This gluten free quiche with kale and butternut squash with homemade crust is the perfect vegetarian recipe that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Something I always absolutely LOVE for brunch is a good quiche recipe. It basically combines all of my favourite foods and textures:
- Eggs? CHECK
- Cheese? CHECK
- Veggies? CHECK
- A delicious flaky crust? DOUBLE CHECK
We have been cooking up a ton of seasonal recipes here at Abbey’s Kitchen, and I had a ton of butternut squash and kale left over. So whats a gal to do? Throw it into a gluten free quiche. I myself am not gluten free, but I decided to share a homemade gluten free crust so that all of my gluten free friends reading this can enjoy this brunch staple.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
Quiche is a classic brunch and breakfast staple because it is so easy to throw together but it presents so nicely. When I was developing this recipe, I knew I wanted to make it gluten free friendly so that all folks at the table would be able to enjoy it. To make this recipe gluten free, we’re using a combination of gluten free flour (pretty much any 1:1 gluten free flour will do) and almond flour. The gluten free flour makes the crust taste as close to it’s gluten-filled counterpart as possible, and the almond flour adds a delicious flavour and a nice dose of healthy fats. Win-win!
The eggs and cheese also come together in this recipe to make for the perfect savoury dish, plus they provide protein and healthy fats. Add in some veggies for a little bit of fibre and extra nutrition (I’m using kale and butternut squash here, but throw in whatever you enjoy!), and you’ve got yourself a complete vegetarian meal all in one dish! What’s not to love?
Key Ingredients
Butternut Squash – Whether you use frozen or fresh butternut squash to make this gluten free quiche, it doesn’t really make much a difference in flavour but it makes a HUGE difference when it comes to the amount of time spent prepping. So if you have a little more time on your hands, you can definitely opt for fresh butternut squash. But if not, frozen butternut squash is the way to go.
Kale – I love throwing a nutrient-packed green anywhere I can in my cooking, and kale is without question a nutrition power house! It’s loaded with antioxidants and micronutrients. But, this recipe super flexible with any green so if you have arugula, swiss chard, or spinach on hand instead of kale you can totally throw that in instead.
Cheese – While I prefer to use gruyere cheese for this gluten free quiche recipe, it technically wouldn’t make this quiche vegetarian because gruyere contains rennet. So if you need to make this recipe vegetarian, opt for a mild cheddar instead.
Onions – Who doesn’t like a good caramelized onion to spruce up a recipe? We use sweet onion for this recipe as it gives off more sweetness when caramelized.
Gluten Free Flour – To make this gluten free quiche, we use gluten free flour. If you don’t need to make this gluten free then you can use regular all purpose flour OR (to make your life easier) you can purchase a store bought crust instead.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Pour the flour, almond flour, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and use a pastry cutter or the back of a fork to break up the butter into tiny pieces and distribute it throughout the flour. Add in 1 tablespoon of water at a time and continue working the dough until a crumbly mixture forms.
Step 2: Mix the egg into the dough.
Step 3: Work the dough until it forms a ball.
Step 4: Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper and gently transfer the flattened dough to a greased glass pie dish. Press the dough into the pie dish and shape the edges of the crust however you like. Use the fork to prick a few sets of holes into the bottom of the crust. Place the pie crust in the fridge for an hour to chill.
Step 5: Take the pie crust out of the fridge and place a large piece of aluminum foil on top. Press the foil so it sits on top of the crust and covers the edges of the crust. I used sugar to help weigh the crust down, but you can also use pie weights. Place the crust in the oven for about 30 minutes to bake, then remove it and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so before carefully removing the foil from it.
Step 6: While the crust is baking, toss the diced butternut squash with a little oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or so, or until the squash is soft.
Step 7: Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the sliced onion. Caramelize the onion by letting it brown and occasionally giving it a stir with a spoon or spatula. Add a small pinch of salt while they’re cooking. Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes or until they are browned to your liking, soft and sweet.
Step 8: Add the kale and a pinch of salt, pepper and thyme. Saute until the kale is wilted, then add in the butternut squash. Remove the veggies from the heat and allow them to cool slightly.
Step 9: In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and remaining spices and whisk together.
Step 10: Once the vegetables have cooled for a while, slowly mix them into the eggs. Grate your cheese on a box grater and mix half of the cheese into the eggs.
Step 11: When the crust has cooled slightly, pour the egg mixture into the crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the quiche.
Step 12: Place the quiche into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the egg has set and is firm. Remove the quiche from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Expert Tips
Work with cold butter and ice cold water when making the crust. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can use your hands to work the butter into the dough. Don’t overwork the dough or you’ll end up with a tough crust. If your dough is too dry, you can add more water 1 teaspoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball.
I recommend a glass pie dish for this recipe. You refrigerate the dough After rolling it and shaping it in your pie dish. The foil and weights are essential for the blind bake as it keeps the crust from shrinking while baking. This method is adapted from Serious Eats and in my opinion is the foolproof way to bake pie crusts → see here for reference.
If you’re not a fan of kale, you can use spinach or another hearty green, If you don’t like gruyere, try jarlsberg, a mild cheddar or similar.
Recipe FAQs
This quiche lasts about 3-4 days in the fridge.
You can honestly toss in any veggie into this gluten free quiche and it will likely taste amazeballs. But some of my personal favourite veggie combinations include leek & mushroom, asparagus and bacon, and caramelized onion with bell peppers.
Absolutely you can! If you don’t need to make this recipe gluten free then you can go for any pre-made crust you can find (ideally one that is lower in sodium). If you can’t find any gluten free crust at the store you can totally make this crustless or make a quinoa crust like this one here.
For sure! If you can’t tolerate dairy, feel free to throw in any shredded dairy free cheese that you enjoy. I would try to use one that you know melts well.
More Recipes You Might Like
Here are some more egg-based brunch recipes that you might like!
- Cheesy Spinach Egg Waffles
- Pizza Egg Muffins
- Spring Vegetable Breakfast Pizza
- Easy Curry Shakshuka
- Avocado Devilled Eggs with Everything Bagel Spice
- Egg Strata with Apples and Caramelized Onions
Have you made gluten-free crust from scratch before?
What other add-ins would you add to this gluten free quiche recipe?
Gluten Free Quiche with Kale and Butternut Squash
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1.5 cups GF flour I used a Vitacost flour blend
- ½ cup fine almond flour
- Scant ½ tsp. Baking soda
- 6 tbsp. cold salted butter
- 6 tbsp. Ice water
- 1 large egg
Filling:
- 3 cups diced butternut squash
- Oil spray or a small amount of avocado oil
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 1 sweet onion thinly sliced
- 1 head lacinato kale thinly sliced
- 1 tsp. Dried thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼-½ tsp salt
- 1 dozen eggs
- 2 tbsp. almond milk or milk of choice
- ½ cup or more gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Pour the flour, almond flour, and baking soda into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and use a pastry cutter or the back of a fork to break up the butter into tiny pieces and distribute it throughout the flour. Add the ice water 1 tablespoon at a time and continue working the dough with the cutter, a fork or your hands so a crumbly mixture forms. You want the water and butter to be evenly distributed throughout the dough. Mix the egg into the dough and work it just until a ball of dough forms.
- Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper and gently transfer the flattened dough to a greased glass pie dish. Press the dough into the pie dish and shape the edges of the crust however you like. Use the fork to prick a few sets of holes into the bottom of the crust. Place the pie crust in the fridge for an hour to chill.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take the pie crust out of the fridge and place a large piece of aluminum foil on top. Press the foil so it sits on top of the crust and covers the edges of the crust. I used sugar to help weigh the crust down, but you can also use pie weights. Fill the aluminum lined pie crust with about an inch of sugar, making sure that it weighs down every portion of the bottom of the crust.
- Place the crust in the oven for about 30 minutes to bake, then remove it and allow it to sit for 5 minutes or so before carefully removing the foil from it.
- While the crust is baking, toss the diced butternut squash with a little oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or so, or until the squash is soft.
- Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the sliced onion. Caramelize the onion by letting it brown and occasionally giving it a stir with a spoon or spatula. Add a small pinch of salt while they’re cooking. Allow it to cook for about 10 minutes or until they are browned to your liking, soft and sweet. Add the kale and a pinch of salt, pepper and thyme. Saute until the kale is wilted, then add in the butternut squash. Remove the veggies from the heat and allow them to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and remaining spices and whisk together. Once the vegetables have cooled for a while, slowly mix them into the eggs. Grate your cheese on a box grater and mix half of the cheese into the eggs.
- When the crust has cooled slightly, pour the egg mixture into the crust. If you’ve shaped the pie crust in peaks like we did, you should have no problem fitting all of the egg mixture into the crust. If you shaped the crust in a very shallow manner, you may have a little filling left over. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the quiche.
- Place the quiche into the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the egg has set and is firm. If you’d like, you can use a pie crust shield or pieces of foil to prevent the crust from burning. I kept foil around the edges of the crust for the first 25-30 minutes or baking, and removed it for the rest.
Notes
- Work with cold butter and ice cold water when making the crust. If you don’t have a pastry cutter, you can use your hands to work the butter into the dough. Don’t overwork the dough or you’ll end up with a tough crust. If your dough is too dry, you can add more water 1 teaspoon at a time until you can form the dough into a ball.
- I recommend a glass pie dish for this recipe. You refrigerate the dough After rolling it and shaping it in your pie dish. The foil and weights are essential for the blind bake as it keeps the crust from shrinking while baking. This method is adapted from Serious Eats and in my opinion is the foolproof way to bake pie crusts. — see here for reference https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/how-to-blind-bake-a-pie-crust.html
- If you’re not a fan of kale, you can use spinach or another hearty green, If you don’t like gruyere, try jarlsberg, a mild cheddar or similar.
Nutrition
Did you like gluten free quiche recipe? Let me know down in the comments below!
Updated on December 25th, 2021
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Steph says
Hubby and I rate this recipe as scrumptious! We skipped adding the crust because we’re lazy but I will definitely be making it again. Yummy!
Abbey Sharp says
I’m so glad!! Thanks Steph 🙂