An Easy Quiche Recipe For Entertaining or Everyday

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Eggs, cheese, and cream are my trio of old faithfuls and are the basic ingredients in my family-pleasing quiche recipe.

Quiche may sound fancy but it’s one of the easiest recipes to make. Make quiche in a tart shell, pie crust, phyllo dough or sans crust. Quiche is versatile, serving a few or a crowd. A quiche recipe can transition from breakfast to brunch to lunch to supper. This baked egg pie fares well for weekend guests or casual entertaining.

My master quiche recipe is simplicity itself. Make good things happen by adding cooked meat, greens, veggies, and herbs. The same filling can be used in any size quiche recipe. Trendy cooking magazines say quiche is back. In my world, it never left!

Master Quiche Recipe

Use your favorite cheese. I’ve made quiche with cheddar, Swiss, brie, Italian and Mexican blend cheeses. This quiche recipe makes a nine inch or 10-inch pie. Use a pre-made shell or my no-fail crust recipe.

Custard Filling Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups whipping cream, or 1 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half & half
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 8 oz./2 cups cheese, shredded (I like to use 1/4 cup Parmesan as part of the 2 cups.)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Beat eggs until fluffy, then beat in cream and seasonings until mixture is one color.
3. Sprinkle cheese in bottom of a pastry-lined pan.
4. Pour egg mixture over.
5. Bake on the bottom shelf for 50 to 60 minutes or until puffed all over and golden. If the crust is browning too quickly, tuck a collar of foil around it.
6. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when quiche is done.

Quiche Recipe Basics

Put cheese in the crust first, add-ins second, and filling last. This also helps prevent filling from leaking into crust.

Bake a large quiche on the bottom rack. This helps bake the crust from the bottom up where the heat is concentrated, making it less prone to leaks from the filling.

Individual and mini-quiches can be baked on the middle rack.

Fun Egg Fact: A ratio of one large egg per half cup of dairy is a good rule. This gives a fluffy egg filling. I have experimented with less and more dairy, but have always gone back to the one large egg per half cup of dairy.

Dairy: Does Cream Make a Difference?

Heavy whipping cream is ideal for a quiche recipe. A blend of half & half and cream gives good results, too.

The less fat in the dairy, the less creamy your filling will be.

Lighten Up

Use a mixer or whisk to whip the egg mixture until frothy. This makes for a stable filling with a lighter texture.

Cook Add-Ins Ahead

Vegetables, greens, and meat need to be pre-cooked before adding to the egg mixture. Otherwise, their moisture can make the filling runny. Tomatoes are the exception.

Pie Crust Baking

To blind bake or not? That’s the question of many a cook when learning to make quiche.

Blind baking is a process where you pre-bake your crust a bit so the filling won’t leak through. This is easy to do but takes a little time. Put a sheet of parchment paper or foil on top of the unbaked crust and cover it with pie weights or dry beans. Lentils work well. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Remove beans. Let cool before filling. No, you can’t cook the beans afterward. Save them in a jar for blind baking only.

If you don’t want to blind bake, that’s really okay. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. A blind-baked crust will always be crisper.

What Size Pie Pan?

• For a large quiche, use a nine inch or 10 inch pie pan.
• For individual quiches, use muffin tins or ovenproof ramekins.
• For mini appetizer quiches, use mini-muffin tins.

Classic Quiche Lorraine

Use Gruyere cheese, shredded, six to eight slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, and one cup sautéed onions or leeks or a half cup sautéed shallots. I like to add several gratings of nutmeg along with the seasonings, but this is optional. Bake as directed above.

Personal Pan Quiches

These are nice for a brunch or luncheon. Bake in regular size muffin pans or ovenproof ramekins. Spray pans to prevent sticking. Fill three-quarters full.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until puffed and golden. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when quiche is done.

Mini Quiches

These are yummy as an appetizer. I like to use phyllo dough cups for mini quiches. Spray pans to prevent sticking. Fill 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean when quiche is done.

Change It Up

Go from basic to custom with these suggestions. Except for tomatoes and herbs, add-ins should be cooked first.

Don’t make the mistake I made with my first couple of quiches by adding way too much meat and vegetables. This not only affected the texture and flavor, but it wouldn’t all fit in the pan.

One-fourth to a half-cup of total add-ins per egg (not counting cheese) is a good balance. A little more, or less, is OK, but don’t overdo.

Add in Suggestions:

• Ham
• Lobster or crab, shredded
• Rotisserie chicken, shredded
• Bacon, crumbled
• Sausage, crumbled
• Asparagus, cut up
• Greens: Chopped spinach, chard, radicchio or kale
• Mushrooms, sliced
• Potatoes, shredded
• Shallots or onions, sliced
• Scallions, sliced thin
• Tomato slices
• Two tablespoons fresh herbs or about two teaspoons dried herbs.

Leftovers

• Refrigerate quiche for several days. Leftovers microwave well.
• Freeze quiche and reheat, lightly tented with foil in preheated 325-degree oven until hot throughout.

No-Fail Pie Crust

I had a hard time learning to make a good pie crust. Sound familiar? This recipe was given to me years ago by a television colleague. The addition of egg and vinegar gives you a sturdy, yet flaky, crust. Just don’t overwork the dough, and you’ll be fine.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chilled shortening (I use Crisco sticks.)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice cold water
• 1 tablespoon clear vinegar

Instructions

1. Whisk together dry ingredients.
2. Cut shortening into half-inch pieces. Scatter over flour mixture and using a pastry blender or fork, cut shortening into flour until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Make a well in the center and pour in beaten egg, water, and vinegar.
4. Stir with a fork until mixture comes together. You should be able to pick up the dough with your hands.
5. Divide in half or thirds. Flatten into round disks. I like to freeze dough about 10 to 15 minutes to chill. (Freeze the dough for up to three months, thawing in refrigerator or counter).
6. Roll out on a lightly floured surface from the center out. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top so the dough doesn’t stick to rolling pin. Roll into a circle two inches wider than the pie pan.
7. Fit into pan and trim edges.

“Eggstra” Ways With Eggs

Since our chickens lay eggs regularly, I use eggs in lots of my family’s meals. My best frittata recipe includes them as basic ingredients. And my picnic chicken would not have the crackling crisp crust without the addition of eggs in the batter coating.

Cloud Bread

Another way to use extra eggs is in this recipe. Kids love it. Like biting into a cloud!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, room temperature, separated
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 oz./4 tablespoons cream cheese, softened, not low-fat or whipped
• A bit of organic sugar – I use a teaspoon.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar together until stiff peaks form.
4. Mix egg yolks, cream cheese, and sugar in a separate bowl until mixture is very smooth and has no visible cream cheese.
5. Gently fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture, taking care not to deflate egg whites.
6. Use an ice cream scoop to make six-inch clouds on a baking sheet, two inches apart.
7. Bake until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.