We’re adding beautiful butternut squash to a savory breakfast recipe and I’m not mad about it. This recipe was inspired by my spinach goat cheese quiche with sweet potato crust, which has been one of my absolute favorites to make over the years, but that quiche has a different flavor profile as it’s vegetarian and takes slightly more time to cook.
Truth be told, a few years back I remember I had been dreaming about combining bacon and butternut squash for weeks, so I thought, why not throw it in an easy crustless quiche that could be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or hey, even dinner?!
When I was a single lady, I found myself constantly eating eggs for dinner because they’re quick and easy to make and a great source of protein. Plus, you can pair them with just about anything, so I say eggs are acceptable at any meal. Who’s with me?! You’ll be craving this butternut squash quiche with savory bacon and melty cheese all day long.
What’s in this butternut squash quiche?
This butternut squash quiche is made with nourishing ingredients that you can feel free to mix and match to truly make it your own. Here’s what you need:
- Butternut squash: this recipe calls for cubed roasted butternut squash, which adds a boost of veggies, vitamins, and a slightly sweet flavor to the quiche.
- Bacon: savory, salty bacon adds protein and just tastes amazing in this recipe. What’s not to love?
- Spinach: this quiche calls for an entire bag of spinach that’s simply sauteed in a pan before adding. Veggie party!
- Eggs: you’ll need 6 large eggs for the base of this recipe.
- Milk: I use almond milk in my recipes because that’s what we always have on hand, but you can use any milk you’d like: skim, 2%, whole, or even cashew milk. Yum.
- Sharp cheddar cheese: there’s something fabulous about the combination of sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, and butternut squash.
Make this quiche your own
The great thing about homemade quiche recipes is that you can pretty much throw in any of your fav ingredients to truly make it your own! Here are some great ways to customize this one:
- Out of butternut squash? Feel free to add cubed, roasted sweet potato.
- For the veggies: mix and match with whatever you have in your fridge! I think mushrooms, onions, and/or bell peppers would work well.
- For the bacon: you can absolutely omit the bacon to keep the quiche vegetarian or swap it for turkey bacon or even 3 or 4 sliced chicken sausages.
- For the cheese: of course, you can use any cheese you’d like. I think feta crumbles or a smoky gouda would be delicious in here.
Tips for prepping the butternut squash
Be sure to check out our tutorial on how to cut and peel a butternut squash here and how to roast butternut squash here. You also have the option of sauteeing it on the stovetop — instructions can be found in the notes section of the recipe.
How to make a crustless quiche
A quiche is typically made with milk and eggs and poured into a crust, then baked. However, making a crustless quiche works wonderfully, and personally, this is how I prefer my quiches to be served. Here’s how to make a crustless quiche:
- First, spray a 9-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Next, saute all the veggies you’re using in the recipe and place them in the prepared pie pan. For this butternut squash quiche, this is where you’ll add the cooked bacon!
- Beat eggs, milk and salt and pepper in a bowl, then pour over the sauteed veggies.
- Top with cheese, if desired.
- Bake until slightly golden brown on top, about 35 minutes.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then cut into 6 slices and serve immediately with avocado, hot sauce or salsa.
Make this butternut squash quiche ahead of time
You can absolutely make this recipe ahead of time. There are two options:
- Option 1: make, but do not bake. You can place all ingredients in the pie pan as directed, then cover and place in the fridge until the next day. When you are ready, bake as directed.
- Option 2: bake, then reheat later. Bake the recipe as directed, then cool, cover with foil and place in the fridge until ready to serve. Once ready to serve, warm in the oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until warm. You can also microwave it for 1-2 minutes or until hot. It’s delicious either way!
Feeding a crowd?
Feel free to double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 inch pan or two 9-inch pie pans. If you bake it in a 9×13 inch pan, the bake time may change slightly so just keep an eye on it and check about 5 minutes earlier. You’ll know it’s done when it’s no longer jiggly and the top is slightly golden brown.
What to serve this butternut squash quiche with
If it’s just me, I’ll eat this with avocado slices and hot sauce, but if you’re feeding a crowd or making a bigger breakfast, here are a few recipe pairing suggestions:
- Perfectly Crispy Roasted Breakfast Potatoes
- Nourishing Almond Flour Pumpkin Bread
- Brown Butter Apple Coffee Cake
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups
- The French Toast I Can’t Stop Eating
- Grandma’s Buttermilk Waffles
- No Knead Seeded Honey Oat Artisan Bread (for the BEST slices of toast!)
More breakfast and brunch recipes you’ll love
- Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Pancakes
- Chai-Spiced Butternut Squash Muffins with Salted Honey Glaze
- Upside-Down Bananas Foster French Toast Bake
- Mushroom Spinach Bacon Egg Cups (low carb!)
- Vanilla Brown Butter Pear Baked Oatmeal
Get all of my breakfast recipes here!
I hope you love this butternut squash quiche recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon (or turkey bacon)
- 3 cups roasted cubed butternut squash*
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (5 ounce) bag spinach
- 6 large eggs
- ⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk (or sub regular milk)
- Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook your bacon first. Add bacon to a large skillet or pan and place over medium heat, cook bacon on both sides until crispy and golden brown. If the pan starts to smoke at any point, simply lower the heat. I always cook my bacon on medium low heat. Once bacon is done, blot with a paper towel to absorb excess grease, then chop into bite sized pieces and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch pie pan generously with nonstick cooking spray. Add the roasted, cooked cubed butternut squash cubes. Set aside.
- Place olive oil a large skillet over place over medium high heat. Add in spinach and cook until spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Add spinach to the prepared pan with the butternut squash, then top with chopped bacon.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the top of the spinach and butternut squash. Sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese, along with an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the egg sets up. Remove from heat and wait a few minutes before cutting into 6 slices. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on October 28th, 2019, and republished on November 14th, 2023.
63 comments
Delicious! I love the butternut squash in this recipe, adds a nice texture and taste. Super easy to make too, thanks for a great recipe!
Absolutely! The butternut squash is my favorite part – so good. Glad you loved this one!
AMAZING! Made this tonight and it was SO SO good! I’ve never cooked butternut squash (I’m not sure if I’ve ever even eaten it before) but I loved this!
Love that! Butternut squash is so delicious this time of year. Here are some of my go-to recipes 🙂
I made this last night for a quick healthy and nutritious breakfast all week! I used 9 eggs and a tad bit more lactose free milk instead of almond milk. The recipe came out perfect! Roasted the butternut squash according to Moniques recipe and it was the perfect bite of sweetness to the quiche. I cooked for 45 min and should have only had it in for 40 as it was just a touch overdone. Topped it with Cholula for some spice. Will definitely be making again for meal prep as well as during the holidays!
Love it! Such a great breakfast to have on hand and to make for the holidays 🙂 I’m all about that Cholula on top, too!
I made this for dinner tonight, and my husband and I both LOVED it! I roasted Trader Joe’s butternut squash zig zags as a shortcut and sautéed some onion and added in the mix. We also don’t eat pork, so we used chicken sausages instead. Absolutely delicious and really perfect for any meal!
Perfect! Love the idea of chicken sausage in here, too. Glad you both enjoyed!
Did you cook the zig zags prior or just add them into the bake?
Delicious! I made it this week for breakfast, and we loved it so much that I’m making it next week as well! I’m going to try to sub in turkey sausage.
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
WOW!! I planned to make this for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. I roasted the squash (as per your directions) and cooked the bacon the night before. Then wilted the spinach and assembled it in the morning. It was amazing!! Everyone loved it!! Thank you so much for another fabulous recipe!
Delicious!! Such a great holiday brunch 🙂 I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Hi, I came across this recipe while looking at your cinnamon roll recipe.
I love crustless quiches and this one really sounds great , my question is … if I roast the squash in the oven as per your demo do I add all the seasonings? ie maple syrup, spices etc.
Or do I just put on a sheet pan and roast till tender?
Thanks,
Deborah
Hi! Feel free to add those seasonings if you’d like a sweet & savory option, otherwise you can follow the roasted butternut squash tutorial using just olive oil, salt & pepper 🙂
Looks delicious! Am hosting a brunch where one guest is on a gluten free diet. Is this recipe GF? Hope so! TIA
Yes it is gluten free!
This recipe looks amazing but I want to ask what would you substitute the bacon with? I can’t eat any pork related products. Thank you!
Feel free to just leave the bacon out!
Try smoked salmon. It’s delicious in this recipe!
Love the flavour combination. It’s a great twist on a quiche!
Absolutely! The seasonal flavors are the best 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
AMAZING, these recipes never fail! I made them in little ramequins to keep the recipe the same but make half bacon and half turkey bacon …amazing! PLEASE MAKE A COOKBOOK!
Love that idea! So happy you enjoyed 🙂 I hope to make one in the future!
I’m pretty sure I already rated this, but I’ve made its bunch so I feel like I need to rate it again! This is one of my fav quiche recipes. I use turkey sausage, and it’s amazing! I highly recommend it!
So happy to hear that! Thanks for your rating 🙂
Made this today, and it’s delicious! I made a few changes. I lessened the amount of roasted butternut squash and added some sweet potato as well as red onion and herbs. Outstanding!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
This recipe was wonderful! Made exactly as written and it was a huge hit with my family.
So happy to hear that!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! The combination of flavors is incredible and it was super easy to make. I used frozen butternut squash from the store because I have a pretty busy schedule, but it still turned out great.
Perfect! I’m all about ease – great idea. Glad you enjoyed!
Really yummy. Easy prep. This is a keeper!
Absolutely! Perfect brunch 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
This was FANTASTIC! So different than a quiche I would usually make but absolutely loved it. That butternut squash adds the perfect element of sweet. Will definitely be sharing and making again!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
Do you add the squash to the pan first or the spinach first? The directions are not clear which comes first.. Thank you!
Hi! In step 2 you’ll add the cooked butternut squash first, then in step 3 add spinach and chopped bacon. Enjoy!
THIS IS TOO DELICIOUS!!! I used pre-prepared frozen butternut squash & it was such an easy meal. I added an extra egg & mixed some cheese into the egg mixture, too. I ate mine topped with hot sauce & my mom loved hers with salsa!! can’t wait to make this again soon 😍
Love it! Easy and delicious 🙂
Loved this recipe! So easy to make and healthy.
So happy to hear that!
this dish has some of my fave ingredients – eggs, cheese, squash, and spinach and a breeze to make. great for any meal of the day.
one of my faves when I’m in the mood for quiche
The best!!
I Just made this is was delicious my hubby and bird loved it..he asked me to make it again, I cut the bacon into squares and then cooked it. and added cooking cream with the eggs with fresh chopped garlic and fresh sage plus for the cheese, I only have Havarti and mixed it in with some habanero pepper cheese..
Ohh and I forgot to say I just cut up the baby spinach and added it to the pie without cooking the spinach because it has enough cooking time in the pie
Yummmmm that sounds SO GOOD! Happy you guys loved it 🙂
WOW – I’m definitely making this again. This will become a staple on our brunch menu. I made this for Thanksgiving brunch and it was a big hit. I had a lot of sweet potatoes that I needed to use up and subbed sweet potatoes for the butternut squash in this recipe and it turned out delicious! I love how quick it came together!
Such a great meal prep breakfast! Really easy to make as well. The butternut squash is delicious and adds such a great flavor and texture. Have made many times. I used chicken sausage instead of bacon this time and think I preferred it!
Yay! Happy to hear it came out great and you are enjoying this recipe 🙂
Hi good m from Sydney Australia.I have just made your banana oatmeal pancakes ,and it is really delicious.
Thank you
YUM! I am so glad you are loving these pancakes and they turned out amazing for you 🙂
This quiche is DELICIOUS!! The butternut squash really gives it an amazing zing of sweetness. I used turkey bacon, and it worked really well! I usually don’t even like spinach in my eggs, but it blends in with everything else so well. Using it as my meal prep breakfast for the week.
Excellent! So happy you are loving this quiche and it was a hit for you!
I liked the recipe but found it needed something more. Will add some herbs e.g.sage and add more cheese, maybe goat cheese next time I make it.
Thanks so much for sharing – glad you enjoyed it!
This was delicious and so easy to make. I added mushrooms to mine to give it an added boost of flavor and I added veggie crumbles instead of bacon. I love that this recipe can be modified, depending on what food I have in the fridge.
This one’s great for customizing! Glad you enjoyed!
Love it! So easy and delicious!
I use
I used another recipe for roasting my butternut squash that said to sprinkle parsley on it after roasting. I also used a prebaked frozen pie crust. I trimmed the 4 slices of bacon of fat and covered with uncooked spinach. Added extra cheese on top. Excellent. Will make again!
Perfect! Such a great breakfast 🙂