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
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.
Amen to the stemless wine glasses. Talk about guilt when you spill a glass, or break one at a party!
What a cool post. Robert Mondavi is one of my favorite wines! It’s extra special because my husband and I had it on our very first date! :) Love those wine glasses.
Yay for your birthday celebration!! That is so awesome! A great idea of them to do it a couple weeks early so, as you said, now you can properly enjoy the holidays–and rest assured that you are adored! duh! ;)
This crust sound awesome! and great tips! I especially love the “don’ts” section. A mini bar IS key to help prevent people from congregating in the kitchen the whole time.
I would say my best party tip–and you can remember this from our gatherings–is lighting. You want to create the most comfortable and inviting ambiance, and I think proper lighting–not to bright, not too dim, & good color temperature–is the biggest factor in that!
Happy Holidays, friend!
G, I’m so sorry I didn’t thank you for this comment earlier. I can’t believe I forgot to add lighting to my list! You taught me well. “Rest assured that you are adored!” warm fuzzies. :)
I love everything about this quiche. That almond meal curst sounds fantastic. Paired with a glass of pinot noir sounds like the perfect match.
That crust is acceptional! Well, the whole thing it, really…I love it!
EXCEPTIONAL! that is the right spelling of this word!
Mmm this sounds so good! I love frittatas and quiches no matter what time of day, and I’ve never actually tried making anything with almond meal, despite being GF as well. I’m going to pin this one for when I decide to try it out for the first time! Question – is it more coarse than almond flour, or could you use them interchangeably?
Scrap that question – I just read your recipe note. Almond meal it is!
Woah, sorry for the slow response to your question, Angela! I think almond meal is more coarse than almond flour, yes. A lot of the recipes I’ve seen call for them interchangeably. I love my almond meal chocolate chip cookie recipe even more than the traditional Tollhouse recipe. That would be a great one to start with!
Gorgeous, friend! I could die in that photo of greens and mushrooms sauteing : ) Stunning. Happy (early) birthday!
What a tasty looking quiche, I love the arugula + cremini pairing!
This is my idea of the perfect quiche. A crust that requires no rolling? Yes please! And I totally agree with you… I think all-purpose flour crusts tend to be a bit boring. Texturally and flavor-wise. This sounds fabulous.
This looks so good!! I want this for a second dinner right now. :)
I love the almond herbalicious crust!! My favorite savory crusts are whole grain or nutty ones. They somehow give pies and such more body!
What a thoughtful thing to do for someone with a Christmas birthday – what great friends! Sounds like so much fun, Kate. And this quiche is a lovely idea – what a nice thing to have in the arsenal for a variety of foodie preferences – love this.
This looks perfect – simple, elegant and delicious! I can’t wait to make if for my celiac friend on our monthly dinners. How big is the cast iron skillet you used?
Great post Kate. Love, love the entertaining tips… good to have a common sense refresher for the festive season! Love the look of this press-in pie crust. Yum, almond meal and herbs? My gf friends are going to swoon at this!! Thanks for the fantastic recipe xx
Gracious! Some of your prettiest work yet, K :)
Happy early birthday to you! My brother’s is the week before Christmas and I always take care to make sure his birthday gift does not have Christmas wrapping paper and that we have a party time/dinner set aside just for him…. it would be sad to feel lost in the other festivities :( So glad your friends spoiled you, as they should!
This looks absolutely delicious. My mother recently made a cream-heavy mushroom quiche with a buttery pie crust…. it was so, so good, but this looks lighter and delightful! And we love our Pinot out here in Oregon :) Cheers!
What gorgeous photos! Love the tips for entertaining. Just a heads up that Robert Mondavi wines have gelatin so they are not vegetarian friendly (according to barnivore.com).
Thanks for letting us know, Purnima. I didn’t think to check for those details when I was considering this post. I’m a somewhat lax vegetarian myself, so it’s not a deal breaker for me, but it is good to know!
I am a Christmas baby too! and I can relate- a real birthday celebration is worth its weight in gold :-) When I was a kid I celebrated half-birthdays so I could have a party, but that’s not quite as acceptable now that I am nearing 30 :-)
I love this crust- I am a huge fan of press-in crust, I will have to try this!
Happy early birthday, fellow Christmas baby! I’m glad you can relate. Let’s throw pizza pool parties for our half birthdays next year! My friends gave me funny looks when I suggested the idea this year, but I don’t care!
Oh, awesome. I was looking for the perfect cozy dinner for tomorrow night…and I think I just found it! Thanks for the post :)
Kathryne, a Christmas birthday? That’s tough! I’m glad you friends feted you early. (My mom was born on New Years and she’s still bitter about having everyone hungover and tired on her birthday. No fun at all.)
So cool that you have an almond meal crust for your beautiful quiche. Almond meal is one of my favorite ingredients in GF baking. It’s so rich and delish!
Wishing you nice holidays and a very happy birthday!
xoxo
E
This looks like a damn good quiche! I love that it’s gluten-free as I have many friends living a gluten-free life. And a glass of pinot noir for me, please.
I love how tender an almond meal crust is with eggs. The texture is so much more pleasant in my opinion. Looks gorgeous and delicious. Hope all is well with you, miss!
I will be honest, usually when I read party tips I have to work hard at not rolling my eyes, they are all so obvious – but I really like your tips! As obvious as serving water might be, it usually is not top of the list. And the idea of setting up a seperate ‘drinks station’ so your guestst can take care of themselves without feeling they are getting in the way – fab!
Thanks! I’m glad you found the tips helpful. I just found a house to rent so I can’t wait to host parties in a bigger space!
Holy moley! This is baking in my oven and I can’t wait!!! Smells AH-MAY-ZING!
Hip hip! How’d it turn out?
Incredible. So delicious and the recipe was flawless- didn’t have leftover egg mixture or need to bake it longer than noted. Nice work! My husband said, “What do I need to do to for you to make this again ASAP?”
This recipe was truly amazing. I will admit that I adjusted the ratio of eggs to milk so that it would be less frittata-like and more quiche-like, but I left the crust recipe you provided as is and it was fantastic. I was so nervous about the almond crust, but it came out delicious. This will become a regular in my dinner repertoire.
Thanks, Amanda! Glad you enjoyed the quiche. I wasn’t aware that quiche and frittata have different textures, but I’m glad you liked your version!
Perhaps there isn’t much of a difference?? All of the quiches I usually make use 2 eggs to every cup of milk (although I’m sure that can vary). So I thought with less egg and more milk it would have a more delicate (for lack of a better word) consistency. Regardless, your recipe was an inspiration to me…I may never go back to regular old quiche crusts again. Thank you!
Interesting! That’s a lot of milk per egg. Glad you enjoyed the quiche!
While I have to admit that Kate’s recipe is adventurous, according to the kitchn.com Amanda is right…
“The fool-proof part comes courtesy of the French. They are masters of the quiche and long-ago settled on the perfect formula of one part egg to two parts milk. A standard large egg weighs two ounces and a cup of milk is eight ounces, so a good rule of thumb is two eggs per cup of milk.”
Well! Now I know.
This may be a very silly question, but I’m all for silliness and so will ask it anyway. :o) I’ve never made almond meal before – for two cups of it, do I process two cups of almonds, or should I use more? Thank you!
Mary, I’m very sorry I didn’t address your question sooner. I’m finally getting caught up on comments. I haven’t ever made almond meal myself, but I looked it up, and one source says that one cup of almonds will yield one cup of almond meal. They recommend using blanched almonds, but I think my store-bought almond meal is made with almonds that still have the skin on, so I think those will work, too. Sorry again for the delay.
I would like to make this for a party but need to make it the night before. Will it taste ok the next day if I re heat or serve it cold? Thanks!
Courtney, it should be great the next day! I know I enjoyed the leftovers for a few days. Sometimes greens get a little soggy after they’ve been reheated. I want to say that the greens in the frittata reheated well, although I can’t say so with absolute certainty.
At what temperature should I re-heat to serve the next day and for how long?
Thanks!
I am eating this as a type and it is delicious! I halved the recipe, added turkey bacon and pressed the bottom mixture into cupcake liners. They stuck a little, so next time I’ll just use a greased cupcake pan. The almond flour base is so flavourful! I will definitely be making this again – thanks!
Thanks, Heather! I love your muffin tin idea. I want to try that for brunch sometime.
Hi Kate! I loved this recipe and want to recreate at my parents’ house, but they don’t have a cast-iron skillet. Do you think it would turn out well in a traditional pie pan?
Thanks!
Hey Grace! Good question. I haven’t tried it, but I think it would turn out well in a pie pan. I’m just guessing here, but I bet the pie pan will be slightly smaller than the skillet, so you might end up with a deeper quiche… if that’s the case, just make sure the crust goes high up the sides of the pan to accommodate, and you might have to bake it a little longer overall. Good luck!
I am making this for Easter brunch. What goat cheese do you buy? Is it feta? I am having a difficult time finding crumbled goat cheese. The goat cheese I see at the store is creamy. Thank you for the great recipe
Hey Jenn! I bought a small log of regular goat cheese. I used a fork to break it into crumbles while it was cold. Herbed goat cheese or feta are also options.
hiii!! i wanna try this for a dinner party next week but was wondering two things:
1. can i make the crust the day before ?
2. would coconut milk work?
(sorry about being that person who wants to sub, i hate myself, but lactose intolerant and am dying to make this).: )
thanks!!!!
Hi Anika! I haven’t tried making the crust beforehand. I’m not sure how to store the crust overnight—whether you should leave it in the pan or transfer it to a flat surface to be wrapped. It’s really super easy to put together so you might be better off making it the day of. I think coconut milk would work great, as long as you don’t mind a light coconut flavor in the quiche!
Kate, you rock!! thanks! i will make it the day of! :) Thanks again for the quick response!!
Anika
Made it for dinner and it’s delicious! The crust was easy to throw together, stayed together amazingly well and was super flavorful and delicious. I tweaked the veggies in the filling by adding sautéed onion and cherry tomatoes but otherwise followed everything exactly (unusual for me!). It needed an extra 10 minutes in my oven to be fully cooked. It was a little ‘eggier’ than I’m used to in a quiche, but I didn’t mind at all. Definitely will be saving this one to make again :)
Vanessa, thank you for commenting! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Onion and cherry tomatoes sound like delicious additions to me.
I made this for a summer brunch full of teacher friends and it was a hit! Two women asked for the recipe, and one immediately hit up my Pintrest to find it and repin. All I can say is YUM! Amazing.
Yesss! That’s awesome. Thanks, Paige!
I made it for my meat loving roommate (who happens to be my sister as well) and she brought it to work for lunch and said everyone had ‘lunch envy’. Not only beautiful but delicious as well.
Hooray! Glad to hear it, Becca. :)
Auditioned this last night for our Christmas brunch (I’m hosting for the first time!) and was so delighted with it. The garlic in the crust was a lovely touch. Do you think it would work with walnut or pecan meal, for a quiche with squash? I think the flavours would work, but I’m wondering if the different nuts might burn faster or something.
Hi Kathleen, sorry for my delay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the quiche. I bet you could change up the almond meal with walnut or pecan. I don’t foresee any issues but I haven’t tried it myself so I’m not 100% sure. Please let me know if you give it a try!
Hi Kate…. I’m looking for some finger food ideas to bring to a get together tomorrow. Do you think I could make these as tiny muffin quiches? My thought was to use muffin tins, and add some asparagus to the mix, or chard. Would the crust hold its own shape or would they need paper liners? Second question, do you think they’d be too must crust?
Love your recipes and site. Everything I’ve ever made has been amazing. Loved the Thai squash soup. Non vegetarian hubbie rated it a five star.
Nancy, I’m sorry, I got behind of comments over the holidays! I’m honestly not sure how this quiche would do in a muffin tin. I think it would work best without muffin liners, but there would be quite a bit of crust in each cup. I’m sorry, wish I knew for sure. So glad you have been enjoying my recipes!
I’ve made this quiche twice this week already. It’s easy and delicious! Thanks for such a great dinner idea!
This quiche base made with almond meal was awesome. My 21 yr old son said it was the best quiche base he had ever tasted. So easy to make and so delicious. Thanks so much.
Hooray! Thank you, Jacque. That almond meal crust is my favorite, too!
Loved it.
Had to make a few substitutions. My husband doesn’t like mushrooms, so I used thinly sliced eggplant instead. Worked great. Also did half and half of feta and goat cheese. Yum.
I’d like to try the crust as-is, but my grocery didn’t have almond meal. Tried garbanzo flour, and it was just okay. I’ll search for almond meal and try again.
As with all of your recipes, the result was delectable. Kate- you’ve become a weekly go-to for us! Cookie- my rotties watch and hope for kitchen whoops-a-daisy-I-dropped-some bites too!
Hope you can find almond meal soon, it makes a really great crust! Thanks again, Charissa.
I made this tonight and my fiancé and I both loved it. I followed the crust recipe exactly but used almond flour and it came out great. The garlic and thyme are such nice touches!
For the filling I used bacon instead of vegetables (oops). I want to try the mushroom and arugula next time, though!
Thanks, Becky! Glad you both enjoyed it! Man, I miss bacon.
I did this last nigh and OH MY this is delicious!!!! I could just go on and on eating and eating for life, no kidding! But I changed 2 things from the recipe: instead of thyme I put fresh oregano (I’m not a fan of thyme) and instead of goat cheese I used fresh mozzarella. The rest of the recipe I followed exactly how you teach and it’s amazingly delicious! Even my husband who doesn’t like different stuff and specially vegetarian food loved! Thank you so much!!
Barb, so glad you both enjoyed the quiche! Your substitutions sound great. You could also play around with the fillings as the seasons change!
Just made this last night and it was a hit! To make picky eaters happy I substituted the arugula and mushrooms with spinach and artichoke hearts as the veggies, and it tasted great. Also, a little tip for others who have both vegetarians and meat eaters to please, I chopped up some crispy bacon and put it in a bowl on the side so that those who wanted it could spoon it over the top. It worked fabulously! I will definitely make this again!
Thank you, Wendi! Thanks for sharing your notes, too!
This quiche looks delicious! I want to make it for my mom for Mother’s Day, but she is not a fan of goat cheese. Is there another cheese that you would recommend that could work instead? Thanks!
Hi! How about feta? I bet grated Parmesan or fontina would be lovely, too.
I made this for my husband’s birthday over the weekend and it was big hit! Or as he put it: “This is f**king exquisite.” ;)
The crust is such a nice compliment to the flavors of the creamy goat cheese and arugula. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Thanks for the great recipe, Kate!
Hell yes! I love your husband’s review. :) So glad you both enjoyed it!
I just made this for my kids and I — it was amazing! And they usually don’t like vegetables. The GF crust was divine.
Yay, glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks, Jennifer!
After a long hike, I came home and made this. It was perfection!! First time using almond flour and I loved it. Paired it with fresh berries! Perfect ending to a great day.
Hooray! Thank you, Lauren!
I just made this quiche yesterday.. I subbed out the mushrooms and added red bell pepper. I also used almond milk instead of regular. It turned out delicious, and the recipe was very easy to follow! Thanks for sharing.. I have been craving a good quiche :)
It was my first time attempting gluten-free baking, as I’m new to the gluten free lifestyle. My crust came out pretty burnt, and a little oily, too. Any suggestions for next time ?
Thanks!
Hmmm, I’m sorry to hear you had trouble! Sounds like your crust was in the oven too long. I wonder if your almond meal had more oil in it than mine (got mine at Trader Joe’s). Maybe you can try 1/4 cup oil and see if that works for you next time?
Kate,
Do you have any nutritional information? A member of my family is diabetic, and must count carbs, I’m thinking this might be a nice addition to my Thanksgiving meal for her, but wasn’t sure what the carb count is. Do you have this information?
Thanks!
Katy
I’m sorry, Katy, I don’t provide nutrition information with my recipes. Feel free to run the recipe through myfitnesspal.com.
Can you use almond milk?
Yep! Plain unsweetened would be fine. Sweetened/flavored almond milks will affect the flavor.
I recently learned that I’m highly sensitive to wheat, oats and rice among many other things and have had to make some abrupt modifications to my diet that left me scrambling to find a site for recipes with ingredients from my allowed list of foods. My eye fell on this recipe right away not only because it looks delicious, but because it’s made with almond flour. I made it and can confirm it’s as good as it looks. I substituted the goat cheese (yuck!) for ricotta cheese, which left it slightly bland, but I love mushrooms and greens and can always add other ingredients if I want more punch to the taste. Highly recommend it!
Thanks, Diane! Glad you found this one!
Can this keep for a few days…would like to make for myself for two meals..thanks!