Arugula and Cremini Quiche with Gluten-Free Almond Meal Crust
Arugula, cremini mushrooms and goat cheese quiche in a gluten-free thyme and almond meal crust. A simple, gourmet recipe for breakfast, brunch or dinner!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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This weekend was full of parties and good cheer. It started with a bang on Friday, when my friends surprised me with a birthday party! I thought I was meeting one friend for dinner, but to my shock and delight, eight smiling faces were waiting for me when I arrived.
My birthday is on Christmas and I haven’t had a proper birthday celebration in, oh, almost a decade, so it meant the world to me. I’m actually looking forward to my real birthday now. And, now that I am no longer filled with Christmas baby bitterness, I might stop being a Scrooge and actually pull out some holiday decorations.
My friend Tessa served her version of this quiche at girls’ night a couple of months ago. Two of the four of us are gluten-free, so we often serve simple, vegetarian frittatas that satisfy all four of us. (Add a bottle of wine, maybe a side salad and some chocolate for desert, and we’ve made a gourmet meal with minimal effort.)
That night, Tessa included an almond meal crust, which turned her baked frittata into a quiche. I’ve never been a big fan of all-purpose flour crusts, but this crisp, savory, herbed crust is another story. We all absolutely loved the flavor and texture of the crust and requested the recipe. The best part? You don’t even need a rolling pin to make it. Just smush the crust into form with your fingers.
I’ve been working on a larger scale version that can be baked in a cast iron skillet ever since. My final, favorite version starts with a garlicky thyme and almond meal crust, which is filled with scrambled eggs, goat cheese, mushrooms and arugula. It’s fresh, filling and simple—perfect for a holiday brunch or a simple weeknight dinner.
If you would like to serve the quiche with wine, I’d suggest a light-bodied pinot noir. This post’s sponsor, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, offers a widely available pinot noir that truly is just right. The pinot noir’s notes of sour cherry and oak pair wonderfully with the flavors of goat cheese, arugula and Cremini mushrooms.
Mondavi asked me to share some entertaining tips with you all today. My suggestions, which are all pretty basic but oven overlooked, come from my experience in food service as well as attending parties as a guest. What are your best tips? I’d love to hear them.
Entertaining do’s:
- Serve glasses of water alongside alcohol, and refill the water glasses whenever they are running low. Hydrated guests are happier guests.
- Cloth napkins always leave an impression. They don’t even have to match as long as they share a common theme. A matching salt shaker and pepper grinder is a nice touch, too.
- Gracefully clear plates from the table as they are finished. Guests can’t relax and put their elbows on the table if it’s covered with empty plates.
- Set up a drink station away from the kitchen that offers all of the necessary drink supplies: alcohol, glasses, ice, garnishes. Let guests serve themselves so they can drink at their own pace.
- Stemless wine glasses may not be the most proper wine glasses, but they’re less likely to tip over and spill or break.
- Lights! Music! Don’t neglect ambience. Avoid harsh overhead lighting and play event-appropriate background music. (Thanks to my friend Grace for the reminder!)
Entertaining don’ts:
- Don’t try to do everything by yourself! Guests want to contribute and be helpful, so tell them what you need them to bring or do. Better to ask for help than to make everyone around you feel helpless and stressed for you.
- Don’t feel compelled to offer a million different menu items. Serve enough to satisfy your guests and their individual dietary restrictions. Humans have a natural tendency to want to try everything, which leads to overeating and post-holiday party guilt. There’s no need to prepare more food than people actually want or need!
- Don’t forget about the bathroom. Make sure to provide a clean hand towel and leave an extra roll of toilet paper in sight.
Arugula and Cremini Quiche with Gluten-Free Almond Meal Crust
Arugula, Cremini mushrooms and goat cheese quiche in a gluten-free thyme and almond meal crust. A simple, gourmet recipe for breakfast, brunch or dinner!
Ingredients
Gluten-free almond meal crust
- 2 cups packed almond meal or almond flour (I had better results with almond meal)
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon water
Arugula, Cremini mushroom and goat cheese filling
- 3 cups baby arugula, roughly chopped
- 1 ½ cups cleaned and sliced Cremini mushrooms
- Drizzle olive oil
- 6 large eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet or 9″ pie pan with olive oil or cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, stir together the almond meal, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the olive oil and water and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Press the dough into your prepared skillet/pan until it is evenly dispersed across the bottom and at least 1 ¼ inch up the sides. Bake until the crust is lightly golden and firm to the touch, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, warm enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan. Cook the mushrooms with a dash of salt, stirring often, until tender. Toss in the arugula and let it wilt, while stirring, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a plate to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and red pepper. Stir in the goat cheese and the slightly cooled mushroom and arugula mixture.
- Once the crust is done baking, pour in the egg mixture and bake for 30 minutes, or until the center is firm to the touch and cooked through. Let the quiche cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing with a sharp knife. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Crust adapted from Roost’s Rainbow Chard Tartlets. Thyme/goat cheese/mushroom/arugula flavor combination inspired by What to Drink with What You Eat.
- Yields 6 large slices.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
A message from Robert Mondavi: Robert Mondavi Private Selection offers something authentic, true to Mr. Mondavi’s legacy of making great quality, expressive wines from California’s Central Coast. Connect with us on Facebook for more: www.facebook.com/robertmondaviprivateselection
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.
Disclaimer: Compensation for this post was provided by Robert Mondavi Private Selection via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Robert Mondavi Private Selection.
Oh my, that crust! I made mine with hazelnut flour (saved « in extremis » at a traditionnal oil mill place : the owner usually gives away those oilcake by-products to cattle…!!). The nut taste was strong (= perfect for me and my friend), I believe I could easily have passed the cheese in the egg filling. The idea of baking a quiche in a cast-iron skillet is genius.
One more thing: one sixth per person was definitely enough, as it is very nutritious!
Great recipe, Kate!
I’m so glad you loved it, Nathalie! I appreciate your review.
Can I make this crust ahead?
I haven’t tried it, but it may work. Let me know if you try it!
Fantastic crust with fresh thyme. Worked well without the cheese too.
Absolute perfection! The crust is out of this world. I followed the recipe exactly, aside from subbing goat cheese for feta.
I’m glad you loved it, Kimberley! I appreciate your review.
Can I make the filling mixture the night before, then add it to the crust in the morning and bake?
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure.
Another tasty winner from Cookie & Kate! So glad to have a gluten free healthy quiche. I added1/3 cup of fresh minced onion when sautéing the mushrooms and arugula, and reduced the goat cheese to half (minimizing dairy). Thank you, as always, for yummy recipes.
Great to hear, Cheryl!
This was absolutely delicious!! I used almond flour because the store did not have almond meal and I also used a stainless steel skillet since I don’t have a cast iron one and the crust turned out beautifully! Thank you for yet another amazing recipe. I particularly appreciate the gluten-free ones.
You’re welcome, Patty!
I have your Love Real Food cookbook and am interested in trying your quiche recipe. Do you by chance have a crust recipe that uses whole wheat flour? Almond meal can be pretty pricey, and I’m assuming I can’t simply just substitute flour. Would love some guidance!
You can try to use whole wheat in this recipe. Let me know what you think!
This was delicious! Enjoyed the leftovers cold the next day for lunch and loved it maybe even more!
Great to hear, Kaitlin!
I would like to make this and am wondering if I can use spelt flour for the crust instead of almond. Has anyone tried this?
The insides are delicious (I love arugula and mushrooms!), and could be swapped out for a variety of other ingredients for endless possibilities. This was my first time using almond meal to make a crust, and while the flavor is excellent I might need some tweaks to my methods. My “dough” didn’t come together with 1/3 c olive oil and 1 T + 1 t water…it was still loose and grainy, which made for a tasty, but crumbly crust, especially on the bottom. Next time should I add more oil/water to bring the ingredients together first? (I used Sprouts Almond Meal – which is very coarse, and the only almond meal I could find in the area – and a cast iron skillet.)
Outstanding recipe! Made a couple swaps, but that’s the beauty of a great recipe, you can tweak and still get excellent results! Love your work, keep it going, Kate!
Thank you, John!
Excellent crust made in a cast iron skillet! Have made this recipe several times. I’ve found that this works great with other veggie combos as well.
Great to hear, Randy!
Excellent! Followed exactly as described, and it worked wonderfully.
That’s great to hear, Jessica!
Got up late today and hubby needed an early (for us) lunch before chess club. He also announced he’d had a gout attack last night, so I needed something good, satisfying, safe and fast. And I found this. I so wanted to make it in the crust – but didn’t have an hour. Sooo, skillet frittata! But having failed at those (always) I googled a how-to and guess which food blogger was atop the list. I was in too much hurry to notice that until after, but you saved me twice, and him once. The frittata was so tasty, which is huge for someone on a restricted diet, so an extra thank you for this recipe. We had everything on hand except goat cheese, so put in just a little Swiss and a sprinkle of grated parm over the top. Added a bit of garlic powder and thyme since those were supposed to be in the crust. All the ingredients in this quiche are actually good for fighting gout so I will be getting more arugula soon and we’ll enjoy it with the almond meal crust. What a treat!
PS The skillet frittata came out perfectly. I’ve saved those instructions as well; thank you.
I loved the cast iron pan. I used a 12″ and it still worked really well. I had a lot of asparagus so I used that and gruyere cheese. I would add more salt, maybe celery salt for added flavour.
But the basis is there for me to really experiment. Thank you!
I made this quiche and really liked the recipe but am getting so fed up having to look up the conversion from US measurements to metric (which practically the whole rest of the world uses) that I’m starting to block US recipe sites. Cooks here in Australia usually include the US measurements for the benefit of Americans. Time y’all did the same!!
i made with green banana flour and it was also very delicious however I think no need to bake the crust more than 10 minutes.