This Crustless Zucchini Quiche Recipe creates a quiche that practically melts in the mouth with a light, creamy texture and a nutritious filling that’s absolutely packed with zucchini and just enough cheese for a pop of flavor!
Reader’s Review
I made this recipe for my husband’s birthday brunch and once again knew it would be yummy as all your other recipes I’ve followed and made, and it was delicious! Moist, perfect consistency and an easy recipe to follow!
Donna
With a simple combination of eggs, tons of zucchini, a little flour and just enough cheese to add a punch of flavor, this 6 ingredient crustless zucchini quiche is a light and tasty healthy breakfast, snack, or dinner!
For this zucchini quiche recipe, we’re taking advantage of the summer bounty of zucchini for an easy, cheap and super tasty meal!
I know some people consider quiche without crust a frittata but I personally love it lighter without the heavy pie crust. Crustless cottage cheese zucchini quiche, crustless cottage cheese sweet potato quiche and crustless broccoli quiche are our other quiche favorites!
And if you want a quiche with wholesome crust, make my tortilla quiche.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple: You just need 6 simple ingredients.
- Healthier: By omitting the pastry crust, this quiche is lighter and low carb.
- Quick: This recipe requires only 15 minutes of prep.
- Meal prep: Enjoy immediately, refrigerate for later, or freeze for months.
Ingredients for Zucchini Quiche
- Zucchini: You can use zucchini or summer squash.
- Eggs: I use 8 large eggs. These can be straight from the fridge or at room temperature.
- Flour: You can use whole wheat flour, spelt flour or all-purpose flour. One reader even used quinoa flour as a gluten-free option. However, I wouldn’t recommend using almond flour or coconut flour. This is due to their absorbency and the impact it will have on the texture.
- Cheese: This crustless zucchini quiche recipe uses a combination of any hard cheese and Parmesan.
- Herbs: Use chives or green onions.
How to Make Crustless Zucchini Quiche
To make the quiche, you will need regular glass or ceramic 9-inch pie dish. I used a tart pan and had to line it with parchment paper to prevent leaks.
Prepare the zucchini: First, shred the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater or a food processor shredding disk.
Then you’ll need to squeeze the zucchini to remove as much water as possible. I do this by placing the zucchini in a linen towel, wringing it into a ball, and then squeezing it to remove all the excess liquid.
You could also use a ricer to press out all the liquid. You can save this nutritious liquid to add to soups or smoothies, no need to waste it!
Recipe Tip
If you struggle to squeeze out the zucchini liquid, you can salt it. Place zucchini in a bowl or colander, mix with 1 teaspoon salt, and then leave to rest for 15 minutes. The salt will help extract the liquid from the veggies, making it easier to squeeze after.
Whisk the egg mixture: In a medium bowl, add the eight eggs and whisk. Next, add the flour and whisk well to combine. This will take a few minutes.
Then add cheese, salt, and pepper.
Add the zucchini: Next, add the zucchini and chives to the bowl and use a spatula to fold it into the egg mixture until thoroughly combined.
Transfer to the pan and bake: Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and then bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
I recommend broiling the zucchini quiche for a few minutes at the end of the baking process for a lovely golden crust.
Allow it to cool slightly, slice into eight pieces, and then enjoy warm or cold!
Variations
This crustless zucchini quiche is fairly forgiving to using substitutions and add-ins. Here are just a few suggestions:
- Egg whites: You’ll need to use 3 tablespoons of egg whites per each 1 large egg.
- Softer cheese: Recipe works well with softer cheeses like crumbly feta or goat cheese.
- Spice: You can easily add a little heat with a pinch of red pepper flakes or some cayenne powder.
- Other spices: I like to add garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Other vegetables: I particularly like pairing zucchini with 2-3 handfuls roughly chopped spinach, corn, onions, peppers, etc. I recommend substituting 1-2 cups of the zucchini for other vegetables.
- Extra protein: You could add some chopped ham, baked bacon, or smoked salmon for more protein.
- For dairy-free: You can use your favorite dairy-free cheese.
Serving Recommendations
Enjoy this cheesy zucchini quiche for breakfast, brunch or a light dinner.
It pairs well with veggie salads like creamy cucumber tomato salad or healthy potato salad.
It’s also a perfect addition to a brunch spread with healthy french toast casserole and healthy fruit salad.
Serve with lighter soup like cottage cheese tomato soup and tzatziki sauce.
Making It in Advance
You can prepare the quiche batter up to 1 day in advance and store it in the fridge covered.
If you want to prepare it 2 days in advance, you can prep zucchini and chives, and grate the cheese, then refrigerate separately in airtight containers for 2-3 days.
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Allow the quiche to cool and then refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: I recommend slicing the quiche and then laying slices of quiche on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to freeze until solid. Then add to a large freezer-safe bag and store for up to 2 months.
As a side note, a reader recently let me know that they actually freeze raw quiche mixture by pouring it into a Ziploc bag (releasing excess air) then freezing flat. To use it, thaw the mixture in the fridge overnight and then bake as usual. However, I haven’t tried this, so I’m not sure how well it works.
Reheat: While there’s no need to reheat this zucchini quiche as it tastes delicious when cold, I recommend reheating a slice in the microwave rather than the oven, which can dry it out.
FAQs
Most likely because you haven’t squeezed enough water from grated zucchini.
Yes. However, I recommend to line the pan with parchment paper well to stop any egg mixture seeping out.
More Zucchini Squash Recipes to Try
- Cottage cheese zucchini fritters
- Crustless spinach quiche
- Healthy zucchini casserole
- Spaghetti squash quiche with kale
- Baked zucchini fritters
You can also browse these healthy zucchini recipes for more inspiration!
Crustless Zucchini Quiche
Equipment
Ingredients
- 7 cups (2-2.5 lbs) shredded zucchini, measured before squeezing
- 8 large eggs
- 1/2 cup spelt or whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup any hard cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup chives or green onions, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- Cooking spray, I use Misto
Instructions
- Give shredded zucchini a good squeeze to extract as much water as possible. I do it by placing zucchini into a linen towel and wringing into a ball (save the liquid for soup or smoothies). Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray 9" pie dish with cooking spray (I used tart pan lined with parchment). In a medium bowl, add eggs and whisk.
- Add flour and whisk well to combine (it will take a few minutes). Add both cheeses, salt and pepper, and whisk one more time.
- To the bowl with zucchini, add chives and mix with spatula. Then pour egg flour mixture on top and stir well to combine.
- Transfer mixture to previously prepared baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Broil for a few minutes for a golden crust. Cool off a bit, cut into 8 slices and enjoy warm or cold (I love cold quiche!).
Notes
- Make ahead quiche mixture and refrigerate for up to 1 day. After bake as per recipe. If you need to make quiche ahead 2 days in advance, you can prep zucchini and store with chives. And grate cheeses and refrigerate separately. Helps a lot!
- Store: Leftovers for up to 5 days covered.
- Reheat:Â I love mine cold. It is so good! If you must, I recommend a microwave otherwise it will dry out in the oven.
- Air fryer: Line air fryer basket with unbleached parchment paper and spray well with cooking spray. Add mixture, level with spatula and bake in preheated air fryer to 320 F degrees for 30 minutes. Do toothpick test in the center for doneness.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Totally delicious and so perfectly moist ! The only change I made was adding (1) grated carrot for a pretty look!
Thank you for this recipe that I can use anytime!
Oh I am sure that carrot did add some nice color!
Do you think frozen shredded zucchini would work in this recipe?
It’s never been tested with frozen, so I can’t say exactly, you may need some extra squeezes to remove water.
I’ve now made this twice. Added parsley, basil, chives and jalapeño from the garden this time. So easy and makes a delightful dinner with some garden supplied gazpacho.
Sounds so lovely with all those fresh herbs! So glad you liked it!
Can this recipe be doubled and cooked in a casserole,
I think that would work, I have not tested it, but cooking time may increase or decrease depending on depth of casserole dish.
Hi! Want to make this for dinner tomorrow, but I’m wondering which hard cheese you opted for?
Gruyère is a favorite as well as sharp white cheddar.
I’m making this two weeks in a row it’s so good. I added the smoked paprika and pit more cheese on top before broiling. A big hit at our family gathering. Super easy and a great way to use up the zucchini abundance.
So glad it has been a winner! Thanks for the review and star rating!
Hi Olena, thanks for a great recipe! I just tried it with a few variations—I used cauliflower flour, mild cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese, meatballs chopped up and diced sourdough bread sprinkled on top for a nice crunch. It was delicious!
Great! Glad you could use what you had on hand and make it your own!
fast and easy. its a little heavy on chive which I thought would be overwhelming but it was actually good
So glad you enjoyed it!
Will this work with coconut or almond flour?
No, they are too absorbent. Another reader has mentioned using quinoa flour with good success, or you might want to try 1:1 gluten free flour. You might like to try crustless spinach quiche or crustless broccoli quiche both of which have no flour in them.
Hi Louise,
I’ve just made the Crustless Zucchini Quiche. I used almond flour, it came out delicious.
Thank you for sharing how you made it, so glad it turned out great!
I made this and added 2 cups of chopped fresh spinach and only 6 cups of zucchini. I used white flour and mozzarella instead of hard cheese. It was delicious and my friends loved it.
So glad you enjoyed it and made it your own!
What a great way to use up an abundance of farm fresh eggs and garden zucchini. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I’m sad to see the Old Crustless Zuccini Quiche recipe gone. It was one of my favorites of yours and a go to, whenever I needed to drop a pound or two. Luckily I have made it so often I discovered I remembered it by heart so all is good.
I might try this new one one day
Hi Sofie. I have had this recipe at this link for years. Do you mean crustless zucchini pie with tortillas? I might find it for you. Please let me know.
Just made it in the toaster oven now and it is great! Yummy!@