It’s savory, hearty and works for breakfast, brunch, or a light dinner: it’s quiche! A good quiche recipe can move mountains (we think). We’ve become obsessed with honing the perfect recipe and discovering all the best tips and fillings. This quiche has a simple filling of onion, garlic, spinach and sundried tomato, and it’s encased in a golden flaky pastry crust. Try this filling idea or use it as a base for your own variation (see below). Here’s what to do!
How to make quiche (overview)
A quiche is a French tart filled with custard and savory fillings. It’s become a classic brunch recipe in the Western world, stuffed with fillings from cheese to spinach to bacon (quiche Lorraine). This classic quiche recipe comes together in less than 2 hours, made completely from scratch with a homemade quiche crust. Or, you can use store-bought refrigerated pie crust as a shortcut. Here’s what to expect:
Quiche recipe filling
This quiche recipe has a basic formula that you can use for creating filling variations of your choice! It’s got a custard base, then various vegetable fillings. If you want to add more volume of veggies, you can remove one egg from the mixture (see below). Keep in mind that most vegetables should be sauteed, but some you can use raw (green onion, sundried tomato, and bell pepper). Here’s what’s in this basic quiche recipe filling:
Custard: 5 large eggs, ¾ cup milk, ½ cup heavy cream, ½ teaspoon each dried mustard and oregano, salt and pepper Sauteed vegetables: Butter, ¼ cup minced white onion, 2 garlic cloves, 3 cups baby spinach Raw vegetables: 2 green onions, ⅓ cup sundried tomatoes Cheese: ¾ cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
For the quiche crust
The best way to make a quiche recipe is with homemade quiche crust! However, you can use purchased refrigerated pie dough if you prefer. There are pros and cons to each method.
Homemade crust holds its shape better and tastes better. This quiche crust tastes so much better than store-bought: it’s more buttery and flaky. It can also hold a crimped crust better (at least with the purchased brands we’ve tested!). Purchased crust is faster, but can lose its shape. Purchased crust works too! It’s not quite as delicious, but it comes close. We’ve had some issues with refrigerated pie dough holding its shape, so we recommend using the shape where you press the fork tines into the crust (see photo below).
Blind baking the crust is key
The biggest key to making a quiche? Blind bake the crust! This means you bake the pastry crust without the filling first to avoid a soggy bottom. This is essential with quiche because the filling is so liquid (but not required with say, apple pie which has a chunkier filling). Here’s how to blind bake a crust:
Prick holes with a fork all over the crust. This is called docking: it helps keep the crust from puffing up while in the oven without filling. (Make sure to dock gently so you don’t create holes in the dough!) Add parchment paper then pie weights, dried beans, or rice! Pour them right into the crust. We use two sets of these pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes at 400°F, then reduce the heat to 350°F. Remove the pie weights. Remove the weights and bake 20 to 25 more minutes until the crust is golden. Then the quiche is ready to fill.
How to make a pie crust shield
For this quiche recipe, you’ll also need to use a pie crust shield. This tool prevents pie crust from burning in the oven by covering just the crust, allowing the filling to bake normally. There are two options for a pie crust shield:
Make a pie crust shield with aluminum foil. Cut a hole in the center of a large sheet of foil that’s the diameter of your pie plate. The foil will rest on the crust, but allow the filling to bake uncovered. Here’s a video with instructions for more details. Or, buy a metal pie crust shield. Here’s a link to buy a pie crust shield online.
Quiche recipe ideas (variations)
There are so many different ways to fill a quiche! Here are a few classic flavors: Spinach: Use 4 eggs instead of 5 and increase to 1 teaspoon salt in the custard. For the filling, keep the onion and garlic. Add 8 ounces defrosted frozen spinach with all liquid squeezed out (no need to saute). See this Spinach Quiche recipe. Or add mushrooms; see this Spinach Mushroom Quiche. Broccoli: Use 4 eggs instead of 5. For the filling, saute 2 cups very small broccoli florets with the onion and garlic and an extra ¼ teaspoon salt. See this Broccoli Quiche recipe. Asparagus: Use 4 eggs instead of 5. For the filling, saute 4 ounces asparagus (about 8 thin stalks) with the onion and garlic, and an extra ¼ teaspoon salt. Use smoked gouda cheese instead of cheddar and top with feta crumbles instead of Parmesan. See this Asparagus Quiche recipe. Breakfast quiche: Use 4 eggs instead of 5 and increase to 1 teaspoon salt in the custard. Remove the onion and garlic. Add 1 cup (4 ounces) frozen or refrigerated hashbrowns to the bottom of the crust. Top with 2 sliced green onions, ¼ cup finely diced red pepper and feta cheese crumbles instead of Parmesan. See this Breakfast Quiche recipe.
Make it a meal
Wondering how to make quiche into a meal? Go to What to Serve with Quiche for easy side dish ideas! To pair with this classic quiche, we’d recommend green beans almondine or simple carrot salad.
This quiche recipe is…
Vegetarian. 5 from 1 review
