Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche with Spinach
This crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche is a low-carb and keto take on classic spinach quiche. Made with egg whites and cottage cheese, this quiche is the perfect protein-packed meal to enjoy any time of the day! Serve as a brunch dish or a light dinner.
The beauty of quiche is that it’s an appropriate dish for any occasion, but the crust is typically made with flour. This flourless egg white spinach quiche is baked frittata style with cottage cheese, so it’s packed with protein, low in carbs, and full of flavor!
This isn’t your average crustless quiche. You’ll bake egg whites, creamy cheddar, spinach, onion, spices, and cottage cheese into a fluffy frittata sure to impress everyone around your table.
The secret to the success of this crustless spinach quiche is cottage cheese. It elevates the savory flavors and creates an irresistibly rich and velvety texture. Even the kids dive into this healthy crustless quiche. I may be biased, but this keto quiche recipe is THE best!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a high-protein quiche made with egg whites, cheddar, and cottage cheese.
- This low-carb spinach quiche is as delicious as the classic.
- Perfect for weekend breakfasts, holiday brunches, or whenever you’re craving quiche.
- Gluten-free and no flour!
- Plenty of room to customize.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Extra virgin olive oil – to sauté the veggies.
- Onion – Yellow onion or sweet onion for a deep, savory flavor.
- Frozen chopped spinach – Thawed and drained well. The spinach should be as dry as possible before adding it in. I don’t recommend using fresh spinach here.
- Cheddar cheese – Grated fresh from a block. Freshly grated cheese gives the quiche a creamier texture than the bagged stuff, but use what works. Monterey Jack is another tasty option.
- Eggs – For a keto egg white quiche, you’ll need 8 large egg whites (or 1½ cups carton liquid egg whites) plus 1 whole egg. Feel free to adjust the egg white to full egg ratio or make it with all whole eggs.
- Cottage cheese – Regular cottage cheese or low fat cottage cheese. Up to you!
- Spices & seasonings – Cayenne red pepper, black pepper, salt, and a pinch of nutmeg for a kick of warm flavors.
How To Make Cottage Cheese Quiche with Spinach
Step 1: Prepare for baking. Preheat your oven to 375F and coat a 9″ pie pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Step 2: Cook onion and spinach. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Then, add the spinach and cook until the leaves are wilted and dry. Set the skillet aside.
Step 3: Whisk egg batter. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, egg whites, cottage cheese, red pepper, sea salt, nutmeg, and black pepper together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Step 4: Assemble quiche. Returning to the greased pie pan, layer the grated cheese on the bottom. Then, add the spinach and onions and pour the quiche batter over the top.
Step 5: Bake quiche. Transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are set (40 to 45 minutes). Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- To defrost the spinach, place it in a bowl under lukewarm running water and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- Make a 1″ cut from the center towards the edges to check for doneness. If the knife comes out with any bits of egg on the blade, place it back in the oven for a few minutes.
- You can prep most of this cottage cheese quiche in advance. The night before, make the vegetables and the egg batter and keep them stored separately in the fridge. The following day, assemble the quiche in your pie pan and bake!
Variations & Serving
It’s easy to modify this keto quiche with various low-carb proteins and veggies. See below for ideas.
- Add a half cup of cooked and cooled chopped shrimp or crab meat to the egg mixture.
- Load up on the breakfast meats. Add cooked bacon crumbles, breakfast sausage, leftover ham, or pancetta).
- Go heavy on the veggies. Add diced tomatoes, mushroom, zucchini, red bell peppers, and asparagus.
- Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese, mozzarella, or feta over the top before baking.
- Serve with your favorite hot sauce. Green Tabasco is also a delicious mild topper.
Pair this cottage cheese quiche with a fresh fruit salad or any of these delicious low-carb brunch recipes:
Storing & Freezing
Storing: After cooling, store quiche wrapped in plastic or an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 3 days.
Freezing: Wrap whole or individual slices in plastic wrap and freeze for 2 months. Thaw overnight and bring to room temperature before reheating.
Recipe FAQ
In combination with a firmer shredded cheese (like cheddar), yes! Cottage cheese gives the quiche a smooth, rich consistency and makes everything taste better.
The quickest way is to pop it in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. You can also reheat it on a baking sheet in the oven at 375. If you have the time, it’s best to reheat when the quiche is at room temperature.
I’ve only tried this one in a pie pan, but you can try baking the egg mixture in a greased muffin pan at 375F until a knife sliced through the middle comes out clean (20 to 25 minutes).
If you love this recipe I would be so grateful if you could leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below. I love reading your comments and feedback!
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Crustless Cottage Cheese Quiche with Spinach
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion or sweet onion, finely chopped
- 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
- 12 oz grated Cabot 50% light cheddar cheese
- 8 large egg whites you can use 1 1/2 cups liquid egg whites in the carton
- 1 whole egg
- 1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 1/4 tsp ground cayenne red pepper
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drizzle oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add spinach and stir for about 3 minutes, until spinach is dry. Set aside.
- Lightly coat a 9" nonstick pie pan with olive oil cooking spray.
- Sprinkle grated cheese in the bottom of the pan.
- Top with spinach mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites, whole egg, cottage cheese, red pepper, sea salt, nutmeg, and black pepper.
- Pour egg mixture over spinach.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until set.
- Let sit for 5 minutes and slice into wedges.
Notes
- To defrost the spinach, place it in a bowl under lukewarm running water and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- You can substitute 6 whole eggs for the egg white/whole egg combo
- Fresh spinach can be used instead of frozen. A pound of fresh spinach is equivalent to 10 oz of frozen spinach. Be sure to sauté it so it has wilted down before adding to the quiche.
- Make a 1″ cut from the center towards the edges to check for doneness. If the knife comes out with any bits of egg on the blade, place it back in the oven for a few minutes.
- You can prep most of this crustless quiche in advance. The night before, make the vegetables and the egg batter and keep them stored separately in the fridge. The following day, assemble the quiche in your pie pan and bake!
Nutrition
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Delicious ๐
Ohhh, I am all about this!
Thank you, ladies! Happy Mother’s Day to you, too!!
Looks delicious! I sooo cannot wait to try this Amy! Thanks and Happy Mother’s Day ๐
looks great! definitely putting this in my morning rotation!
Thanks April! I hope you enjoy it! ๐
Would you suggest four or five whole eggs in place of the 8 egg whites + one whole egg?
Hi Shannon! You can certainly swap whole eggs for the whites, but I haven’t tested the amount. That amount sounds about right, but I can’t say for sure without testing the recipe. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Hi, how can I adjust to use fresh spinach?
Hi Mary! You can saute 1-1 1/2 lbs of fresh spinach in a little olive oil until just wilted and sub that for the frozen. It takes a lot more fresh spinach because it wilts down so much when cooked.
I made this for the first time, and my husband loved it. The only thing I changed was fresh spinach instead of frozen since thatโs what I had on hand. Iโll be serving it for the next brunch with the girls!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, Sylvia! I love that you used fresh spinach! I’m actually making this again for dinner this week. ๐
Can you use FRESH spinach???? If so, do you need to sautรฉ it first????? If you use 8 egg whites, what do you do with all the yolks?? I hate to be wasteful. My grocer doesnโt have frozen egg whites. Have never seen that in a grocery store.
Hi Maxine! I just answered your questions in the recipe card, just in case someone else would like to make the same substitutions. I usually use liquid egg whites in the carton (these are located near the fresh eggs in the refrigerator section of the grocery store), however you can use 6 whole eggs in place of the egg white whole egg combo. For fresh spinach, one pound is equal to 10 oz of frozen. Cook the fresh spinach down in an oiled skillet until it has wilted down and add it to the quiche. I hope that helps!