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 sautรฉed 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 counterpartsโbreakfast 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 textureโmake 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 sautรฉ them first if desired. Some of my favorite quiche add-ins:
- Goat cheese
- Cooked cubed ham
- Bacon
- Caramelized onions
- Sautรฉed mushrooms
- Sautรฉed 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 youโre 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. ๐
- 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 (sautรฉ 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 Breakfast Sausage
- Cinnamon Sugar Donuts
- Nutella-Stuffed Muffins
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Muffins or Banana Muffins
- Strawberry Bacon Salad
- New York-Style Crumb Cake
- A Dutch baby piled high with all your favorite sweet toppings
For even more inspiration, see 18+ of my favorite Easter brunch recipesโwhich includes this quiche, of course!
Print
Quiche 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 (120ml) whole milk*
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream or heavy whipping cream*
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper*
- 1 cup (4 ounces / 90g) 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 375ยฐF (190ยฐC).
- 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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC).
- 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 quicheย 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 servingโit’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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for 20-25 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Pie Dish | Rolling Pin | 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 (sautรฉ for a few minutes with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat), and 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Dies it really have to be jumbo lump crabmeat ?? $$$
Hi Jennifer, we prefer jumbo lump crab meat here for best taste and texture, but you can use another type if you prefer. Make sure it is pre-cooked.
hello, I made this quiche for breakfast and put kale, bell peppers bacon and cheddar cheese, and it was really good, but the only thing I had trouble with was the pie crust. as I was rolling it out it started cracking and the butter and shortening was sticking to the countertop and rolling pie even though I generously flowered my work surface. and as I put the crust in the pie plate there was not enough dough for the edges and I rolled the dough in a 12 inch diameter as you said your recipe so I had to take out the other pie dough just so that there is enough for the edges. and the second issue I had was the par baking, I chilled the pie crust and put the pie weights and baked for 15 minutes and took the pie weights out and dock the pie crust and baked for 7 more minutes and for some reason the bottom of the crust puffed up, even though I docked it. I used your flaky buttery pie crust recipe and made it the day before and stored in the fridge and used a 9.5 inch glass pie plate. do you happen to know what went wrong, because I want to make a lot of pies for the holidays and this was my second time making a piecrust from scratch, the first time I made your blueberry pie recipe and it was delicious.
Hi Trae, if the butter is melting while you work with the dough, it is getting too warm. Take a bread and let it chill in the fridge to cool down a bit before continuing. A 12 inch circle of dough should be enough to cover a 9.5 inch pie pan, but you can try rolling it a little thinner/larger. Some puffing up is normal, but you can try docking a little more next time. Hope these tips help! Thank you for giving this recipe a try.
This is absolutely the best quiche base recipe. I’m allergic to dairy so substituted almond milk mixed with toffuti cream cheese for the milk & cream; and vegan cheese for cheddar. Where, in the past, my quiches came out soupy, the consistency on this one was perfect.
I was wondering if I could use a dairy substitute in this recipe? My son is allergic to milk… Thank you
Hi Christine, a non-dairy milk will work in a pinch, the quiche will not be quite as creamy, though. Let us know how you like it!
Help me out please.
I want to make a cheese quiche with no additional add ins. How much cheese do I use? Do I use the amount given for add ins? The spinach, tomato, feta has 1 cup cheese and 3 cups add ins. I don’t want add ins so how much cheese?
Thanks
Hi Brenda! We would use 1 cup cheese with no additional add-ins.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I made the pie dough last night and this morning there will be a quiche in my house.
I used two cups of cheese and that worked great as well!
Great basic recipe! Used sautรฉed jersey tomatoes, caramelized onion, bacon, Gruyere & white cheddar. Yum! Thanks for another helpful yummy dinner.
Sally, love your site! One 4 of July I made your coconut cream pie in your buttery pie crust, wanting my kids to remember their โ Pop Popsโ coconut cream pie ( he died and gave the recipe to a non family member). I have never made one before. They ate 2 slices each. When I said โ I looked up 3 recipes for thisโ they stated, โ DONT LOOK UP ANYMORE RECIPES OR CHANGE ANYTHING: THIS IS AMAZING! โ you have to understand, my girls are food snobs, but HATE cooking! This might be, by far, the BEST compliment you may ever have!
I’ve been following you and your great recipes for years! All are excellent, very reliable, trustworthy. thanks much, Marilyn Raff
6 stars! I’ve made this recipe with your all butter crust and a variety of add ins upwards of ten times and my friends rave about it.
My current go to combo for parties is:
cajun spice, salt and papper (to taste)
1 tbsp honey
1 medium finely grated carrot
1-1 1/2 c / 100g spinach (honestly I just eyeball it)
150g / 1 bar of chavroux goat cheese
~100 g / 1 c of whatever shredded cheese I’m feeling or have in the house (usually red leicester + cheddar).
Lovely balance of salty and savory with a hint of sweet!
Prepare your crust. Otherwise it will come out soggy. Learned that from experience
Hi Beverly! Yes, it is important to par-bake the crust as instructed.
For quiche: Is it risky to use a tart pan with removable bottom? I am making 2 for a large group in a few days. Also, I find an old never-fail pie crust with egg and vinegar easy to use. Would it work for this quiche recipe?
Thanks as always for quick answers and advice.
Pat
Hi Pat, You can certainly try using a tart pan, but since theyโre typically more shallow than pie pans, you may have some leftover filling. You could make a few mini quiche with any leftovers. If you do try it, we definitely recommend using a baking sheet under a tart pan just incase it leaks. And feel free to use your favorite pie crust recipe.
Any non dairy possibilities for the milk/cream?
Hi Kirsten, we haven’t tested any dairy free substitutes here but let us know if you do! One reader recommends goats milk in this recipe.
Great recipe for the crust !
And some pretty tasty ideas for the filling! Never had crab with Gruyรจre! Looking forward to seeing how it tastes!
I substituted 1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese for the 1/2 cup heavy cream for a lighter, more heart-healthy filling.
Made this recipe several times using a variety of meats, vegetables & cheeses & itโs always turned out great. Thank you!
Hi Sally, do you have a recipe for a larger quiche? Like in 9 x 13 pan? Iโve also seen them made in 11 x 17 jelly roll pans and Iโd love to try that. Would this recipe work in that if I doubled or tripled it? Thanks!
Hi Megan, we’re sure you could, but we haven’t tested making a sheet pan quiche. Let us know how it goes!
Did you ever try doing this in a 9×13 doubles or tripled how did it go?
Turned out amazing! First time making quiche and appreciated all the detailed tips. If anyone is wondering, you should still pre-bake refrigerated crusts (I had a hard time finding that answer). My crust came out perfectly crisp and with a clean (not crumbly) cut
I used broccoli, bacon, and vidalia onions and swiss/gruyere/parmesan cheese.
Thank you! I made it for the first time and it was really good!
Can you use premade pie crust found in the freezer?
Hi Mady, you can use a store-bought crust. You can follow the same pre-baking instructions. Enjoy!
I love this recipe. It can be prepped ahead of time and thrown in the oven in not even 30 minutes. The longest part for me is cooking the sausage I put in and pinching the pie crust. I tweak it by adding 6 eggs and 1.5 cups of dairy. I like the crust a little fuller and it makes for a more filling serving. Iโve made this twice this week already.