Low Carb Ham and Cheese Quiche is a versatile, flavorful dish that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Creamy custardy goodness, filled with eggs, ham, cheddar jack cheese, broccoli, cream and onions, this ham and cheese quiche recipe is not only easy and delicious, it is low carb too!
This crustless ham and cheese quiche recipe has just the right amount of components to give this dish just enough variety of flavor without making it an expensive or time consuming meal to make. Leave the worries and time of cooking a pie crust behind, and make this crustless low carb ham and cheese quiche any night or day when you want a comforting dish that is not loaded with carbs.
I originally found this recipe at https://www.homemadeinterest.com/low-carb-ham-cheese-crustless-quiche/ and after trying it out and loving it, I made a few little changes to make it just how we like it.
What Is The Best Cheese For Quiche?
What is so great about our friend the quiche is that she does not discriminate.
If you feel like some goat cheese in your quiche, go for it.
Do you love the creaminess of melted Brie? Go ahead and put that in you quiche, if you heart so desires.
If you want to keep with a more classic flavor profile, stick with a cheddar or Swiss cheese.
That is the beauty of quiche. So many cheeses go great in it. It all depends on what other ingredients you want to put in your quiche that may determine what cheese you may or not want to add.
For example if you are making a bacon and cheese quiche you may want to stick with the classic cheddar or Swiss cheese.
However, the basic quiche is a great canvas for so many different cheeses.
Some Cheese Options For Quiche:
- Cheddar
- Swiss
- Mozzarella
- Goat Cheese
- Brie
- Parmesan paired with another cheese
- Feta
There are so many options!
However, for this ham and cheese quiche recipe, I kept it simple and classic and used a cheddar jack cheese . This type of cheese makes a great companion with the ham and broccoli used in this recipe. It is subtle enough not to overpower, but strong enough to hold it’s place.
However, if you are the type of person who feels like you can never get enough variety, feel free to add another cheese like mozzarella if you want.
I personally really like the combo of cheddar jack cheese with ham and broccoli in this recipe. It pairs nicely with those two ingredients. And when you add the mustard, the flavors really pop.
Do You Have To Bake The Crust First For A Quiche?
To bake or not to bake? That is the question.
Some say yes, while others say no. It kind of depends on the crust and the recipe. Typically since eggs cook fairly quickly I recommend baking the crust first.
However, in this recipe you don’t have to worry about whether to bake the crust ahead of time or not because there is no crust. That’s right you heard me correctly, no crust. This is how we keep it low carb. You still get the fun of a quiche, the shape, texture, etc. without the extra carbohydrates.
Here’s a little secret, the quiche filling is so flavorful and packed with so much variety in ingredients, you won’t even miss the crust.
Plus, if you are worried about carbs, then you really don’t want pie crust anyway.
However if you really want crust and aren’t worried about carbs, I get it. Then have crust.
If I am making a quiche with crust, I am a big fan of baking the crust first and this is why. The beautiful egg custard filling that quiche is known for starts out in liquid form before it is baked, which can affect an unbaked crust.
If you cook the unbaked crust all at once with your quiche filing, sometimes this liquid prevents the crust from ever getting crispy, resulting in a mushy, unappetizing crust.
I recommend cooking the crust partially before adding the quiche filling to it. Obviously I am not giving you a crust recipe, so if you really want to make this with crust, you can use a pillsbury pie crust.
How Do You Make A Quiche With Pillsbury Pie Crust?
Now if you aren’t worried about this recipe being low carb and you are just really attached to the idea of having your quiche surrounded by pie crust, you can add crust to this recipe.
However, pie crust can be an added step and I am all about simplifying. Therefore, if you are short on time or just want to minimize the steps, you can totally buy pre-made crust like pillsbury.
How To Make A Quick Using Pillsbury Pie Crust:
- Put your Pillsbury pie crust in a 9 inch glass pie pan.
- Bake crust for about 5 minutes.
- Once edge starts to brown, take pie crust out of the oven.
- Follow quiche recipe for filling and add filling to crust.
- Lower temp and bake quiche in the crust.
There you have it. Easy pre-made crust that can be used with this quiche recipe.
What Should I Serve With Quiche?
There a lot of things that you can serve with quiche. What is so great about quiche though, is that it is so packed with protein, it can fill you up all on its own. I find that it is a good stand alone breakfast, but I know quiche is pretty typical for brunches, so here are a few other fun ideas if you feel like you need a side or two.
Great Sides For Quiche:
- Pina Colada Fruit Salad
- Sausage or Bacon
- Tomato Soup
- Light green salad or Spinach Salad
Choose the side based on the feel of the meal you are trying to achieve.
If you want your quiche to shout it’s breakfast time, then maybe stick with hash browns, sausage or bacon. Obviously, skip the hash browns if you are going low carb or keto.
If you want to add a refreshing element to this delicious dish, maybe consider adding a fruit or green salad. You can even do a small serving of berries and cream while on keto.
Lastly, if you are in the mood for soup, but want the meal to be a little more hearty, instead of serving bread with it, pair this ham and cheese quiche with it.
Ham and cheddar cheese quiche makes a great partnership with a classic tomato soup.
You will love the flavor of this quiche and the fact that you can eat it alone or pair it with so many things.
Looking for other low carb breakfast ideas:
Low Carb Ham and Cheese Crustless Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- ½ cup Yellow Onion diced
- 1 cup Ham diced
- 2 cups Broccoli florets
- 6 Eggs large
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbs yellow mustard
- 1 cup cheddar jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Chop onions, broccoli, and ham, and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add butter and onions, and cook until onions are fragrant. 2-3 minutes.
- Add ham and broccoli to the skillet and sauté for an additional 3-5 minutes, until onions and broccoli are tender. Set aside.
- Whisk eggs, heavy whipping cream, mustard, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- Spray a 9 inch springform pan or quiche pan with non-stick cooking spray, add ham and veggie mixture, and pour egg mixture over the top.
- Add cheese to the top, and use a spoon to gentle stir it into the mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven until set. When you shake the pan it should not jiggle in the center.
- Remove from oven, cook for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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