Almond Honey Tart Shells for Full GAPS

These almond honey tart shells are a thin, press-in base for small quiches. Almond flour, coconut oil, honey, an egg and salt come together without rolling. You bake the empty shells for fifteen minutes at 375°F, then add the quiche filling and finish baking the assembled meal.

Use these shells for the mini egg quiches, bacon mini quiches, mini cheddar quiches or mini spinach quiches. Each recipe has its own filling amounts, topping and final bake instructions. The cheddar version contains dairy; the plain, bacon and spinach versions use coconut milk and the coconut oil shells.

The dough puffs as it bakes, so the useful detail here is how you press it. Spread it thinly and evenly across the base and sides of your tart dishes. A thick mound in the bottom takes up space you will need for the eggs and toppings.

Jump to the Recipe

Morning cooking has to fit around homeschooling and getting ready for second shift in our house. I appreciate having the small preparations clearly separated from the meal that uses them. With these shells, I want the dishes ready and the filling ingredients nearby before the first oven timer goes off.

That does not mean making every component days ahead. Sometimes the helpful part is simply knowing the order: mix the dough, press it into the dishes, bake the shells, then fill them. You can get the filling ready during that first bake without trying to remember two different sets of ingredients at once.

What You Need For The Shells

Two cups blanched almond flour: Use finely ground almonds without an added grain flour, starch or sweetener. Almond flour is the main ingredient, so a fine, even grind makes the dough easier to spread through a shallow tart dish. Coarse meal leaves larger pieces in the shell.

Half a teaspoon natural salt: Mix it through the flour. The small amount of honey does not turn this into a dessert crust; the shell is used for a savory egg filling. Keep the salt measured rather than adding it again after the dough is mixed.

Two tablespoons coconut oil: Choose natural, non-hydrogenated coconut oil for GAPS baking. Measure the oil before you begin. It needs to be distributed through the almond flour along with the egg and honey, without a separate oily patch in the bowl.

One tablespoon natural honey: This gives the shell a little sweetness. Measure one tablespoon for the whole batch. The amount is not one spoonful per tart dish, and there is no extra honey brushed over the shells.

One large egg: This belongs in the dough. The quiche filling has its own eggs and yolks, which are measured in its separate recipe. Keep those eggs aside so you do not accidentally put the filling’s egg quantity into the shells.

Choosing Almond Flour

Dr. Natasha’s 2020 Gut and Physiology Syndrome includes blanched ground almonds for baking. It also recommends keeping almond flour in the freezer because ground nuts oxidize more readily than whole nuts. Buy it fresh, keep the package closed and return the unused flour to cold storage.

A bag labeled gluten-free is not automatically a bag of almond flour. Read the ingredients. For this dough, you need almonds rather than a baking blend with rice flour, starch or other ingredients mixed in.

Coconut flour absorbs moisture differently and cannot replace these two cups of almond flour at the same amount. Almond pulp left from making nut milk is different too. Much of its fat and some of its liquid have been separated during milk-making, so keep that pulp for a recipe written for it.

If you measure frozen flour, close the bag again as soon as you have what you need. Set the measuring cup down beside the egg, oil and honey so all five ingredients are ready before you start mixing.

Choosing The Tart Dishes

Use suitable oven-safe tart dishes with enough room for a thin shell and the quiche filling. Glass or enameled dishes are options for the baking work. Check the manufacturer’s oven-use instructions, especially the temperature limit and any restrictions on moving a cold dish straight into a hot oven.

This batch is the shell preparation for a six-serving quiche recipe. That does not mean it has been measured to fill six pans of a particular diameter. The number of dishes depends on their actual width and depth. Divide the dough across dishes that suit the filling you plan to use.

Have the dishes beside you while you mix. You need to be able to see how the dough is spread, including the corners where the base meets the sides. A large lump pressed into the center and a very thin edge will not give you an even shell.

How To Make Almond Honey Tart Shells

1. Heat The Oven And Measure

Heat the oven to 375°F. Set out the tart dishes and measure the almond flour, salt, coconut oil, honey and egg. Keep the quiche filling ingredients separate. These shells are the first part of the meal, not the bowl where you mix the filling.

2. Combine The Dough

Combine all five ingredients with a fork, or use a food processor. Work the egg, oil and honey through the almond flour until the mixture is evenly combined. It should be something you can press into a dish rather than a liquid you can pour.

If you use my Ninja BN801 kitchen system, use its 64-ounce, eight-cup food-processor bowl with the chopping blade. The large blender pitcher is a different attachment. Assemble the processor as directed and stop it before opening the bowl or checking the dough.

A fork is also part of this method, so you do not have to get the machine out just for the shells. Scrape through the bottom of the mixing bowl as you work. Dry flour left underneath a wetter layer is easy to miss if you only stir around the top.

3. Press Thinly And Evenly

Divide the dough among your suitable tart dishes. Press it across the bottom and up the sides, keeping the layer thin and even. Join the base and sides so there is no open gap around the bottom edge.

Look at the thickness as you work. These shells puff in the oven, and a thick base can leave less room for the filling than you expect. Move a little dough from a thick patch to a thinner area instead of stretching a small piece over a bare spot.

Use the same dough to close a small crack. Press the edges together gently. There is no extra water or separate flour paste in this mixture, and you do not need to roll the dough into a sheet before fitting it into the dishes.

4. Pre-Bake For Fifteen Minutes

Put the empty shells into the heated oven and bake for fifteen minutes. This is their first bake before the egg filling is added. The dough will puff, so leave the space you planned for the filling rather than piling extra dough into the center.

Keep track of the fifteen-minute timer. This preparation does not call for baking an empty shell until it looks like a fully finished pie crust. The next part of the meal has its own filled-quiche bake.

5. Fill And Continue With The Quiche

Remove the dishes and set them on a heat-safe support. Add a compatible quiche filling gently, then continue with that recipe’s oven instructions. Keep the hot dishes supported while you fill them, and leave room inside each shell so the filling does not overflow.

The shells stay in their dishes through filling and baking. Let the completed quiche settle before removing or serving it according to its recipe. Almond flour pastry is delicate, so support the finished shell from underneath rather than pulling at its rim.

Where This Fits On Full GAPS

This is a Full GAPS preparation after almonds, egg, honey and the other ingredients are introduced. The 2020 book places nut-based baking after diarrhea and abdominal pain have settled. The ingredients in the finished quiche still need to fit the foods you have introduced.

The coconut oil version is dairy-free. You can use two tablespoons homemade butter instead when dairy is part of your current GAPS diet. Butter is a dairy-derived choice; keep the coconut oil version when you are avoiding dairy.

The shell contains almonds, honey and an egg. It is not a No-Plant preparation, and leaving out the egg or changing the flour would make a different dough. This is not an early Intro shell. Follow a recipe written for your ingredients rather than trying to make an earlier-stage version by removing several of them.

Planning The Two Bakes

Allow about five minutes to mix and press the dough once the ingredients and dishes are ready. That is a preparation estimate, followed by the fifteen-minute shell bake. Prepare the filling during that bake so you can continue the meal in one sequence.

If you need to pause before baking, cover the raw dough or formed raw shells and refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below. Keep raw-egg utensils and work surfaces clean. Once you start the pre-bake, plan to continue with the filling and its final bake.

The completed quiche has its own cooling, storage and reheating instructions. Use those instructions for leftovers. This post stops at the pre-baked shell stage and does not give a separate storage life for a partially completed meal.

My planned Breakfast Cookbook brings together egg breakfasts, breakfast soups, yogurt bowls and ideas for make-ahead mornings. Follow the WFLI cookbook catalog for its release if having those meal ideas together would help with your mornings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are These The Same As The Herbed Quiche Crust?

No. The herbed almond flour crust uses dried basil and stays unbaked until its filling is added. These shells use honey and have a fifteen-minute pre-bake. Follow the shell preparation that belongs with the quiche you are making.

Can I Double The Batch?

Yes. Double all five measured ingredients and prepare enough suitable dishes for two batches. Keep each shell thin. Stay within the processor’s capacity if you use it, and remember that doubling the dough does not automatically double the baking time.

Recommended Equipment

Use oven-safe tart dishes, measuring cups and spoons, a mixing bowl and fork, and a heat-safe support. The Ninja BN801 food-processor configuration is the alternative mixing method. The shells do not need a rolling pin.