This Crustless Ham and Zucchini Quiche is a great way to use up leftover ham and easily feed a crowd for breakfast or brunch! It makes a TON, and it’s easy to make in advance since it’s best served at room temperature.
Crustless quiche is my favorite way to make quiche, for the obvious reason that you don’t have to deal with a crust. I’ve used this technique with broccoli, bacon, and cheddar quiche, as well as spinach, tomato, and feta quiche, and it always comes out PERFECT.
Here’s the trick: flour and baking soda are mixed directly into the quiche mixture. You can use whole wheat or white flour- either will work.
The result is a fluffy, never dry quiche that holds its shape well and makes a TON.
I’ve made a classic quiche with zucchini before, where I sliced the squash. It came out beautiful, but I chose to grate the zucchini this time for two reasons.
First, it’s important to get as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible so the quiche is firm enough to stay together and doesn’t fall apart. To do this, just put the grated zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze/ring out as much of the water as you can. You can also add a pinch of salt to help draw out the liquid if you want. This same technique is helpful when making zucchini fritters.
Second, I wanted the zucchini to have an almost undetectable texture so my toddler would eat it. And eat it, she did! She’s not a picky eater, and for that I’m thankful, but lately she’s been a bit iffy on large chunks of veggies. I find if I chop them up finely or if they are undetectable, she will eat more of them.
This is an extremely kid-friendly recipe. And one of the best parts is that the leftovers stay good for a few days in the fridge. It was super easy to grab a slice and reheat it for a quick breakfast for my daughter for the week!
You can use any ham for this- I had some in my freezer from way back when I made split pea soup (and I STILL have more… what to do with it? Any suggestions?). I do recommend buying a thick slice at the store rather than thin, deli-style ham, so it will be chunkier in the quiche.
Just ask your deli person to slice it really thick, or grab a packaged ham steak from the meat aisle of your grocery store.
You can bake this quiche in any baking dish you have. I happen to have a quiche dish, but you can use a pie dish or just a regular casserole/baking pan.
Other recipes with ham
Here’s the printable recipe for this crustless ham and zucchini quiche!
Crustless Ham and Zucchini Quiche
Equipment
- Quiche Dish
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup flour white or whole wheat will work
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup ham diced
- 2 cups zucchini grated (from about 2 medium zucchini)
- 8 oz. cheddar cheese grated
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a quiche, pie, or casserole dish.
- Add a pinch of salt to the grated zucchini and let sit for a few minutes. Then, squeeze as much water out of it as possible by wringing it in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 4 eggs, milk (2 cups), flour (3/4 cup), and baking powder (1 teaspoon) until well combined.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients, including a little bit of salt and pepper (but not too much, since the ham and cheese are already salty).
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish and use a spatula or wooden spoon to distribute the batter evenly in the pan.
- Place the quiche on top of a foil-lined baking sheet, in case it spills over (it will be very full) and to make it easier to remove from the oven.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and quiche is fully cooked through (if you shake it a little, it shouldn't jiggle).
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into it. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- As an alternative to flour + baking powder, you can use 3/4 cup of a Bisquick or similar baking mix.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Bernadette J Boulier
Baking your recipe now can’t wait for it to be done!!! I have never made quiche before!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Yay! Hope it turned out well for you!
Michelle L
This quiche was so easy to make. I substituted 2 eggs with just egg whites and used 2 whole eggs. I also added a cup of frozen diced potatoes, garlic powder, onion powder, and dill. Also used Bisquick .
Elizabeth Lindemann
Thanks for sharing your modifications!
Debra Rogan
A great recipe. I changed a few minor things: 1) sauteed some onions in butter then briefly added the zucchini spicing w/ salt/Old Bay. 2) exchanged 1/2 c milk w 1/2 c heavy cream and used GF Bisquick for a gluten free (but pretty fatty) crustless quiche. 5 & 7 yo gobbled it down and I’ve been struggling to shove zucchini in them for forever.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you and your kiddos liked it and thanks for sharing your substitutions and modifications!
Alli
My mother likes quiche and I’m using your recipe to make her a birthday quiche, thank you!
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh my goodness, WHY don’t more people have birthday quiches instead of birthday cakes?! Haha, I love it! Hope you and she likes the recipe, and happy birthday to her!
Olivia
I will be making this later. I have found that taking a pie dish, coated with a very thin layer of butter and dusted with flour, helps with sticking and creates a bit of “crust”. I’m excited to try adding the baking soda and flour to the filling, but first, grading that zucchini….
Elizabeth
Love that idea, thanks for sharing! Hope grating the zucchini wasn’t TOO much of a chore and that the recipe came out good for you :-)
Stacy
Could I use almond milk as a substitute for the regular milk in this recipe? Or do you have another suggestion for a milk substitute?
Elizabeth
I’ve never tried making quiche without regular milk, but there are lots of recipes out there (like this one) that use milk alternatives! I think almond milk would work fine- just make sure it’s unsweetened, and keep an eye on it as it bakes since it might not need as long (or might take longer). You might get some inspiration by googling paleo or whole30 quiche recipes as well. Hope that helps!
Linda
I’m on a low carb diet. Anyway I can make with a different kind of flour?
Elizabeth
I’ve never tried it, so I can’t say for sure, but I think you might be able to use almond or coconut flour as a substitution! That said, most quiches are a filling inside a crust, and that filling does not have flour… so I think you could also just leave the flour/baking powder out (and make sure you grease the pan really well). I’m thinking it won’t come out quite as fluffy and firm to cut, and the cooking times might be a bit different, so keep an eye out while you are making it. Hope that helps!
Albert Bevia
I love a good quiche, and this one looks amazing, love the whole no crust idea and great tip with adding the flour and baking soda
Elizabeth
Thanks! Quiche is one of my favorite foods and when I discovered the no crust thing my mind was blown. It’s so easy!
Ushmana Palmo Rai
Whenever I made quiche it would come out a bit dry, will use your trick the next time. Thanks for sharing! Love from Nepal xoxo
Elizabeth
I hope it works for you! This is definitely my favorite way to make quiche.