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.
Tried this recipe a few times in the last 10 days. Loving making homemade quiches. Used store bought frozen uncooked pie crusts I found that the half andhalf cream was too heavy so I substituted with Greek non fat plain yogert. Turned out fantastic . Thanks Sally once again for your understanding recipe. Karen in Toronto
Such a great recipe and so easy to customize with what I have on hand. I usually have pre-made pie crusts in the freezer so I use them for quiche. Probably not as good as homemade but it makes it come together so much faster.
Could you mix hashbrowns into the quiche?
Hi Olivia, we haven’t tried it but fear they may get a bit soggy in the quiche. Let us know if you do!
Made this last night & I had never made one before. Trying to appeal to my 98% non-meat eating daughter can be a bit tricky sometimes. She thought it was pretty good even though I slid in some ham.
I ate 2 slices for breakfast & thought it was delicious! Thank you 🙂
Also – the creamy strawberry feta pasta salad is to die for… OMGosh!
Would like nutritional value for both the quiche & salad, if possible. Anyone have an easy way of figuring that out?
We’re so glad your family enjoyed the quiche and salad, JT! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Best recipe I have found. I used a frozen pie shell and half and half. Spinach and havarti cheese is my favorite filling.
I use Greek Yogurt in place of Heavy cream and the result is outstanding ! For the fillings, I used sauted onion slices, sauted zuchini, diced lightly goldened potatoes and tuna flakes. My husband slurped it up in minutes, it was really fantastic ! Thank’s Sally for all your recipes.
Hi Sally,
I made quiche for the first time using your recipe and it tasted great! The problem I had is that the shredded cheddar cheese ended up at the bottom of the quiche as if there were layers! What did I do wrong?
Margy
Hi Margy, that can certainly happen sometimes. If you try the recipe again, I recommend using half of the cheese in the egg filling mixture and then sprinkling the remaining cheese on top of the filling halfway through baking.
Spinach & ham*
I am now making 2 quiches for our hospice home residents. I followed the recipe-except I did add 2 more eggs & 1/4 c heavy cream & 1/4 c whole milk. I choose bacon tomato & soinach; 2nd one is combo of cheeses & hom diced cooked in pan before adding. Gonna serve with watermelon slice & strawberry pretzel dessert. I’ll let you know. I was gonna comment that this recipe reads like a short story. Giving insights, suggestions, & specifics. I love that!
Thank you Ms. Sally! Bon Appétit
This was the first time I made a quiche and it was delicious! I used guyere, spinach and bacon. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Pepper Jack cheese and ham. Here in NM we like sharp cheddar and chopped Hatch green chile.
Hi! Any chance this works with buttermilk replacing both milk and half-and-half? 🙂
Hi Judy, I haven’t personally tried it so I can’t be certain of the outcome. I do recommend sticking to the recipe for the best results though.
Recently, I made a pretty basic quiche with the addition of 3-4 raw tilapia fillets and dry ranch seasoning mix in the middle. So yummy!
Had extra Gruyère cheese and did not want it to go to waste and thought it would be good in a quiche especially since I had a pie crust in the frig.
I like the notes/tips In recipes and this helped.
My quiche: spinach, bacon, asparagus, onion, and little bit of fresh jalepeno.
Can this recipe work without a crust? Trying to cut back on the carbs?
Hi Barbara, you can skip the crust. Bake time will be a little shorter. We also have a crustless veggie quiche recipe too if you’re interested.
If I made smaller quiches, not mini though, how many would this recipe make?
Hi Grace! That would depend on the size of smaller quiches you make – let us know what you try!
I very much like the customizable part of the recipe. I had leftover cream and have been using to make multiple quiches. I am hard at work practicing different combinations of pie crust (rye, wheat, etc) using Erin Jeanne McDowell’s YouTube videos to understand the chemistry of pie crust. It’s been informative and really fun. The quiche recipes have helped me avoid food waste. This recipe is a winner for its ease and adaptability to whatever is in your fridge. Thank you
Great ease no fuss recipe. The first one I made last week I added half and half cream found it too heavy and used shredded cheddar cheese . Was slight but not great. This morning I changed it up used goat cheese and read here someone substituted with plain no fat Greek yogurt. Came out fluffy and fantastic. Great recipe thank you for sharing. Will definitely make this often
Our favorite quiche recipe. Sometimes I add 2 more eggs and 1/2 cup more milk and cheese for deep dish. Love the flavor. (I use a pre made crust from Trader Joe’s that is delicious). We use extra sharp white cheese like grueyere, cheddar and goat. Leftover roasted veggies are perfect in this.
I see the temperature right away. It was 350 degrees for 45- 55 minutes. Not overbake. Bake until center is almost set..
This recipe is is all over the place. I managed to piece it together up until bake for 45 minutes and got so frustrated at the absolute lack of cooking temperature listed I needed to write a review. If you want to good, clear easy to follow recipie this one is not for you. If you like playing word search style puzzles and guessing games when trying to cook this is perfect. Personally I’ll go elsewhere next time
Leona needs new glasses. !@@! This recipe is easy to follow and the end result is a perfectly textured and delicious quiche!
Don’t be a bully! That was an unnecessary comment. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all because it’s not welcomed here Grey!
I understand your frustration Grey Lady. Some excellent cooks/chefs take the time to publish recipes for all of us and even answer many of our questions yet I’ve read some rude comments to recipes. Not all recipes are for all people so we need to take that into consideration when “reviewing” a recipe. This is an easy to follow recipe but I’ve cooked for years. So far all Sally’s recipes have been outstanding.
This recipe was delicious, but to be fair, I had a hard time finding the oven temp too.
I love your recipes and make them often! Can you bake this in a tart pan using the same pie crust recipe?
Hi Lindsay, Yes that should work. Enjoy!
I didn’t have heavy cream on hand so I used 1 cup of “half and half cream” instead of 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1/2 cup milk. Quiche turned out great! The quiche was set in 25 minutes.
never made ‘proper’ quiche before I came across this recipe. was a little worried about all the cream in it, but it was absolutely amazing!! definitely going to be a dish made regularly in my kitchen.
This was delicious! I’ve been staying with my parents to help them after they have been sick and mom has been craving a broccoli cheddar quiche. She loved it and my dad ate seconds which was so wonderful since he hasn’t had much of an appetite recently. Thank you!
Will this recipe work with a 10” quiche dish or do I need to add more filling?
Hi Diane, you can try adding 2 more eggs and an extra 1/4 cup of milk or cream. Feel free to add an extra pinch of salt and/or pepper or another 1-2 Tablespoons of cheese or add-ins, too.
How do I reheat a baked quiche? I tried it from freezer straight to microwave and it was gross. It had way to much water added (tasted great before I froze it)
Hi Emily, You’ll want to first thaw it in the refrigerator or on the counter, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20-25 minutes. See recipe notes for details.
This is frittata not quiche. Americans call frittata a quiche. Quiche is custard not an omelet. i don’t understand.
This is my go to quiche recipe. I cheat and get the pre-made frozen pie crusts at Aldi’s. And I use half and half so I don’t have to buy Milk that we won’t drink. I also like to change up the ingredients. My latest was breakfast sausage, onion, gruyere and asparagus. I love making quiche for parties, gifts, showers. People love them!
Perhaps the most obvious distinction: A quiche is baked slowly in a savory pie crust (pâte brisée). A frittata, meanwhile, is crustless and cooks more quickly. Because the crust adds a certain amount of stability, a quiche can handle more cream than a frittata.
I think you prepared it incorrectly ..this is light creamy and melts in your mouth .. it is absolutely not an omelett or a frittata .
This is the only thing you can think to say?
Easy and delicious, especially since I had a store-bought crust in the freezer! I made one with no crust and it also turned out amazing.
Ok this is amazing. The ratio of eggs to milk/cream mixture is perfect. Also, the blind baking recs are spot on. (I did use Stella Parks all butter dough recipe.) I’ve made lots of quiches (Americas test kitchen and King Arthur etc.) this is the best. I increased the eggs to 6 and added 1/2c more liquid per recommendation. I cooked to 165 degrees. Perfection.
Shold scallions be sauteed?
No need!
I would like to make this as a deep dish in a 10 inch pie plate. Will this work? I do know it would lengthen the baking time. Any idea how long.
Hi Anne! You can bake this in a larger pie dish, but the amount of filling you need and the bake time will be different, we’re unsure of the exact bake time. Let us know what you try!
Not needed but caramelizing them a bit could add an interesting flavor.
Hi! Can I use aluminum foil to hold the beans instead of parchment paper (which I don’t have right now)? Thanks 🙂