Impossible Pie Final Recipe in 1 hour (The Possible Gluten Free Quiche)
In case you want to enjoy a late lazy weekend delicious breakfast or an easy healthy lunch, this impossible pie quiche recipe is the answer. And before you accuse me of putting together some antagonistic expressions such as “impossible pie” and “easy healthy lunch” bear with me for a few more moments.
When you read about the impossible pie recipe you may start to wonder things like: if this pie is impossible, why is there a recipe for it? Why is it called impossible? Is it impossible or possible to bake? I know I thought of all these when I first heard of this kind of pie. But it’s in human nature to make the impossible possible. Well, it’s not the case for this recipe because in here the word “impossible” refers to “impossibly easy to make”. The title used brings more mystery and makes you want to read the recipe and see what it is all about, right? I know it did for me.
Reading this recipe title a few years ago, my mind started to create scenarios in just one moment: what is this? What do you mean by “impossible”? There is no impossible recipe. I have to know everything about it. And I was right: this is a super easy recipe, everything is ready to bake in just 10 minutes. After that you take the gluten free impossible pie to the oven and leave it there for about 50 minutes. You can use this time to take care of your other tasks or even read a good book.
What is impossible pie?
An impossible pie refers to a kind of pie no one seemed to think was achievable: a pie which makes its own crust. It is a pie which doesn’t require the additional effort of creating a crust. Let’s face it: the most challenging part when cooking a quiche is preparing and baking the crust. Which inevitably will swell a bit every time, no matter how many beans or rice you put on top when prebaking it. Right? Now that I’ve told you about my frustrations regarding the classic savory pie (or tart, quiche), let’s go back to the impossible pie.
When was impossible pie invented?
Impossible pie became famous in the 1970s when several recipes were published on the backs of Bisquick boxes.
Bisquick is a baking mix which contains flour, salt, shortening and baking powder. It is sold by General Mills under Betty Crocker brand. The story goes like this: one evening, a General Mills executive named Carl Smith was travelling home by train. He was hungry and asked the chef from the dining car to bring him something quick to eat. He was served with some fresh biscuits which were ready in a very short amount of time. Carl Smith was astonished by the fact that he received his biscuits in such a little time and asked the chef how was that possible. The man showed him how he mixed together flour, baking powder, lard and salt and then stored the mixture in an ice chest. This batter was very useful for quick biscuits and cut a large amount of work and time.
Back then there were no shortcuts for baking, no mixes for cakes, muffins or biscuits. We are talking about the 1930s, era of depression. Carl Smith figured out there was a great potential in this idea and brought it to General Mills so their food experts would do some research. It was a challenge to create a baking mix and it took a while to do that. The most important thing to have in mind was that the mix had to contain ingredients which didn’t need refrigeration. They replaced the lard with hydrogenated oil so the product could be safely kept on the shelves. Bisquick mix was released on the market in 1931 and many stars of those times (like Shirley Temple and Clark Gable) helped in promoting this new and revolutionary product.
In the beginning, Bisquick was marketed as a way of making quick biscuits. Soon after the releasing of the product, the company started to suggest people to use it for baking other dishes too, such as pancakes, cookies, pizza dough, dumplings and pie. This is how the Bisquick impossible pie was born.
We don’t know for sure where this pie originated but we might take a guess. The first one was coconut impossible pie. This leads us to the South where coconut pies were very well-known. People loved this Bisquick impossible pie so much that in the following months and years a lot of variations, both sweet and savory, came to life. There was Impossible Chicken Pot Pie, Impossible Peach and Raspberry Pie, Impossible Roast Pepper and Feta Cheese Pie, Impossible Pumpkin Pecan Pie. Any type of pie could be transformed into an impossible pie.
Why is it called impossible pie?
At some moment in time, General Mills started to use the term “Impossibly Easy Pies” to point out the fact that this pie is very easy to make and you don’t need to follow the conventional steps of prepping and baking. However, the recipes these days omit the word “easy” so they keep the flair of mystery the original recipe had.
How to make impossible pie?
In case you don’t want to use a premix to bake a Bisquick impossible pie, you have some alternatives.
One cup of Bisquick mix can be replaced by mixing one cup of flour with ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and 2 ½ tablespoons of melted butter or oil. You can always adopt these substitutions to create your own pie.
The following gluten free impossible pie recipe is so easy to make and so delicious that you will become addicted. Plus, it is gluten-free so it is also suitable for people with gluten intolerance. It is a savory pie recipe with bacon, spinach and goat cheese.
There is such a large assortment of impossible pies out there that I can understand if you don’t know what to cook first.
The basic ingredients for any impossible pie quiche are: flour, eggs, oil or butter and milk. I would add cheese. Any quiche is better with cheese. While most of the recipes use Cheddar, I prefer goat cheese. It has a tangier taste and I love the fact that it doesn’t melt completely and you can feel tiny bits of cheese on your taste buds.
You don’t need any planning, chilling or prebaking for gluten free impossible pie. Whenever I cook this type of pie, I open the refrigerator door and look inside. It can be cooked with leftovers or anything that comes to your mind. Use veggies (bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, onion), greens (spinach, kale), meat (chicken, turkey, beef, pork, bacon, sausages). Basically, anything that is in your fridge and can be combined may end up in your impossible pie recipe.
Here are the steps for making an impossible pie:
All this time, I was trying to read a book but the smell that came out of my kitchen made my mouth water. So after reading the same sentence for about fifty times, I put down the book and went to wash the dishes and do anything else that could distract me from thinking of my impossible pie which was baking.
When you've mastered impossible pie, try easy cottage pie, amazing cream cheese lemonade pie, cinnamon roll applie pie, fat free vegan recipes or homemade cream cheese cookies in 35 minutes.
Equipment
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 6 slices organic bacon, chopped
- ½ red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup goat cheese, crushed
- ½ cup gluten free flour mix
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 6 eggs
- 2 tbsp butter, melted and chilled
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a baking dish with a little bit of butter.
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- Chop the bacon, red pepper and green onions into bite size pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the red bell pepper, bacon and green onions. Add 2/3 of the goat cheese and stir.
- Bring in the flour and season with salt and pepper. Transfer this mixture to the baking dish.
- Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and pour in the milk. Add the cooled melted butter and whisk until well combined.
- Pour the beaten eggs over the veggies and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake the impossible pie quiche for about 50 minutes. If you know that your oven has hot spots, rotate the dish after 20-25 minutes so it will bake evenly.
- Allow the quiche to cool at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving it.
Notes
- If you want an extra-fresh touch for your impossible pie quiche, add some fresh parsley chopped. You will benefit from a boost of vitamins (especially vitamin C) and minerals.
- Check your pie at least two times after 40 minutes. In case the bottom gets too brown (mine did, a bit) but the top isn’t set, reduce heat to 350F and keep baking the pie for 10-15 more minutes.
- All-purpose flour works well for this recipe if you don’t have any food intolerance or you don’t want to make a gluten free pie. So use the same amount of all-purpose flour to prepare the quiche.
- I used unsweetened almond milk because I had it in the fridge. Also cow milk or goat milk are perfect.
- Vegetarians can also enjoy this delight, just omit the bacon and add a different vegetable you like.
- Many recipes don’t use butter for the impossible pie. I find that butter gives a great taste and changes the texture a bit making it richer and I prefer it this way.
- You can also go bonkers with the spices used. Whatever seasoning you prefer, if it pairs well with the meat and veggies used, just go for it. And don’t be shy with the quantity either.
- The best thing about this recipe is that it can be tailored to suit any taste. It is possible that one day you don’t know what to cook. Remember this impossible pie recipe and throw in the bowl whatever you have in the fridge. Your lunch will be easy and healthy. A slice of this pie only has 327 calories. The high protein intake will keep the hunger away for a while.
- No matter which pie you cook, don’t forget to enjoy it!
