Crustless Butternut Squash Quiche

Crustless Butternut Squash Quiche

Served hot or cold, this quiche is such a delightful recipe! No crust-required! You can serve it in the quiche dish or easily remove it and place it on a plate or cake stand, as long as you really butter that dish before filling it.

I served this quiche at my yearly, autumn lady’s brunch. I was trying to hit all the fall staples: apples, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and of course, butternut squash. It was served alongside creamy pumpkin polenta, a perfectly spiced chai apple French toast, crispy sweet potato hash, and a gorgeous apple kale salad. 

I also served up a sparkling mulled ginger cider mimosa to really turn up the autumn vibes!

The Simple Process

• First, we’ll slice butternut squash and shallots.
• Next, we’ll sauté the squash and shallots.
• Then, we’ll sauté spinach.
• Finally, we’ll add the veggies to eggs, cream, and goat cheese, butter our quiche dish, and bake at 375 F. (190 C.) For about 40 minutes.

Ingredient Notes

butternut squash – You can use fresh or thawed, frozen butternut squash.

shallots – Feel free to substitute with red onion if you want a little more onion-forward quiche flavor.

whole milk – Don’t substitute with less than whole milk. It just results in a lackluster quiche.

heavy cream – Also called “double cream” in Europe. Don’t substitute with half-and-half.

thyme – Fresh thyme is obviously best, but you can use dry if that’s all you have.

spinach – Like thyme, fresh baby spinach is really the way to go to make this quiche shine, but you can also use frozen, as long as it’s been well thawed and water squeezed out thoroughly. You won’t need to sauté thawed, frozen spinach.

goat cheese – I used plain goat cheese, but you can add a little pizazz by using an herbed goat cheese, too.

How to Make This Crustless Quiche Step-by-Step

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. (190 C.). Thinly slice 3 shallots.

2. Slice butternut squash into 1-inch by ½-inch pieces until you have ⅔ cup sliced squash.

3. Drizzle sauté pan with about 1 tbsp. olive oil. Sauté sliced shallots until brown – about 3-5 minutes. Once just about brown, sprinkle with 1 tsp. fresh thyme. Give everything a little stir and remove from pan into a bowl.

4. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pan, and sauté sliced butternut squash until sides are slightly browned – about 7-8 minutes. Remove into the bowl with shallots and thyme.

5. In 1 more tbsp. olive oil, sauté 8 oz. baby spinach – about 2-3 minutes. Remove into the bowl with other sautéd ingredients. 

6. In a large mixing bowl, whisk 6 eggs. Add ½ cup whole milk, ½ cup heavy cream, whisk together, then, add sautéd ingredients, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and stir. Crumble 2 oz. goat cheese in dollops into the mixture and stir. Save 1 oz. of goat cheese for later.

7. Very liberally grease a 9½-inch quiche dish (https://amzn.to/452aK5F) with butter, then pour quiche mixture into the dish.

8. Add 1 more ounce of goat cheese globs on top, then bake on top rack for 40-45 minutes. 

Special Notes

Check quiche after 20 minutes while baking. If the edges are browning a little too much, lay a piece of tin foil over the top. No need to wrap around the edges. This will help it cook more evenly and prevent the edges from getting too brown.

I find it easiest to use pre-sliced butternut squash, rather than slice open a big one. Check to see if your food store has it already prepared. If you can only find a whole butternut squash, and you’re unsure how to slice it, take a look at my butternut squash crostini recipe.