When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (2024)

  • Breakfast Eggs

Quiche is a must for any brunch. Master the basics, from making pie crust for the quiche to learning how to tell when the quiche is done.

By

Sheena Chihak, RD

When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (1)

Sheena Chihak, RD

Sheena Chihak is a registered dietitian, former food editor and current edit lead for BHG with over 17 years of writing and editing experience for both print and digital.

Updated on November 9, 2023

If you're looking for a reliable brunch recipe that always impresses, learn how to make quiche. Thanks to the flaky crust and pie plate presentation, the savory pie with an egg-based custard-like filling is more elevated than a casserole.

Along with the crust, the key to a genuinely great quiche is a creamy filling that holds a cut edge. The secret to that perfect filling is finding the correct ratio of milk to eggs—too much milk, and the custard won't set properly; too little, and it turns tough during baking. Use our Test Kitchen-approved tips to learn how to make quiche expertly.

When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (2)

When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (3)

How to Make Quiche Crust

With pie crust for quiche, as with any pie, you have options. You can prepare a crust from scratch (we suggest our Pastry for Single-Crust Pie), use a refrigerated unbaked pie crust ($5, Target), or a frozen pre-made pie crust ($3, Target).

This is how to prep your quiche crust using the homemade or refrigerated option. And yes, as you'll see, you should always prebake quiche crust to avoid a gummy pastry.

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Roll out your homemade or purchased refrigerated dough into a 12-inch circle. Carefully fold pastry circle into fourths. Place folded pastry into a 9-inch pie plate. Unfold pastry and ease it into the pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Trim to ½ inch beyond the edge of the pie plate. Fold under extra pastry and crimp edge as desired.
  • Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. The foil weighs down the crust, which prevents it from bubbling up or blistering. This technique, known as blind-baking, creates a stronger crust that can better hold a moist filling, such as the egg mixture in quiche.
  • Bake 8 minutes on a baking sheet. This helps keep the crust crispier when you add the filling. Remove the foil. Bake 5 to 6 minutes more or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. The pastry shell should still be hot when the filling is added. Do not partially bake the pastry shell ahead of time.

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When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (4)

How to Make Quiche Filling

This is the part of how to make a quiche where the most customizing happens. Depending on your chosen quiche filling, you can make it while you prebake the quiche crust or make it first so it's ready to add to the hot pastry shell.

For a classic Quiche Lorraine, which requires skillet-cooking bacon, sautéing onion for several minutes, whisking together your milk-and-egg mixture, and, if using block cheese, shredding cheese to toss with flour, you may want to have at least some of the filling started before your pastry enters the oven. If your filling is quicker to assemble, like in this Spinach and Mushroom Quiche, you can likely do it all while prebaking the quiche crust.

13 Breakfast Quiche Recipes to Seriously Upgrade Your Morning Eggs

When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (5)

Bake the Quiche

You should have already decreased the oven temperature to 325°F when you removed the pastry from the oven so it's ready to finish your quiche.

  • Carefully pour egg mixture into the hot prebaked quiche crust. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until the edges are puffed and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If the pastry edge is getting brown before the filling is done, cut out a circle of foil just large enough to cover the pastry edge and place atop the pastry edge to prevent over-browning.
  • Transfer the quiche to a wire rack. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. This helps the custard filling to firm up and hold a cut edge.
  • To serve, cut into wedges and garnish as desired.

With your masterful quiche as the centerpiece, you just need to figure out the rest of your brunch menu. Pick your favorite brunch co*cktail or coffee drinks and brunch breads to complete the feast.

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When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (6)

Egg Casserole Recipes

Eggs make an excellent base for many casseroles that can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eggs are packed with protein, so they're filling and satisfying. Add a veggie side to any of these recipes for a complete meal.

  • Sausage, Egg, and Biscuit Casserole
  • Squash, Bacon, and Feta Breakfast Bake
  • Chile Verde Breakfast Lasagna
  • Alfredo-Bacon Tot Casserole
  • Fig, Pancetta, and Goat Cheese Casserole

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When You Need an Epic Breakfast, Make a Quiche (2024)

FAQs

What is breakfast quiche made of? ›

Breakfast Quiche is a flavorful breakfast made with a creamy filling baked in a buttery, flaky pie crust. Bacon, spinach, garlic, sharp cheddar along with milk, cream, and eggs make for an incredibly flavorful filling! Serve this quiche up for a holiday brunch and prepare to watch it fly off plates.

What is the formula for quiche? ›

Quiche Ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy

You'll need to increase the amount of eggs and milk based on the size of your quiche, so knowing the basic ratio makes it really easy to scale up or down. For a standard 9-inch quiche: Use 3 large eggs (6 ounces) 1 1/2 cups of whole milk or cream (12 ounces)

What is the origin of the quiche breakfast? ›

The History of Quiche

The word 'quiche' itself comes from the German word for cake, 'Kuchen. ' According to foodreference.com, the savory breakfast food was first concocted in the medieval German kingdom of Lotharingia, which stretched across France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Why is blind-baking important when making quiche? ›

The foil weighs down the crust, which prevents it from bubbling up or blistering. This technique, known as blind-baking, creates a stronger crust that can better hold a moist filling, such as the egg mixture in quiche. Bake 8 minutes on a baking sheet. This helps keep the crust crispier when you add the filling.

Do people eat quiche for breakfast? ›

In its homeland (the Alsace-Lorraine region of France), quiche Lorraine is served at lunch or dinner. Stateside, however, breakfast quiche recipes are a morning favorite. This quiche Lorraine recipe keeps it classic with bacon and Swiss cheese filling.

What is quiche made of? ›

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.

What do eggs do in quiche? ›

Torta di riso and quiche use eggs primarily as binding agents, although the rice pie does expand slightly in the oven as it bakes. It usually collapses again once it cools. If you do use eggs in baking, you need to be careful to balance the fats and proteins in the eggs and the other ingredients.

Can I substitute heavy cream for milk in quiche? ›

It also may perform a bit differently than heavy cream will in the quiche recipe. Your best bet for making a quiche without heavy cream is to swap whole milk for heavy cream, use a combination of whole-fat and reduced-fat milk or a combination of heavy cream and reduced-fat milk.

Is quiche healthy? ›

Primarily made of eggs, quiche is a one-dish meal made of protein, calcium, essential vitamins, and minerals. Quiche can be a healthy dish when prepared with a few ingredient swaps.

What do Americans call quiche? ›

quiche in American English

(kiʃ) noun. a pielike dish consisting of an unsweetened pastry shell filled with a custard and usually containing cheese and other ingredients, as vegetables, seafood, or ham. spinach quiche.

Do the French eat quiche for breakfast? ›

The French typically eat quiches for lunch and dinner or as appetizers, but I've found that Americans like to eat quiches for breakfast and brunch. It doesn't matter when you eat it, my Quiche Lorraine recipe will taste good any time of the day.

Can you put too many eggs in a quiche? ›

The best quiche consists of a custard that's the perfect ratio between eggs and milk. Using too many eggs in the custard results in a quiche that rubbery and too firm when baked, while not using enough will prevent the custard from setting. Follow This Tip: Remember this ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy.

Can I use pasta instead of baking beans? ›

*Wondering what to use instead of baking beans? Dried beans or even dried pasta work just as well.

Can you freeze quiche? ›

You can freeze quiche for up to 3 months with excellent results, and you have several options for doing it: You can assemble and freeze it before baking, you can bake and then freeze the quiche for reheating later or you can freeze the unbaked filling and crust separately.

What's the difference between egg pie and quiche? ›

The crust is usually topped with a pastry lid, but is sometimes left open. A bacon and egg pie differs from a quiche, most notably due to the absence of cheese and milk and the presence of an upper crust. Also the eggs are not beaten and are whole, or at the most yolks pierced.

Is a quiche just an omelette? ›

The traditional cooking methods used also set quiches, frittatas, and omelets apart. Quiches are typically baked in the oven; omelets are cooked-over stovetop heat and folded over (with the center most often left custardy and not quite set).

What is the difference between a quiche and a breakfast casserole? ›

Egg Casserole

They are heartier than a quiche, leaning more towards a strata in texture. If you are dairy-free, you can use almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, rice, soy milk, or any other non-dairy milk you prefer.

What pastry is quiche made from? ›

Quiche crusts are made with shortcrust pastry. The name “shortcrust” refers to the baking term “short” which means pastries that are flaky and crumble when you cut into them.

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