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 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 recipes—which 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 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 | 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 (sauté for a few minutes with a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat), and 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.
Reader Comments and Reviews
We were low on ingredients for dinner tonight so I decided to try making this quiche recipe that looks amazing! It turned out better than I could have expected. It was so flavorful and delicious and this is a wonderful simple quiche recipe especially for beginners! I highly recommend:)
So glad it was a hit!
This is a FABULOUS recipe. I’ve used it several times over the last year. Caramelized onions, roasted garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese seem to be our favorite add ins.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe! I made a twist on the classic quiche Lorraine with bacon, cheese, and, get this…French fried onions! Just like the ones you’d put on green been casserole. It was easy, fast, and turned out great. Because of the salt content of the add-ins, I didn’t add any salt.
It also worked great to use half-n-half—I had it out for my morning coffee anyway!
I love using an egg-white wash on my pie crusts to give it that glossy finish. I had a realization this morning that maybe the extra yolk in quiche recipes came from needing the white for the wash on the crust—that’s what I did with my extra yolk—it went into the quiche mix. So I ended up with four whole eggs and one yolk (using the egg white to brush onto the pie crust before baking).
Thank you so much for another amazing recipe!
That sounds like a great idea!!… we all love those fried onions from the can and can’t
Believe you thought of them!…also loved the extra egg.. yolk makes it richer and
White for crust Perfect!!!….thanks so much making today!
I have chickens and a constant surplus of eggs. Used this recipe with chorizo, jalapeño, onion, and cheddar and it has been absolutely wonderful!
Fantastic recipe. One thing I added which a pro chef recommended in quiche a while back was 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg to the cream/egg mixture. Gives a wonderful aroma, and isn’t even noticeable!
I need to ensure the eggs in the quiche are properly cooked through because one of my guests is pregnant. Any advice please?
Hi Ruth, You will want to keep your eye on the quiche as it nears the end of the bake time (usually between 45-55 minutes) and bake until the center is just about set. At this point they will be cooked through!
How do you make ahead if you don’t want to freeze it? I’ve got a brunch and don’t want to bake it the morning of. If fully baked ahead of time, how do you reheat it the day of? I like it room temp or even cold, but I’m not sure others do. Thanks for your help!
Hi Erin! You can definitely make this the day before. After it bakes, cool it completely, cover, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can reheat it in the oven to your liking or just set it on the counter to bring back to room temperature before serving. For more make ahead tips see the recipe notes.
If I use a store bought pie crust do I still need to partially bake it?
I use frozen pastry and definitely still best to pre-bake.
This is my first time making a quiche and it was delicious!
I added bacon, fresh garlic, ranch, and spinach (and cheese of course). 🙂
I love your recipes!! Thanks for sharing!!
This was absolutely delicious! I made it in muffin tins and could have used a bit more pie crust, but I am super, super happy with how this turned out. (I also baked it for 20-25 minutes because of how much smaller it was.) Thank you! I love how versatile this recipe is, and I think that I might add it to a weekly rotation.
(Fillings I used this time round: Spinach, assorted cheese, fresh parsley, sautéed onion, some diced cherry tomatoes, canned mushrooms)
This quiche is perfect! I appreciated your comment about the difference between a frittata and a quiche. The idea that it is more milk and cream than it is egg was helpful in understanding and getting the correct texture. All the tips you gave for quantities were just right. I’ve never made a better quiche! Thank you!
I have really enjoyed many of your recipes! I am going to try the crab and gruyere. Making several for a baby shower. If I use a 10”-12” dish, how should I adapt the recipe? I don’t want it to look too shallow. I have to prepare for a lot of people. Also, most quiche recipes I have tell me to use 1 part egg to 2 parts dairy. That would be 2 eggs to 1 cup dairy. This is 4 eggs to 1 cup dairy? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, Since this dough produces 2 crusts, you can simply use more than half for the bottom of your pie. Use 4 eggs per 1 cup of milk. Some quiche recipes throw in an extra egg yolk or two, but we don’t find it necessary with the ratio of ingredients in our recipe.
Thank you for your response. I’m trying to figure out how much to increase the egg/cream mixture to adequately fill a larger dish. Perhaps an extra 2 eggs plus 1/2 C cream/half and half?
Hi Stephanie, yes, that should work just fine. Let us know how it goes!
Hello,
The baby shower was on Saturday. I made 5 quiches, tweaking recipes according to various dish sizes. I made 2 of the crab and gruyere. Next time I would increase the amount of old bay. My husband picked up lump crab vs jumbo lump. It was very good, but I would make sure to use the jumbo lump next time. I made 3 other quiches (broccoli and shrimp….and 2 artichoke, bacon and fontina). I def feel that it was a learning experience! Have to remember to not over fill the crust with non-egg/cream ingredients. All were good. Have some info for next time. Thanks! *I used the krusteaz brand pie crust mix
I made my 1st quiche today using your recipe. I had a 10inch flan dish. I made extra pastry but kept the other ingredients the same and followed your recipe. Bake for 45 mins. Cooled for 15. It looked like milky scrambled eggs. Any ideas why it turned out like that? It tasted really good but the texture was wrong
Hi Vicky, make sure to beat your egg mixture thoroughly to ensure a smooth filling and don’t make any ingredient substitutions (especially the heavy cream!). This should help for next time. Thank you for giving this quiche recipe a try!
Making this recipe for the 3rd time right now! Never the same! Mainly bacon, onions, cheese. I will admit cheating and use refrigerator crust. Never ate quiche until 12 years ago. Thank you so much for the tips and blind crust! My husband will love coming home to this! This recipe is in my saves!
Would the result be same if I use an iron skillet instead of pie dish?
You could definitely try this quiche in a cast iron skillet. Bake time for par-baking the crust and again with the filling may be a little shorter, but keep a close eye on it.
Sally, I haven’t made this recipe yet and will probably modify it, but I want you to know how great it is that you have a button that jumps to the recipe and allows me to skip your family blog posts and tips. I am a single guy that lives by myself and I couldn’t two cruds about your family vacation or history, but I like the recipe, and the fact that you let me skip all that to get to it makes your posts and site better than 90% of the sites out there. Keep up the good work.
This recipe worked really nicely for us. Thank you for the detailed instructions, and the tip about pie weights. Much appreciated!
I am making the quiche today and serving it in the morning tomorrow. Does it need to be refrigerated over night? I’d prefer not to but will if necessary
Gracemary
Hi Gracemary, it will be fine covered at room temperature overnight. Cover it after it cools completely.
Thank you for the quick reply. I’ve used your recipe for about 8 quiches and they are always very good. This time I made 2 – one bacon and caramelized onions, the other red peppers with scallions and cheddar cheese.
Thank you for posting them.
Gracemary
Thank you for a great recipe! Any tips or tricks to making this crustless?
Maybe I missed it somewhere but, do I use a 9” Deep dish or regular pie dish?
Hi Corrie! We use a regular 9 inch pie dish – about 1.75 inches deep.
Can I use a frozen pie crust? If so should I thaw it first?
Hi Rachel, yes, you can use a frozen pie crust. We’d recommend thawing before using. Enjoy!
if i use a store-bought pie crust, do I still need to partially bake it? thank you!
Could I make some modifications to this to make it large enough to fit in a baking dish? Like 6 eggs in an 8×11 pan? Do you have any suggestions? Thank you!
Hi Addie, We’ve never made this in that size pan! You can try to roll out the full recipe of pie crust into one very large crust (instead of just using half of the recipe) and increasing the filling but we have not ever tested it. Let us know if you try!
A fabulous recipe! Blind baking the crust makes a huge difference. I used a sweet vadalia onion, red pepper & asparagus, with Swiss cheese- OMG – delicious! Colorful, attractive, and oh so good!
In all the years of reading recipes online and sifting (pun intended) through a. long drawn out, overly descriptive “recipes” that are really more like lifestyle foodie posts with a list of ingrediants to b. disorganized “recipes” lacking legitimate information or tips/suggestions regarding the actual process of cooking the item in mind, your post/blog is a godsend!! Thank you so much for your concise and direct writing style, as well as your sense of humor and ability to convey the feeling that i’m just getting some advice from a friend. Thank you for your cut-to-the-chase style tips and suggestions and most importantly thank you for an excellent recipe! It can be so frustrating trying to find a decent recipe/food blog and here you have a website that is beyond anything I could have wished for when struggling to find a decent and comprehendable quiche recipe for my boyfriends family last minute. haha I know this is long and pretty butt kissy but I don’t care, I had to take 5 minutes away from my rush to finish this quiche to thank you! 🙂
You’re SOO RIGHT, I didn’t realize that I too have been frustrated by wordy recipe posts, it wasn’t until I read what you articulated so well, so I’m jumping on your band wagon to give KUDOS to this recipe’s well-written style.
I’ve also learned that reading an ingredient list is useful, BUT I’ve also found it extremely helpful when the step by step instructions include the ingredients and what to do with them in each step, kind of like mini-ingredient lists per step…The Joy Of Cooking cookbook is written like that, especially helpful when I followed one of their cheesecake recipes, as it tells you to start off with the 5 pkgs of cream cheese + sugar, then blah blah blah instructions, followed by 5 eggs + 2 egg yolks, then more blah blah blah instructions, cream+ vanilla + lemon zest …I find the mini-bulleted-ingredient lists at each step very helpful rather than jumping back n forth to the ingredient list. I probably sound like a moron, but I’m just a busy mom, multi-multitasking, so it’s nice to just use the main ingredients checklist to ensure I’ve got everything to proceed, and nicer still when the mini-ingredient lists are included in the prep/cooking steps. It’s also a GREAT format for teaching my 10 yr old, especially as she attempts Cooking for 4-H projects and for 4-H club public presentations when the kids literally demonstrate each step and prepare their dish for 4-H Judges grading them on their presentations. So I’ve got 1/2 leftover Easter ham and 18 eggs we didn’t color all ready to go, can’t wait to give your recipe a whirl and couldn’t let the night go by without applauding the recipe writer!
Regards,
Anne Marie H.
I have had great success with this recipe, until today.
It seemed as though I needed more filling. I use the cheese, bacon, and scallion recipe.
Question: Do I always add 1 cup shredded cheese, and then add an additional 1 cup of shredded cheese, bacon, and scallions?
Gail May
Hi Gail! Just the 1 cup of cheese should be enough for the Bacon, White Cheddar, & Scallion quiche.
My go to quiche recipe. We generally do ham and cheese but would love to try bacon with white cheddar. Really can’t go wrong…it’s so easy I know the recipe off by heart. Thanks!!!
It’s been years since I made a quiche but decided today was the day! When I told my kids we were having Quiche for lunch, they were not impressed. However, they both really liked it and gave ideas for ingredients next time! Looking forward to trying out your other recipe. Thx.
Fabulous recipe that is so versatile. I made 2 pies: One with spinach and tomatoes amd one with onions amd peppers. My family amd friends loved them.
I have put quiche into my dinner routine because it’s so good and light and easy-and I can make it ahead! We usually have it with tator tots or french fries and fresh bread from the bread maker! I always use pre-made pie crusts-it’s just way too easy! Our favorite combo is onion, shredded zucchini and crumbled breakfast sausage (the brown and serve frozen kind). I mix a couple of kinds of cheese in depending on what we have. Sometimes I put thin slices of fresh tomato on top-it looks really pretty! Quiche is always a winner! Thank you!
Can you use a mix of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheese along with cheddar? I forgot to buy white cheddar!
Absolutely, you can use any cheese you enjoy. Sounds like a delicious combo!
I make quiche often. We have 6 chickens and always have eggs on hand. Plus, quiche is delicious. This basic recipe turns out perfect every time. My favorite combination is caramelized onions and goat cheese. I then top with a drizzle of balsamic reduction. Looks fancy, tastes delicious, and is so easy to make.