Gluten-free spinach and cheddar quiche
A reliable gluten-free quiche with crisp homemade pastry and a creamy spinach–cheddar filling — perfect for brunch, lunch or a picnic.
A dependable gluten-free quiche that doesn’t feel like a compromise — crisp homemade gluten-free pastry, a rich egg custard and plenty of spinach and cheddar. It’s ideal for brunch, a light supper or wrapped for a picnic.
Make the pastry ahead and blind-bake properly to avoid a soggy base; the rest comes together quickly and reheats very well.
Ingredients
- 200 g gluten-free plain flour
- 40 g ground almonds
- 100 g unsalted butter — cold, diced
- 5 ml sea salt
- 4 large egg — total — 1 for pastry, 3 for filling
- 25 ml cold water — approx, as needed to bring pastry together
- 15 ml olive oil
- 1 brown onion — small, thinly sliced
- 100 g baby spinach — washed
- 200 ml double cream
- 150 ml whole milk
- 120 g vegetarian mature cheddar — coarsely grated
- 0 ml ground nutmeg — freshly grated if possible
- 5 ml black pepper — freshly ground
Equipment
- 23cm loose-bottom flan tin
- rolling pin
- baking beans
- baking paper
Instructions
Make the pastry: tip the gluten-free plain flour, ground almonds and a pinch of the sea salt into a large bowl. Rub the cold unsalted butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the large egg and a little cold water until the dough just comes together — don’t overwork it. Shape into a disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C conventional. On a lightly floured surface (use a little gluten-free plain flour), roll the chilled pastry to about 3–4 mm thick. Line a 23 cm loose-bottom flan tin, trim excess pastry and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill for 5 minutes if the pastry has warmed while rolling.
Blind-bake the case: line the pastry with a round of baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the paper and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to dry the base.
While the case bakes, cook the filling veg: warm the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium hob. Add the brown onion and cook for 6–8 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the baby spinach and cook for 1–2 minutes until just wilted. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
Make the custard: in a bowl whisk together the remaining large eggs, double cream, whole milk, ground nutmeg, the remaining sea salt and the black pepper until smooth.
Assemble and bake: scatter the cooked onion and wilted spinach evenly in the blind-baked case, then top with the vegetarian mature cheddar. Pour over the custard mixture and bake at 170°C fan/190°C conventional for 30–35 minutes until the filling is just set with a slight wobble in the centre and the top is lightly golden.
Leave the quiche to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before removing the ring, slicing and serving warm or at room temperature.
Tips
- Keep all pastry ingredients cold and handle the dough as little as possible — this keeps the pastry flaky, not dense.
- If the pastry softens while working, pop the lined tin back into the fridge for 10 minutes before blind-baking to help it hold its shape.
- To blind-bake without specialist beans, use dried rice or lentils in the tin (mark them as not for food use afterwards). Remove and bake the base a little longer once the weight is taken off.
- Make-ahead: you can blind-bake the case and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours, or freeze the fully cooled quiche for up to 1 month.
- Reheat slices in a moderate oven (160°C fan/180°C conventional) for 10–12 minutes to keep the pastry crisp; avoid the microwave if you want a flaky base.
Substitutions
gluten-free plain flour → ready-made gluten-free shortcrust pastry (same weight)
Stays closedouble cream → single cream or extra milk (use 300 ml single cream or 350 ml milk)
Noticeably differentvegetarian mature cheddar → feta or goat’s cheese (120 g), crumbled
Noticeably differentbaby spinach → 100 g sliced chestnut mushrooms, fried until golden
Stays close
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 612
- Calories
- 16 g
- Protein
- 31 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 500 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make the pastry in a food processor?
Yes — pulse the gluten-free flour, ground almonds and cold butter to breadcrumb stage, then add the egg and a little cold water to bring together. Avoid over-processing.
Can I freeze this quiche?
Freeze whole or in slices once fully cooled. Wrap tightly and freeze up to 1 month. Reheat from frozen in a moderate oven until heated through.
How do I avoid a soggy base?
Blind-bake the lined case with baking beans, remove the weight part-way through and return to oven to dry the base. Also avoid very wet fillings or excess watery veg.
Can I make this dairy-free as well as gluten-free?
Making it dairy-free requires several swaps (dairy-free spread for butter, dairy-free cream and a suitable dairy-free cheese). The texture and flavour will change noticeably.
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