Quick & Healthy Ways to Fill a Quiche
By: Meg Galvin,
SparkPeople Blogger
3/6/2013 6:00 PM
: 30 comments
: 12,650 Views
Whether you serve it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, quiche can be a healthy, go-to meal that all in the family will enjoy. That is, after you give is a drastic yet easy makeover.
Traditional quiche--with its ingredient list of fatty meats, too much cheese, whole eggs, and heavy cream--should stay away from your kitchen, but a new healthy, flavorful, and versatile quiche will fit right into your healthy eating plan.
Let's compare a traditional quiche recipe with a simple slimmed-down version that will save over 500 calories per serving.
Start by swapping the crust:
1/2 teaspoon dried herbs (thyme, sage, basil, or oregano)
Combine crumbs and herbs. Coat the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Press the breadcrumbs into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Pour in the toppings and custard (egg filling). Make sure the custard completely covers the bread crumbs to ensure they do not burn in the oven.
Just because ingredients have been reduced or swapped out doesn’t mean flavor will be lost.
What is your favorite kind of quiche?
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Like this blog? Then you'll love "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight."
Traditional quiche--with its ingredient list of fatty meats, too much cheese, whole eggs, and heavy cream--should stay away from your kitchen, but a new healthy, flavorful, and versatile quiche will fit right into your healthy eating plan.
Let's compare a traditional quiche recipe with a simple slimmed-down version that will save over 500 calories per serving.
| Traditional Quiche | Slimmed-Down Quiche | You save | ||
| Ingredient | Nutrition info | Ingredient | Nutrition info | |
| Traditional pastry crust | 648 calories, 42 g fat | Whole wheat bread crumb crust (see below) | 258 calories, 4 g fat | 390 calories, 38 g fat |
| 4 whole eggs | 288 calories, 19 g fat | 3 whole eggs or 1 3/4 cup egg whites | 216 calories, 14 g fat (201 calories, 0 g fat) | 72 calories, 5 g fat |
| 2 tablespoons butter (to sauté vegetables) | 204 calories, 23 g fat | Cooking spray (to sauté vegetables) | 5 calories, 1 g fat | 199 calories, 22 g fat |
| 2 cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded | 909 calories, 75 g fat | 1/2 cup gruyere or parmesan, shredded | 223 calories, 18 g fat | 686 calories, 57 g fat |
| 8 ounces deli ham cubed or bacon | 413 calories, 24 g fat | 4 ounces Canadian bacon | 170 calories, 8 g fat | 243 calories, 16 g fat |
| 1 1/2 cups heavy cream | 618 calories, 67 g fat | 1 1/2 cups skim milk | 125 calories, 0 g fat | 493 calories, 67 g fat |
| Total | 3,080 calories, 229 g fat | 997 calories, 45 g fat | 2083 calories, 184 g fat | |
| Per serving (4 per 9" quiche) | 770 calories, 57 g fat | 249 calories, 11 g fat | 521 calories, 46 g fat | |
Whole Wheat Bread Crumb Crust
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs (about 2 slices bread, crusts removed)1/2 teaspoon dried herbs (thyme, sage, basil, or oregano)
Combine crumbs and herbs. Coat the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Press the breadcrumbs into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Pour in the toppings and custard (egg filling). Make sure the custard completely covers the bread crumbs to ensure they do not burn in the oven.
Just because ingredients have been reduced or swapped out doesn’t mean flavor will be lost.
- Don’t let the butter overpower the flavor of your vegetables. Sautéing will let the flavor of the vegetables shine.
- Choose cheese that is intense in flavor yet low in moisture. Parmesan or gruyere are perfect choices. If you choose Cheddar, go for a sharp variety. Mild cheeses like mozzarella or Monterey Jack are too mild to make an impact with their flavor.
How to make the perfect quiche
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Use grated sharp cheeses: A little will go a long way. Layer it on top of the crust.
- To avoid a soggy quiche, sauté your veggies and cook your meats before baking. (If you don’t cook the vegetables, your quiche will look curdled.)
- Add the veggies, meats, and seasonings such as pepper, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, allspice, chopped fresh thyme or basil before adding the custard. Don’t layer beyond half way up the quiche or pie plate to avoid overflow.
- Dice your meat, then precook it to cut down on moisture and add color and flavor. Add 4 ounces cooked meat per quiche.
- Sautéed vegetables and cooked meats should be added after the cheese.
- Whisk together the eggs and milk, then pour custard on top of the quiche. A quiche shell should be no more than 3/4 full before it is baked.
- Place the quiche on a baking sheet to catch any potential spillovers.
- Bake 30-45 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the quiche comes out partially clean. The quiche should rest at least 5 minutes before eating so it doesn't fall apart.
A Dozen Quick and Tasty Quiche Combos
- Spinach, mushrooms and leeks
- Tomatoes, chili peppers and avocado
- Caramelized onion and parsley
- Tomatoes and Canadian bacon
- Salmon and chives
- Chicken, grilled corn and avocado
- Asparagus and tomatoes
- Artichokes and leeks
- Chicken and tomato
- Zucchini, peppers, and onions
- Tomatoes and parsley
- Shrimp and dill
What is your favorite kind of quiche?
Want more healthy recipes from me and fellow SparkPeople members? Be sure to subscribe to SparkPeople's Recipe of the Day email. Click here to sign up!
Did you know SparkRecipes is now on Facebook? Click here to "Like" us!
Like this blog? Then you'll love "The SparkPeople Cookbook: Love Your Food, Lose the Weight."
 You will earn 3 SparkPoints |
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Comments
This is making me think about making a quiche tomorrow! :) Don't think I can leave behind the pastry crust (favorite part, I think) but definitely can load up on veggies AND go meatless! :) - 3/7/2013 8:29:58 PM
Delicious with sliced avocado, sliced tomatoes, and piping hot coffee!
- Maryjean - 3/7/2013 12:17:07 PM
The Crust
1 sweet potato, sliced into thin rounds, Enough to cover the bottom of the pie pan twice.
2 eggs
1/4 cup of cream or half & half (I used skim)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary minced
1/3 cup of gruyere cheese (or swiss cheese)
Pinch of salt and pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Layer the bottom a lightly greased deep dish pie plate with two layers of the sweet potato slices. Sprinkle the rosemary on the sweet potatoes, then whisk together the eggs, cream. Pour onto the sweet potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop in the oven to bake for 10 minutes, bring out of the oven and cover with the gruyere cheese and bake for 5 more minutes. Continue with the……
The quiche
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup 2% or whole milk (again, skim)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of dried dill
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of capers, drained
1-3 garlic cloves, pressed
2-4 oz of cream cheese, crumbled into bits
4 oz of smoked salmon broken into bits
1/2 cup of thinly slice green onions, (use the whole onion)
Whisk the eggs, milk, mustard and spices up into a froth in a medium bowl. Add the garlic and cream cheese and mix in. Sprinkle the bottom of sweet potato crust with the salmon. Pour the egg mix over top and a little dried dill for beauty. Bake this creation at 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees until center stops wiggling when you touch it and a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Serve after it has set for about 20- 30 minutes - 3/7/2013 10:31:32 AM
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