Easiest-Ever Crustless Quiche

Crustless quiche is similar to a traditional quiche where it has savory egg custard loaded with cheese and mix-ins, but it’s baked without a pie crust. It’s the easygoing egg bake answer to practically every breakfast problem I’ve ever seen. I feel positively evangelistic on this one, guys. I’ll even tell you to memorize the recipe because it’s that easy.

A crustless quiche is quite simply baked eggs and literally anything else you want to throw in. Like so many of our classic heroes, the easy egg bake of a crustless quiche goes by many names: egg bake, egg casserole, oven omelet. It’s a creamy, satisfying simple egg casserole, sans crust, and it’s a breakfast hero. (Also? Making pie dough for a quiche crust is totally a pain, so everyone wins by skipping it.)

Remember how I said you could memorize it? Here’s the base formula for a quiche: 10 large eggs and 1 to 2 cups whole milk.

(If you want a sturdier, less custardy egg bake that can, for instance, get packed in a lunch box, use 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups milk instead.)

The best thing about a crustless quiche is that there are so many opportunities for customizing it. I add a pinch of salt and pepper, and rummage around in my cheese drawer and leftover scraps in the fridge. Next come in the add-ins: A bit of chorizo, my kids’ last cheese stick, those greens in the back of the fridge — I throw it all in and see what alchemy emerges.

Here are the categories of mix-ins you can choose from and a suggested amount:

• Fresh tender greens: Use arugula or baby spinach, and coarsely chop them first. About 2 cups.
• Cooked vegetables: Zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, mushrooms – whatever you have lying around. About 1 cup.
• Frozen shredded hash brown potatoes or grated fresh potatoes: These can help make the quiche more filling. About 1 cup.
• Cheese: Gruyère, Swiss, feta, or cheddar – any of it works! About 1 cup grated or crumbled.
• Cooked meat: Use breakfast meats like bacon, ham, or sausage, and chop it up if needed. About 1 cup.
• Fresh herbs: Use tender herbs like Italian parsley or chives, and finely chop. About 1/4 cup.

The best crustless quiches never quite happen twice, as all those little bits bake up into one cheesy, satisfying breakfast slice. It’s the breakfast version of stone soup; start with eggs and milk and a little love and just keep adding and suddenly you have a feast.

While I’m a huge fan of the impromptu leftover-style crustless quiche, I also know that sometimes you want a little more direction. Here are some of my favorite combinations:

• Denver Omelet: Cook half a diced onion, a green pepper, and a small box of sliced mushrooms in butter until tender. Mix into the egg base with a cup (or two) of diced cooked ham and some shredded cheese.
• Quiche Lorraine: Cook 4 to 8 slices of chopped thick bacon until crisp-tender and drain. Add a pinch of cayenne and nutmeg to the egg mix. Stir in the bacon and 8 ounces of shredded Swiss cheese.
• Sweet Potato Arugula: Stir in a 12-ounce bag of chopped sweet potatoes (no need to thaw), a big handful of Parmesan cheese, and several handfuls of roughly chopped baby arugula.
• Smoky Chicken Spinach: Slice a few links of cooked chicken andouille sausage and stir in a few handfuls of fresh, uncooked spinach. Add an 8-ounce bag of shredded cheese like cheddar or Swiss.

I often make one of these breakfast egg bakes on the weekend during my meal prep (see a full plan for a week of easy meals here) and then we eat off of it all week long for easy breakfasts, and adding salsa, yogurt, or a side of beans to jazz it up for lunches or even a last-minute dinner.

Anyone can do this — add a ton of cheese and some bacon for a full-on Christmas special, or keep it fresh and lean with chopped greens, leftover roasted veggies, and a dash of Parmesan for something more weekday. You can even freeze it for later! Freeze it unbaked, then thaw before that special guest comes over at Christmastime and you look like a hero with a hot baked egg casserole.

You’re just that good. Thank you crustless quiche — it’s a life lesson to learn once, and use forever.