Crustless Swiss Chard Quiche
Quick, no-crust or crustless quiches are the new trend these days. This simple and easy recipe for crustless Swiss chard quiche is made with sautéed Swiss chard, cottage cheese, and sharp cheddar cheese. Perfect when you want a light and healthy but impressive bake.
One of my challenges with healthy eating in this family is greens. While the kids will munch on broccoli without any fuss, somehow the greens need a bit of masking. That goes not just with the kids but Ziv too! Yup, hubby can be a big baby when it comes to leaves. He has a mental allergy towards them. BUT, greens are a necessary evil for the body (that’s what mom used to say)
So the only way I approach it is to make it less obvious. Often they go in wraps, quiches, tortillas, and of course, soup!!
This quiche is so versatile and works great not just with Swiss chard. I’ve made it with a few other greens too! The best part? It’s simple, easy, and effortless for me.
About this quiche
I prefer to call this my crustless quiche in three easy steps.
- Step 1 – Prepare Swiss Chard mixture – this can be done in advance
In fact, you can make this at the beginning of the week. Then prepare the quiche for dinner on the day you need it.
If you have extra Swiss chard lying around and have no time to use it, prepare this mix, cool it, and save it in the freezer. - Step II – Prepare Cheese Mixture – This gets done in two minutes because it’s as simple as whisking them in a bowl.
- Step III – Assemble and Bake!! Assembling takes 2 minutes, and the quiche takes about 30 minutes to bake.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Swiss Chard – I’ve used only Swiss chard in this recipe, but if you prefer, you can make a combination of spinach and Swiss chard. You can even use all spinach or a combination of your favorites, like leeks.
- Cottage Cheese – I like using cottage cheese as it adds more body to the mixture and, of course, is healthier compared to cream for a weekday dinner. But by all means, if you prefer the richness of cream, go ahead and substitute the cottage cheese with half the amount of cream (in this case, 1/2 cup)
- Cheese – I’ve used a combination of Cheddar, Gouda, and a hint of Parmesan. Gouda and Parmesan are a bit stronger in flavor, so they do a great job of emphasizing the cheese flavor without adding too much. Cheddar is a class of its own, and one I have on hand all the time. It works great with quiches and pies because the flavor is always perfect.
- Milk – I have substituted the milk with Coconut milk and it’s yum.. with a coconut flavor of course. I know a friend who uses Almond milk in all her quiches instead of milk, but I have not tried that yet.
Step-by-step: Crustless Swiss chard quiche
- Prep – Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃ (Gas Mark 4). Spray a 9″ Pie pan or quiche pan with cooking spray.
- Swiss card – Clean, wash, and pat dry the Swiss chard. Remove the stalks and chop them into small pieces. Roll up the leaves and chop them relatively small, too. Set aside
- Sauté – In a deep sauté pan, add olive oil and sauté the chopped onions, Swiss chard stalks, and garlic for a minute or two until onions are translucent. Add the leaves and cook on medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the heat up and let all the moisture dry out. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Pro tip – It is important to ensure all the liquid is evaporated; otherwise, the quiche won’t set. - Custard mixture – Combine eggs, cottage cheese, milk, and Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to ensure everything is well combined. Season with salt and pepper (note – there is salt in the cheeses, so go easy on the salt)
- Assemble – Spread the dry bread crumbs at the bottom of the pan, followed by the sautéed Swiss chard mixture on top. Carefully pour the cheese mixture evenly over the bread and generously top with grated cheese. Grate the fresh nutmeg.
Pro tip – Ensure that everything is evenly distributed in the pan so it cooks evenly. - Bake – Place the pan on a baking tray and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes. The top should look set – the middle with a slight jiggle. It will set further as it cools
- Rest – Let the quiche rest for at least 20 minutes before you cut. A cooled pie will help the custard set and slice better.
- Easy Swiss Chard Patties
- Kidney Beans Patties (Vegan)
- Goat cheese spinach strudel
- Spinach Potato Patties
- Sauteed asparagus or sesame green beans
- Crispy baked parmesan roasted potatoes.
- Garlic dinner rolls or Focaccia
- Kidney beans patties, Spinach potato patties
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely, try spinach, collard greens. Both work beautifully with this recipe.
Yes, you can use store-bought pie dough/pâte brisée. Just roll store-bought pie crust or use my homemade pie crust recipe.
Dock it, chill it, and blind-bake.
I have given you detailed instructions above with baking times, too.
Any cheese you enjoy will work great with this recipe. I like to use a sharp Swiss cheese for my quiches, but I am a huge fan of goat cheese, so often I will switch to using all goat cheese. Gruyere, Emmantle, a little Parmesan, and even a little sprinkle of feta are wonderful. A mix of cheeses works well to blend the flavors so none are overpowering.
I usually serve all my quiches warm because I don’t like fridge-cold quiche. Oven-hot quiche won’t make impressive wedges either.
As a rule, I let the quiche cool for about 30 minutes before serving. The egg mixture cools just enough so it cuts into beautiful and impressive servings.
You can store any leftover quiche wrapped well in the fridge. You can heat it in the microwave for up to a minute or until warm.
Frozen quiche can be baked from frozen for about 20 minutes at 170 °C (340 °F).
Swiss Chard Quiche – Crustless
Quick, no-crust or crustless quiches are the new trends these days. This simple and easy recipe for crustless swiss chard quiche is made with sauteed Swiss chard, cottage, and sharp cheddar cheese. Perfect when you want a light and healthy but impressive bake.
Ingredients
- 8 oz (226 g) Swiss chard chopped
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ med Red Spanish onion chopped
- 1 large Garlic clove minced
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper powder
- 3 large Eggs
- 4 tbsp (30 g) All-purpose flour or almond flour
- 1 cup (210 g) Cottage cheese
- 1 cup (240 ml) Whole Milk or almond milk/coconut milk work too
- 3 tbsp (15 g) Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper powder
- 1 cup (115 g) Grated cheese Swiss, Cheddar, Monterey Jack
- 2 tbsp Dry breadcrumbs
- ¼ tsp Grated nutmeg
Method
- Prep – Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃Gas Mark 4. Spray a 9" Pie or quiche pan with cooking spray.
- Swiss card – Clean, wash, and pat dry the Swiss chard. Remove the stalks and chop them into small pieces. Roll up the leaves and chop them relatively small, too. Set aside8 oz Swiss chard
- Saute – In a deep sauté pan, add olive oil and sauté the chopped onions, Swiss chard stalks, and garlic for a minute or two until onions are translucent. Add the leaves and cook on medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn the heat up and let all the moisture dry out. Remove from the pan and keep warm.1 tbsp Olive oil , ½ med Red Spanish onion, 1 large Garlic clove, ½ tsp Kosher Salt, ½ tsp Black Pepper powder
- Custard mixture – Combine eggs, cottage cheese, milk, flour, and Parmesan cheese in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to ensure everything is well combined. Season with salt and pepper (note – there is salt in the cheeses, so go easy on the salt)3 large Eggs, 4 tbsp All-purpose flour, 1 cup Cottage cheese, 1 cup Whole Milk, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, ½ tsp Kosher salt, ½ tsp Black pepper powder
- Assemble – Spread the dry bread crumbs at the bottom of the pan, followed by the sautéed Swiss chard mixture on top. Carefully pour the cheese mixture evenly and generously top with grated cheese. Grate the fresh nutmeg and a little more breadcrumbs.1 cup Grated cheese, 1/4 tsp Grated nutmeg , 2 tbsp Dry breadcrumbs
- Bake – Place the pan on a baking tray and transfer to the oven. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes. The top should look set – the middle with a slight jiggle. It will set further as it cools.
- Rest – Let the quiche rest for at least 20 minutes before you cut. A cooled pie will help the custard set and slice better.
Notes
- Wash the Swiss chard well in lots of running water. Leaves often have mud stuck to them.
- Chop the Swiss chard leaves relatively small and make sure to chop the stalks finely. Large pieces of vegetables will make a very crumbly quiche.
- The Swiss chard mixture can be made and kept in the fridge.
- Similarly, the egg mixture can be made and kept in the fridge.
- When baking, the center may be slightly wobbly, but it must still be set and all cooked.
Swiss Chard Quiche with crust
Suppose you choose to make this with a crust. You can use ready-to-roll pie dough or use my homemade pie crust recipe.- Prepare the pie crust pastry – chill and
- Roll and line a quiche pan – Chill the pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C / 380°F.
- Dock the pastry and blind bake with baking beans for 15 minutes.
- Remove the baking beans and let the crust cool slightly.
- Gently pour the quiche mixture.
- Bake the quiche for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is lightly colored and the mixture looks set.
- If necessary, tent the edges of the crust with foil or a pie shield to prevent it from becoming too brown.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
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I loved it, although I did omit the cottage cheese because I forgot to include it until it was baked.
Thanks Rachel
I’m supposed to be getting more protein but don’t really like meat, so I was looking for something like this. It’s great!
Its delicious too!
I made this recipe today and it’s cooling now. I noticed on the assembly instructions, there’s nothing about adding the flour. I assumed it went into the milk, egg mixture so I added it there. I’m waiting to see how it turns out.
Christine, flour is added in with the eggs. I have also put the ingredients at every step. Thanks
I didn’t read the instructions well enough before I started, so I already threw away the chard stems and still had 8 ounces of leaf, so more than the recipe called for. I also added 5 ounces of cannellini beans for extra texture. I was afraid it was going to overflow in my oven, so I put a pizza pan under it, so it took another 15 minutes to cook, and still not as firm as I’d like. I didn’t have any nutmeg. My husband and I both enjoyed it.
Swiss chard has a lot of potassium in it, my fitness pal gave it 469mg, far from the 0 on this site.
Thank you, Denise. Cannellini beans sound lovely. My recipe calculator show 343 for potassium.
Tried this recipe and it was absolutely delicious!!
Thank you, Spittier
This was delicious and so easy Veena! I had a bunch of silverbeet straight out of the garden and was contemplating what I would make with it and so glad I gave your recipe a go! The only change I made was using 4 eggs instead of 3, using ricotta instead of cottage cheese and I also added the finally grated zest of a lemon to the mix, so yum! Cooking time was pretty accurate too I’m happy to say. Will definitely be trying other recipes of yours, thanks Veena!
Thank you for the feedback, Barb. I am happy you enjoyed this recipe. I love recipes that let you substitute with easy and delicious every single time. I’m going to try cottage cheese next time. I love the sound of that.
Very much enjoyed his dish. I used a little gruyere with a white sharp cheddar and Parmesan and it punched it up nicely. 1 tsp of grated nutmeg sounded like it might overpower the dish, so I cut it back to about a third of a tsp and was very happy. Thanks for giving me an idea on how to use all that fresh chard in my garden!
Thank you, Bill, So happy you enjoyed this recipe so much. I do love Gruyere too. Sounds delicious. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. love hearing from those who try my recipes
Hi! Would you please help me on how I can adjust the serving numbers on recipe cards so that a round figure comes for the eggs. I guess the other ingredients can still be handled even if odd measurements.
I face this issue while adjusting the recipe card for cakes and other dishes too.
Thank you
Hey Plat. Yes, if you change the number of servings you will not get a round figure for all ingredients. This is a 9-inch quiche pan so I think these amount would work better unless you make a 7-inch quiche. For a 7-inch quiche you can change the number to 7 servings. Thanks
Made this last week and OMG even the kids ate it. It really does work with my kids. Such an easy recipe. Thanks for sharing Veena.
Thank you, Hannah. So happy you had success with this recipe and the kids enjoyed it too. Thanks for coming back to write this comment. Appreciate feedback. Have a great day.
I made this gluten-free using 1 Tbsp of Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF Baking Flour in the egg mixture, and I sprinkled GF cornmeal in my pan. Came out great! (I was wondering about the flour, as “2 Tbsp flour” is in the ingredients list but I didn’t see it mentioned in the directions, so I went with 1 Tbsp.)
Hey Millie. Glad to hear gluten-free flour and cornmeal worked as well. Will be helpful to those who want a gluten-free option. Yes, the flour does need to be added with the cheese. Helps it set so it cuts decent slices or it’s too soft.
I have yet to try swiss chard and loves greens. I will have to check this out. I always use escarole I may have found a new favorite right here! Thanks!
Thank you Claudia. you must try Swiss chard it’s really delicious.