I ruined three crusts before I figured out gluten free pastry behaves nothing like regular dough. It cracks if you roll it too thin, and it turns gummy if you skip blind baking. Once I stopped treating this recipe for gluten free quiche lorraine like a regular French classic and started respecting what gluten free flour actually does, the results got a lot more consistent. The filling is simple, bacon, eggs, cream, and gruyere. The crust is where people give up too early.

Active Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chill time)
Servings: 8

Ingredients

For the gluten free pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour blend
• 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (skip if your blend already has it)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 egg
• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

• 6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preparation

Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, and salt together in a large bowl, then cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until the pieces look like small peas. Whisk the egg into the ice water, then add it a tablespoon at a time to the flour mixture, mixing just until the dough holds together in a ball. Gluten free dough doesn’t need the same gentle handling that wheat dough does, so don’t worry about overworking it here. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it, and refrigerate for at least an hour. This gluten free pastry recipe for quiche only comes together properly once the butter firms back up.

Cooking

Roll the chilled dough between two sheets of parchment paper rather than on a floured surface, since gluten free dough tears easily if you try to lift it with your hands. Press it into a nine-inch tart pan, then chill it again for fifteen minutes before blind baking at 375°F for fifteen minutes with pie weights. Remove the weights and bake five more minutes, until the crust looks dry and just barely golden. Skipping this blind bake step is the single most common reason a gluten free quiche pastry ends up soggy on the bottom. Whisk the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper together while the crust cools slightly.

Serving

Scatter the bacon and gruyere over the baked crust, then pour the egg mixture on top. Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, until the center is just set and no longer jiggles when you shake the pan gently. Let the quiche rest for at least ten minutes before slicing, since it firms up as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a simple green salad if you want something to balance the richness.

Nutritional Value Per One Serving

Nutrition Facts (one serving):

• Calories: 340
• Total Fat: 26g
• Saturated Fat: 14g
• Cholesterol: 155mg
• Sodium: 390mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 15g
• Dietary Fiber: 1g
• Sugars: 1g
• Protein: 11g

Tips and Variations

A store-bought gluten free pie crust works if you’re short on time, though the texture won’t hold up quite as well under a wet filling as a homemade one blind baked properly. Swap the bacon for sautéed mushrooms and spinach if you want a vegetarian version, keeping the gruyere the same. Gruyere can be replaced with sharp cheddar or Swiss, though the flavor shifts away from a traditional quiche lorraine.

If your dough cracks while rolling, press the cracks back together with your fingers rather than starting over; gluten free pastry patches easily since there’s no gluten structure to disturb.

Conclusion

Baked quiche freezes better than most people expect, gluten free crust included, as long as you wrap it tightly once it’s fully cooled. Reheat slices straight from frozen at 325°F for about twenty minutes rather than microwaving, since the microwave turns the crust rubbery fast. That’s the part nobody mentions when they hand you a quiche recipe: the leftovers matter almost as much as the first slice.

Browse our gluten free recipes for simple, satisfying meals without the gluten.