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.
Made this and loved it. Do you have any recommendations for applying this recipe to mini tart shells?
Hi Amanda! Simply pour into tart shells (no need to pre-bake them) filling to the neat top. The oven temperature would be the same. I’m unsure of the exact bake time since all mini tart pan sizes and dimensions differ. Watch them closely and bake until the center is just about set.
Hi Sally, I am going to bake this for Christmas Eve using brussel sprouts, leeks and bacon. Should I roast the sprouts and leeks or sauté them? Thanks for this great recipe!
Sautéing them would definitely be ideal and add more desirable flavor and texture.
Hello. Can you pre make crust and keep in refrigerator for two days? I want to have crust ready and egg mixture put together separately so all I have to do on Christmas morning is assemble and bake. Not sure how crust will do.
Thank you
Absolutely! After it cools, cover it and refrigerate until ready to fill and bake. No need to let it come to room temperature before filling and baking.
My daughter in law can’t have the milk in the quiche. Is there any substitute milk products that work best?
Hi Pat, nondairy milks can work in this quiche.
I made this again yesterday and just have to tell you how much I enjoy this quiche. This is the best quiche recipe ever. This time I used swiss and parmesan cheese and broccoli. I use whatever I have on hand and it always comes out great! Had to use all cream because of the milk situation – it was expired. Sooooo good. Thanks, Sally.
Made this today without a crust, it literally took less than 5 mins to mix the ingredienta and stick it all in the oven. It’s so delicious! Am adding this to my weekly meal repertoire. Thank you 🙂
Hi Sally, I’m going to attempt my first quiche for a potluck. Can I bake it in a deep dish that is more like a lasagna dish then a pie dish? Or will it alter anything? Thank you Sharon Adams
Hi Sharon, You can bake this in a different shape pan, but the amount of filling you need and the bake time will be different (by how much depends on the size of your pan!).
This is a great recipe, I did make a few changes and substitutes. I didn’t have any milk so I subbed 1/2 C chicken bone broth and used 1/2 C heavy whipping cream. I used turkey sausage, feta cheese, red bell pepper onions and sharp cheddar. It was so so good!
Hello – If I use the recipe to make mini quiche how long would I cook them and would the temperature be the same? I plan on using pre-made mini pastry cups.
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, The temperature would be the same but since all mini pans vary greatly in size I’m unsure of the exact bake time for yours. Watch them closely and bake until the center is just about set. Enjoy!
I’m making mini-quiche for a brunch. I am planning to do this with my silicone cupcake pans so, I’ll have 36 of them. Once I blind bake the crust (which will just go up the sides of the form) can I freeze it?
My preliminary plan is to fill the cups and bake in the morning and let it cool down. I’m pretty sure I can get them out of the silicone forms by gently pushing up from the bottom once it has cooled sufficiently.
So, is freezing in the pans okay and do you have any other tips?
Hi Paula! Yes, you can freeze the mini blind-baked crusts in the pan if needed. Shouldn’t be a problem.
Made this for dinner tonight…delish! Followed the recipe, added broccoli (cooked and towel dried), bacon, extra sharp cheddar. Will add to favorites for sure!
Used this recipe tonight. I sautéed mushrooms, onions, garlic, yellow and green zucchini. And then Added Mexican shedded cheese and feta and diced ham. So wonderful. I will freeze the leftovers for another meal.
Thanks for the recipe. I sautéd diced bacon, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, finished with fresh spinach. Topped with gruyere and plain goat cheese.
I have made this recipe 4-5 times with a deep dish store-bought pie crust. Every time, I have too much custard mixture to fit in the pie crust. What am I doing wrong? Extra large eggs, possibly?
Hi Karen, I use a 9 inch pie dish – is the store bough crust the same size? It could also be the size of the eggs as I use large eggs not the extra large.
The ratio of 4 eggs to 1 cup milk-cream seems to be way too much liquid for 1, 9″ deep dish quiche. So, do you have leftover milk-cream?
Nope, you will use it all! There is room for your add-ins too 🙂
Just made this for dinner tonight and everyone went back for seconds! Did one with sharp cheddar, broccoli, smoked ham, bacon, and caramelized onions and made a second one with all of that plus added ground venison for my boys! Never thought I would see the day that my redneck boys would eat a quiche!! Thanks Sally!!
This is delicious!
This quiche was creamy, scrumptious, awesomeness! We selected half feta and half mozzarella for our cheeses with chopped fresh spinach and asparagus as our add-ins. But the quiche base is the best we’ve tasted.
Yum, yum, yum!!! This one is a keeper! Thanks!
Hi!! I am looking for ANY feedback as I am loving making quiches from scratch. I followed this recipe (butter crust) exactly. Added bacon and a mixed shredded cheese. Used Half N Half instead of milk/heavy mix. Did the double crust technique from the extra disc of dough. Used a 9.5 in glass pie dish. ISSUE #1: The oven smoked from butter dripping [were my pea sized butters in dough actually too large??]. I had to add a sheet pan underneath for the rest of the blind baking to prevent a disaster. One crust side started to melt down but I could save it. ISSUE #2: the filling pour seemed to be nor enough. It looked as though it was only being half filled (did the 4 eggs/fluid measure) so I ended up adding 2 more eggs and about 1 cup HC. It looked better but after-the-fact 1 more egg/.5c. of HC may have evened it out better to the eye. It did however taste AMAZING! Who can help? I took pictures that I can send too. Thank you in advance.
Hi Kristina! I wonder if the pie crust was simply too warm and started melting too quickly too early? Could you try assembling the crust for blind-baking, then refrigerator for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes before baking? The filling rises up (the air from whipping the eggs), so it won’t look totally full before baking. I’m glad you enjoyed it though!
I am actually just starting out with my Quiche adventures, but I’m totally psyched! There are so many combinations I wanna try. They look so delectable and I have such fond memories from my childhood. I can’t wait to get my ingredients so I can get started.
Thank you for all the wonderful tips, and you have a great fan base that I’ve gotten some ideas from, as well. More items to add to my shopping list! I really do appreciate the time it took to set up this wonderful site for everyone. You’re an amazing lady! Thank you for giving your time to us all.
This recipe fits perfectly into a frozen deep dish pie crust, which is what I use when I make quiche. Love it! Have made many combinations- thanks so much!!
4 eggs are perfect anymore is too much
half and half
I cheated with a frozen crust
Yummy
The perfect quiche. I like it so much, this is my preferred recipe. Thank you Sally.
I love quiche, so good for any meal. I often bring it for lunch during the week. Love your recipe!
Was just going to mention that your recipe is great with Marie Callender’s frozen pie crust found in the freezer section (I’m too lazy to make homemade crust!).
I also made mine with egg whites only and heavy cream + bacon, goat cheese, feta cheese, mizithra cheese, fresh basil, leeks and mushrooms. Fantastic!
Can you double or triple this recipe and bake in a full sized chafing dish?
Yes, that shouldn’t be a problem. I would triple it.
I’m sorry to be a broken record! I know it’s allowed but If using frozen pie crust I know I need to blind bake and use parchment and pie weights/beans do I
1. Thaw the crust? counter? fridge?
2. Pre-Bake at 350? How long?
I will tackle the homemade pie crust eventually, but it would be SOOOOO helpful if on your delicious pie recipes if you put what to do if you don’t have time etc. for homemade! But I also know you want the best for us! ; ) Thank you for your blog!
Hi Elizabeth! You can use frozen store-bought pie dough– that’s no problem! Thaw it on the counter or in the refrigerator, roll it out if it needs it, then blind bake per these instructions. Baking instructions are the same if you are using homemade or store-bought crust. Hope you enjoy!
I just made this in an Emile Henry quiche dish. I’d consider this a deep dish for quiche, although not as deep as a 9″ spring form pan. For the filling, I used at least 8 oz of sauteed mushrooms, 1 box of frozen spinach (thawed, squeezed), and about 4 oz of crumbled feta. When I put everything in the blind-baked shell, it only came half way up the side. I ended up adding 2 more eggs, 1/2 cup half & half, and a pinch of salt. I think it could have used another egg and 1/4c half & half, but it was fine. Just something to consider when choosing a pan.
As far as my add ins…I thought this would be a good mix, but I think the point of your recipe is to really appreciate the texture of the custard. The spinach was so well-distributed in the mixture that it was more like a spinach pie. I’ll make this again without spinach in hopes of getting more of the custard to savor. The mushrooms and feta were good adds, but next time I’d used more feta…maybe 6 oz for a deep dish quiche.
Any suggestions on what to substitute for the milk that is dairy free?
Any nondairy milk can be used.
Thank you for this recipe! Whenever I make a quiche I use this recipe for my base. I always come back on here to double check I’m doing it right. It always turns out great! I like all the ideas for fillings too.
Hi Sally,
I am planning to make multiple quiches for an upcoming brunch. I was wondering if I could partially blind bake the crusts the day before and then fill them and finish off the following day? If so, how do you recommend storing the crusts after partially baked?
Absolutely! Let the partially blind baked pie crusts cool completely, then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Refrigerate overnight, then add the quiche filling the next day and continue with the recipe.
No crust sensation! I made this quiche last night without the crust and it was wonderful. 30 minutes at 350. I’m making another today to take for lunch this week. I used a cup of half and half along with the eggs and other ingredients. Feta cheese and cheddar along with sauteed peppers and onions. I tucked in a few basil leaves and baked it up. So good! This is going to be my go-to recipe for quiche from now on. 🙂
We’re trying to eliminate carbs where possible. Any problems in baking it without a crust?
You can definitely skip the crust. Bake time will be a little shorter. I also have a crustless veggie quiche recipe too.
A trick that I learned years ago has helped me really manage to keep the crust super crispy, even after the whole quiche has been baked. Right after the crust comes out of the oven (blind baking step), use a pastry brush to brush on a thin layer of your egg mixture onto the interior of the entire crust immediately. The hot crust will cook up the thin layer of the egg wash but also in a way, seal it up. Let it cool off before filling it and baking up the custard! The crust remains nice and crisp for days! 🙂
Faye, what a fantastic tip ! I love a crispy crust and rarely get it. Your tip makes so much sense and I can’t wait to try it . Thank you !
Love the idea for brushing the egg mix on the crust after pulling out the oven. Next crusts I make I will give it a try…Love a crispy crust.