Greek Crustless Zucchini Pie - Batzina

This recipe for zucchini pie or ‘Batzina’, as we call it in Greek, has no pastry crust around the filling. The filling ingredients come together with the help of flour and eggs, creating a mouthwatering, golden-brown, crustless zucchini pie. The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity and speed of preparation. Just grate and chop a few vegetables, combine everything in a bowl, and you’re ready to go.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy this pie is in the morning for breakfast. It’s quite filling, and it can keep me full till lunchtime. You could also serve it as a light lunch with some salad on the side like my refreshing mediterranean white bean salad. It’s also a fantastic choice to pack in a lunch box when you’re on the go, ensuring a tasty and nutritious meal.

Parents exploring the “Baby Led Weaning method” will find this crustless zucchini pie particularly beneficial for their little ones. Its soft texture is easy for them to handle with their hands, while the abundance of nutrients provides them with wholesome goodness. And if you are looking for more savory snacks for your little ones, have a look at my Greek spinach and feta triangles.

Why you should try my recipe

• No pastry crust! It only takes 15 minutes to prepare the filling and put it in a baking tray.
• Crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
• Packed with nutrients and goodness.
• Makes a whole tray to feed the family for a couple of days.
• Served for breakfast, lunch, light dinner or in lunchboxes.
• Great for little children and babies that follow BLW method.

Ingredients & How-to

To prepare this crustless zucchini pie, we are going to need zucchinis, eggs, onion, leek, fresh mint, olive oil, yogurt, self-raising flour, baking powder, feta cheese, hard cheese, salt and pepper. So let’s get started!

01. The key ingredient for this recipe is of course zucchinis. Since it’s zucchini season right now where I am, my vegetable garden has been very generous providing loads and loads of zucchinis to make some of my favorite recipes. So take out your zucchinis and let’s start grating. I use around 4 medium sized zucchinis for the crustless pie and grate them using a hand grater or a food processor.

If the zucchinis have a lot of flesh and it’s too watery when grated, then I suggest you hand press them to get rid of any excess juice. Alternatively you could add the grated zucchinis in a hand towel and squeeze out some of the juices. A similar techinique to the one I’m using for my tzatziki recipe with cucumbers.

02. Next, I place the onion, which has been peeled and quartered, along with half a cup of olive oil, into a mini chopper. I pulse the ingredients for a few seconds until they transform into a thick paste. This mixture is then incorporated into the bowl containing the grated zucchinis.

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03. Then I chop a leek coarsely and a bunch of fresh mint, around 8-10 leaves should be enough. If you are not a big fan of mint, then you could substitute it with some parsley or cilantro.

04. I add everything to the bowl along with 4 eggs and give it a good stir with a spatula to break down the eggs and mix all the ingredients well.

05. Next, it’s time for the yogurt. I like to use Greek yogurt as it’s quite thick, but you could try it with regular yogurt. You might just need to add a couple more tablespoons of flour, as regular yogurt is more watery. As for the seasoning, I like to keep it simple with just some salt and freshly ground pepper. Try not to overdo it with the salt though, as we will be adding some cheese to the zucchini pie later on, one teaspoon should be enough.

06. To hold everything together, I’m adding some self-rising flour along with a teaspoon of baking powder to help the pie to rise and become more light and fluffy. If you prefer to use plain flour, then you could add the same quantity and add 3 teaspoons of baking powder to help the batzina pie to rise.

07. Finally, it’s time for the cheese! I like to add a mix of feta cheese and aged goats cheese. For the feta cheese, I use 1 block, that’s around 200gr / 7oz, which I crumble with my fingers into the mixture. For the goats cheese, I use around 100gr/3.5oz and I just grate it and add it to the mixture. If it’s difficult to get hold of goats cheese then you could substitute it with some cheddar or manchego or parmesan cheese.

08. Before adding the mixture to the tray, I add some olive oil so the batzina pie won’t stick to the bottom after being cooked and spread it around evenly. Then, I add the mixture and drizzle with some more olive oil on top to get a nice crust when baked. The tray that I’m using is about 10x13 inches or 25x33 cm, or you could use a pyrex dish if you prefer.

Substitutions

• Instead of self-rising flour, you could use plain flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
• Instead of aged goats cheese, you could use cheddar, manchego or parmesan cheese.
• You could substitute the fresh mint with fresh parsley or cilantro.
• Instead of Greek yogurt, you could use regular yogurt and add one more tablespoon of flour to the mixture.

Serving suggestions

You can serve this crustless zucchini pie or batzina for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner with some salad on the side like a Greek salad or a mediterranean white bean salad. It’s so versatile! It’s also easy to pack and a great option for taking out on walks and eating on the go.

If you are planning to share the zucchini pie with little ones, then I recommend not adding any salt to the mixture, as salt intake should be monitored and kept to a minimum for young children and especially babies under 12 months. It’s ideal for little ones as it’s quite soft in the middle with a thin crust, making it easy to eat and hold with their little hands.

Storage

For optimal storage, transfer the zucchini pie to an airtight container and keep it refrigerated, where it can remain fresh for up to a week. When I crave a slice, I simply take one directly from the fridge and enjoy it cold. Alternatively, you can warm it up by placing it in the microwave for a minute or two.

While I haven’t personally experimented with freezing the zucchini pie, I wouldn’t recommend it as it may become excessively watery and lose its desired texture upon thawing. However, if you do decide to give it a try, I would love to hear about your experience. Please feel free to leave a comment below the recipe to let me know how it turns out!

FAQ

• Can I freeze crustless zucchini pie? I wouldn’t recommend freezing a zucchini pie as it will get very watery and soggy upon thawing.

• What kind of cheese can I add to a crustless zucchini pie? The best thing is to add a combination of soft and hard cheese. I like to add some crumbled feta cheese that will give some nice texture to each bite along with some hard cheese like graviera, manchego or cheddar that will give more flavor to the zucchini pie.

• Can babies have zucchini pie? Yes, the crustless zucchini pie is ideal for babies and children. It’s packed with goodness, and it’s quite soft and easy to hold with their little hands. If you are serving it to babies under 12 months, I recommend avoiding adding any salt when preparing the pie as the cheese has already enough salt.

• Can I use plain flour instead of self-raising flour? Yes, you can use the same amount of plain flour instead of self-raising flour and just add 2 more teaspoons of baking powder to the mixture.

• How do you prevent a soggy mess when cooking zucchini Zucchinis with a lot of flesh can be very watery and result in a soggy pie. To prevent this, you could squeeze any excess juice with your hand after grating the zucchinis. Another method is to add the grated zucchinis in a towel and tighten it until most of the juices are out or use a sieve and press the grated to zucchini.