How To Make A Quiche Without Heavy Cream

Quiche is the perfect dish to make for brunch thanks to its elegant appearance and rich flavors. The egg dish is incredibly versatile since it can be filled with any assortment of meat, cheese, and vegetables. That's why it's also the perfect way to eat a whole meal in one slice, especially when the quiche is paired with the perfect sides. However, quiche can pack a ton of fat and calories thanks to some of the ingredients that are lurking within the egg base. 

Typically, quiche calls for a lot of eggs – up to a dozen sometimes – which are whisked with milk and heavy cream (via Livestrong). That's where the richness comes from. As if that wasn't enough, many quiches also have a lot of cheese such as Gruyere or cheddar mixed in. If you toss in meat as well, calories and fat add up really quickly. In fact, each egg in the recipe contains 72 calories and five grams of fat. Each cup of heavy cream rings in at 809 calories and 86 grams of fat. Cheese can add well over 400 calories and around 35 grams of fat. That means even a small single slice of quiche will pack a ton of calories and fat.

You can begin to make a quiche healthier by reducing the amount of cheese you use in the egg mix. Instead, amp up the flavor by seasoning the quiche well with herbs and more vegetables. You might even want to consider adding nutritional yeast flakes if you want more cheese flavor without adding cheese itself. The healthy alternative provides extra protein to egg dishes (via Bob's Red Mill), though we're not sure how that might affect the texture.

The simplest way to reduce the amount of fat and calories in your quiche is actually to eliminate the heavy cream and replace it with a healthier substitute. One swap is to use whole milk for the heavy cream, which will still provide a rich, creamy flavor but without all of the extra calories and fat (via Desert). A cup of whole milk has just 149 calories and eight grams of fat — significantly lower than heavy cream. If you want to cut out even more fat, you can opt for one percent skim milk instead.