A dreamy, melty tomato basil and mozzarella quiche that will wow you with its flavors! This is a crustless quiche so simple to prepare – but we use a special trick to help the quiche create its own crust! While this recipe is super easy to make, it does take some time – consider meal planning this alongside another roasted tomato dish so you can batch cook the tomatoes ahead!
Well I’m back with another easy crustless quiche! This is so, so, delicious for those of us who love all things tomato, and of course cheese.
This recipe follows the “Impossible” or “Self Crusting” Quiche Technique
Like my Easiest Cheese & Onion Quiche, we are using the technique of the “impossible” or “self crusting” style of quiche popular in Australia and New Zealand (and similar to the bisquick quiches of the USA) with this recipe.
This works by adding self raising flour to the egg mixture and/or the filling which sinks to the bottom to create a denser carbier layer at the bottom. It also adds a slight crisp to the top.
What this means is that unlike a true crustless quiche, you get more differences in texture throughout the quiche.
It is far from perfect! You won’t get a visible layer of bottom crust throughout, but it shows up in patches and is quite delightful. I think this roasted tomato quiche recipe works particularly well here, because the flour also gets to combine with the oily roasted tomatoes, and this helps encourages those crusty bottom bits along.
I don’t see this quiche as something to bring to an event, it’s a cozy home dinner where the messy, imperfect finish doesn’t matter. I actually love the deconstructed nature of it, and how every bite is different.
This picture shows the quiche having been sliced into fairly soon (10 minutes or so) after coming out of the oven, when it still super melty. The longer you leave it, the more formed your slices will be. I struggle with the waiting!
Ingredients: What You Need, What is Optional, What Can be Swapped
- Eggs, cream, milk and flour form the custard for this quiche. You can easily replace the cream with additional milk – it still works great. Don’t buy cream especially, but if you have it and wish to use it, it makes this quiche even more rich.
- Dijon mustard helps add flavor but is optional. I actually forgot to add it on the day of the photoshoot, ha. Still turned out delicious.
- Cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes, grape tomatoes – any small variety is fine! You do not need to splurge on the tomatoes for this recipe – the cheaper ones still taste great after being roasted in garlic and herbs.
- Garlic: makes the tomatoes extra tasty. Replace with some garlic powder if you need to.
- Italian seasoning or other dried herb mix: cooks some extra flavor in the tomato dish. If you don’t have a mix to hand, just throw in a little dried basil, oregano, marjoram, whatever you’ve got.
- Fresh basil: always a nice touch alongside tomatoes, but it’s OK if you need to leave this out. If you do, consider adding a little extra dried basil to the tomatoes.
- Hard Cheeses: I’m using half Parmesan Style Cheese (I use a generic Italian hard cheese over true parmesan due to the rennet issue) and half Gruyere. But you can use all parmesan, all gruyere, or use cheddar if you want to use what’s already in your fridge / a more affordable option. You just need 200g (7oz) of grated hard cheese, so make it up however you like.
- Mozzarella: I use a ball of fresh mozzarella in here for some delightful gooey bits; however, this is optional. Leave it out altogether, or feel free to replace with another soft cheese if you wish.
On a budget?
If you are on a budget, definitely take note of the suggestions above to 1) swap the hard cheeses for cheddar, 2) buy inexpensive cherry tomatoes, and 3) leave out the mozzarella if it’s not affordable (the cost can vary greatly around the world!)
You are then left with a very straightforward ingredients list which can all be bought in discount supermarkets like Aldi, or mostly sourced from the “essentials” ranges in other supermarkets.
Meal Planning and Prepping Tip:
This quiche is simple but it takes a while. You have to roast the tomatoes and then cook the quiche, so the oven is on for a while. The best way around this, if you’re a meal planning or meal prep pro, is to roast the tomatoes in advance. You can then assemble the quiche with the cold roasted tomatoes.
I suggest roasting the tomatoes on a lower shelf of the oven while cooking another dish with similar flavors, or even roasting the tomatoes for this recipe alongside roasted tomatoes for another recipe. If you have a large enough pan to roast a double batch, great, otherwise prepare them in separate pans to make it really easy to section off and store the extras.
Suggested Recipes : Roasted Tomato & Mushroom Pasta, Sage Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes, Halloumi Tray Bake with Pesto Rice & Roasted Vegetables, Tuscan Butter Bean Bake, Smoky & Cheesy Vegetable Lentil Bake, Cheesy Veggie Potato Bake, Tortiglioni Lentil Pasta Bake with Mozzarella (No Boil).
Remember to save the oil from the tomatoes when storing!
Serve With…
Easiest Tomato Basil Quiche
Ingredients
- olive oil, for roasting
- 3 cups (450 g) cherry tomatoes, whole
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups (200 g) parmesan, gruyere or mix of both, shredded
- 4.4 oz (125 g) fresh mozzarella, you want a ball of mozzarella stored in water
- 1 bunch basil
- ½ cup (65 g) self raising flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
- ¼ cup (60 ml) double cream, or more milk
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
Instructions
- Roast the tomatoes. Pour a thin layer of olive oil over a roasting pan or casserole dish, and add the whole cherry tomatoes, garlic and Italian herbs to the pan. Use a spatula to give everything a good mix until the tomatoes are well coated. Place in the oven at 160C / 320F for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until they're burst. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the custard. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and mustard together in a jug or mixing bowl. Slowly add half of the flour to the mixture, whisking to prevent lumps. Set aside.
- Once the tomatoes have cooled down a little, it's time to assemble the quiche. Grease your pie dish – I like to brush a little of the cooking oil from the tomato pan into the dish! – and then add the tomatoes and some of their cooking oil.
- Add the basil and mozzarella, and mix to combine.
- Add the cheese (reserving a small handful for topping) and the rest of the flour, and mix until just combined.
- Pour the custard over the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Bump up the oven temperature to 180C / 360F. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the quiche is browned at the top but still a little jiggly. Let it sit for 10 minutes before cutting in.
Tried this for the first time. It was very tasty. Left out the mozzarella because I didn’t have any and it was perfect. My only confusion was what temperature to cook the quiche on? I went up to 350 from the 320. It took a bit longer.