adb shell setprop persist.fbtft none
This setting persists across reboots, as you would expect.
Note: if you're configured your RPi to output through the touchscreen, and you disconnect the touchscreen (when the RPi is powered off, of course), then after rebooting the RPi may still try to output through the nonexistent screen. This bug is not yet understood and seems to be a kernel issue. But you can still follow the directions above to revert to HDMI output.