BLT Quiche (Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly)
BLT Quiche – Classic BLT flavors with a breakfast twist! This quiche is loaded with bacon, greens, tomatoes, and more to take your breakfast or brunch to the next level! (Gluten Free & Paleo-Friendly)
I’m pretty sure we have an unwritten family goal of trying to unpack the BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) combination in every possible form.
We love BLT sandwiches, but we also use this combo to perk up chicken salad, stuffed avocados, make BLT chopped salad and more.
Several of you asked for more brunch and breakfast ideas and this BLT quiche is the perfect solution! All those yummy BLT flavors packed into an easy, delicious quiche you can make for a fancy brunch or weekly meal prep.
Here’s how easy this delicious recipe is…
Here’s What Goes Into Our BLT Quiche Recipe:
- A GOOD PIE CRUST. Whatever kind of pie crust you love will do–traditional, gluten free, paleo, etc. Ain’t no shame in the store-bought pie crust game, but we love this gluten free pie crust recipe (and loved this one before we were gluten free). You can also skip the crust and bake them in muffin cups (like this).
- EGGS + MILK (OURS IS NON-DAIRY). In a typical quiche, you’d include 1/2 cup milk or cream per 1 egg to get that signature custardy finish. But in a dairy free quiche, you’re often working with thinner, less rich dairy free milks, so I play with the ratios a bit. We use 8 eggs + 1 cup milk. We like unsweetened almond or cashew milk, but whatever you drink will work!
- BACON. Plenty of bacon goes into this BLT quiche! I look for uncured bacon, and have had good luck with Coleman’s, Pedersens, Applegate, etc.
- SPINACH OR GREENS. Fresh spinach is our family’s go-to dark leafy green because it’s so mild. If you like something more bold (chard, kale, etc.) go for it!
- TOMATO. I add large diced tomatoes or halved grape/cherry tomatoes in my BLT quiche. The larger pieces keep things from getting too watery and hold their shape and texture a bit better.
- A LITTLE ONION. To round out the flavors, I add a small amount of onion or shallot. I notice when I skip it–it really ties everything together!
- FRESH HERBS (OPTIONAL). To finish your BLT quiche, you can add a sprinkle of fresh herbs on top after baking–cilantro, basil, and parsley are my faves.
MOre Options To Try:
The ingredients above are my go-to combination for this BLT quiche recipe. But if you’re looking to change things up, here are a few of my favorite variations:
- Add Cheese. If you tolerate dairy, try topping the quiche with some grated cheddar cheese, aged white cheddar, or gruyere cheese.
- Green Onions. Swap out the onion for sliced green onions. It’s so yummy!
- Sun-dried tomatoes. You can also try adding some minced sun-dried tomatoes. They add delicious depth!
Let’s Talk About Blind Baking Crust For BLT Quiche:
“Blind baking” is baking a pie crust without filling. The process helps set the crust and it’s often used in two ways–fully cooking the crust before adding an uncooked filling (like a pudding pie) or partially cooking a crust before adding a liquid or very wet filling (such as with a quiche).
Pre-baking or blind baking a crust before making your BLT quiche will help keep your crust from getting soggy. It’s totally worth doing and I highly recommend not skipping this step.
In a dessert pie, I often prick the pie crust to help it avoid puffing up too much in the pie pan, but with a quiche the filling is too liquid (and will run through those holes). Instead, I line the uncooked pie crust with parchment, and weigh it down with dried beans or ceramic (reusable) pie weights.
How To Blind Bake A crust For Quiche:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add your pie crust to the pie pan. Prick the surface of the crust in a few places with a fork.
- Gently press down a square of parchment paper onto the bottom of your prepared, unbaked pie crust.
- Pour in some pie weights or dried beans to weigh down the parchment. (We do this so it doesn’t puff up in the oven and create an uneven base surface).
- Bake 15-20 minutes or until the bottom is set, but the crust is still light in color.
- Remove the parchment + pie weights/beans, add your filling and go from there!
FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best BLT Quiche
WHAT PIE CRUST RECIPE DO YOU USE? Our current favorite is this gluten free pie crust, which can be made with shortening or butter depending on your dietary needs. If you’re not gluten free, this homemade pie crust is pretty much fail-proof. (You can always use a store-bought crust if you like!).
PALEO? NO PROBLEM! You’ll just need to swap in your favorite paleo crust. This one and this one both have rave reviews!
HOW TO GET A REALLY SMOOTH QUICHE FILLING. Uniformity is the name of the game in quiche, so you’re looking for a filling that’s as velvety smooth as possible. My best recommendation is to use a blender or an immersion blender for super smooth results. (I love this immersion blender for jobs like this.)
CAN I USE ANOTHER KIND OF MILK? Yep! You can use whatever you drink for your BLT quiche, whether that’s dairy or nondairy (cashew, almond, oat, rice, etc.). Just go for unsweetened when possible. (Also: I don’t use coconut milk for quiche because the coconut flavor comes through more than I care for.)
DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! Since you pull the BLT quiche out when it’s a little wobbly in the center, it’s *really* important to let the quiche cool before you slice it. If you cut it immediately out of the oven, it’ll be a gooey, drippy mess. Trust me!
CAN YOU FREEZE QUICHE? Yes! You can freeze individual slices or the entire baked quiche. You’ll freeze it fully cooked, then reheat in an oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or you can pop slices into the microwave for a quick re-heat.
LOVE THIS QUICHE RECIPE? I BET YOU’D LIKE…
- Paleo Mini Quiche
- BLT Salad with Creamy Ranch Dressing
- Roasted Breakfast Potatoes & Veggies
- Potato & Egg Breakfast Tacos
HELPFUL FOR THIS RECiPE:
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PrintBLT Quiche (Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Classic BLT flavors with a breakfast twist. This fully loaded BLT quiche recipe takes breakfast or brunch to the next level! (Gluten Free + Paleo Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 (9″) pie crust (gluten free or paleo, as needed)
- 2 cups spinach or baby spinach
- 1/4 cup finely minced onion or shallot
- 1 cup large diced tomatoes (or halved cherry/grape tomatoes)
- 8 oz. bacon, crisped and crumbled
- 8 eggs (I use large eggs)
- 1 cup milk (we like unsweetened almond or cashew–use what you drink!)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: 2 Tablepsoons fresh herbs for garnish, such as cilantro, basil, or parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Prepare your pie crust for “blind baking” (baking without filling). Gently pat down a piece of parchment onto the bottom of the uncooked pie crust. Pour in some pie weights or about 1-1 1/2 cups dried beans to weigh down the parchment.
- Pre-bake the crust at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until it’s set but not golden. (It will continue cooking in the oven as the quiche bakes.)
- Remove crust from oven and carefully remove parchment and pie weights/beans.
- Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the quiche filling. Add spinach, onion, tomatoes, and cooked bacon to the pre-baked pie crust.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Whisk or blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth.
- Pour egg mixture into the pie crust over the vegetables/bacon.
- Place quiche on a baking sheet (to prevent any spills) and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-50 minutes, or until almost the entire quiche is set, but the center is *slightly* wobbly. (It will continue to set as it cools.)
- Allow the quiche to cool at least 15-20 minutes before slicing. (The center should no longer be wobbly)
Notes
*If dairy isn’t an issue for you, feel free to top this with grated cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, or pepper jack cheese before popping it in the oven. It’ll bake up golden brown and gorgeous!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: BLT quiche, paleo quiche, gluten free quiche, bacon quiche, tomato spinach quiche, spinach quiche, dairy free quiche
This looks delicious! Have you found a good way to cook your bacon so your whole house doesn’t smell for days?
Ha! I know what you mean! My favorite way is to bake the bacon. I just put up a whole tutorial in the “Tip Tues” highlights section on my Instagram! 🙂
Great recipe! I made a couple of necessary changes. I’m allergic to tomatoes so I left them out. I used full fat canned coconut milk (allergic to nuts). I added Diaya mozzarella cheese and used turkey bacon, (pork allergy). I served it to friends that aren’t GF or DF and they said it was the best quiche they ever tasted.
★★★★★
Ooh, these changes sound perfect for your needs! I’m so glad you and your friends loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review. It’s so appreciated 🙂
We loved this! Thank you!! Would not have thought to use my coconut milk for quiche but it totally worked. Didn’t need as many eggs so halved the recipe for a smaller shell. Yes we added a little cheese…
All yum.
That sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Really loved the idea of BLT Quiche as I had many eggs on hand. Along with being a great way to get some veggies. It was delicious. I pondered whether the spinach should be fresh or cooked so I wilted the spinach in a couple of inches of boiling water and drained it before mixing it in. I also seeded the tomato to cut down on moisture. I used a purchased a frozen gluten free pie crust and followed the pre-baking directions for that.
★★★★★
Nancy – It sounds like that worked beautifully! So glad you enjoyed it!