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!
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 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.
Delicious quiche. Very creamy filling. I’m used to a less rich quiche, so I’d like to try it next time with whole milk only or maybe evaporated milk. I made mine with Swiss cheese and ham. As usual the crust was divine.
If you have a chance, try making your quiche with goat’s milk instead of regular milk and cream–I tried it as a lactose-intolerance workaround, and we all agreed that the texture is perfect, creamy without being overly rich. Now it’s the only dairy I use for quiche.
Hi! I have two questions! I plan on making the crab & Old Bay quiche along with the bacon and white cheddar for a brunch I have coming up this weekend.
1) in the recipe it states 1 cup of cheese and the up to two cups of add ins. In the notes section it says 1 cup of Gruyere and then for the other quiche 1 cup of Cheddar. Is this IN ADDITION to the one cup in the recipe for a total of two cups of cheese, or is it one cup of cheese total.
2) Can I bake the quiche the day before and refrigerate? how long should I bake it afterwards to warm before serving. I am afraid to dry it out.
Thanks a ton! so excited to try.
Hi Christina! The one cup cheese total. 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.
Hi Sally. Why does the store bought pie crust dough shrink? I rolled it out and placed in the fridge to chill 30 minutes!
Hi Deb, it could have to do with the specific brand of pie crust that you’re using. Are you blind baking and filling the crust with pie weights as well?
This was delicious! This was my first time making pie crust. I used your all-butter recipe and really thought I screwed it up by over-doing it in the food processor and adding a little too much water but it baked up really nice – just a tiny bit tough on the bottom but I’ll keep practicing. I only used whole milk for the filling because that’s what I had – but I added an ounce or two of cream cheese to up the fat content. I love having a solid base recipe like this that I can tailor to use up meat and veggies and cheese in the fridge. Thank you!!
Made this for dinner yesterday. My husband who is pretty indifferent towards quiche loved it! It was creamy and flavorful. So easy too. Used a combo of Swiss and sharp cheddar for the cheese. Add ins were shredded zucchini, chopped broccoli and English shelling peas. Will be using this base recipe again! Thank you!
Thanks for clarifying the amounts for add ons. That makes coming up with my interesting own combinations easy. I was looking for a new quiche recipe and this is definitely an improvement over the one I had been following. Yours uses 2 less eggs and 1/2 less dairy , so the flavors of my add ons popped a lot more plus the instructions to whisk improved the texture. BTW, I always substitute whole evaporated milk for the cream or the 1/2 and 1/2 . It works just fine.
Tried making a vegan version since all your reviews are so great, success! I used Flora plant butter for the base, only needed 30g of water, “Crackd” egg alternative, soya milk, coconut double cream, Vivera plant bacon bits, Cathedral City grated vegan cheese, Alpro soya milk, mushrooms, tomatoes on top. The soya milk made the pastry a little sweet, but otherwise spot on, will make this again and recommend!
This quiche was so great! I don’t usually like store-bought quiche and wanted to make something for a baby shower brunch. This fit the bill perfectly. I used 3 cups fresh spinach, 3/4 cup caramelized onions, and 4 oz feta. The texture was perfectly creamy.
What is a quiche crust suppose to be? Crunchy, soft or both? I forked my sides of crust as well as bottom. The bottom came out crunchy and the sides texture is crust soft. It’s not soggy. Never had quiche before, love the ingredients. Great recipe.
Hi Jennifer, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! It sounds like it came out just right. The crust should be a nice blend of both crisp/crunchy, yet still soft and tender. Thank you again for giving this a try!
I’m trying this recipe for the first time. I used diced thin sliced ham, onion, bell pepper ( saluted together) and shredded smoked Gouda cheese. I’ll follow up with the results.
Great recipe. For a better texture I precook the spinach and squeeze out all the liquid. I also precooked mushrooms so they didn’t add their native water. This way the quiche wasn’t too watery, needing more bake time to firm up the egg/ cream mix. The 50-50 milk/cream mix adds a lot of creaminess.
I also put the add ins to the or crust and then add the egg mixture.
I have used this recipe 4 times, each with a different variation. I appreciate you putting this out, the ingredient quantities are perfect and the quiche always turns out so good!
This recipe worked really well for me! I loved the creamy taste – so much better than a bought quiche, and I made it myself! I made two, one with lamb and roasted vegetables (very tasty, but I think too heavy for a quiche), then a much lighter one with roast duck left overs, a few cooked carrot pieces and half a capsicum (lightly steamed) – this was my favourite! It tasted so good, my wife asked for seconds! I was so pleased to achieve this result
Hi Sally
Can I use low fat milk 8nstead of whole?
Hi Deb! We recommend using whole milk for best taste, but low fat milk will work.
Great recipe! My husband, who does not like quiche, asked for seconds. Thanks!
I can’t wait to try out this recipe. I’ve never made my own crust before.
I will be making the crust ahead and assembling the quiche tomorrow, Christmas, morning.
Can I mix the filling ahead of time and keep that in the fridge as well? Perhaps just whisk again in the morning? I’m trying to make things as simple as possible Xmas morning. Thank you!
Hi Becky, our apologies on the delay—we’re just seeing this now! For the future, you can mix up the quiche filling and keep it overnight in the refrigerator. Feel free to whisk again quickly in the morning. Hope you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this recipe, as written, close to a dozen times and each time it’s perfect. My sister has requested we make this without crust, however. Is this possible? Are there any significant adjustments that should be made to accommodate this? Thank you!
Hi Ryan, 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!
I want to put zucchini ham onions and cheese in mine, but do I shred or cube the zucchini?
Then precook it???
Thanks for your help
Hi Barb, you can use either shredded or cubed zucchini and yes, you’ll want to cook it first. Enjoy!
I have and use heavy whipping cream but can I use almond milk or should I just add a little water to the milk portion of heavy cream? I don’t use cows milk. Can’t wait to try this! Thanks
I love this recipe! Will be a staple in my house. Thank you.
Hi! I was wondering if I can assemble it the night before as ‘prep’ and then Bake it the next morning?
Hi Jessie, You can prepare and bake the pie dough ahead of time, then assemble and bake the whole quiche in the morning. See note 1 after the recipe for more details.
This is my go-to quiche recipe. The mix of half milk and and half half and half is key. I just use a whisk to mix everything rather than drag out my electric hand mixer…seems to taste pretty good!
Yum! I made a spinach, mushroom and sausage version and it was delicious.
hi sally!!! i have a 9in tart pan i’d like to use…any adjustments to anything in your recipe i have to make for success? also, i’d like to make with mushrooms, spinach and shallots, if i read correctly, you say to saute it all and that would be add-ins? ty sally! can’t wait to make for christmas breakfast 😉
Hi Sonny, you can certainly try using a tart pan, but since they’re typically more shallow than pie pans, you may have some leftover filling. You could make a few mini quiche with any leftovers. Yes, you can saute your add-ins before adding to the filling. Hope it’s a hit!
I know that homemade crust is preferable, but would this work with a premade refrigerated crust from the grocery store? And if so, should I pre-bake it? Thank you!
Hi Erin, yes, you can use a store-bought crust. You can follow the same pre-baking instructions. Enjoy!
You go on and on and on and on about pre-baking the pie crust. You like to another post that is all about pre-baking the pie crust. I GOT IT! What I didn’t get is the oven temperature to bake
bake the pie crust. Do I have to watch a video just to get that basic information? How can you write 1000 words about pre-baking the pie crust without telling us the temperature?
Hi Lisa, your comment is rude. I present a lot of information in my posts and recipes so readers can have the most success in the kitchen, and learn some key principles along the way. Baking, especially with pie crust, can be difficult for some. You can find the oven temperature in the recipe in step 3. And then you reduce it down as indicated in step 5. Apologies if these were hard to find. I went ahead and bolded them.
Really just a note on LISA’s comment, which was indeed rude. I had no trouble finding the pie crust baking temperature in this recipe, but that’s not really the point. The hostile tone of her comment was sad. Even if the recipe had not given that instruction, the reader could have asked more kindly, or could have consulted any of the thousands of existing recipes and posts about pie crusts that contain essentially the same information.
As far as the quiche recipe goes, I make mine very differently, but we all have our own tastes.
I never pre- baked my quiche crusts until I started following Sally. The reason she emphasizes taking this step is it does make a huge improvement in the quiche final product. Now I ALWAYS par bake my crust! Thank you for explaining the many hows/whys of pre/parbaking pie crusts. FYI- all the required temperatures are in BOLD.
Hi Sally. Do you have instructions to bake and then freeze for serving at a later time? Thank you.
Hi J, see recipe Notes for full make ahead and freezing instructions. Hope you enjoy the quiche!
This was the best quiche I ever made, thanks to you!
Hi Sally, Can I use low-fat milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Deb, for best results, we recommend using whole milk. While a lower fat milk can work in a pinch, the quiche will lose some creaminess without the combination of full-fat milk + heavy cream.
I have now made this several times and it has turned out great each time. It has a very nice texture and is so easy to make. Love it!
Hi Sally! I would like to make this quiche the day before and pop it in the oven to reheat the next day. Do I have to freeze it or can I put it in the fridge until the next day?
Hi Chrissy! It will be fine in the fridge for a day ahead of time.
I made my first Quiche for Thanksgiving. I had some pastry in the freezer from another recipe so I used used that for the crust. That worked great. After prebaking the crust I added a cup of grated parmesan to the bottom of the crust and then the filling, including 1.5 cups of cubed ham and a half cup of grated mozzarella. I had planned to add spinach but I forgot. I baked it in a Pyrex pie dish and everything fit perfectly. At the forty minute mark I covered the crust with aluminum foil to stop it getting too brown.
This is easily the best quiche I’ve ever had. The bottom wasn’t the soggy and the filling was rich but not overly so. I’d almost say it was light. When I tasted it hot, it seemed a bit salty, but when I actually served it, the seasoning was fine. This will definitely go onto my baking schedule. My wife doesn’t like ham so next time I’ll use sausage, spinach and maybe a few cherry tomatoes.
Thanks for yet another great recipe with easy to follow directions.