Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche

This Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche recipe is loaded with broccoli, cheddar and roasted peppers. It’s incredibly fluffy, surprisingly simple to make, naturally gluten free and perfect for feeding a group at brunch, dinner or anytime you need a protein-forward centerpiece. No fuss or crust required.

Last fall, I started playing mahjong with a group of friends… and the first time I hosted our weekly gathering, I had a panicked realization that I needed to have something for these women to eat between games. (Bonus requirement: mahjong keeps your hands busy, so something that was finger-food-friendly and/or easy to eat was a must.)

The initial iteration of this quiche was born for that group — and it went over so well that I knew I had to document it for TSP.

I’ll be honest: cottage cheese is having a major moment right now, and I don’t always love jumping on a trend. But this isn’t about protein-boosted anything. It’s just a genuinely great quiche that happens to be lighter, fluffier and a little more forgiving than the fussy, crust-required version I’ve avoiding making for years.

Why I love this recipe:

I have always loved quiche but rarely gave myself the chance to make it at home. Mostly because dealing with a crust felt like more effort than a weeknight (or even a weekend) deserved.

Enter: crustless quiche.

A quiche without a crust solves that problem entirely. Think of it like an overnight egg casserole, but without the bread — just eggs, cottage cheese, milk, roasted peppers, broccoli, cheddar and a little seasoning.

The result is incredibly fluffy and light, with a subtle smokiness from the roasted peppers and plenty of savory flavor from the broccoli and cheddar combination.

I’ve served this quiche warm out of the oven for my mahjong group alongside fresh fruit and coffee cake, and made it for family dinners, too.

It works just as well reheated and pairs perfectly with a simple green salad if you want to round out the meal.

More brunch recipes to try: Croissant Breakfast Sandwich | Sausage Quiche with Sweet Potatoes and Collard Greens | Sheet Pan Pancakes

What you need to make this recipe:

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• 9.5″ tart pan (or a 9-inch standard pie pan)
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Blender
• Liquid measuring cup
• Box grater
• Measuring cups and spoons and/or a kitchen scale

Here is what you need to get at the grocery store:

• Eggs — I like to use large or extra large eggs from the store or farmer’s market.
• Cottage cheese — use your favorite kind and favorite curd type. Since we’re blending this all together, the curd size does not really matter as much. I used 2% cottage cheese, but any should work.
• Milk — we keep 2% milk at our house these days, and that’s what I used here. You can use any type of milk you’ve got at home.
• Roasted green chile peppers — I used half a can of the store-bought roasted peppers, though you can use your own roasted peppers if you keep those in your freezer.
• Creole seasoning — or your favorite Cajun seasoning to give the quiche some uumph. Make sure your seasoning blend has some salt in it to really bring all the flavors together.
• Frozen broccoli florets — small, bite-sized florets are what you want here. When I’ve made this recipe with larger frozen broccoli, it has taken significantly longer and impacted the overall texture, too. If yours are too big, steam them and chop them before adding to the pan.
• Sharp cheddar cheese — or your favorite cheddar variety. I like to purchase a block and shred my own because it’s not coated in an anti-caking agent, which sometimes includes gluten.

A note on substitutions:

You can vary up your mix-ins if you prefer different flavors.

Consider adding sauteed spinach, bell peppers, onions, green onions or sliced mushrooms. Just use the same amount of vegetables, total, as listed in the original recipe.

Swap out the cheddar cheese for another shredded cheese you prefer.

Add in some meat, like cooked and crumbled bacon, leftover holiday ham, shredded chicken, etc.

How to make this easy Cottage Cheese Quiche:

Prepare. Preheat the oven. Spray a tart pan liberally with nonstick baking spray, and set aside. This will ensure that your tart does not stick to the pan. I recommend using a ceramic tart pan as opposed to a metal one.

Break the eggs. Do this one by one into a bowl, and then dump them into the blender.

Add the rest of the liquid ingredients. Measure in the cottage cheese, milk, the roasted peppers and Creole seasoning into the blender.

Blend. You’ll do this for about 30 seconds to combine the ingredients extremely well.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Scatter the frozen broccoli florets and half of the shredded cheddar cheese in the prepared tart pan.

Finalize the quiche. Pour the egg mixture on top of the frozen broccoli and cheese. Scatter the remaining cheese on top.

Bake. This will take about 40-45 minutes, or until the tart is fully baked through. The egg mixture will be puffed up, golden brown and solid when done.

(box) How do I know when it’s done? There will be very little jiggle to the quiche when you give it a gentle shake. (I do this on the rack of the oven while it’s still in there.) If it is jiggly when you do this or appears liquid-y in the middle, it needs to bake for longer.

Cool. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before slicing and enjoying.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Quick tips and tricks to the best quiche:

Use the right size container. I used a 9.5” tart pan made of ceramic. You could also bake this in a 9” pie plate. I do not recommend baking it in a smaller container, as you might run the risk of it overflowing into your oven.

Blend it well. You don’t want to have chunks of pepper or cottage cheese in the quiche for that ultimate soft and fluffy texture.

Make it early for ease of sharing. This is also perfect for meal prep for a week of lunches if you’re into that.

Here’s how you can make this easy quiche recipe at home…

Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche

Servings: 8 servings

Erin Parker, The Speckled Palate

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This Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche recipe is loaded with broccoli, cheddar and roasted peppers. It's incredibly fluffy, surprisingly simple to make, naturally gluten free and perfect for feeding a group at brunch, dinner or anytime you need a protein-forward centerpiece. No fuss or crust required.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

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EQUIPMENT

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• Blender
• 9.5" tart / quiche pan

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

• 6 eggs
• ¾ cup cottage cheese
• ⅓ cup milk
• ¼ cup chopped roasted Hatch chile peppers (mild) (2 oz.) – half a jar
• ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning
• 1 cup frozen broccoli florets *
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

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Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a tart pan liberally with nonstick baking spray, and set aside. This is super important to ensure that your tart does not stick. I recommend using a ceramic tart pan as opposed to a metal one.
• Break the 6 eggs one by one into a bowl then transfer to the base of a blender.
• Measure in ¾ cup cottage cheese , ⅓ cup milk, ¼ cup chopped roasted Hatch chile peppers (mild) and ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning into the blender with the eggs. Blend for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients very well.
• Scatter 1 cup frozen broccoli florets and half the total amount or 0.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese in the prepared tart pan.
• Pour the egg mixture on top of the frozen broccoli. Scatter the remaining 0.5 cup shredded cheddar cheeseon top.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the tart is fully baked through. The egg mixture will be puffed up, golden brown and solid. There will be very little jiggle to the tart when you give it a gentle shake. If it is still jiggly when you do this or appears liquidy in the middle, it needs to bake for more time.
• Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before slicing and enjoying.

Video

Notes

* small broccoli florets work best. If your frozen broccoli is large, you need to steam it and chop it up into bite-sized pieces. Otherwise, your tart might become watery, be challenging to slice or take longer to bake.

How to store: Store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in an airtight container. This recipe does not freeze well.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 10gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 269mgPotassium: 136mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 507IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 154mgIron: 1mg

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