Some breakfasts are worth making once and eating all week — and this crustless turkey quiche is one of them. It’s high in protein, low in carbs, and endlessly forgiving: bake it in a single pie pan, slice it into six, and reheat a piece whenever a real breakfast feels out of reach. Skipping the crust isn’t a sacrifice, either — it’s faster, cheaper, keeps the carbs down, and you genuinely don’t miss it once the eggs are loaded with Italian-seasoned turkey and melty cheese.
I have made this on a lazy Sunday and been grateful every morning after.
It’s the breakfast in my free 3-day low-carb meal plan, where one bake covers all three mornings.
Crustless Turkey Quiche (Low-Carb & Make-Ahead)
Equipment
- 9-inch glass pie pan
- skillet
- mixing bowl
- an air-fryer oven or a conventional oven
Ingredients
- 6 Eggs
- 4 oz Half-and-Half (1/2 cup)
- 3 oz Colby Jack, grated (3/4 cup)
- 1/2 Onion, diced
- 2 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 lb Festive Italian Ground Turkey
- 1+ tbsp Butter for cooking onions, + extra for buttering pie pan
- 2 tbsp Sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- If you're using a conventional oven, preheat it to 325°F. An air-fryer oven doesn't need preheating. (A basket-style air fryer won't fit the pie pan — use a conventional oven.)
- Cook the diced onion in 1 Tbsp butter with a dash of salt until soft. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Remove the onion and garlic from the pan. In the same pan, cook the ground turkey until the juices run clear.
- Take the pan off the heat, return the onion and garlic, and let it all cool. (This matters — pour egg over hot meat and it starts to cook on contact, and you lose the smooth set.)
- While it cools, butter the glass pie pan, bottom and sides.
- Crack the 6 eggs into a mixing bowl and beat with the ½ cup half & half.
- Once the meat mixture is fully cooled, spread it into the buttered pan. Scatter the grated cheese over it, then pour the egg mixture in.
- Bake at 325°F for 40–45 minutes, until fully set and no longer jiggly.
- Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing, then cut into 6. Refrigerate in airtight containers.
Video
Notes
- Makes: 6 servings (breakfast for two, three days)
- Equipment: 9-inch glass pie pan · skillet · mixing bowl · an air-fryer oven or a conventional oven
Make it yours
If you’re making this as part of my free 3-day low carb meal plan, you can finish each slice with a dollop of sour cream — it’s on the plan’s shopping list and counted in the numbers. Want some heat? My partner adds hot sauce; I skip it. Hot sauce (and any other extras) isn’t on the ingredient list or counted in the cost, so reach for it if it’s already in your fridge.
Why this one works for the meal plan
There’s no spice rack required here — the seasoning is built into what you buy. Italian ground turkey comes pre-seasoned, so the only thing you need from your own pantry is a dash of salt. And skipping the crust isn’t just about carbs; it’s faster, cheaper, and you don’t miss it once it’s loaded with turkey and cheese.
Why it holds together (and how to keep yours from getting watery)
A quiche is a custard — eggs and dairy that firm up into a tender, sliceable custard in the oven. Two things help this one hold up especially well. It leans a little more egg-forward than a classic cream-heavy quiche, so it sets sturdy enough to slice, pack, and reheat all week. And it uses half-and-half instead of heavy cream — usually the cheaper option — which keeps the cost down while still baking up rich and custardy.
The one thing that wrecks any quiche is too much water. Watery add-ins release moisture as they bake and dilute the eggs so they can’t set firmly and you can end up with a loose, weepy quiche and a puddle in the pie pan. That’s why this recipe cooks the turkey and onion first. The moisture cooks off before it ever touches the eggs.
If you make it your own, keep that in mind:
- Watery vegetables — spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes — need to be cooked down and drained first (and squeeze thawed spinach hard). Adding them raw is the fastest way to a soggy quiche.
- Go easy on the amount. A few well-drained mix-ins beat a fridge clean-out. If you overload the eggs too much, there won’t be enough custard to hold it all together.
- Even ham can do it. Ham holds a surprising amount of water — most is cured and “water-added” — so a big pile of it will weep into the eggs, too. Ham is EXCELLENT in quiche, but if you add it, my advice is to pat it dry and don’t overdo it. Something else that is helpful is to place your diced ham in a fine sieve and set a coffee mug or other heavy dish on top to press some of the juices out before adding to the quiche.
Keep it custard-forward and well-drained, and it slices clean every time.
Wait — isn’t a crustless quiche just a frittata?
It’s the most common mix-up in egg dishes, and the answer is no. The difference was never really the crust — it’s the custard. A quiche is an egg custard: more dairy (here, half & half) whisked with the eggs and baked low and slow until it’s silky and just set. A frittata uses little or no cream, starts on the stovetop, and bakes up denser and more egg-forward — closer to an open-faced omelet. So even without a crust, this is still very much a quiche: creamy, custardy, and rich. (For more info, The Kitchn has a nice side-by-side.)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories 266 · Protein 17g · Total carbs 4g
These are total carbs, not “net” — nothing subtracted out.
Want a full week?
This is a 3-day taste of my meal planning, budget stretching method. The full $50 Low-Carb Week feeds two adults for seven days on one real $50.55 grocery run — even cheaper per day (we take advantage of bulk buying), and lower in carbs than this 3-day plan. Every price documented and filmed, start to finish 👇
From the blog to your kitchen
The $50 Low-Carb Week
Seven days of low-carb meals for two adults, from one real $50 grocery order — every price on the page.
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