From the outside, a quiche may look like a filling, healthy breakfast full of colorful vegetables and protein-rich eggs; however, looks can be deceiving. A traditional quiche is often made with heavy cream and piles of cheese, which is then all typically baked together in a fat-laden crust. Some of the best tips for making a low-fat quiche are to make your own crust or substitute the traditional pie crust with other ingredients, and to swap out some of the whole eggs and heavy cream for lighter options. Limiting your quiche fillings to only vegetables, and skipping the cheese, is also an easy way to reduce the amount of fat in this dish. For those who still want some meat and cheese, using lean alternatives to your favorite breakfast meats and a quality, sharp cheese can help to reduce the fat content.
To make a low-fat switch in the crust, you can either make your own pie crust at home using a low-fat recipe or substitute the standard crust for other options. This dish is essentially an egg-based, savory pie baked inside of a traditional pie crust, which often contains a fair amount of butter or other oils. Shredded potatoes mixed with one to two egg whites can make an excellent crust for a pie, and contain significantly less fat than other options. Substituting the crust with healthy, rolled-oats as the base can also be a good idea.
One of the best tips for making a low-fat quiche is to cut down the quantity of whole eggs that you use in the dish. Compared to the egg filling, the crust often looks like a diet food in comparison. Depending on the recipe that you are following, you can typically reduce the amount of whole eggs by half, and then use egg whites as a replacement for the rest.
Traditional cream also adds extra fat to the dish, but it can be easily substituted. When it comes to the traditional cream, many would often think that using skim milk in place of the heavy cream would be the best way to make a low-fat quiche; however, this is not true. To maintain the texture of the dish while still cutting out fat, use evaporated, fat-free milk instead.
Omitting meat and cheese from the dish is one of the best tips for making a low-fat quiche. Instead, use a large assortment of fresh, flavorful vegetables to bulk up the dish. Seasonal varieties are often best, and the most healthy, although a bag of mixed frozen vegetables that have been thawed can also make for a tasty, low-fat quiche. In place of the cheese, which often adds a fair amount of flavor, season the dish with a variety of herbs and spices.
If you’ve already substituted the crust and the egg filling, you can often get away with a small amount of meat and cheese in your low-fat quiche without making the dish excessively unhealthy. Lean meats such as Canadian bacon or center cut bacon, when used in small amounts, can make your otherwise low-fat quiche seem decadent. In general, it is best to stay away from sausages, as even the healthiest varieties contain a fair amount of fat. If you also want cheese, one of the best tips for making a low-fat quiche is to use a small amount of sharp cheese rather than reduced fat, blander cheeses. The small amount will flavor the entire dish, with about the same amount of calories as a larger quantity of reduced-fat cheese.