Gluten free tart crust (from hash browns!)
Your cousin is coming for dinner. And she’s gluten free. And you’re not. And you’re panicking. What in the world are you supposed to feed her?! Rest assured, I have a fantastic option for you in my gluten free tart crust. You don’t need to be a fancy baker or buy those expensive gluten free flours to whip up a crust that goes perfectly with all kinds of savory tarts or quiches and will save you 50 kinds of gluten free panic attacks–and you may even want to make it again after she goes home.
For some people, eating gluten free is trendy. They think it’s cool. And for others, it’s big old serious business–they can get really sick if they eat it. And with the way things are going, more and more people are getting wise to their health needs and trying to cut wheat-based flour from their diets. (Gluten is in other stuff too, not just wheat flour.)
Or maybe you care less about the gluten and are trying to swap in other ingredients to just reduce how much white flour you eat in general.
I can’t tell you that potatoes are necessarily an awesome healthy swap for flour but just in case you find yourself between a rock and a gluten-free hard place, this recipe might just save your butt.
Like if you’re having a dinner guest over who’s gluten free and you’re worried to death about what to cook. You just need to get through the night, or the baby shower, or the pot luck without spending half the bank on some fancy pre-made gluten free tart crust from the store. (If you can even find one.) And it would be even better to still be able to use the ingredients you bought for something else after things calm down.
This gluten free tart crust made with (you know it) hash browns and a few simple ingredients even gluten-eaters will have on hand. Just one bowl to mix it up, then bake your gluten free tart crust halfway before adding the filling and finish it off. Everything turns out golden brown, crispy and you’ll never miss that regular crust.
In these pictures, I baked mine all the way with it unfilled so you could see how it turns out. Just remember it takes about 35-40 minutes total to bake your crust so if your recipe is going to take that long you can put the filling in and bake it all together. If your filling takes less time, bake the crust part way then add your filling and finish it off.
How long your crust takes will also depend on how thick you layer it in the pie pan and how big your pie pan actually is. Need something to put in your gluten free tart crust? Try my Bacon and Cheese Quiche but make sure to leave out the flour. It will still work fine.
**And a little side note: It’s a good idea to find out exactly how sensitive your gluten free guest(s) are if you’ve never baked gluten free. If you aren’t sure. use a brand new pie plate that’s never had a regular pie crust or tart crust in it, just to be safe.
Gluten free tart crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded hash brown potatoes thawed and pressed dry to remove extra water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the hash browns that you've squeezed as dry as possible, salt, pepper, parmesan and egg whites.
- Stir to combine and transfer to the pie plate. Use a measuring cup or your hands to press the potatoes into an even layer across the bottom and up the sides of your pie plate.
- Fill with your filling of choice if it will bake in a similar time frame or bake the crust unfilled for a few minutes before adding your filling if the filling needs less time to cook. The crust needs to bake 35-40 minutes until golden brown so do the math and plan accordingly.
Genius idea! I’ll have to keep this on hand for my gluten-free friends!