Crustless Kale Pie

Reminiscent of quiche, this savory crustless kale pie packs in the protein and the greens. It's the perfect make-ahead meal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner for the week, or for holiday brunches with visiting family and friends.

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True story: my dad eats Christmas cookies and candy for breakfast every Christmas morning. And not just a little... a lot. But I love him for it... it's what makes him my dad, you know? Besides, I absolutely did the same thing every Christmas morning until I was about 10. Okay, 12. But you know how I think there should always be healthy options, so I can't help but offer this crustless kale pie recipe as a suitable alternative. Plus, it would really come in handy if you're having family stay overnight for the holidays and need something easy for breakfast.

Now I don't know about you, but for me, Christmas morning has always been more "chill", so to speak. In other words, the rate at which my family wakes up is directly proportionate to how much we enjoyed Christmas Eve 😉 We relax, have coffee, hang out, give each other our gifts, the likes. It's quite a lovely way to start Christmas Day. And because we typically prefer to ease into the morning, we don't really put on a big production for breakfast. When we do make any sort of breakfast, it's something easy... something we've prepared ahead of time. Make-ahead recipes are key for times when you want something more special, but you also want it to be low-effort. And in this case, also healthy, because aalllll of the Christmas cookies happened the night before (and possibly when you woke up, too).

Crustless kale pie is just that: you can make it ahead, reheat it in oven the next morning, and there you have it. A perfectly delicious and healthy breakfast with no apparent effort, because all of the effort was put in the day before. So let me tell you about what makes this dish worthy of your cooking efforts:

1. Caramelized onions. So. Much. Flavor.
2. Chickpea flour. It's "crustless" because the flour is inside of the pie 🙂 You could swap regular flour in a pinch, but I encourage you to try this! It's so easy to find (near the other flours in most grocery stores, or in the organic section) and is completely affordable (alternative flours can be expensive). It offers amazing flavor and is more nutrient-dense than your average wheat flour. Try it! You know you wanna...
3. Kale. Oh, you know, just your average cancer-fighting, beautifying, perfect-in-every-way superfood. For real, I read this article about 26 health benefits of kale and am convinced it can also save the rainforest and run a country. Okay, I kid, but it really puts the 'super' in superfood!
4. Feta. The bomb (dot com) in terms of flavors in this crustless kale pie dish. But of course, feel free to swap it with another cheese if feta's not your thing. Swiss cheese would be an excellent choice.

So it's really easy: you just caramelize those onions, crack a couple eggs, measure out some chickpea flour, combine with all the rest of the ingredients, and bake it. You could either bake it ahead and reheat it the next morning in the oven (or in the microwave... but the oven creates the illusion that you just made it in a totally non-leftover fashion, you know??), or you can leave it in the fridge overnight and bake it the next morning. Either way, I promise you it will not be a letdown. And your guests will love it. And you will thank yourself for not eating just Christmas cookies for breakfast and nothing else... right???

Crustless Kale Pie

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A savory pie recipe made with kale, caramelized onions, chickpea flour, feta and eggs. It's the perfect make-ahead meal for brunch or any meal of the day.

• Author: Roots and Radishes, adapted from Skinnytaste*
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

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• cooking spray
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1 large white or yellow onion, cut into thinly sliced half moons
• ½ tsp salt
• pepper
• 2 cups kale, washed and chopped
• ½ cup feta cheese
• ½ cup chickpea flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ⅔ cup milk
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 large eggs, beaten

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with olive oil cooking spray.
2. For the caramelized onions: Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add the onion slices and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook onions for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the onions are translucent, increase heat to medium and continue to cook until they caramelize (about 10 more minutes; they should look richly browned). Transfer onions to a large bowl.
3. Add remaining ½ tablespoon of butter to skillet. Add chopped kale and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until tender, stirring frequently. Transfer sautéed kale to bowl of onions, and add feta cheese. Stir a couple times to evenly distribute ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, combine chickpea flour and baking powder. Whisk to combine. Add in milk, olive oil, eggs and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Add more pepper, if desired. Whisk again to combine all ingredients, then pour into bowl of veggies and cheese. Pour entire mixture into prepared pie dish.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until knife inserted inserted in center comes out clean. If serving immediately, allow to cool for 5 minutes. If making ahead, allow to cool and store in fridge, covered, until ready for use.

*This recipe was adapted from the Crustless Swiss Chard Pie recipe found in the Skinnytaste cookbook by Gina Homolka. I love her cookbook for practical, healthy meals and use it frequently.