This is a perfect base quiche recipe and it’s all baked in a super flaky homemade pie crust. Use a combination of milk and heavy cream for the richest, creamiest filling and add your favorites such as bacon, feta cheese, ham, white cheddar cheese, crab meat, or spinach. You can also try my mini quiche recipe in a mini muffin pan, too!
Often over-looked and underrated, quiche is a cornerstone brunch recipe. But don’t limit this dish to brunch! Quiche is fantastic for lunch, dinner, Easter supper, baby showers, bridal showers, potlucks, tea parties, and so much more. It’s my go-to food when I need a quick recipe that’s delicious, crowd-pleasing, and adaptable to what I have in the refrigerator.
This easy quiche recipe is simple, versatile, and consistently good.
What is Quiche?
Quiche is a savory egg custard baked in a flaky pie crust shell. Though you can certainly make a crustless quiche, too! The base of quiche filling are milk, cream, and eggs. The add-ins vary and can include meats, seafood, cheese, spices, and vegetables. One of the more popular quiche recipes is Quiche Lorraine, which combines bacon and cheese. Today I’m showing you how to make the perfect quiche with any add-ins you choose!
Video Tutorial: How to Make Homemade Quiche
The Texture of a Perfect Quiche
Quiche is egg pie. But “egg pie” doesn’t sound particularly appealing, does it? Let’s talk about the texture of a perfect quiche, the kind I’m teaching you how to make. Perfect quiche is creamy and soft with textural contrast from ham, crispy bacon, or sautéed vegetables. Each forkful is undeniably rich, but has a light and delicate mouthfeel. Think of the main ingredient being milk/cream, not eggs.
Quiche is not a frittata with crust. Frittata recipes (and their mini counterparts—breakfast egg muffins) use more eggs and less milk, so they are sturdy and solid, while quiche is moist and melts in your mouth.
Overview: How to Make Quiche
So now that we properly defined quiche and its texture, let’s dive into a perfect quiche recipe. I love quiche, so I’m REALLY excited about this!
- Blind Bake Your Pie Crust – I teach you in my how to blind bake pie crust tutorial, but scroll further down for a quick review.
- Prepare Add-Ins – This includes cooking meats and vegetables, shredding cheese, etc.
- Combine Eggs & Milk/Cream – Beat together, then whisk in the add-ins.
- Bake – Pour filling into crust and bake until just about set, at least 45 minutes.
Let it cool a bit, then slice and serve. To freeze, cool baked quiche completely, then cover tightly with a couple sheets of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Quiche Recipe Ingredients
This quiche recipe requires:
- Pie Crust – Don’t skimp on flavor and texture—make homemade pie crust. My favorite pie crust recipe is straightforward and you can make it ahead of time and freeze. One of my best baking tips is to always have pie dough in the freezer!
- Heavy Cream and Milk – For the best tasting quiche, use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. (Or simply use half-and-half.) Using just heavy cream produces an overly thick filling. Whole milk is great, but a combo of heavy cream and milk is better.
- Eggs – Use 4 eggs per 1 cup of milk. Some quiche recipes throw in an extra egg yolk or two, but I don’t find it necessary with the ratio of ingredients in my recipe.
- Salt and Pepper – I don’t add salt to the filling if I’m using a salty add-in, such as cheese or ham. However, if you are making a plain quiche I recommend both.
Add-Ins
Most quiche add-ins should be pre-cooked and can still be warm when mixing into the egg filling. I recommend patting them dry before using because excess moisture will create a soupy quiche. Spinach, kale, bell pepper, and tomatoes can be fresh, but you can definitely sauté them first if desired. Some of my favorite quiche add-ins:
- goat cheese
- cooked cubed ham
- bacon
- caramelized onions
- sautéed mushrooms
- sautéed chopped asparagus
- chopped fresh parsley
Stick to 1/2 – 1 cup cheese and up to 2 cups vegetables and/or meat add-ins. (Fresh spinach packs down, so you can go heavy on it.)
Partially Blind Bake the Pie Crust
Pie recipes call for a raw pie crust, a fully baked pie crust, or a partially baked pie crust. For example, apple pie bakes the filling and crust at the same time. Coconut cream pie has a no-bake filling, so it requires a fully baked pie crust shell. Quiche, on the other hand, can bake in a raw pie crust but it will likely taste soggy. So let’s partially pre-bake it, also known as a blind bake pie crust.
- Make pie dough ahead of time, then refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to make the pie. Pie crust must chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out.
- Roll it out, then fit into your 9-inch pie dish. Crimp or flute the edges.
- Chill the shaped pie crust for at least 30 minutes. This prevents shrinking. Remember that pie dough must be cold.
- Fill with pie weights. As the pie dough bakes, its fat will melt. The melting fat causes the pie crust to shrink down the sides of the pie dish. To prevent the pie dough from completely losing its shape, weigh it down with pie weights. Carefully line the pie dough with parchment paper first, then pour in pie weights or even dry beans. (Note: 2 packs of these pie weights is needed!)
- Bake until the edges are lightly brown, about 15 minutes.
- Remove pie weights, then prick the crust with a fork.
- Bake crust for about 8 more minutes.
- Fill with quiche filling, then bake the quiche.
Pie crust edges usually begin over-browning, so a pie crust shield is helpful. I always recommend a pie shield with any/every pie recipe.
Quiche Recipes:
Now that you’re fully prepped with all this quiche info, let’s bake! Here are 3 new quiche recipes for you and each are pictured above. Follow the quiche baking instructions in the recipe below. Leave out the added 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk these add-ins into the egg/cream mixture in step 4. After baking the quiche, top with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan cheese or any cheese used in the filling. Feel free to add a small handful of fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, dill, or basil. I served each of these with homemade hollandaise sauce and definitely didn’t regret it. 🙂
- Crab, Old Bay, & Gruyere: 1 and 1/2 cups fresh jumbo lump crabmeat (it’s sold as “fresh” but it is always pre-cooked), 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese, 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, dash of hot sauce.
- Bacon, White Cheddar, & Scallion: 6-8 cooked and crumbled bacon slices, 1 cup white cheddar cheese, 3 Tablespoons chopped scallion.
- Ham, Spinach, & Feta: 1 cup cooked and cubed ham, 3 cups chopped fresh spinach (sauté for a few minutes with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat), 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.
I have these favorite quiche recipes too:
- Spinach Cheese Quiche – simple & classic!
- Goat Cheese Spinach Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche
- Mini Quiche
Which flavor combinations will you try? I’d love to hear some new ideas because I bake quiche on the regular. Love having one in the freezer. Have fun customizing your own!!
What to Serve with Quiche
Here’s what I serve with quiche. It’s usually 1 or more of the following:
- Fruit Salad, Bacon, or Sausage
- Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
- Nutella-Stuffed Muffins
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Muffins or Banana Muffins
- Strawberry Bacon Salad
- New York-Style Crumb Cake
For even more inspiration, see 18+ of my favorite Easter brunch recipes—which includes this quiche, of course!
PrintQuiche Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is a perfect base quiche recipe and it’s all baked in a super flaky homemade pie crust. Use a combination of milk and heavy cream for the richest, creamiest filling and add your favorites such as bacon, feta cheese, ham, white cheddar cheese, crab meat or spinach.
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked Flaky Pie Crust (what I used) or All Butter Pie Crust*
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk*
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream*
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper*
- 1 cup shredded or crumbled cheese such as feta, cheddar, goat cheese, or gruyere
- up to 2 cups add-ins (see recipe note)
- optional toppings for serving: extra cheese, chopped herbs, hollandaise sauce, & freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin the quiche. Make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks of chilled dough (use the 2nd pie crust for another recipe). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is completely smooth. To make a lovely edge, I do not trim excess dough around the edges. Instead, fold the excess dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. Chill the pie crust in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days. Cover the pie crust with plastic wrap if chilling for longer than 30 minutes.
- While the crust is chilling, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Partially blind bake: Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with pie weights or dried beans. Make sure the weights are evenly distributed around the pie dish. Bake until the edges of the crust are starting to brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove pie from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick holes all around the bottom crust with a fork. Return the pie crust to the oven. Bake until the bottom crust is just beginning to brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (Crust can still be warm when you pour in the filling. You can partially pre-bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.)
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
- In a large bowl with a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper together on high speed until completely combined, about 1 minute. Whisk in add-ins and then pour into crust.
- Bake the quiche until the center is just about set, about 45-55 minutes. Don’t over-bake. Use a pie crust shield to prevent the pie crust edges from over-browning. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. Top with optional toppings before slicing and serving, if desired. Or you can cool the quiche completely before serving—it’s fantastic at room temperature!
- This quiche makes great leftovers! Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The pie dough can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can pre-bake the crust ahead of time too. See end of step 2. To freeze, cool baked quiche completely, then cover tightly with a couple sheets of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20-25 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-Inch Pie Dish | Pie Weights | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Whisk | Pie Crust Shield
- Pie Crust: Both linked pie crust recipes make 2 crusts. You only need 1 crust for this pie, so freeze the 2nd half for another use.
- Mini Quiche: Here is my mini quiche recipe and instructions.
- Whole Milk & Heavy Cream: Use this combination for best taste. If desired, use 1 cup of half-and-half instead.
- Cheese: Some favorites include feta cheese, goat cheese, cheddar cheese, white cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, and gruyere.
- Add-Ins: Add up to 2 cups add-ins including vegetables and meat/seafood. Most quiche add-ins should be pre-cooked and can still be warm when mixing into the egg filling. Pat dry prior to mixing in. See blog post for more information.
- Added Salt: Reduce or leave out salt if your add-ins and cheese are particularly salty. For example, in the 3 recipes listed in the next note, I don’t even add salt!
- Quiche Recipes: Leave out added salt, then whisk in these ingredients in step 4. Crab, Old Bay, & Gruyere: 1 and 1/2 cups fresh jumbo lump crabmeat (it’s sold as “fresh” but it is always pre-cooked), 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese, 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning, and dash of hot sauce. Bacon, White Cheddar, & Scallion: 6-8 cooked and crumbled bacon slices, 1 cup white cheddar cheese, and 3 Tablespoons chopped scallion. Ham, Spinach, & Feta: 1 cup cooked and cubed ham, 3 cups chopped fresh spinach (sauté for a few minutes with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat), and 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.
Why is it necessary to chill the dough for 2 hours and then another 30 minutes? Most recipes say to chill 30 minutes. King Arthur even says if it’s chilled longer than 30 minutes to let it sit at room temp for a bit first before using.
Just curious what the benefits to chilling for longer time are, especially since the recipe explicitly says to do so and that it’s important
Hi Bethy! It’s almost impossible to roll out the pie dough without chilling it for at least 2 hours beforehand. Feel free to use another recipe that’s quicker if you’d like. And the 30 minutes of chill time in the blind-baking instructions is important so that it doesn’t lost its shape while blind-baking without the filling. Hopefully this helps. Thank you!
Loved it. Might be the best quiche I’ve ever tasted. Wonderful texture.
If I make regular muffin sized quiche do I need to precook the crust? Also, can I make this ahead of time and just warm in the microwave?
Hi Christina, I recommend making our mini quiche recipe! No need to pre-bake the crust. For best results, reheat in the oven at 300°F (149°C) for 15 minutes or until warmed through. Hope you enjoy them!
I love your recipes!!!!
I substituted sour cream for the heavy cream and it was delicious! I went the cheddar, feta, spinach, mushroom and bacon route. Yum! Apparently real men do eat quiche, cause mine had two helpings!
i have this twice and it is absolutly wonderful….
This recipe is perfection. I was cleaning out the freezer and found leftover ham from Easter. I used this recipe to whip up a broccoli, ham and cheese quiche. This is my forever “go to” recipe for quiche now. Thank you!!
OMG – what a delicious quiche. I filled my with zucchini, broccoli, onions, garlic and gruyere and cheddar cheese. My first quiche and pie crust from scratch. I will definitely make this recipe again. The tips were all very helpful. This pandemic has changed me from a never baker to a sometime baker.
Really delicious. Super easy to build off this recipe and make different variations. I added pieces of American cheese, bacon, ham and scallions and it was so so good. I think the American cheese really worked in addition to the shredded cheese because it melts super nicely.
I’m a cooking husband and my wife loves me for it! I’ve tried several of these recipes and they’re all good. For my taste, I use two thick green union stalks, cooked and crumbled bacon, cooked and squeezed spinach, swiss cheese, white pepper, and pinch of nutmeg. At times when I don’t have crust ready I use those ‘Pop ‘n Fresh’ dough crescents. You must cook those for 8 minutes at 350 then press them flat, add your filling and cook as normal. Thanks for your recipes!!!!
I sauteed garden-fresh kale with lots of garlic and layered that with fresh tomato slices and chedder/gruyere/dollops of cheese ball. Now I’m making balsamic squash and onion pie with swiss cheese (I’m pet-sitting for people with chickens and a garden). I’ll make the mini’s for bocce club Friday. Thanks!
Hi Sally,
Can I prepare the quiche a day ahead and bake in the morning? Will the crust get too soggy overnight? It’s easier for me to prepare for my luncheon tomorrow and get everything done ahead of time, but I don’t want to mess up my quiche. I have a lot of other things to prepare also. Also making your triple chocolate cake today 🙂
Thank you
Hi Jacque, here’s what I recommend: Partially pre-bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover the cooled crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill. Follow the instructions until the end of step 2, then continue the morning of with the filling. Sounds like a delicious luncheon- hope everything is a hit!
Thank you so much for responding! I decided to not put them together the night before. The quiches and triple chocolate cake were definitely well loved and many compliments. 🙂
Hi. Followed the basic recipe, but my add in were leftover smoked turkey, steamed broccoli, sauteed onions and a combo (finishing up opened pkgs)of cheeses. Turned out perfect and was YUM!! POSITIVELY will do this again. Thanks for making it so simple.
I made this with feta, spinach and andouille sausage. It was tasty once it finally cooked. I pre-cooked the ingredients but there was too much liquid. It was soggy and took a long time to cook. I would reduce the milk/cream next time.
Hi Sharon, Thank you for trying this recipe. Next time when you pre-cook the add-ins you can drain off any excess liquid (or even pat dry if particularly wet) before adding them in.
This is my go to quiche recipe because it can be adapted for all sorts of fillings, and the info on blind baking is really helpful. I use almond milk an light cream to make it healthier.
Thanks for a great recipe, Sally.
This was delicious! I made spinach, ham, and feta and my family loved it. How can I freeze individual pieces (or 2 at a time) instead of the whole quiche? Still just wrap the pieces in tinfoil?
Hi Erin, I’m thrilled your family loved this quiche- your add-ins sound delicious! Yes, to freeze individual pieces, wrap each slice in foil.
Hi Sally.
What if you are thinking of baking this to sell in your small restaurant?
Can such procedures be followed too?
Hello, can I warm up the quiche in the microwave?
You sure can! If I have time I do enjoy reheating leftovers in the oven so that the crust doesn’t get too soft, but a microwave is just fine.
I made two…one with tomato, broccoli and bacon. The other with ham, broccoli and bacon. Both were fabulous!
Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes.
Ruth M.
Broccoli, bacon, shallots, gruyere, and parmesan with a pinch of nutmeg and some dry mustard…
I made this with spinach,bacon,bell peppers, mushrooms ,feta and cheddar cheese. It was super delicious , also I used half and half recipe set up perfect. My mother and and aunt raved about it for weeks. Thanks for the recipe
Hi Sally,
For freezing the quiche, how long should I let it thaw? I would normally just thaw it overnight in the fridge, but I wanted to see if there was any other way you might recommend.
Thanks!
Hi Janna, that’s how I usually thaw it too– just overnight in the refrigerator.
This is an apt recipe, the quiche crust was not just yummy. It just melts with every bite. Thank you for sharing .
This is the most wonderful, restaurant-quality (or better) quiche. My family are huge quiche fans and it’s turned out to be the best quiche they’ve had every time I’ve made it. The crust is delicious and flaky, the fillings are perfect and I usually make it with ham, green chile, green onions, and sauteed onions and mushrooms. It’s by far the best thing I’ve ever made in the kitchen and it is very impressive looking and tasting. If i could give this recipe more than 5 stars, I would.
Made my first ever quiche AND pie crust using this recipe and it turned out AMAZING, had to exert real self control not to scoff the lot immediately, thank you 🙂 Planning a second quiche now and I was wondering if you could use canned pumpkin as an add-in, or would it be too wet?
Hi Holly, I have never tried making a pumpkin quiche but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. The bake time may be longer. Let me know if you try it!
Hi again! I gave it a whirl 🙂 Took out an egg and used 1/2 cup of pumpkin, 1/2 cup goats cheese, cup spinach and 1/2 cup salmon. Cooked up just fine 🙂 The pumpkin flavour was lighter than I expected though, so if I try again I may use more, or perhaps add more cheese. Live and learn!
Quiche has always been a favorite of mine and this recipe is a winner! It’s not too wet nor too dry, it’s the perfect texture. I used cubed ham, sharp cheddar cheese and caramelized onion and it turned out great. I did cheat and use a frozen Marie Callender’s pie crust, other than that I followed the recipe. This will no doubt be my new go-to quiche recipe. Thank you for posting it!
I love quiche and bake it often. I use a gluten free pie shell. My only challenge is that often the filling separates from the crust a bit when baking. Any suggestions on how to prevent this separation? What is a pie crust shield and where can i buy one?
Hi Mary! A pie crust shield is (usually) a ring that sits on top of the rim of the pie dough as the pie bakes (or towards the end of bake time) and protects the taller parts of the crust from over-browning. You can find them at most kitchen stores and online. I’m unsure about the gluten free pie crust and the separation. I haven’t had that issue with the regular crust. After blind baking, you can poke the bottom of the crust with a fork before pouring the filling in. That helps!
Great quiche recipe!
I added feta, spinach, and some ham and it is delicious!
I used a premade pie crust, and I will say it is very important to blind bake so the egg doesn’t soak into the crust and make it not so crisp.
Delicious and easy! My two favourite things 🙂
Can you tell me the adjustments I would make for a deep dish? I looked through the recipe and the comments, but can’t find anything pertaining to that. Thank you for your time.
Hi Autumn, it depends on the volume that your pan can hold. I would say bake as written using these quantities, but the bake time will be shorter since the quiche will be thinner. My Cake Pan Sizes and Conversions page will be helpful here.
Good pastry tips I’ve done this with smoked salmon leek and broccoli ohhhhh so tasty
Best quiche recpie , made it with caramelized onions and broccoli, mine was delicious, many thanks …
Sally,
Thank you for sharing a very through all butter pie crust technique . I have never been successful with pies as my crust has never been successful. I made crab quiche with bacon, tarragon and spinach and it turned out beautifully. Now my fear for attempting pies has been admonished thanks to you. Stay safe.