Mushroom Crustless Quiche with Peppers & Spinach

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is a lighter, more healthy quiche. This recipe has so much going on with mushrooms, roasted red peppers and feta that you won’t miss the crust. In most quiches the combination of vegetables and cheese is what adds all the flavor and makes it special.

Because it is crustless, this recipe is easier than a traditional quiche. No dough or rolling pin required! If you feel the need to have something that does the job of crust, but on the side, serve your quiche with a slice of sourdough bread or multigrain bread.

This quiche filling is loaded with vegetables. What you want is something more than just eggs in each bite and you get that with mushrooms, roasted red bell peppers and spinach.

What’s the Difference Between Quiche & Frittata?

A frittata is not just a crustless quiche. The difference between them is the ratio of milk to eggs. Quiches have more milk, so they turn out softer with a more creamy texture. A frittata is firmer because it has less milk in proportion to the amount of eggs.

Also, quiche bakes in the oven. Typically a frittata starts in a skillet on the stove. Then it finishes cooking by baking in the oven until it’s firm and the eggs are well set.

The Ingredients

This is what you need:

• Mushrooms: Use cremini mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms because they have good flavor. Both are a slightly aged version of white button mushrooms, which you can substitute with if that’s all you have.  Shiitakes are another good choice.
• Roasted red peppers: You can find them at the olive bar or in jars in the Italian food section with the rest of the antipasti. Use a fork to take them out of the liquid in the jar and then chop them.
• Feta: I love the salty, briny flavor of feta cheese. You can swap it with crumbled goat cheese, which is more mild.
• Shallots are the starting point of the filling. I sauté them with the mushrooms. They are more interesting than if you just dice an onion, and they have a subtle sweetness too.
• Garlic: When you have mushrooms, it just makes sense to include a minced garlic clove.
• Baby spinach: Once the mushrooms and peppers finish sautéing, I add lots of spinach.  The heat in the pan will wilt it. You can substitute with baby arugula.
• Parsley adds fresh herby flavor in the filling and as a garnish. If you want more onion taste, then add minced chives.
• Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil to sauté the vegetables for the filling. I don’t use butter.
• Eggs: The recipe calls for 6 large eggs.
• Milk: You can use any type, dairy or non-dairy. Most quiches use heavy cream for the custard mixture in the filling, but this is another easy substitution to make it lighter.
• Salt & pepper are both important for seasoning all egg dishes.

Leftovers & Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. You can eat them cold. Or let them sit out, so they warm up to room temperature. To save leftovers up to 1 month, wrap them tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze them. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Always let quiche leftovers cool to room temperature before you store them.

Recipe Tips

• If you do make changes to the veggie filling, keep in mind that you need to sauté them or roast them. Raw vegetables will not cook when they are stirred into the eggs and bake in the oven.
• Make sure to thoroughly whisk the eggs, milk and seasonings together.  The yolks and whites should be fully combined.
• Keep an eye on the quiche as it bakes. It is ready when the eggs are just set in the middle.