About the Recipe
Traditional Quiche Lorraine, with its buttery pastry crust, would be reserved for your high-carb day. However, a Crustless Quiche Lorraine or one made with a low-carb crust (like almond or coconut flour) transforms this classic into a perfectly balanced meal for your low-carb days. Packed with protein and healthy fats from eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese, this adaptation delivers satiety and flavor while keeping the carbohydrate count minimal, supporting the fat-burning goals of your low-carb phase.
Ingredients
9-inch Deep Dish Pie Crust (homemade shortcrust pastry or store-bought)
Thick-Cut Bacon (Lardons) (6-8 slices / about 4-6 oz), cut into small pieces
Yellow Onion or Shallots (1/2 cup), chopped (Optional)
Gruyère Cheese (1 cup / about 4 oz), shredded
Large Eggs (3)
Heavy Cream (35% milk fat) (3/4 cup)
Whole Milk or Half-and-Half (3/4 cup)
Salt (1/2 teaspoon)
Black Pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
Ground Nutmeg (A pinch / about 1/8 teaspoon)
Preparation
1. Prepare the Crust (Blind Bake)
Preheat the oven to 400∘F (200∘C).
Line your pie dish with the crust. Crimp the edges.
Blind Bake: Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Line the crust with parchment paper or foil, and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or rice.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Carefully remove the weights and foil/paper and bake for another 5 minutes until the crust is lightly set but not browned.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350∘F (175∘C).
2. Cook the Bacon and Onion
In a skillet, cook the bacon pieces over medium heat until crisp.
Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Leave about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the skillet.
Add the chopped onion (or shallots) to the skillet and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent (about 5-7 minutes). Set aside with the bacon.
3. Assemble the Quiche
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until well-combined and slightly frothy.
Sprinkle about half of the shredded Gruyère cheese over the bottom of the warm, partially baked crust.
Scatter the cooked bacon and onion mixture evenly over the cheese.
Gently pour the egg and cream custard mixture into the crust over the filling.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
4. Bake
Place the quiche in the preheated 350∘F (175∘C) oven.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the custard is set (a knife inserted near the center should come out mostly clean) and the top is golden brown.
Cool: Let the quiche cool on a wire rack for at least 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving. This is important to allow the custard to fully firm up.
Variations
For a low-carb or keto quiche, you have several excellent alternatives to the traditional flour-based crust.
Here are the most popular and effective low-carb quiche crust alternatives:
1. The Crustless Quiche
This is the simplest and lowest-carb option—just eliminate the crust entirely!
How it Works: You pour the quiche filling directly into a well-greased pie dish. The egg, cream, and cheese mixture sets up to form its own cohesive shape.
Result: You get a pure, fluffy, and rich quiche filling that is essentially a large, savory custard, similar to a frittata but baked.
Tip: Use a good, non-stick, or well-greased pie plate, or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
2. Nut-Based Flours
Flours made from nuts are the most common and best-tasting low-carb substitutes for a flaky crust.
Crust TypeIngredients & ResultAlmond Flour CrustThe most popular option. Made with fine blanched almond flour, butter/oil, and a binder like an egg. It creates a tender, buttery, and slightly savory crust with a wonderful texture.Coconut Flour CrustMade with coconut flour, butter/oil, and several eggs (coconut flour is very absorbent). It is slightly drier and more crumbly than almond flour, but a good option for those avoiding nuts.Nut/Seed Meal Blend Some recipes use a blend of almond flour, sunflower seed meal, or flaxseed meal to balance the flavor, texture, and carb count.
3. Savory "Vegetable" Crusts
These options use vegetables as the base to form a crust shape, offering a boost of nutrients and a unique flavor.
Crust Type Ingredients
Cauliflower Crust Made from finely riced and dried cauliflower, cheese, and an egg as a binder (similar to a cauliflower pizza crust). This is a very sturdy option.
Broccoli Crust Similar to the cauliflower crust, using riced broccoli florets as the main ingredient.
Zucchini Crust Made from grated and squeezed zucchini, cheese, and egg. You must squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the zucchini for this to work.
4. Cheese-Based Crust
This is a favorite in the keto community for its richness and very low-carb count.
Cheese Crust (Fathead-Style): A dough made from mixing shredded mozzarella cheese and cream cheese (sometimes with almond or coconut flour) that is melted and mixed until it forms a dough. It bakes into a firm, cheesy, and very low-carb crust.
Tips For Success
"Blind baking" is a core technique in pie and tart making, and it simply means pre-baking a pie or tart crust before adding the filling.
It is done to ensure the crust is perfectly cooked, crisp, and will not get soggy from a moist filling.
Here is a quick breakdown of the purpose and the steps:
The Purpose of Blind Baking
Prevents a Soggy Bottom: For pies with wet or custard fillings (like pumpkin, quiche, or pecan pie), the crust is pre-baked to set the dough and create a barrier against moisture.
Prevents Shrinking/Slumping: The crust is weighed down to keep the dough from puffing up, shrinking down the sides of the pan, or developing large air bubbles.
For No-Bake Fillings: For pies with a filling that isn't baked (like a French Silk or cream pie), the crust must be fully baked beforehand so it's ready to eat once the cold filling is added.
The Basic Steps
Chill the Dough: The shaped crust is lined into the pie plate and chilled (or sometimes frozen) to keep the fat in the dough cold and prevent shrinkage in the oven.
Line and Dock: The crust is lined with a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil, and the bottom of the crust is often pricked with a fork ("docking") to allow steam to escape.
Add Weights: The liner is filled with pie weights, dried beans, uncooked rice, or granulated sugar—these provide the necessary weight to keep the crust flat and the sides from collapsing.
Bake (Par-Bake): The crust is baked with the weights until the edges are set and lightly golden (this is called par-baking, or partially baking).
Remove Weights: The crust is removed, the weights and liner are carefully lifted out, and the crust is returned to the oven to finish baking until it's fully cooked and golden brown.