Quinoa and Kale Crustless Quiche
Who stole that piece of quiche?
What you'll need: kale, quinoa, sharp cheddar, onion, cream cheese, garlic and eggs.
The quinoa gets a bath before cooking.
Time to sauté a whole mess of onions.
20 minutes later -- sweet and sultry.
The quinoa is ready at about the same time, which is convenient!
Shreds of cheddar -- they almost look like golden strands of hair.
As you can see, our kale was crisp and bright green.
It started as a mountain in the pot.
Very quickly, it softened into this beautiful emerald mass.
Adding the quinoa, cream cheese, cheddar and onions.
Time to stir!
Pre-baking.
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Author Notes: I first tried a version of this dish at a dinner party. I asked my host for the recipe, and she gave me a copy of her Vegetarian Times. I tried the recipe, "Quinoa and Greens Pie" and hated it! It called for chicory and cooked romaine, and it was nothing like the delicious spinach filled quiche that I had at the Wilson's house. I asked Mrs. Wilson if she made changes to the original recipe, only to find that she had changed nearly everything about it! - Hilarybee
I began my own experimentations on the recipe, keeping the premise of the greens and quinoa held together by eggs. I changed nearly everything else about the recipe, including the number of eggs. After a year, I have a recipe that I love and routinely use. For the greens, I always use kale, but I like to throw in some mustard greens when I have them. - Hilarybee
Food52 Review: Kale and quinoa are a match made in heaven, and it turns out they're even better when you throw some eggs and cheese into the mix. Hilarybee gently wilts the kale, tossing it with caramelized onions, cooked quinoa, cream cheese, sharp cheddar and garlic before folding in some beaten egg -- just enough to hold everything together as the quiche puffs and browns in the oven. If raw garlic isn't your thing, toss it in with the onions right before they're finished caramelizing -- we enjoyed the mild bite. - A&M - A&M
Makes about 8 slices
- 1/2 cup Quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 bunch Kale, stems removed and cut into ribbons
- 1 Vidalia Onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
- 3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- 4 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9" pie dish (either butter the dish thoroughly or spray with baking spray). Rinse the quinoa. Combine the quinoa and water in a pan. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then reduce to a simmer. This will take about twenty minutes. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, start to caramelize the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large saute on medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the onions. Slowly cook until the onions are soft and browned.
- Remove the onions from the pan, and place them in a large mixing bowl. Add the kale into the hot onion pan. On medium heat, cook until the kale is wilted and bright green, about two minutes.
- Allow the greens to cool. Squeeze out any extra liquid using a sieve or a clean dish towel.
- Add the kale, quinoa, garlic, cream cheese and cheddar to the mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients so that they are evenly distributed.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs so that they are well combined. Pour over the quinoa/kale mixture. Stir until the egg clings to the greens. Add salt and pepper.
- Pour the mixture in the prepared pie dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the pie has started to pull away from the edge of the baking dish. This dish is delightful hot, but even better at room temperature.
- Your Best Greens Contest Finalist!
Tags: breakfast, brunch or dinner, savory
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about 1 month ago Amandadp
Fantastic recipe! Definitely will be making this regularly. I had goat cheese on hand so used that instead of cream cheese and I added an extra egg because my mixture seemed a little dry. Thanks for sharing this Hilarybee!
about 1 month ago Hilarybee
glad you enjoyed it. I've found if you use red or black quinoa, they are drier and absorb more of the egg mixture--or you might have just had smaller eggs.
about 1 month ago kimber24
Do you think this would work subbing cream cheese with cottage cheese?
about 1 month ago Hilarybee
I'm not sure--it might if you strained the cottage cheese with a cheese cloth. I'd just skip it altogether if you don't want to use cream cheese.
about 1 month ago Eliana A. Dotson
Well, I calculated after I sent my question and this is more or less what I got :
Amount Per Serving
Calories 138.9
Total Fat 6.7 g
Saturated Fat 3.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.8 g
Cholesterol 87.9 mg
Sodium 108.9 mg
Potassium 93.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 11.9 g
Dietary Fiber 1.1 g
Sugars 0.1 g
Protein 7.8 g
Vitamin A 22.6 %
Vitamin B-12 5.6 %
Vitamin B-6 3.2 %
Vitamin C 11.2 %
Vitamin D 4.1 %
Vitamin E 0.1 %
Calcium 6.0 %
Copper 1.1 %
Folate 3.8 %
Iron 10.7 %
Magnesium 1.0 %
Manganese 2.2 %
Niacin 0.4 %
Pantothenic Acid 0.1 %
Phosphorus 8.4 %
Riboflavin 8.2 %
Selenium 1.7 %
Thiamin 0.7 %
Zinc 3.2 %
about 1 month ago Eliana A. Dotson
Do you know more or less how many calories this is? is delicious though
about 1 month ago Tracey Marshall
Best Kale recipie Ive eaten. Thanks for sharing. Love it. 5 Stars
about 1 month ago Hilarybee
thank you so much! glad you enjoyed it.
about 1 month ago Eliana A. Dotson
thank you Hillary =) , my hubby and I loved it! thank you so much for sharing
about 1 month ago Eliana A. Dotson
this was super delicious and easy to make, thank you so very much!! love the recipe
about 1 month ago Hilarybee
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for giving it a try and calculating out the calories.
4 months ago Irene Van Nostrand
I really enjoyed this recipe. I liked it because it was less eggy and cheesy. I had some rainbow chard that I needed to use so I mixed it in with the kale. I think I am going to try to add roasted sweet potato cubes in one and see how it turns out.
3 months ago Hilarybee
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for giving it a try.
4 months ago beachpoet
Very good - but I don't know if I'd call this a quiche. It has a much more loaf-like consistency. In fact, baked in a loaf pan, it would make a great veggie loaf! Highly adaptable, it's a great base recipe for just about anything you want to add to it. Will make again!
3 months ago Hilarybee
Glad you can adapt it to suit your needs. Enjoy!
4 months ago Jenn Trott-Bopp
This was awesome! I used egg whites, red onion, yellow cheddar cheese and the lower fat cream cheese. MOPS group loved it :-) Thanks!
4 months ago Hilarybee
You are welcome! Glad you enjoyed it and could adapt the recipe to your needs.
4 months ago Angela Parsons
Found this on Yoyomama and look forward to making it!
4 months ago Hilarybee
I'm glad you found us, thanks for checking it out!
6 months ago VGCooks
Thanks for such a great (and highly adaptable) recipe! I make it frequently with spinach. It has become my go to dish for pot-lucks, dinners for friends who've had a baby and me whenever I want a quick and delish breakfast, lunch or dinner.
5 months ago Hilarybee
I'm glad you are enjoying it!
about 1 month ago AlexisK
When made with spinach - about how much spinach did you use? Thanks!
8 months ago SusanMarie
How about using the fairly new cooking creamed cheese instead of the block? I am going to try this recipe. Sounds like!
8 months ago Hilarybee
Susan, not sure, but I don't see why not. I've never worked with it before but let us know what happens if you try it out!
8 months ago fearlessem
Hilary -- Do you know how this freezes once its baked? Could I just wrap slices tightly in plastic wrap and then freeze them in a freezer bag?
8 months ago Hilarybee
Yep, I've done it. I've also frozen it whole and rebaked at a lower temperature.
8 months ago Terrijean
Had a bunch of kale in fridge that was threatening to go bad and had lotsa quinoa. Googled "kale quinoa" and luckily happened upon this recipe. All other ingredients were staples which I always had on hand so I went for it, skeptically. Wasn't at all sure a crustless kale quiche would be edible. I worried for nothing: it was really good and everyone else loved it too. Added extra cheese (about 3/4 c. total).....it was yellow, not white and did just fine. Also, cut up your cream cheese in very small pieces as it doesn't melt into mixture. For those whining about wanting to replace cream cheese with something else: don't do it. The cream cheese is such a small amount and adds yummy, necessary flavor. Make it, you won't be sorry.
8 months ago Hilarybee
Thanks for giving it a try, Terrijean. I tried so many soft cheeses (goat cheese, feta, I even tried a very soft sheep's cheese) before settling on cream cheese. It's accessible to everyone and it just adds a layer of creaminess that I enjoy. I'm glad it works for you!
8 months ago Terrijean
Thanx, Hilary....I'm making it again tonight!
10 months ago joyce.ciotti
I "googled" quinoa + kale ingredients. You won my heart as soon as I saw the picture. I made this today (for tomorrow's breakfast) using red quinoa, and i used a handful of red & orange sweet peppers rather than the onion. It is gorgeous, gorgeous looking. I can't wait for morning! Truthfully, I think I need to cut out a slice to make it match your perfect picture. And, this site is great :)
8 months ago Hilarybee
Alas, I cannot take any credit for the picture! Thank the nice folks at @Food52 for that. But thank you for trying my recipe and welcome to the Food52 community!
10 months ago SKK
Made this recipe for my daughter's wedding breakfast for her and her girls. Tripled it and it was all gone. We had people over doing hair and make-up and they loved it also. I am mad for this recipe! Thank you for sharing it. Made all the components ahead of time so just mixed it up for baking. Made the kale mixture and froze it, made the quinoa and froze it, shredded the cheese.
8 months ago Hilarybee
I'm honored that you chose my recipe for your daughter's special day. It really is fast with advanced prep. I like to freeze the kale in the summer, and then break it out in the winter.
5 days ago SKK
How do you freeze your kale? Do you blanch it first?
5 days ago Hilarybee
Yes, I do. I cut the kale into pieces, then blanch the kale, then I put the kale plus about 1/4 cup of the blanching water in freezer bags. It'll last about 4 months that way.
12 months ago Tess Danesi
Returned from the farm market with fiddleheads and ramps and queso. Again proving how versatile this recipe is, I used sauteed fiddleheads and just folded in the raw ramps. It's amazing. Thank you so much for a gluten-free quiche that just keeps on giving!
8 months ago Hilarybee
Tess, I'm so glad that you are able to use the recipe over and over! Puts a smile on my face!
12 months ago Tess Danesi
Returned from the farm market with fiddleheads and ramps and queso. Again proving how versatile this recipe is, I used sauteed fiddleheads and just folded in the raw ramps. It's amazing. Thank you so much for a gluten-free quiche that just keeps on giving!
12 months ago Hilarybee
You are very welcome. I'm glad that the recipe has proven useful for you!
about 1 year ago fearlessem
Had to come back to sing the praises of this flexible recipe again. I recently made it with cooked broccoli instead of kale, and it was still killer!
12 months ago Hilarybee
So glad! Do you like mustard greens? I sometimes like to make it with mustard greens and broccoli rob.