Quiche

My favorite Quiche recipe! It’s made with a buttery, crispy and flaky pie crust along with a rich egg filling and some delicious mix-ins including ham, cheese and herbs! It’s perfect for weekends and holidays.

What is Quiche?

It is a French tart made with a simple pastry crust (with flour, butter and water) that is filled with a savory egg custard. If often includes veggies, meats, seafood, cheese or herbs mixed in as well.

It’s a classic timeless recipe and it always makes for an impressive brunch (or lunch). You’ll love leftovers too!

This ham and cheese version is one of my favorites but the mix-in options are endless. You can just replace the ham with 2 cups of other fillings of your choice.

Just stick with the base custard recipe: 5 eggs to 1 1/4 cups heavy cream.

You can also use half and half in place of cream but it’s not quite as rich and the crust doesn’t seem to stay as crisp.

Frittata vs. Quiche

A frittata is an egg based dish similar to an omelette and has no crust. Generally frittatas are filled with pre-cooked vegetables and they’re started cooking on the stovetop until eggs are set on the bottom then finished in the oven.

A quiche has a crust and is usually richer and less eggy than a frittata (though the quiches I make still tend to err on the side of eggy, I prefer the flavor and texture this way). It is completely oven baked.

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Variations

There are so many ways to make it. Here are a few of the most popular options. Omit the ham then stir in one of these options into the egg mixture instead.

Quiche Lorraine: Cook 8 oz bacon until crisp, drain then chop. Also add 1/8 tsp nutmeg to recipe.

Spinach Quiche: Defrost 1 (10 oz) bag spinach. Ring dry to remove excess liquid.

Broccoli or Asparagus Quiche: Use 2 cups small chopped steamed broccoli or asparagus.

Mushroom Quiche: Saute 8 oz sliced mushrooms in butter or olive oil until shrunken and golden brown.

Make it Crustless

• To make a crustless quiche simply omit the crust from the recipe.
• Spray the pie dish with non-stick cooking spray.
• Bake 350 for about 35 minutes or until center is just set.

Use a Store-Bought Crust

• For an easy quiche recipe you can use a store-bought, frozen deep-dish pie crust.
• If doing so thaw 10 minutes. Pierce bottom and sides all over with a fork.
• Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes until dry (seal up an cracks with a mixture of 1 Tbsp water 1 Tbsp flour, bake a minute longer).
• Reduce custard mixture to 1 cup heavy cream and 4 large eggs. Bake with filling at 350 degrees.
• Reduce bake time by about 5 minutes or so.

Quiche Recipe Ingredients

• All-purpose flour: I prefer unbleached all-purpose flour as it has a better flavor than bleached.
• Granulated sugar: This helps tenderize and brown the crust. Only a hint is needed.
• Salt: The crust has a decent amount but you can definitely reduce slightly as desired.
• Unsalted butter: We use plenty of this for a rich and buttery pie crust.
• Ice water: Making sure the water is super cold is a must. It helps keep the butter cold, in turn it doesn’t melt and you end with a flakier pie crust.
• Eggs: Pasture raised eggs are best (and it’s a better quality of life for the chickens who lay them as well).
• Heavy cream: Whipping cream works great as well.
• Ham: You can use leftover ham from a ham roast, ham steak, thick-cut deli ham, or pre-cut cubed ham.
• Shredded cheese: Cheddar, swiss, or gruyere are great choices here.
• Green onions: If you want a milder flavor only use the greens for slightly bolder flavor also include the whites (which is what I do).
• Parsley: This just adds a hint of extra flavor. You can omit if you don’t have any on hand.
• Salt and pepper: Season to taste.

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How to Make Quiche Crust

1. Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar and salt.
2. Cut in butter: Add butter and using a pastry cutter cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse meal with some slightly larger clumps of butter throughout.
3. Toss in water: Drizzle in water 1 Tbsp at a time, tossing and mixing after each addition, and adding just enough water until mixture is just moistened enough (when pressed together with your hand it should hold together).
4. Shape dough into disk, chill: Dump mixture onto a clean work surface then press together well and shape into a 6-inch disk, cover and chill 1 hour in fridge.
5. Roll out dough, transfer to pie dish: Roll chilled dough out onto a floured surface to about a 13-inch round. Roll and wrap dough around a rolling pin then transfer to a 9 to 9 1/2-inch deep dish pie pan.
6. Shape into pan: Unroll dough into pan then shape into pan. Trim uneven edges while leaving about 1-inch overhang, fold overhang underneath. Decorate edges as desired.
7. Chill: Freeze dough for 20 minutes or refrigerate for 1 hour. Meanwhile move oven rack one level below center preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Cover crust, fill with weights: Cover crust with aluminum foil, pressing directly against bottom and side surfaces and leaving foil overhang to drape over top of crust to prevent over-browning. Fill with dry beans, sugar or pie weights.
9. Bake, covered: Set crust on a baking sheet, then bake in preheated oven 25 minutes.
10. Remove cover, continue to bake: Remove foil and beans, pierce bottom and sides all over with a fork and continue to bake until crust appears dried, about 10 minutes longer.

How to Make Quiche Filling

1. Blend eggs together: In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs with a fork until blended.
2. Mix in remaining ingredients: Add heavy cream, ham, cheese, green onions, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir mixture until blended.
3. Pour into blind baked crust: Pour mixture into pie crust.
4. Bake just until set: Bake in preheated 350 degree oven (one level below center) until center of quiche is just barely set, about 45 – 55 minutes. If needed tent crust edges with a pie shield or a foil ring to prevent excessive browning during the last 15 minutes.
5. Slice and serve: Let rest for a few minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Can you make ahead or freeze quiche?

• Yes prepared quiche refrigerates well for 3 days or freezes well for 3 months.
• Cool before freezing.
• If freezing wrap in foil then store in an airtight container. If refrigerating simply wrap top with foil.
• Thaw frozen quiche for 1 day when ready to serve.
• Reheat cold quiche in a 325 degree oven until heated through.

Quiche Mix-ins Ideas

I’ve listed lots of ideas already, but let’s bring them all together along with the others, for a quick list to refer to when needed.

• COOKED MEATS: Ham, bacon, chicken, turkey, breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, chorizo, salami, pastrami, smoked salmon, or crab meat.
• VEGETABLES: Mushrooms, grape tomatoes (or sun-dried), bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, olives, kale, spinach, radicchio, arugula, peas, potatoes, zucchini onion or shallot. Note that the vegetables should be cooked beforehand by sautéing, steaming or roasting.
• CHEESES: Cheddar, Swiss, gruyere, Monterrey jack or pepper jack, mozzarella, Romano, parmesan, goat cheese, feta, provolone, gouda, fontina, or ricotta.
• HERBS and SEASONINGS: Basil, parsley, chives, tarragon, dill, thyme, marjoram, chervil, oregano, red pepper flakes, paprika, or nutmeg.

Helpful Tips

• Blind bake crust before filling for a non-soggy crust.
• Use a glass or metal pie pan not ceramic for a crispier crust.
• Bake quiche just until center is set. A toothpick inserted should be free of wet batter, though quiche may just barely wiggle slightly.
• Remember there will be a little carryover cooking upon removal from oven so careful not to over-bake so it’s not rubbery.

What to Serve with Quiche

• Fruit Salad
• Roasted Potatoes
• Tomato Salad or Avocado Salad
• Tomato Soup

More Brunch Favorites

• Baked Oatmeal
• Crepes
• Eggs Benedict
• French Toast