Italian Style Sausage & Spinach Pie - Low Carb

This evening I made an Italian Style Sausage & Spinach Pie that was low carb, wheat free, gluten free and yummylicious! It's filled with browned hot Italian chicken sausage (removed from the casings), sauteed baby spinach, organic oven roasted tomatoes, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses...so what's not to love? It's held together with a batter made with eggs, ricotta, half-and-half and almond flour which gives it a different texture than a traditional "eggy" quiche. It forms a moist bread-like crust that holds all the delicious fillings in place. It turned out delicious and will provide a quick and easy lunch for me for the rest of the week. I snapped a few photos of this evening's "pie" below. Eating low carb and wheat free is so delicious. Enjoy!

Italian Style Sausage & Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

1/2 pound cooked crumbled sausage (I used hot Italian chicken sausage)
8 ounces fresh baby spinach, wilted, drained and coarsely chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
3 tablespoons oven roasted tomatoes packed in oil (or sun dried tomatoes)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
6 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half (or cream)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.  Lightly spray a deep dish 10-inch pie dish with olive oil spray.  

In the prepared baking dish, add layer of sausage; top with layer of spinach and season with red pepper flakes. Add tomatoes and top with mozzarella cheese. 

Whisk ricotta cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs and half-and-half; whisk in baking powder and almond flour until smooth. Pour batter mixture evenly over the top of sausage and spinach mixture. Gently jiggle pie dish back and forth to help batter work down through the filling. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 40 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown. Pie is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit about 5 minutes before cutting.

*Note: For a less spicy pie, use mild sausage and omit red pepper flakes.