Low Fat Broccoli Crustless Quiche
Quiche was one of the things I properly missed after my gallbladder came out. Pastry, cream, a great deal of cheese — it’s a triple whammy of exactly the things that don’t sit well anymore.
This low fat broccoli crustless quiche solves all three at once. No pastry, so no butter or lard. Fat free Greek yoghurt in place of cream and crème fraîche, which gives you that soft, set, creamy texture without the fat. And a much smaller amount of a really strong cheese, so you still taste it properly.
It’s mostly eggs and broccoli, which means it’s high in protein, naturally gluten free, and one of the few genuinely filling lunches I can eat without thinking about it afterwards.
It’s also excellent cold, which makes it the single most useful thing I batch cook. One quiche covers several lunches.
WHY THIS CRUSTLESS QUICHE WORKS AFTER GALLBLADDER SURGERY
Without a gallbladder, bile trickles into your small intestine continuously rather than arriving in a concentrated dose when you eat. It copes perfectly well with modest amounts of fat — it’s the rich, heavy, all-at-once meals that cause the trouble.
A traditional quiche is close to a worst-case scenario: shortcrust pastry is roughly a third fat, and the filling is usually double cream, crème fraîche and a large amount of hard cheese on top of that.
Here’s how this version gets round it:
No pastry at all — this is where most of the fat in a normal quiche lives, and you genuinely don’t miss it
Fat free Greek yoghurt instead of cream or crème fraîche — same creamy set, a fraction of the fat
Far less cheese, but a stronger one — you taste more cheese from 200g of extra mature cheddar than 250g of mild cheddar
Broccoli does the bulking — fibre and volume rather than fat
Baked, not fried — nothing added to the tin but a light spray of oil
Gently seasoned — I’ve dropped the cayenne, as chilli is a common irritant in the early months
A note on the eggs. Egg yolks are where the fat in an egg sits, and 11 whole eggs is a lot. I use a mix of whole eggs and egg whites instead — it brings the fat down significantly, and honestly the texture is lighter for it. There’s more on the ratio below.
CAN YOU EAT QUICHE WITHOUT A GALLBLADDER?
Yes — as long as it’s built for it.
A shop-bought or traditional quiche is one of the richer things in the chilled aisle, and a lot of people find a slice sits very heavily. It’s not the eggs causing that. It’s the pastry, the cream and the cheese all arriving together.
A crustless quiche made with yoghurt rather than cream is a completely different proposition. Eggs themselves are a lean, high protein food, and most people tolerate them well once they’re a few weeks past surgery.
If you’re very newly post-op, start with a smaller slice and lean more heavily on the egg whites. You can always build up.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 6 · Fills one large quiche dish or two small ones
6 whole eggs + 8 egg whites (replaces 11 whole eggs)
10 tbsp fat free Greek yoghurt (replaces the crème fraîche and plain yoghurt)
½ a large head of broccoli, cut into small florets
200g extra mature cheddar, grated (30% less fat cheese)
1 tsp bouillon or crumbled vegetable stock
½ tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp dried chives or a small handful fresh, optional
Light spray of oil for the dish
ON THE SWAPS
Fat free Greek yoghurt does the job of both the crème fraîche and the plain yoghurt in the original. It’s thicker than single cream, so the quiche still sets softly rather than going watery. Half fat crème fraîche works too if you’d rather — use 5 tbsp of each. It’s a little richer, so start there if fat free yoghurt feels too lean for your taste.
Use full fat Greek yoghurt only if you tolerate dairy well — it’s around 10% fat, which rather defeats the object here.
On the cheese: I use 30% less fat mature cheese rather than ordinary cheese as it has much more flavour.
HOW TO MAKE LOW FAT CRUSTLESS QUICHE
STEP 1 — Prepare the broccoli
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional / 400°F.
Cut the broccoli into small, even florets. Steam or boil for 3–4 minutes until just tender, then drain thoroughly.
Drain it properly and pat it dry. Wet broccoli is the number one cause of a watery quiche, and there’s no pastry here to hide behind. Leave it in the colander for a few minutes while you mix everything else.
STEP 2 — Mix the filling
Crack the whole eggs and the egg whites into a large bowl. Add the Greek yoghurt, bouillon, pepper, paprika and chives, then whisk until completely smooth.
Whisk the yoghurt in properly. Greek yoghurt is thick and will leave little white pockets in the finished quiche if you rush this. Thirty seconds of proper whisking sorts it.
Stir in most of the grated cheese, keeping a small handful back for the top.
STEP 3 — Assemble
Spray your quiche dish lightly with oil — a crustless quiche will stick otherwise.
Scatter the drained broccoli evenly across the base, pour the egg mixture over the top, and scatter the reserved cheese over the surface.
STEP 4 — Bake
Bake for 35–40 minutes at 180°C fan.
It’s done when the top is golden and the centre no longer wobbles when you gently shake the dish. If you’re using two smaller dishes, check at 25–30 minutes.
Let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing. This lets it finish setting — cut it straight from the oven and it’ll slump.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CRUSTLESS QUICHE
Quiche and salad is one of my favourite meals, and it’s naturally an easy one to keep low in fat.
- A big leafy green salad with a lemon or balsamic dressing rather than an oil-based one New potatoes with the skins on — a bit of extra fibre alongside
- Steamed green beans, asparagus or broccoli
- A light coleslaw made with fat free Greek yoghurt and a teaspoon of mustard instead of mayonnaise. Genuinely good, and it’s the swap I make most often
- Roasted vegetables tossed in a light spray of oil rather than a drizzle
The one I’d avoid is chips/fries, which appears in a lot of quiche serving suggestions. Fried potatoes alongside an egg and cheese dish is a lot to ask of a bile duct in one sitting. Chips/fries on their own is fine in small amounts but added to a quiche lunch will make you feel uncomfortable.
HOW TO STORE CRUSTLESS QUICHE
Cool completely, then keep covered in the fridge for 3–4 days.
Eat it cold or reheat individual slices at 160°C for 10–12 minutes, or in the air fryer for 5–6. Reheating slices rather than the whole quiche keeps the texture far better.
Cold quiche is one of the most useful things you can have in the fridge on a lower fat diet. It’s the meal that stops you reaching for something you’ll regret.
CAN YOU FREEZE CRUSTLESS QUICHE?
Yes, and it freezes better than a pastry quiche does.
Cool completely first
Slice into portions and wrap individually
Freeze for up to 2 months
Freezing in slices is the whole trick. You can take out one portion for lunch rather than committing to the entire quiche.
To reheat: thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm at 160°C for 12–15 minutes.
A slight change in texture is normal after freezing — egg dishes release a little water. Blot it with kitchen paper and it’s absolutely fine.
Looking for more? You’ll find all my low fat gallbladder recipes in one place, grouped by meal.
And if you’d rather not plan it yourself, the 4-Week Gallbladder Meal Plan has 28 days of low fat meals already decided, with shopping lists sorted by aisle.
Low Fat Broccoli Crustless Quiche
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional / 400°F.
- Cut the broccoli into small, even florets. Steam or boil for 3–4 minutes until just tender, then drain thoroughly.
- Crack the whole eggs and the egg whites into a large bowl. Add the Greek yoghurt, bouillon, pepper, paprika and chives, then whisk until completely smooth.
- Stir in most of the grated cheese, keeping a small handful back for the top.
- Spray your quiche dish lightly with oil — a crustless quiche will stick otherwise.
- Scatter the drained broccoli evenly across the base, pour the egg mixture over the top, add a little milk if the quiche dish needs filling a bit more and mix in with a fork to combine then scatter the reserved cheese over the surface.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes at 180°C fan/200℃/400℉
- It’s done when the top is golden and the centre no longer wobbles when you gently shake the dish. If you’re using two smaller dishes, check at 25–30 minutes.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes before slicing. This lets it finish setting — cut it straight from the oven and it’ll slump
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!FAQ’s
Is crustless quiche low in fat?
It can be, but most aren’t. Removing the pastry helps a great deal, but many crustless quiche recipes still use double cream, crème fraîche and a lot of cheese. This version uses fat free Greek yoghurt instead of cream and roughly a third of the usual cheese, which brings the fat right down.
Can I use Greek yoghurt instead of cream in quiche?
Yes. Fat free Greek yoghurt is thick enough to set properly and gives a soft, creamy texture very close to crème fraîche. Whisk it into the eggs thoroughly so there are no lumps, and don’t substitute thin natural yoghurt, which will make the quiche watery.
Why is my crustless quiche watery?
Almost always undrained vegetables. Broccoli holds a lot of water, so steam it briefly and drain it thoroughly before it goes into the dish. Using a thin yoghurt rather than Greek yoghurt will do it too.
Is this broccoli quiche gluten free?
Yes, naturally — there’s no pastry and no flour. Do check your bouillon or stock powder, as some brands contain wheat.
Can I make it dairy free as well as low fat?
Yes. Use a plain unsweetened dairy free yoghurt and either leave the cheese out or use a small amount of a dairy free hard cheese. It won’t set quite as firmly, so allow an extra 5 minutes.
What other vegetables work in a low fat crustless quiche?
Courgette, leek, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms and peppers all work well. Cook off the moisture first with anything watery, particularly mushrooms and courgette.
Can I make it in a muffin tin?
Yes, and it’s ideal for portion control. Divide between 12 lightly oiled muffin holes and bake for 18–22 minutes.
