Dairy-free Cheesy Ham Quiche

Dairy-free Cheesy Ham Quiche
gluten-free | grain-free | dairy-free option | tree nut free
by Alexa Lehr | The Pioneer Chicks | Feb. 25, 2025
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Having a homemade quiche recipe in your homestead recipe stash is a great way to use up farm fresh eggs collected from your homestead flock! A basic quiche recipe can be customized in so many ways to create a meal that your whole family will love. This dairy-free cheesy ham quiche is one such recipe! It may be loaded with cheese, ham, peppers, and onions…. but it can easily be customized with whatever you like in your quiche! This savory ‘egg pie’ is super easy to make and bursting with flavor. It makes a perfect, quick breakfast when baked ahead of time or a warm, delicious meal recipe for dinner!

Pioneer Recipe

While quiche may not sound like a pioneer recipe, I think it fits the pioneer lifestyle perfectly! While eggs were not a common commodity in the early pioneer days, once the pioneers started homesteading, chickens became a little easier to keep and raise for eggs. Then eggs became an important staple in the pioneer diet.

Pioneer Ingredients– Not only were eggs a staple, but home-raised meat and dairy products were also important to the homesteading pioneers. Making your own bread products was also a necessary skill. And….. what do you know… this quiche recipe contains eggs, ham, cheese, and a homemade pie crust! All very ‘pioneerish’ ingredients!

Allergy-Friendly– However, this quiche recipe also has to be allergy-friendly so that it can be enjoyed by all modern pioneers no matter their dietary restrictions. That’s why this quiche can be made…

• gluten-free
• grain-free
• dairy-free
• nut free
• corn free
• sugar free

Despite being allergy-friendly, this quiche is still super easy to make and loaded with flavor! Want more egg-based recipes to make on the homestead? Check out these 50+ healthy ways to eat eggs!

Quiche Ingredients

I wanted to keep the ingredients in this quiche simple, wholesome, and nutritious. Eggs are the main ingredient in this quiche and they are also packed with nutrition! The cheese in this quiche, which is dairy-free, allows this quiche to be low-inflammation and eliminates dairy sugars. Lastly, the ham provides a great source of protein and trace minerals.

Ingredient Guide:

• Homestead Eggs– Use organic, pasture-raised eggs in this quiche recipe. Fresh eggs collected from your homestead flock are ideal! Eggs contains all the daily nutrients that you need except for vitamin C. They are also a good source of protein.
• Dairy-free Cheese– The dairy-free, nut free cheese that I use in this quiche is Violife cheddar cheese shreds. This is a great option for modern pioneers who have a dairy-intolerance or allergy.
• Homestead Cheese– Ideally, use your own homemade cheese in this quiche recipe! Or, if you can have traditional dairy, buy organic cheese that is made from milk from cows who have been pasture-raised.
• Homestead Ham– I buy organic, non-GMO, smoked ham from my local organic meat processor, Graham’s Organics. I like buying from Graham’s Organics because I know that the meat I am buying comes from ethically raised animals and is free of preservatives, antibiotics, and GMO’s.
• Ham Alertnative- I also like to use organic, non-GMO cottage bacon instead of ham in this quiche recipe!
• Milk– If you raise a dairy animal on your homestead, use fresh milk in this recipe! However, if you have a dairy-intolerance or allergy (like myself), any dairy-free milk alternative will work well in this recipe. Canned coconut milk with the cream mixed in creates the creamiest texture for this quiche, but homemade nut-milks will work fine too!

Customizing the Quiche

Like I mentioned earlier, this quiche recipe can easily be customized into whatever flavor you prefer! I love the cheesy texture of this recipe that is bursting with bites of savory ham or cottage bacon. The green peppers and red onion add additional flavors that compliment the cheesy eggs perfectly. But… if ham, green peppers, and red onion are not your vibe, try some of these other ingredient swaps:

• Ham Swaps: cottage bacon, breakfast sausage, kielbasa
• Green Pepper Swaps: red peppers, chili peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes
• Red Onion Swaps: green onions, shallots, candy onion
• Other Add-In’s: mushrooms, asparagus
• Optional Seasonings: red pepper flakes, garlic salt, herbal seasoning

Quiche Recipe Questions

Is there a grain-free and/or dairy-free pie crust I can use with this quiche recipe?

Yes! These two grain-free pie crust recipes are ones that I use frequently, whether I’m baking a pie for dessert for making this quiche recipe. I also like this grain-free cassava flour pie crust. You can leave out the sugar in the pie crust recipe since this quiche doesn’t need a sweet crust.

Grain-free pie crusts do best when they are not pre-baked. Use an unbaked pie crust for this quiche recipe. Additionally, I have not tried making any of the pie crust recipes dairy-free, but you could try using dairy-free butter alternatives in the recipes.

Do the ham and veggies need to be cooked before being put into the quiche?

Any meat that you use in this quiche recipe should be pre-cooked or at least smoked before being put into the quiche. Pre-cooking any vegetables that you add is totally up to you. You can sauté the red onion and green pepper to soften them before adding them to the quiche, or you can just throw them into the quiche raw and allow them to cook with the quiche.

What dairy-free cheeses and milk work best in this recipe?

I like to use VioLife dairy-free cheese alternatives in recipes that require dairy-free cheese. They have a very mild flavor and they melt down nicely, especially in recipes like this cheesy quiche. I have found that VioLife cheeses have the simpler ingredients than some of the other dairy-free cheese alternative brands.

For dairy-free milk, I have used a variety of milk options in this quiche recipe. Canned coconut milk yields a quiche with the creamiest, richest texture. However, dairy-free milk beverages and homemade dairy-free milk will work just fine in the recipe too.

How can I tell when the quiche is done baking?

The quiche is done when the center is mostly set, the top is gently browned, and the edges are firm. Sometimes the center of the quiche may look a little soft, but that is usually just from the melted cheese. If you let the quiche set up for 5-15 minutes before slicing it, the cheese will firm up and the center won’t be jiggly. However, if you do cut into the quiche and find that it is too soft in the middle, you can easily pop it back into the oven and bake it until it is completely set before serving it.

Give this dairy-free cheesy ham quiche a try! It is a very versatile recipe that you can adapt to your family’s preferences! Switch out the ham for your preferred meat, dice up some of your favorite veggies to add some color, or add a few spices to increase the flavor! I also love having leftovers of this cheesy ham quiche!

Where to Find the Ingredients

• Native Forest canned coconut milk
• Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
• Redmond sea salt
• Supplies: hand-held beaters, whisk, 9″ glass pie plate

I love making this dairy-free cheesy ham quiche for my family! My dad loves the flavorful ham, my sister loves the cheese, and my mom loves it when I make dinner. It’s the perfect gluten-free dinner recipe that the whole family loves. If there happens to be any leftovers, they make a perfect quick breakfast the next morning or a delicious, packable meal for lunch the next day. This quiche is also a great recipe for using up any surplus eggs you have from your homestead flock when they start kicking into high production gear in the spring!

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