Using my favorite quiche recipe as the starting point, this cheesy spinach quiche is a savory, creamy, and satisfying option for brunch, lunch, or dinner. As good as the savory egg-custard filling is, it somehow becomes even BETTER paired with my buttery flaky pie crust! This one is always a crowd pleaser.
One reader, Katie, commented: “This was amazing!!! I will definitely be making quiche more often, thanks to this recipe and your clear-cut directions. Thanks for making it so easy! ★★★★★”
As the totally underrated and unassuming cornerstone of any brunch spread, quiche is such a versatile dish. With a perfectly balanced base of milk (or milk and cream) and eggs, a good quiche recipe can be an endless drawing board for your favorite add-ins. I spent many, many hours in the kitchen fine-tuning my quiche recipe for you (and me!) to have fun adding different meats, seafood, cheeses, herbs, and vegetables to the mix.
Today’s recipe is one of my most beloved iterations. Cheesy and rich, yet light and delicate, each bite of this cheesy spinach quiche literally melts in your mouth. It’s no surprise this version has become a family favorite, always occupying a coveted space on the brunch table, next to a batch of cinnamon rolls!
Here’s Why You Will Love This Cheesy Spinach Quiche
- Rich, creamy, and savory custard-like filling is baked in a buttery, flaky pie crust.
- Flavored with garlicky peppered spinach and mushrooms.
- Extra cheesy thanks to plenty of cheddar and parmesan cheeses—or use your favorite type of cheese instead.
- The perfect way to start the day, but also enjoyable for lunch or dinner.
- Makes great leftovers!
- An obvious choice for your menu of Mother’s Day recipes and Easter brunch recipes.
- Sure to impress all who are lucky enough to try a slice (or two!).
Start With My Perfect Pie Crust
I always turn to my homemade pie crust when making quiche. (Or any pie, really!) The crust recipe uses a combination of butter and shortening and creates the most buttery, flaky pie crust. Of course, you can use my all-butter pie crust instead if you’d like.
Since the pie dough needs time to chill in the refrigerator, I always make it the day before. You also want to set aside some time to par-bake the pie crust before adding the filling and baking the entire quiche. This prevents a soggy crust—see “FAQ: How Do I Prevent a Soggy Crust?” below for more information.
The recipe yields two pie crusts, so you can freeze the other one to use at a later time. Browse my pie recipes to find a pie that uses only one pie crust, like pumpkin pie or blueberry crumble pie. Or if you’re hosting a crowd, use the second crust to make another quiche. I trust you won’t mind finding another way to use that second crust.
Store-bought crust also works in a pinch, but if you have the time, I encourage you to give homemade a try. It’s easier than you think and really takes the quiche to the next level.
Cheesy Spinach Quiche Ingredients
Like my classic quiche recipe, the base of today’s spinach version includes milk and eggs. You could, instead, use a combination of milk and cream for a richer texture. Here’s everything you need:
A few notes:
- Spinach: You can use fresh or frozen here. Frozen is convenient, but holds a lot of extra water. Be sure to blot out as much excess water as you can. If you use fresh spinach, use about 3 cups—either cooked down or simply add it fresh. See how I make cooked-down fresh spinach in this goat cheese spinach & sun-dried tomato quiche and this breakfast strata.
- Cheese: Use 1 cup total (grated) of your favorite cheeses. I typically reach for cheddar and mozzarella, plus an additional 1/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Feta cheese, goat cheese, or Swiss cheese are also popular options.
- Mushrooms: As detailed in the recipe below, be sure to cook them down first to rid some moisture.
And if you love today’s flavors, try making this as mini quiche or even crustless vegetable quiche. You could also use these add-ins to make an easy frittata or breakfast egg muffins.
FAQ: How Do I Prevent a Soggy Crust?
Don’t let all your hard work go to waste by serving a soggy, under-baked pie crust. Take these two extra steps to help prevent this:
- Reduce the moisture in the vegetables: By sautéing the mushrooms, you’ll rid them of their extra moisture. Same with draining the frozen spinach (if using). Without doing so, the excess moisture would not only throw off the texture of the quiche filling, but also make it harder for the crust to bake properly.
- Par-bake the crust: Par-baking (aka blind baking) the crust gives it a head start before you add the filling. You’ll find these instructions in the recipe below, and I have a full post (including a helpful video tutorial) on how to par-bake pie crust if you want more information. You’ll need two packs of these pie weights for this part. (If you bake pies often, they’re a must-have for your pie baking tools.)
After the crust has par-baked, you’ll add the fillings and bake it.
FAQ: Can I Make This Cheesy Spinach Quiche Ahead of Time?
Mornings can be busy, especially if you’re hosting family and friends. There are several ways to start this spinach quiche ahead of time. Here is what I usually do:
- The night before, I prepare the pie crust and sauté the mushrooms. I also either thaw the frozen spinach or cook down the fresh spinach. The next morning, I simply need to par-bake my crust, mix together the filling, and bake. If you want to save even more time, par-bake your crust the night before, too.
- You can also prepare the entire spinach quiche ahead of time. See recipe Notes for more details and decide which method will work best for your schedule.
Here’s What to Serve With Cheesy Spinach Quiche:
Cheesy spinach quiche pairs well with basically any breakfast or brunch food. I have a complete section bursting with breakfast recipes on my site, but here are some favorites:
- Cinnamon rolls or no-yeast cinnamon rolls
- Banana bread or banana muffins
- Coffee cake
- Jumbo blueberry muffins
- Any flavor of scones
- Cream cheese French toast casserole or whole wheat pancakes
- Strawberry bacon salad makes a wonderful side for brunch or dinner, too.
Cheesy Spinach Quiche
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: one 9-inch quiche
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This cheesy spinach quiche uses my favorite quiche recipe as the base. It’s savory, creamy, and baked in a deliciously flaky homemade pie crust. Impress all your guests with this brunch recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 unbaked flaky pie crust (what I use) or all-butter pie crust*
- 10 ounces (283g) frozen spinach*
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 ounces (227g) sliced mushrooms
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk*
- 1/3 cup (25g) freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup (4 ounces/90g) shredded cheddar cheese*
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
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 par-baking.
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (save the second pie crust for another recipe). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches (30cm) in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch (23cm) 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 pie crust 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.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Par-bake: Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Fill with 2 packs of pie weights, or use 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 from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper (with the weights) out of the pie. Prick holes all over 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, or you can par-bake the crust up to 3 days ahead of time. Cover cooled par-baked crust tightly and refrigerate until ready to fill.)
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
- For the filling: If your frozen spinach is not already thawed, thaw it in the microwave per package directions. Drain the spinach in a colander while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, garlic, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper to hot skillet (just a sprinkle of each, you’ll use 1/4 teaspoon each in the next step). Stir and sauté the mushrooms until they release all of their moisture and no more water remains on the bottom of the skillet, about 6–7 minutes.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, parmesan cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper together until combined.
- Blot and squeeze the rest of the water out of the thawed spinach. Spread spinach on par-baked pie crust. Add the cooked mushrooms and shredded cheese. Pour the egg mixture on top. If desired, sprinkle the top with a little more parmesan cheese.
- Bake the quiche until the center is just about set, about 50–60 minutes. Don’t over-bake. Use a pie crust shield to prevent the pie crust edges from over-browning. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. Or you can cool the quiche completely before serving—it’s fantastic at room temperature, too.
- 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 par-bake the crust ahead of time too. See end of step 4. To freeze the quiche, cool baked quiche completely, then cover tightly with a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter, then bake uncovered at 350°F (177°C) for 20–25 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Pie Weights | Pie Crust Shield | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk
- Pie Crust: Both linked pie crust recipes make two crusts. You only need one crust for this pie, so freeze the second half for another use, or double the filling to make two quiches.
- Spinach: You can use fresh spinach instead, about 3 packed cups (about 120g). You can cook it down ahead of time, or just add it fresh/raw. I use cooked-down fresh spinach in this goat cheese spinach & sun-dried tomato quiche.
- Milk: Whole milk is best for the creamiest texture, but 1/2 cup (120ml) each heavy cream and whole milk is fantastic, too, for an even richer filling. You could also substitute 1 cup (240ml) half-and-half. See How to Bake the Perfect Quiche post.
- Cheese: I make this quiche with mostly cheddar cheese, and some parmesan cheese as well. Feel free to swap in your favorite cheeses, or use a blend. Swiss cheese, mozzarella cheese, and/or feta cheese are other great options.
How many does this recipe serve? I need it for 15 people.
Hi Patty, this recipe yields one 9-inch quiche, and slices really depend on how large/small you make them. You could make 2 or use this filling to make some mini quiche instead.
Hi Sally,
I value your wisdom so much. Have you tried to freeze quiche? How does it affect it? I have a friend with a very sick husband. Have you ever done a post about gifting meals? Meal suggestions, preparation, packaging etc.
Thanks and happy holidays
Hi Heather, you can definitely make this and freeze it for your friend. To freeze the quiche, cool baked quiche completely, then cover tightly with a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter, then bake uncovered at 350°F (177°C) for 20–25 minutes.
I made this quiche and it was absolutely amazing! Thanks for the pie crust tips!! My family and friends enjoyed this special breakfast treat!
This was delicious!! I’ve been making the goat cheese and sun-dried tomato quiche as a go-to for a while, but was hosting more people than usual so wanted variety and this was so delicious! I used red bell pepper instead of mushrooms, and it turned out perfect!!
I’ve been making quiche for years–I just love it. These days I do keto mostly, so I’ve found a low carb pancake mix, which I use to make a press-in crust. I’ve never heard of blind baking, so I did that.
I used 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, spinach, mushrooms, swiss cheese, s&p, and never forget the nutmeg! Lovely quiche. This recipe gave me approximations,
Which I am using again today. Thanks.
I made it crustless and added crab to it! I also added one extra egg.
It was a bit loose, i increased eggs to 5,and reduced milk to 1/2 c, cook for 45-50 minutes at 350 F, protect the crust, and perfection!
Really good and very light! I used fresh spinach (and a little onion) plus sharp cheddar. It was less custardy and yet very satisfying.
You can’t go wrong with this recipe. I use a premade crust from Shoprite, fresh spinach, cheddar cheese, and 2% milk, and the recipe is still perfection!! My families favorite breakfast. Thank you- all of your recipes are perfection!!
Made this tonight for my husband to take to work with him tomorrow. First quiche I’ve ever made. It smell delicious I’ll find out around noon. But I must say I’m very pleased! Will definitely make more now
I made this and loved it but I’m counting calories and the recipe doesn’t have serving sizes or calories per serving. Does anyone know what they might be?
Hi Rebecca! 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://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Best quiche crust ever! I used canned spinach which worked pretty well. Will definitely make again with frozen spinach next time.
After not making quiche in about a decade (although it was one of my favourite foods as a teenager!) I made this last night and the entire family (including our 3 kids aged 1-5) absolutely loved it. It’s certainly a quiche that’s heavy on the filling rather than the type where it’s like set egg (if that makes sense!), which was good because my husband isn’t really a quiche person, but he loved this. The tip about getting cooking the mushroom (both in terms of flavour and getting excess water out) is really good. It almost tastes like it contains meat because of all the flavour. We ate it hot out of the oven for dinner, and I had it cold for lunch today. Both were delicious. I made a little one with the leftover pastry for my 5yo to take to school today and he was so excited! I think this will become a regular meal in our house.
Hi – I am making 4 1/2 “ Quiches for an event and wondering if you recommend using the flaky crust or all butter. I’ve looked at your quiche bites and full size. Which recipe would be good for this in between size – either?
Hi Lisa! We find our flaky pie crust recipe to be a bit easier to handle – it would work well for those quiches. Hope they’re a hit!
Perfect.
My oven runs hot, so I baked the crust for 15 min @ 325 F, then the quiche for 1hr at 375 F.
Yummy!
Used your tips: Saut̩ the spinach & Caramelize the onions first! Threw some cooked chicken in Рthat worked.
ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL recipe!! Thank you so much!
This is a fantastic, easy-to-follow recipe that I’ve used several times with great results. I’m wondering though, can I replace the whole milk with buttermilk for the filling? I have everything in my kitchen needed to make this dinner tonight except that.
Delicious! It was a long process that required some patience but it was straight forward and super delicious. Can’t believe how good the crust was. I made it with all butter and froze it for 30 minutes and then refrigerated it for 1.5 hours. The pie crust turned out absolutely delicious. I used rice as my pie weight while blind baking and used foil to protect my crust sides after the filling was cooking.
I commented on the homemade crust recipe above. Please review so you will know how the crust came out and why I chose a tart pan!
The quiche recipe was versatile. I like how she gave other options for ingredients. I chose ½ milk and ½ cream. I added sauteed spinach, roasted garlic and shallots and cured crumbled bacon. I used Trader Joes’s Four cheese (parmesan, asiago, fontina and mozzeralla) and grated gouda in place of the â…“ cup parmesan). The quiche was baked in a LARGE tart pan. I also protected the crust with foil. The quiche was golden brown, soaring with flavor, both creamy and dense. I found it a little salty so I guess it may have come from the bacon or cheeses. Wonderful presentation and fragarances. Also, thx for adding additional baking choices as it helpful to know how to make a crust ahead before baking the quiche, freezing baked quiche etc. Helpful!
Barbara: I made the crust the night before and prepared all ingredients separately so I would save time in the morning. Initially, I used a frozen store bought pie crust and followed the directions you provided. I found that the crust became too brown especially since after prebaking the crust, I knew it would be overcooked when I had to add the ingredients and bake for another 50-60 minutes. I tossed the pre made crust and went to your homemade crust recipe.
I liked how you decided to do the 1/2 butter,½2 shortening in the crust. It was both flaky and creamy (great call). Since I did not have a pie pan, I used a tart pan instead. Note, choose a tart pan that is larger than ur pie pan. Since tart pans are normally not as deep as pie pans, you will not be able to fit all ingredients in same size tart pan. I went up the next size and it was STILL TOO SMALL. I would use the largest tart pan you have so all ingredients would fit.
Result: The quiche tart was beautiful, golden brown. By using the tart pan, you can cut it perfectly and the presentation said it all!
I never follow the filling part of this recipe (I like different flavours), but the amount of egg/milk and baking instructions are very helpful. The blind-baking is always tricky, I haven’t mastered it yet, but the result is always tasty! Thanks!
I baked it for 40 min and should have baked it for 30. How did 50-60 min work for everyone else? I was so disappointed with how over baked it was!
I made it today and had the same issue. Most likely because your oven is not calibrated properly. Always best to use an in oven thermometer to make sure the temperature setting is accurate. I’ve been making another great quiche recipe that calls for a temp of 375. I’ll probably try it at that setting next time. Otherwise, was very good. I sauteed onions, garlic, spinach and mushrooms and used a cheddar and mozzarella mix of cheese.
I’m not a fan of quiches. Don’t know why. Something to do with the texture on most of them.
But this recipe’s filling is smooth, creamy, and rich and I love it. The mushrooms are killer too, fantastic will make again.
Made a Mexican version: minced jalapenos/red onion instead of mushrooms/garlic and queso fresco instead of shredded cheese.
Will use pie crust recipe again, great for using up leftover buttermilk.
Can you just use a frozen deep dish Pie crust?
Definitely!
Hi Sally – Im wondering if this recipe could be adapted for a 9×13 sheet pan to feed a crowd? If I doubled the crust and used 1 + 1/2 filling do you think it would work? Maybe prebake the crust a bit?
Hi Jane! Yes, that would be great! Definitely use two crusts and 1.5x the filling should be sufficient. Pre-bake the crust for at least 10-12 minutes.
I’ve been making this quiche about once a month for almost four years now, even in the summer. It is a big hit with my whole family, including our youngest who is now 8. I sauté chopped onion with the garlic, instead of mushrooms (some of us, like me, don’t like mushrooms), and sometimes I use 2% milk instead of whole, but other than that, I follow the recipe, and it’s awesome, including your pastry crust. (Oh, sometimes I dust it with paprika before baking, too.) I’m going to make one to take to my mother-in-law’s for Thanksgiving next week. Thanks for an easy, delicious recipe!
Love this recipe. I have made it several times. I have added sautéed onions and garlic along with sun dried tomatoes. The family loves this. I make it for my daughter’s vegetarian friend.
I love the recipe this is my third time making it. Very simple and so delicious!
This recipe is sheer perfection! !! I wish I could post a picture of my quiche, I followed the recipe to the T. It’s super easy and almost fool proof
This was amazing!!! I will definitely be making quiche more often, thanks to this recipe and your clear cut directions. Thanks for making it so easy!