Easy Gluten-Free Cheese Quiche

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This Easy Gluten-Free Cheese Quiche recipe is made with homemade pastry and no xanthan gum. It is creamy, cheesy and silky with a perfectly crisp and buttery gluten-free pastry crust. You can eat this quiche warm from the oven or leave to chill and set so it is safe to transport for picnics. It’s an excellent base for so many different flavour combinations or delicious just as it is.

Our whole family adores this Simple Gluten-Free Quiche which I have been serving up for many years. If you think you don’t like quiche then it might be because your only experience is bland shop bought quiche with a rubbery texture and soggy crust. Let me persuade you to try homemade quiche, it is a world apart from the quiche you know and dislike.

Homemade quiche is creamy, smooth, fresh and rich in flavour. The homemade pastry should be crisp and golden and the filling should have a cheeky jiggle to it.

Why make this Homemade Gluten-Free Quiche recipe?

• Beautiful texture. Wobbly, silky and creamy encased with a crisp buttery homemade pastry.
• This easy creamy cheesy filling only has 4 ingredients!
• The egg mixture is a simple yet perfect balance of eggs, tangy crème fraiche, rich double cream and mature cheddar cheese.
• The filling only takes 5 minutes to whisk together
• The easy to make foolproof all-butter gluten-free quiche crust contains no xanthan gum. READ MORE >>> All Butter Gluten-Free Pastry

Filling ingredients

There are only 4 ingredients so they really need to be of the best quality for the most delicious quiche.

• Cheddar Cheese – get the best sharp mature cheddar you can find (not necessarily the strongest though). I have made this quiche with all manner of cheddars and you really notice the difference in flavour if it is a good cheese from the cheesemonger and not the chilled aisle.
• Eggs – we use 2 whole medium eggs and 2 egg yolks. Make sure they are organic and free-range and if you can get hold of Burford Browns with a gloriously rich orange yolk then you won’t be sorry.
• Crème Fraiche – full fat please for the best texture. There is too much water in the half fat version.
• Double Cream – this tempers the tangy flavour of the crème fraiche and gives the light creamy texture of the filling.

How to make the flaky gluten-free pie crust

For the clearest instructions and details on how to make this pastry utterly foolproof then may I direct you here >>> All-Butter Gluten-Free Pastry which goes into the pastry recipe in great detail.

However, the highlights of the matter are that the pastry is made with:

• Sweet rice flour
• Sorghum flour
• Tapioca flour
• Salt
• Unsalted butter
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1. The flours and salt are whisked together in a large bowl and rubbed into the butter to create a rough shaggy texture.
2. The eggs are poured into the centre and brought into the flour mixture to create a smooth dough.
3. The dough is chilled in the fridge for 1 hour before it is ready to roll out.

Pro tips for rolling out the pastry

• Remove the pastry from the fridge where it’s been chilling and place between two large sheets of floured baking parchment. This will make it easier to roll out with no breaking.
• Roll the pastry out into a large circle, turning the pastry a quarter after every roll and working the rolling pin from the centre out. The size of the pastry should be about 2½ inches wider all around than the diameter of your baking tin and 5mm thickness.
• Now comes the slightly tricky part of placing the pastry on the baking tin. It takes practice and you should move it deftly and confidently but gently. Peel the top layer of the parchment off the pastry, then gently lift and hang the bare side of the pastry over the rolling pin, using it to manoeuvre the pastry so that the bare side of the pastry is draped over the tin and the parchment side is now on the top.
• Fit the pastry inside the baking tin, gently pressing it in, making sure there are no air bubbles underneath.
• Since the gluten-free pastry is quite fragile then it can break slightly where it hangs over the tin. No problem, just carefully press the break back together. The pastry is very resilient.
• Cut off the overhang of the pastry against the top of the baking tin with a sharp knife.
• Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill quickly before the next step.

Hold your horses! The pastry looks ready to fill with our gorgeous creamy filling but first we have to complete a very important step.

Blind bake the pastry crust

Why do you need to blind bake?

The quiche filling is incredibly wet and so if we don’t blind bake and seal the pastry crust before pouring it in then the egg mixture will leak through and give the pastry a soggy bottom. Or worse – completely collapse the pastry so it all disintegrates when removed from the oven!

We’ve seen Bake Off, we know it can happen!!

How do you blind bake the pastry crust

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C / 170C fan / gas mark 5.
2. Place a large piece of baking parchment over the baking tin and pastry – it should be large enough to go up the sides inside the tin and a little bit more. Pour a whole tub of baking beans into the tin. This weighs down the pastry against the tin so that there is minimal shrinkage during the bake.
3. Place the baking tin in the oven in the middle shelf and bake for 25 minutes. You can check it’s done as when you lift up the baking parchment then it should not peel away any pastry with it.
4. Remove from the oven and remove the baking beans and parchment. Let the baking beans cool before putting them away.
5. Whisk an egg yolk in a small bowl (here is where the unused egg yolk from making the pastry comes in handy) then using a pastry brush, brush the yolk all over the surface of the baked pastry case and all up the sides and the edges. This seals the pastry even further and gives the edges a lovely golden colour too.
6. Place back it the oven for a further 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven.

You now have a blind baked pastry case which is ready for its filling!!

Recommended equipment

• Baking parchment
• 20cm Pie/Flan tin
• Baking beans
• Silicone pastry brush

How to make the quiche filling

After all the hoopla of making and blind baking the pastry you’ll laugh at how easy it is from here on out.

1. Whisk together the crème fraiche, double cream, eggs and egg yolks.
2. Scatter the grated cheese over the bottom of the pastry crust and pour over the creamy egg mixture.
3. Bake the quiche for 25 minutes until golden with a slight wobble.

Pro tips for baking the perfect quiche

• All the top tips for making the pastry can be found here.
• This recipe makes more pastry than you need. You can freeze the excess, keep in the fridge for up to 3 days for another baking project or make jam tarts for dessert.
• You must blind bake and seal the pastry crust – see above!
• Use the best quality organic ingredients for the filling you can find for the most delicious flavour.
• Bake the quiche in the middle of the oven for even baking.
• Be careful not to overcook your quiche. It will lose its lovely wobble and become rubbery.
• It is essential to rest the quiche after baking. This is to give it time to set, otherwise the filling will come whooshing out like hot lava when you cut into it. About 20 minutes will mean your quiche will hold itself together when cut but still be lovely and warm.

What pie pan do you cook it in?

I recommend using a loose bottomed metal tin to bake your quiche in. The pastry will cook evenly with a good crisp bottom and the finished quiche will be easy to remove.

This 20cm Pie/Flan tin is the one used for this recipe.

However, you can bake this quiche in a variety of different sized tins. The blind baking time of the pastry will remain the same but be aware that the baking time of the filled quiche may vary.

• If you quiche tin is wider and shallower then reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.
• If you are making mini quiches then reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.

What should you serve with quiche?

• For a simple light lunch pair this quiche with a green salad. It’s wonderful with Brown Sauce on the side.
• If you want the quiche to feed more people or you are looking for a substantial supper then it’s wonderful served with crisp homemade oven chips.
• Quiche is also delicious with seasonal greens, kale, broccoli, braised carrots and peas.

On a personal note we always serve this Gluten-Free Cheese Quiche at our family's Easter Brunch. It is a great option served on the buffet table alongside the Hot Cross Buns, Easter Eggs with a mound of this delicious French Grated Carrot Salad.

How to make ahead

This Easy Gluten-Free Cheese Quiche is the perfect dish for making the day before you need it. You can re-heat it the next day at 15-20 minutes in an oven pre-heated to 190°C / 170°C fan / gas mark 5.

If you are taking it to a picnic then don’t worry about re-heating, just wrap well and pop into Tupperware for the journey. It is simply delicious at room temperature.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, I recommend to freeze after it has completely cooled to room temperature. Wrap it up well in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to avoid freezer burn then defrost overnight before unwrapping and re-heating as above.

Flavour variations

This quiche recipe is delicious as it is but it can also be the basis for making a variety of different quiche recipes.

• Switch up the cheese – you can swap in a swiss cheese, gruyere, red Leicester or any other hard cheese.
• Add vegetables – any you can think of. Roasted vegetables, broccoli, squash, cauliflower, green onions.
  Add mushrooms – dice and sauté button mushrooms, shitake or any mixture of mushrooms. Add in along with the cheese.
• Gluten-Free Caramelised Onion Quiche – diced 1 large onion and gently fry in a tablespoon unsalted butter for 20 minutes until sweet and golden. Leave to cool then add to the blind baked pastry crust along with the cheese.
• Gluten-Free Quiche Lorraine – add 125g smoked streaky bacon, cubed and cooked and cooled to the blind baked pastry crust along with the cheese. Whisk in a few thyme leaves into the egg mixture before pouring over the top.

Before you get started on making your deliciously Simple Gluten-Free Quiche I would recommend you read this post here >>> All Butter Gluten-Free Pastry which gives excellent detail on how you make your gluten-free pastry crust. It’s got all the tips and tricks so you can bake your quiche with confidence.

Other gluten-free quiche recipes you'll love:

Nettle Leaf and Cheddar Tart
Pancetta, Onion and Gruyere Tartlets
Feta and Sweet Potato Tortilla
Stilton, Chestnut and Cranberry Tart

If you make this Easy Gluten-Free Cheese Quiche then please leave a comment below and/or give the recipe a rating. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own quiche creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.