A crustless zucchini quiche is a delicious way to utilize an abundance of summer zucchini. This vegetarian quiche is very low carb so it's perfect for keto diets, too.
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At first, I was leary of using zucchini in a quiche because I thought it might be watery. I was wrong. It's amazing! The rich custard filling, delicate zucchini flavor, herbs, and mellow saltiness from the smoked gouda cheese is winning combination. And, ditching the crust means this recipe is low carb!
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What’s best? Sliced Zucchini or Grated Zucchini for Quiche?
You’ll see zucchini quiche recipes made with sliced zucchini and grated zucchini. After testing this recipe both ways, I found that grated zucchini works much better in this crustless zucchini quiche. Why?
Grated zucchini is easy to squeeze dry
Grated zucchini is easy to layer
Zucchini rounds release a lot of water in the quiche, even when salted and patted dry
Zucchini rounds need to be sauteed before adding to the quiche or they don't cook completely
Zucchini rounds sink to the bottom of the quiche
The Perfect Quiche Ingredient Ratio
The perfect egg-cream-cheese ratio for a quiche is ¼ cup of cream and 1 ounce of cheese for each egg. Because zucchini contains so much water, it was important to change the ratio for this zucchini quiche custard. Adding an extra egg and a little more cheese while decreasing the amount of heavy cream did the trick!
The Perfect Low Carb Crustless Zucchini Quiche
As far as low carb keto quiches go, this is an easy one. But for the best results you must grate the zucchini and remove as much water as you can. Don't worry, it's a piece of cake:
Grate one pound of zucchini and put it into a colander in the sink. Mix salt into the zucchini and let it sit for several minutes (the salt draws water out of the zucchini). Rinse the zucchini well to remove the excess salt. Then, using clean hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the zucchini.
Then, go on to make the quiche but don't forget to layer the ingredients!
Layer Your Quiche Ingredients
Want the best quiche? Do me a favor... Layer. The. Ingredients. Layering the ingredients prevents heavier ingredients from sinking to the bottom and ensures even distribution.
Sprinkle a quarter of the cheese into a quiche dish or a pie plate. Layer roughly one third of the ingredients into the pie plate followed by another layer of cheese. Repeat twice more. Pour the frothy egg mixture over the layers and bake.
To refrigerate, allow your zucchini quiche to cool completely and cover with cling film. Reheat a slice of quiche in the microwave or in the oven. Serve with a green salad or this refreshing sweet bell pepper salad.
Refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Customize your quiche!
I love this zucchini quiche as written, but I did experiment with other seasoning combinations. In one variation I added two teaspoons of my homemade ranch seasoning. While the quiche was delicious and VERY FLAVORFUL, I felt like the zucchini's delicate flavor was lost. However, if you aren’t a huge fan of zucchini, this may be a great option for you!
add 2 teaspoons of ranch seasoning or lemon pepper
try adding basil or parsley
use green onions instead of chives
add crumbled bacon or chopped ham for more protein
try topping the zucchini quiche with crumbled feta cheese or dollops of ricotta cheese
add a flaky low carb pie crust
Other Great Low Carb Keto Vegetarian Quiche Recipes
Low carb vegetarian recipes are sometimes hard to find. Quiche is great because it benefits from the protein contributed from the eggs and cheese. Plus, it looks so nice on a plate. Here are three more great low carb vegetarian recipes.
Crustless Mushroom Quiche
Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
Zucchini gratinby my friend Mellissa at I Breathe I’m Hungry.
Crustless Zucchini Quiche Recipe
This Zucchini quiche promises rich custard filling, delicate zucchini flavor, herbs, and mellow saltiness from smoked gouda cheese - a winning combination!
Place the zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt. Thoroughly mix salt into zucchini with your hands. Let sit for 10 minutes. Grate the cheese.
Preheat oven to 350 F and set rack to middle position. Butter a 9 - 10 inch pie plate or quiche dish.
Method
Rinse the zucchini with running water very thoroughly. With clean hands, squeeze out as much liquid from the zucchini as you can. Place the zucchini into a medium bowl and mix well with the dried dill and chives.
Measure salt, pepper, eggs and heavy cream into a medium bowl and beat until frothy.
Layer ¼ of the cheese into the pie plate followed with ⅓ of the zucchini. Alternate layering cheese and zucchini until used up. Gently pour the egg mixture over the quiche.
Bake
Bake for 40-50 minutes depending on you oven or until the quiche is browned and just slightly soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before serving.
Cover with cling film and refrigerate any leftovers. Reheat in the microwave or oven. Great served with a green salad.
Serve warm with a green salad. Serves 6 at 4.1g NET CARBS per serving.
Yes, zucchini is keto. A medium zucchini has about 6 total grams of carbs and 2 of them are fiber. So one whole zucchini has 4 net carbs. Zucchini is very popular on the low carb diet.
Use half-and-half as a 1:1 substitute for heavy cream. It can work nearly as well for bringing creamy texture and flavor to sauces, soups and stews, mashed potatoes, quiches, and casseroles. In a pinch, it can even be used for whipping. While you won't get stiff peaks, you can build volume if you work quickly.
Heavy Cream and Milk – For the best tasting quiche, use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. (Or simply use half-and-half.) Using just heavy cream produces an overly thick filling. Whole milk is great, but a combo of heavy cream and milk is better.
One cup of heavy cream can be replaced with one cup of evaporated milk, or three-quarters of a cup of milk plus one-third of a cup of butter. Editor's note: Evaporated milk lends a slightly toasty, caramel taste, so keep that in mind when adding it to recipes.
While good sources of vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber, white and sweet potatoes ought to be avoided on the keto diet because of their high carb content ( 45 , 46 ). Other nutritious but high carb vegetables to limit include peas and corn ( 47 , 48 ).
To eat vegetables in a keto diet, limit those that contain a lot of carbs, like potatoes, corn, and peas. 4 Instead, up your intake of non-starchy vegetables.
If your quiche appears watery it may just need to set for a little longer. The recipe may also contain too much dairy, so make sure that the recipe you are following has the ratio of 4 eggs to 1 cup dairy. The added ingredients could also contain too much moisture, so it is important to cook or drain additions.
If you have butter and milk (whole milk or even half-and-half work best), you can make your own heavy cream substitute. To make 1 cup of heavy cream, melt 1/4 cup of butter and slowly whisk in 3/4 cup milk. This works for most baking or cooking recipes that require heavy cream, but it will not whisk into stiff peaks.
Cottage cheese alone can be a good substitute for heavy cream to help add thickness to recipes like sauces. Simply remove the lumps by blending it with an immersion blender or food processor. You can also mix it with milk to help replicate the smooth, creamy texture of heavy cream for use in other recipes.
If you're low on dairy ingredients, don't fret. Greek yogurt can substitute milk, sour cream and heavy cream. Milk: If you're short on milk, half and half or light cream, Greek yogurt can be used to make up for the difference.
Figuring out your proportions couldn't be simpler – for each egg you use, you need half a cup of milk. Too little dairy, and your quiche will be dry instead of creamy. Too much, and it won't set properly.
Quiche is bad news when it comes to a healthy diet. It's usually made with cheese and cream in the filling as well as butter in the pastry case, so it's often high in saturated fat and calories. Ingredients like bacon will add salt and more saturated fat.
In fact, each fluid ounce of evaporated milk contains less than half the amount of calories and about one-fourth the amount of fat as heavy cream. “It works best in a 1:1 substitution in recipes like casseroles, soups and sauces, offering a similar texture but lighter consistency,” explains Brigham.
Condensed milk is evaporated milk that has been sweetened with sugar. Evaporated milk can be used in place of heavy cream in most recipes, whereas condensed milk is best reserved for desserts. Some health food stores may sell evaporated coconut milk, which is also a good substitute.
Sour cream is an easy replacement for heavy cream. It can be easily stirred into a dish and offers another flavor profile to soups, stews and sauces. Plus, using it as a heavy cream substitute is a great way to use up that lingering tub in the fridge.
Iceberg lettuce. Perhaps one of the most popular — though least nutritious — vegetables, iceberg lettuce has only 2.97 g of carbohydrate per 100 g. ...
White mushrooms. Mushrooms contain only 3.26 g of carbs per 100 g. ...
Cucumbers are made of 90% water and are almost calorie-free. One cup of cucumbers contains only 16 calories and 3 grams of net carbs, making it a sure fit for a keto plan.
Botanically speaking, tomatoes are considered a fruit. However, unlike other fruit, they're considered keto-friendly. That's because tomatoes contain around 2–3 grams of net carbs per 3.5 ounces (100 grams) — or up to 10 times fewer net carbs than most fruit — regardless of their variety ( 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ).
Carrots can be eaten on keto, but it may be difficult to include them regularly or in large quantities, as they contain a fair amount of carbs. Some less starchy alternatives to enjoy raw or cooked include celery, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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