankly, I can’t be bothered with the crust. I usually saute some spinach in olive oil and I like to use Muenster cheese. The last time that I made it, all that I had on hand was cheddar so I added that and some tomatoes to the spinach. It’s great to send to school for lunch for the girls too. M likes hers heated but A likes to eat it cold!

  4. That sounds yummy. I’ve been making crustless quiche for awhile now but I haven’t tried this recipe. And wouldn’t you know we have Chard growing in our garden right now. We’ve been sauteing it like you but it’s also great uncooked in salads.
    Thanks for the recipe.

  5. Ooh so glad you loved this!! My family isn’t as into this as I am either, but hey it makes a great easy breakfast, lunch and dinner for a busy momma on the go!!!

  6. This sounds fabulous! Only my mom and I would eat it, but it would SO be worth the work! Also, I just made a “crustless” quiche that used about 1/4 cup flour and it actually separated from the eggs and formed a crust on the bottom, it was pretty cool. The recipe mentioned that you could use GF flour and it would do the same thing!

  7. Thank you ma’am for a menu idea for next week. I’ve pretty much worn out the other tried and true crustless quiche recipe you posted quite a ways back. That, and your brownies. Oh, and your chicken enchiladas. Suffice it to say you have left a memorable impression on our weekly meals for some time now! Keep ’em comin’!

  8. I made this for dinner last night and enjoyed leftovers for breakfast this morning. VERY tasty recipe! Even my husband loved it and he’s not normally a fan of any sort of greens. It was an easy way to sneak some yummy vitamins into his food 😉 I’ll be enjoying leftovers for breakfast tomorrow as well, hopefully even the day after 😀 I love that it reheats so well! Thanks for sharing a great recipe!

  9. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had gruyere cheese before but I might get some to go with this. Using an oven safe skillet makes for one less dish to wash, sounds like a plan to me!

  10. Hi, I’ve only made quiche twice. Too fattening for me, but I’d like to try this recipe. Can I sub half & half for the cream? I’ve done that for sauces, & they turned out fine. Thanks.

  11. Thanks for the recipe! I’m just wondering if it would be OK to freeze the end result? My husband is a shift worker & I like to get the “jump up” and prepare some meals ahead of time. Thanks again!

    Mary from Oz

      1. I made it last weekend and did freeze it. Just cook as directed and let it cool. Once it’s at room temp, cover well with a couple of layers of plastic wrap and foil. When you’re ready to eat, remove plastic wrap, but keep covered with foil. Place in COLD oven at 350 and cook for about 45 minutes. I removed the foil and cooked until it was warm throughout. It didn’t change any flavors! It just took awhile to cook throughout. Next time, I might place in refrigerator the night before and then place in cold oven to heat.

  12. This is very, very salty! Even excluding the salt. If you want to make it cut back on the cheeses and eliminate the salt.

    Excellent taste but had to throw a lot away because of how salty it was.

  13. This is the BEST quiche EVER!!! I made it just like the recipe except I don’t like onions…so I substituted with a lot of onion powder. It was awesome!!! 

  14. Hi there- I hope this message makes it to you. Looks like this post is many years old. This recipe looks AMAZING, my only reservation is that it seems there is an exorbitant amount of heavy cream in relation to the eggs and other ingredients. Is there any error in the published recipe? Or am I just a quiche novice?? Thank you!!
    Lindsay

      1. Thank you so much for a prompt reply! I’m having my girlfriends over this Sunday for brunch and am excited to try this recipe! I’ll provide feedback after we all give it a try! Does the middle get set pretty well in the cook time or is it still “wet” in the middle? Just curious for some of my more picky eaters if I need to cook any further or sub the heavy cream for something that will set better. Thanks again!

        1. You may need extra time for it to set. Definitely check it and give it an extra few if you think it needs it. I’m weird about runny eggs, so it definitely sets if you give it time. Also, let it sit for 15 min or so before cutting.

  15. Made this for dinner last night! It was amazingly easy to put together, and it taste amazing!
    Having leftovers tonight. Definitely a keeper.

  16. Yum – excited to make this! Do you think I could double the recipe and fit it in a 9×13 casserole dish?

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