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Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche

Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche

Many times, the flaky and buttery crust is the best part of a quiche, supporting the filling and adding a wonderful contrasting texture to the dish. But crusts can be a bit time consuming and more than a bit fattening. I like this crustless quiche as a quick and relatively low fat dinner. It takes about 15 minutes to assemble and get into the oven – and I will never be one to complain about food that is tasty, healthy and fast.

Although I’m calling this a crustless quiche because it doesn’t have a pastry crust, it does have a crust of sorts. The flour mixed in to the egg mixture separates during baking and forms a very thin crust along the bottom and sides of the pan. It’s not the same as a “real” crust, but it does help keep the quiche slices together neatly and adds a bit of substance to what would otherwise be just some baked eggs. If you’ve had a clafoutis, which is a relatively hardy baked custard dish, or even a Dutch Baby pancake, you’ll probably notice some similarities in consistency.

You can use just about any base you want for this dish, which means you’ll get a lot of variety with just one basic recipe. I almost always have onions and fresh spinach on hand, as it’s a popular combination in my kitchen. Some diced up sausage, ham or leftover, shredded chicken would work well in here, too. I like the feta cheese on top for extra saltiness and flavor, but again, you can opt for a different type of cheese if you prefer (parmesan and cheddar are nice) – or even skip it entirely if you want to go cheeseless. Regardless, it’s always satisfying to make and eat.

This can be a simple dinner or an easy breakfast dish, but it can also be served as an appetizer or first course by slicing it thinnly for several guests.

Crustless Spinach, Onion and Feta Quiche
1 medium onion, diced
6-oz fresh baby spinach
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)
1/2 cup feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a pie plate)
In a medium frying pan, cook diced onion with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until translucent and tender. Add in fresh spinach and cook until just wilted. Set aside to cool for a few minutes
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in spinach-onion mixture.
Pour quiche base into prepared pan. Top with feta cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
Let set for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Serves 4.
salt and pepper, to taste

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42 Comments
  • Kalyn
    February 1, 2008

    Nic I think this sounds great. Love the idea of the flour forming a slight crust. I’m thinking white whole wheat flour would work here too, which makes it perfect for me. Saving the recipe!

  • Pamela
    February 2, 2008

    Just curious… I have some puff pastry sitting in my freezer. If I wanted to use this recipe for the filling and use the puff pastry for the crust, would I just omit the flour?

  • meeso
    February 2, 2008

    Absolutely delicious…love the spinach and feta together!

  • Mary
    February 2, 2008

    I made it this morning with wheat flour and it was perfect. it was light and flavorful. Thanks so much.

  • Nicole
    February 2, 2008

    Pamela – Yes, that should work, but you might want to save the puff pastry for another quiche and just use this one when you want a really easy all-in-one recipe!

    Mary – Great to know that it worked out! I’m going to try ww flour myself next time.

  • BJ
    February 4, 2008

    I’m a little confused. Recipe says “2 large eggs” and “2 large egg whites”…. are we talking about using 2 whole eggs AND 2 large egg whites ?? I can’t wait to try this recipe.

  • Nicole
    February 4, 2008

    BJ – Yes, it is two whole, large eggs and two large egg whites.

  • BJ
    February 4, 2008

    thank you !!! I’ll probably make this later this week.

  • y
    February 10, 2008

    Will this turn out crisp?

  • Alyson
    February 12, 2008

    Hmmmm. I was wondering what I was going to make for dinner tonight!

  • Rachel
    March 4, 2008

    Could I use an egg substitute instead of the eggs? Would it work?

  • Ella
    March 6, 2008

    I made this last night for my quiche-averse husband – it was great! I used 3 whole eggs instead of eggs + whites, and I used potatoes, leeks, and goat cheese for the veggies and cheese. I also added thyme. He said more people need to make their quiche like this instead of “that eggy mess”! Thanks for the recipe!

  • Rebecca
    April 2, 2008

    Wow! I am impressed! The flower and baking powder really did separate and form a thin crust at the bottom! GENIUS!
    Thanks!

  • Melissa
    April 27, 2008

    This was delicious and so easy. I used Eggbeaters in the place of the eggs (1 cup) and frozen spinach and it still turned out great! Great recipe.

  • rowsew
    June 1, 2008

    Delicious – I made this for our tea this evening – a great success. Although I had to use Pak Choi instead of spinach (the chickens had spinach for their treat yesterday and I had forgotten…). It was perfect – soft, slighty crusty on the bottom and very, very tasty. Also, very quick to make, which I always consider a bonus at the end of a day filled with 2 busy toddlers. Thank You!

  • renee
    July 8, 2008

    Love the site do you have any cookie favors? trying too find one organic like with using whole whitewheat flour we have here, using oatmeal fruits etc whatever thanx so much renee

  • utxgnoa gyez
    July 18, 2008

    ctnqz lgmijznuy dymheqln zvluqeck opaveq bpenhtfd sductwm

  • Anonymous
    March 11, 2009

    Hi Nic, again, drooling at your food. But, does it matter if I ommit the bak.powder?
    Thanks

  • Maria
    May 27, 2009

    This is a wonderful recipe! I’m no good a crusts and really don’t like messing with them when it comes to quiche…so I generally avoid making quiche…but I dearly love it. This was so quick and easy I whipped it up for lunch without a second thought. From start to finish it took only 33 minutes, and it was fabulously delicious—and BEAUTIFUL. I wish I had taken pictures!

  • Yael
    June 15, 2009

    Made it, loved it. Can it be frozen?

  • JustJill
    August 26, 2009

    Just made this for lunch and it was FABULOUS!!! Added black olives and mushrooms…will certainly make again and again.

  • Cheryl
    August 28, 2009

    I made this last night, I used zucchini from our garden and whole wheat flour. It tasted delicious but it looked really brown throughout. It did form a yummy crust but the flour was also in the quiche. What do you think I did wrong? I wonder if letting it settle a bit before putting it in the oven would help?

    Beautiful site, I’ve bookmarked it for lots of future reference!

  • susanne
    September 11, 2009

    thanks for a fantastic recipe – my fiancee’s favourite food is spinach and I am always looking for an easy, quick recipe to make things that he loves (and then he loves ME soooo much…!) xx

  • Fern
    July 2, 2010

    Thank you for the wonderful recipe! We literally just finished making this, the dishes are being done as I type. Lovely and light, and surprisingly flavourful. And healthy, too! The crust wasn’t as crisp as I hoped, I might leave out the flour/baking soda next time. Has anybody tried that? Does it make the quiche stick to the pan?
    Thanks again for the recipe!

  • Megan
    December 5, 2010

    Usually love all of your recipes but made this for breakfast this morning and the consistency was gummy and unappetizing. Did I do something wrong? I followed the directions but layered the bottom with cheese and added a little bacon and one extra whole egg.

  • Polly
    December 8, 2010

    This recipe was awesome! I used sun dried tomatoes, spinach and feta and some green onion.

    Instead of regular flour I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose flour.. It turned out great! And it’s GF 🙂

  • Jackie
    June 7, 2011

    So good! Low-carb and so much easier than making a crust.

  • Lorraine South Africa
    July 25, 2011

    What a wonderful, versatile recipe. I made mine last night with organic white flour and used three whole eggs instead of egg and extra whites. I added bits of bacon and with a green salad this was a lovely light meal. I agreed, sundried tomatoes would be great too and served as a side dish with a braai (barbeque).

  • Hilary
    September 27, 2011

    I made this and dotted cheddar cheese on the top as well! Very good!!! : )

  • Stephanie
    February 1, 2012

    Could you double this and make it in a 9×13 pan?

  • LL
    July 27, 2012

    I mansized this
    I used 2 whalla whalla onions
    8 slices of precooked and crumbled bacon
    Spinach
    6 eggs
    1 cup flour
    I cup milk
    1 tea spoon baking soda
    1 1/2 cup feta
    Easy Salt pepper
    Cooked at 400 for about an hour
    Omg – soo good, my husband ate over 1/2 the pie !!!
    Thanks for the inspiration!

  • Wanda
    September 26, 2012

    @LL: You fit all of that into a single pie plate?!?!? Or did you use a 9×13 pan?

  • Nancy
    July 8, 2013

    I used almond milk and light spelt flour. Added potatoes, garlic scapes, red and green pepper and a touch of mozzarella and parm. Even our Chinese students who had never eaten quiche before liked it. Sprinkled some paprika on top for some nice colour. Thanks!

  • Shay
    March 5, 2014

    Yum!! Quick, easy, and tasty.

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