Crustless Zucchini Quiche

You've probably heard me say this before, but I get a little excited when I'm putting in the garden and end up with waaaay too many zucchinis all at one. This crustless zucchini quiche is one that my mom start making years ago, when she had the same problem. A garden overflowing with zucchinis.

As a busy mom who likes to keep things simple and make recipes with 7 ingredients or less, quiche is an easy go to. Like a make ahead egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, it's great for breakfast or a light lunch. My kids devour it everytime. This version happens to have zucchini, but you could make it with broccoli, mushrooms, or whatever veggie you have on hand. Work with your pantry. It will make things easier.

And if you still have zucchini left after making this crustless quiche, try making my creamy zucchini pasta or some carrot zucchini muffins. I promise, you'll be glad you did!

Crustless quiche is magic

You don’t need to make a homemade pie crust (or even buy a pre-made crust) because the ingredients in this easy crustless quiche recipe form themselves into a crust while baking. Bisquick is the secret ingredient and while I love making homemade pancakes, I'll turn to it every time for a quiche recipe. And the best part is that you likely have the ingredients in your pantry/fridge already!

Ingredients

• Zucchini: Look for smallish dark green zucchini and shred them on the biggest holes in your box grater. If you are defrosting previously frozen zucchini, be sure to squeeze out any excess moisture
• Bisquick Baking Mix: This is one of those times that the name brand product is important. I've not tested this recipe with any other baking mix, so I would stick with the original for best results.
• Onion: You can use either frozen caramelized onion cubes or grated yellow onion, but stay away from red onion unless you are adding them in as an additional "vegetable".

How to choose the right zucchini

When picking out the zucchini for this courgette (another word for zucchini) quiche, you’ll want to look for ones that are not too big.  6-8 inches long is ideal and dark green on the outside. You want the zucchini to be firm to the touch. The smaller zucchini’s are easy to shred, great sliced on a salad, or sauteed in pasta primavera.

Once zucchinis grow too big, they lose their delicate flavor and can be harder to work with. If you find yourself with those, simply shred them in a food processor. Then use the shredded zucchini in things like zucchini bread, muffins, cookies, and cakes.

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray your pie dish liberally. I like to use a deep glass pie dish to avoid the quiche from overflowing.

Grate the zucchini on the big holes of a box grater and put aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining filling ingredients until combined.

Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the shredded zucchini. I like pile it in a few paper towels and squeeze, but you could also use clean dish towel to squeeze out the excess liquid. Once well drained, add the zucchini to the rest of the ingredients and stir in with a spoon.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and put the quiche on a baking pan (to help in case of spillover) into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.

You'll know it's done when top is just browned and the middle is a little puffed up and the middle is no longer jiggly.

Remove from the oven and let sit a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Easy substitutions

• Cheese: We really liked smoked mozzarella in our house, so either adding ½ cup shredded cheese or replacing the Parmesan all together will mozzarella or cheddar cheese will work just fine. If you want to make this a dairy free quiche, use any dairy free cheese you like.
• Herbs: You can easily use rosemary (fresh or dried), basil (fresh, frozen or dried) or an Italian spice blend.
• Dairy Free: To make this quiche dairy free, simply swap the regular cheese for any dairy free cheese.
• Gluten Free: To make a gluten free zucchini quiche, simple swap the regular Bisquick for the Gluten free Bisquick baking mix and follow the recipe as written.

Make a Mini Quiche

Try making mini quiches by pouring the batter into a cupcake tin that has been coated with baking spray. Bake as directed but start watching them for doneness around 25-30 minutes. This is a great way to serve individual portions or to put on a brunch buffet for special occasions like holiday or Mother's Day brunch.

Alternatively, you can bake this quiche in a square 9x9 or a 9x13 glass baking dish. Bake until golden brown and set and then cut with a sharp knife into squares for serving. The 9x9 dish will bake into thicker quiche pieces and the 9x13 will give you thinner pieces good for a light lunch or quick breakfast.

Storing Leftovers

Either cover the pie plate with plastic wrap or slice any remaining crustless zucchini quiche into individual serving size pieces and place in an airtight container. When you want to reheat, simply microwave for about 30 seconds and enjoy! The zucchini quiche does not freeze well.

Freezing Zucchini

A great tip for having summer fresh zucchini all year long is to process them when it's zucchini season in late summer. Shred the zucchini on a box grater or in your food processor, then freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions (depending on what your recipes call for) in zip top bags and defrost as needed. 

You save time by shredding tons of it at a time and then have it ready to go as needed. When you defrost it, just squeeze out the excess moisture before using in your favorite recipe.

📖 Recipe