Crustless Vegetable Quiche in Muffin Pan

Quiche (/ˈkiːʃ/ keesh) is a savory, open-faced pastry crust with a filling of savory custard with cheese, meat, seafood, and/or vegetables. It is part of French cuisine but popular worldwide and particularly as party food. I made Crust free Spinach and Vegetable Quiches in a muffin pan for the first time for my daughter’s birthday party in last October and after that i made several times for H’s thanksgiving potluck at office, so and so. When Swathi asked to try this for October month baking partners challenge, i couldn’t post it on time. Since quiche has been turned in to my daughters favorite, i may come with crust based quiche in future. Also I don’t want the quiche too eggy so today’s version is with minimal eggs, crust free that too made in muffin pan with loads of vegetables and spinach. This is a perfect snack for kids and even i made it again this week for her snack. These Quiche can be served hot or cold.

Spinach and Vegetable Quiche Mini Crust Free Recipe

Yields – 12 regular-sized muffins

Base for Spinach and Vegetable Quiche

Large Eggs – 3 Number
Heavy Cream (or mix of cream & milk) – 3/4 cup + another 1/4 Cup as needed
APF/Maida – 1 Cup
Baking Powder – 1tsp
Salt – 1/2tsp
Pepper Powder – 1/2tsp
Fresh parsley, chopped – 2tsp or dry parsley of 3/4tsp
Fresh basil, chopped (or other herb) – 2tsp or dry version of 3/4tsp
Cheddar, gruyere, mozzarella, or other cheese – 1 and 1/4 Cup (prefer sharp/mild cheddar cheese)

Veggies for Spinach and Vegetable Quiches

Mushroom – 3/4 Cup , chopped finely
Broccoli/Carrot – 1/2 Cup, shredded
Frozen Green Peas or Corn – 1/4 Cup
Fresh Spinach – 3/4 Cup, roughly chopped  (sometimes red spinach and manathakkali works here)
1 Bell Pepper/Capsicum, chopped small (1/3 Cup)
Onion – 1/2 Cup onion, diced fine
Red Chili Flakes/Paprika – 2tsp (Optional)
Oil – 2 Tbsp
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and veins removed, diced fine (optional)

Feel free to add in whatever veggies you like, or have on hand. I used about 3-4 cups of chopped veggies in total. Prepare the veggies first and allow them to cool completely.

How to make Spinach and Vegetable Quiche in Muffin Pan

• In a pan heat oil add chopped onion, bell pepper, red chili flakes saute for a while till the onion change brown.
• Now add chopped mushrooms and saute them well till they shrinks and mixture turns dry (Pic 1).
• Now add the remaining veggies like peas or corn, spinach (Pic 1), carrot just saute for a minute or 2 till spinach shrinks and excess moisture is out.
• Set aside and allow to cool (Pic 2).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., and thoroughly grease (butter, coconut oil, or non-stick spray) a muffin tin.
• In a mixing bowl add flour,salt and baking powder mix together.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, parsley, basil, flour mixture and pepper (Pic 3).
• Add the 3/4th cup of heavy cream/milk (Pic 4).
• Now add the veggies mixture (make sure they are not hot) to the bowl with the egg mixture, stir well to combine.
• If needed add the remaining 1/4 cup milk/heavy cream.

• Stir 1 cup of the cheese to the mixture, and the remaining reserve it for topping.
• Using an ice-cream scoop or 1/3 cup measure, scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Fill to about 3/4 of the height of muffin pan(Pic 5), then sprinkle a small amount of reserved cheese over each.
• Place in the oven, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is fully set and the cheese has just started to turn golden on top (Pic 6).
• You may see slight bubbles here and there that is the right indication.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 20-25 minutes (Pic 6) before running a butter knife around each muffin, and gently removing from the pan.
• Enjoy while warm, or let cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Leftovers can be reheated for several seconds in the microwave or a few minutes in a preheated oven or toaster oven.

Adapted from here