I really enjoy making mini omelets and frittatas for my family.
These types of breakfast favorites are an easy way to customize your meals to accommodate different tastes and preferences.
As the newest addition to my typical egg breakfast collection, these mini quiches are becoming just as popular as the other egg dishes served in my home.
They are perfect when you would like to offer a varied selection around the breakfast table, or for a brunch buffet. And as a special bonus for the adults, I think these pair so well with a spicy bloody mary!
For the crust, if I’m having a leisurely morning, I like to use my homemade easy pie dough recipe. But when I want to save on time, I’m a huge fan of using premade sheets of puff pastry dough. When baked, it becomes crisp, flaky, delicate, and so puffy!
I flatten out the dough with a rolling pin, then cut it into small squares. I place each square into the individual wells of a muffin tin, and then make my egg mixture.
I let the kids decide what they would like to add in the filling!
The first row might be full of veggies, the next row may only have cheese, and the third row, for my carnivorous cravings, must have bits of crispy bacon or ham.
For this particular recipe, I’m using one of the family’s favorite combos: onions, garlic, spinach, and cheese.
This quick and easy meal is also great for those busy nights when I am on the go. I can pull some pre-made dough out of the fridge, and use whatever ingredients I have on hand to put a batch together.
We love breaking the rules and having breakfast for dinner!
Print
Mini Quiches with a Puff Pastry Crust
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 mini quiches 1x
Description
For a fun way to change up your breakfast, brunch, or brinner routine, try these adaptable mini quiches with a puff pastry crust. Make this version with spinach, onions, garlic, and cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
- 2 14-ounce packages frozen puff pastry, thawed overnight in the refrigerator
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cups (1 5-ounce bag) fresh baby spinach
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cups whole milk, heavy cream, or half and half
- 6 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Prep two muffin trays by greasing the muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- With a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, flatten out the puff pasty sheets to about 1/8 inch thick, shaping the dough into a large rectangle about 16 inches wide and 12 inches long. Cut the pastry sheet into 12 even squares using a sharp knife. Repeat with the other puff pastry sheet.
- Line the greased muffin cups with one square of dough each, pushing the dough down into the bottom of the tin. The corners should poke out of the pan.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and garlic until the onions turn translucent. Add the spinach, and sautee until the leaves wilt and become tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and let cool slightly in the pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Stir in the cheese.
- Evenly divide the spinach mixture between the pastry-lined muffin cups. Spoon the egg mixture over the spinach, filling about 2/3 to the top.
- Bake 35-45 minutes, until the eggs are set and the crust has browned.
- Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes in the pan before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool for another 15 minutes. Serve warm.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Quiche
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Keywords: quiche, breakfast, brunch, vegetarian, puff pastry
Cooking by the Numbers…
Step 1 – Prep the Puff Pastry
If using prepared frozen puff pastry dough, you’ll need to defrost it in the refrigerator the night before you want to bake – it is usually stored in the freezer at the grocery store.
Once it has thawed and you are ready to get started, preheat your oven to 375°F. Prep two muffin trays by greasing the muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
You’ll need to flatten the dough a little, since it will be too thick as is.
Lightly flour a flat work surface. With a rolling pin, flatten out the puff pasty sheets to about a 1/8-inch thickness, shaping each into a rectangle roughly 16 inches wide by 12 inches long. Cut the pastry sheets into 12 even squares each, using a sharp knife.
Step 2 – Line the Muffin Pans
Line each greased muffin cup with one square of dough, pushing the dough down into the bottom of the tin. The corners should poke out of the liner for a pretty presentation.
Step 3 – Prep and Saute the Vegetables
With a sharp knife and sturdy cutting board, slice the onions and mince the garlic. You can use a garlic press in a pinch!
Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat.
Saute the onions and garlic until the onions turn translucent. Add the spinach, and cook until the spinach has wilted. Season to taste with salt and pepper (freshly cracked is best!).
Remove from the stove, and let cool slightly off the heat.
Step 4 – Whisk the Egg Filling
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese.
Shredding the cheese yourself, the old fashioned way? Get our top picks for box graters.
Step 5 – Fill the Tins
Evenly divide the cooled spinach mixture amongst each well in the pastry-lined muffin tins. Spoon the egg and cheese mixture over the spinach, filling each about 2/3 of the way to the top.
The egg mixture and dough will expand when they bake, so you want to be careful to leave enough space at the top to allow for this.
Step 6 – Bake
Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the eggs are set and the crust has puffed and browned slightly. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. They will release from the tins so easily after they have cooled for those first 10 minutes.
Remove the quiches and place them on a wire rack to cool for another 15 minutes.
Serve while still warm. Enjoy!
What Will Your Favorite Fillings Be?
Surprising as it is, my typically picky kids adore this recipe, especially with the flavorful onions, garlic, and spinach!
Let’s hope they continue loving these veggie-filled breakfast cups. Knock on wood…
Seriously, you can use whatever fillings you like. Bacon, sausage, any medley of vegetables. Roasted veggies would be such a tasty flavor bomb in these quiches.
We recently made a frittata with Spanish chorizo and potato. That combo of ingredients would be amazing baked in puff pastry!
And play with the cheese selection, too. Try adding some fresh chevre, or have fun with an Italian theme: fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh basil!
What are your ideas? If you have any delicious combos of ingredients you’re thinking of trying, I definitely want to know. Leave a message in the comment section below.
Love this recipe? Try our other homemade savory breakfast tarts:
Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on July 19, 2015. Last updated: July 9, 2023 at 9:17 am. With additional writing and editing by Nikki Cervone.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Jennifer Swartvagher
Jennifer is an experienced journalist and author. Her work has been featured on TODAY Parents, The New York Times Blog, BlogHer, Scary Mommy, and scores of other parenting and cooking publications.
These look very delicious! I like the individual servings and the hint to dessert, by using the form. I really need that pie crust recipe too, because for some reason, my crust keeps coming out different every time. Consistency is so important. That is the true value of you sharing these wonderful recipes.
These look so yummy! I like that the ingredients can be customized, and even mixed throughout the batch, as well as that there are a few options for the dough portion. We also enjoy breakfast for dinner (or anytime, really), and it makes week nights so much nicer when a delicious and nutritious dinner is ready quickly and easily, without much fuss.
I love the customization options with this recipe.
These mini-quiches look great and so simple to make. They look perfect for a picnic lunch or even as part of a “help yourself” table. I’d probably add red peppers to one batch and bacon to another although to be fair, you could throw in anything you had leftover really.
These mini quiche are great to bring on a picnic.
I, too, love making personalized mini-omelettes for my family, topped with the meats, vegetables, and cheeses of their choice (often with sour cream on the side). However, it tends to get old as there is only so much you can do with an omelette to make it unique. I would definitely love to try these delicious-looking small quiches! I’m sure that this will add variety to our weekend meals. Thank you for the idea! 🙂
Why do these look so good?! Oh no, these are something. My sister loves bread and pastries. I’ll have to make this for her. There isn’t a meal without them for her. The recipe is kind of a gourmet style. Maybe it will take about an hour, hour and ten minutes total time with this one.
I’ve become such a fan of mini-dishes lately. They’re easy to prepare, cute, customizable, and the individual servings mean I’m set for a few days. Plus they’re fun to experiment with. These quiches look tasty indeed, I’m sure I’ll add them to my recipe collection!
I’ve taken to making smaller quiches and using ramekins to control portion sizes, so I can use different ingredients for people. My dad likes cheese in his so I can add it in his, and in mine I prefer to add more onions.
I think having smaller ones make it easier to store as well as to serve and is much easier to vary what fillings you can put in and use leftover vegetables too.
These mini quiches look cool. They also look great when trying to control portion sizes so everyone gets served the same size. Being able to customize flavors for each person must be convenient as well.
These are awesome! I love alternatives to the usual breakfast foods, because my partner has such awful food allergies. With these, I’d need to replace the eggs, which is an easy fix. Thanks for the recipe!
I like making mini-things in general! You can usually make a lot, and they’re great for storing on the weekend and heating and eating during the week. They’re also great for carrying around as a quick snack. I like quiche quite a lot, and these look really tasty and quite easy! Look great for a snack or a picnic lunch.
This looks like a tasty recipe for breakfast. I will admit that I’ve never invested much time into my breakfast meals; I preferred the typical toast, bacon and eggs combo with a side of coffee to start my day. However, these quiches seem to good not to try.
The original recipe is grand, but I would add my own twist to it. I would probably substitute the spinach with hash browns and add a few bacon bits and sausage to give it some nice, meaty substance. I can already see this being an excellent addition to my recipe book.
Oh yes! I could definitely see myself having these babies at anytime of the day! Thanks a lot once again for such amazing recipes! I can’t wait to try this one. It’s looks so easy to make and is just perfect when you have a house full of people. I would love to have one with cream cheese bacon and spinach yumm! I could also eat them at work too. I know my friends at work will begging for the recipe. I’ll be making these during the week, so wish me luck!
What a good idea and way to keep a family happy and satisfied! This recipe adds variety to breakfasts, but could also be served at other meal times. It will also do well as a lunch package. I really like this idea as it keeps meals interesting by catering for all.
Wow, these look delicious!!!!! I must add these to my must try list. I am always looking for different ways of serving up eggs and have tried some frittatas but without success. However, these might definitely be a hit with the family.
Off hand, I would quickly fry them and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar over them.
I also like the options that are available, although the puff pastry is a little concerning. I know, I know, you’ve simplified it, but if there’s a way to make the easy complicated, I will find it. Although not on purpose.
Oh well, nothing ventured…
Those look delicious! Too bad that I’m on a diet and they look very high in calories. I love tasty snacks that can be made quickly! I could see them being a great take away food.
Anything with garlic and spinach gets my vote. And then add some cheddar cheese and onion. I’m sold!! I was never a huge fan of pastries, but this takes pastries to a new level!
I love quiche! It is so easy to make and delicious! The addition of the puff pastry sounds interesting to say the least. Puff pastry is great on it’s own, so I am curious to find out how these two things combined would turn out! And the fact that the recipe is for mini portions is great as well. I love being able to just have a taste, or a few more bites by choice
These look great!! My family loves quiche. These mini quiches would be great to bring to parties or brunch. I’d like to try this recipe and add some bacon or sausage. Delicious!
Hmmm, this could work. I like making these, and I usually use a mini muffin pan. I like them teeny tiny. They make perfect party or brunch offerings. I generally use pie crust or another type of crust made from bread dough or biscuit mix though. This sounds even better. They look pretty too, and I’m all about the presentation.
What a great idea and really easy to make. I love the fact that everyone can have the filling they like – saves arguments! They would be perfect for a summer lunch or a picnic as they can be eaten hot or cold.
I am a big quiche fan. It is such a versatile dish in that it is a good for dinner as well as breakfast. Still, I can’t see myself replacing a traditional quiche with this recipe only because of the ease of making a quiche with a pie crust instead of puff pastries. I could see the benefit though if I had a group of people coming over and wanted to offer a variety of options for my guests. Otherwise, I will stick with the reliable classic.