Quiche is not just for brunch anymore. We often bake more than one at a time, in the hope that there will be leftovers for the next day. Served with mixed fruit for breakfast or salad for a light and easy lunch, quiche is a very versatile meal.
As far as fillings go, pretty much anything is acceptable. You can throw in whatever vegetables you have on hand – such as spinach, broccoli, zucchini, or asparagus – along with a generous helping of cheese. Bacon, ham, and sausage also make flavorful and delicious additions to this dish.
The best part of all is that you can even prepare the filling beforehand. Simply refrigerate the egg mixture until you are ready to pour it into the crust to bake.
I usually bake traditional quiches featuring my Easy Pie Crust (which I first introduced in my blueberry pie recipe), but I have perfected an absolutely delicious crust-free quiche that my kids affectionately refer to as “quiche-less quiche.”
In all reality, it is basically a frittata made with quiche ingredients (speaking of frittata, there is an excellent asparagus version hidden in this article).
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 6 tablespoons cold water
- Combine flour, salt, and butter in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut together with a pastry cutter until mixture takes on a crumbly appearance.
- Stir in water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough forms into a ball.
- Roll out on a flat surface.
- 1 prepared pie crust
- 10 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/3 cup onion minced
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 cup half and half or whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- Bake pierce uncooked crust with a fork several times and bake in a 400 degree oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and lower temperature to 350 degrees.
- Cook bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels. Once cooled crumble bacon.
- Sprinkle bacon, onion, and 1 cup of the cheese into the prepared crust.
- Whisk together eggs, half and half, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Pour egg mixture into the crust and tp with the remaining cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until set.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.
Feel free to adjust the amount of cayenne pepper to suite to taste.
- 3 cups zucchini diced
- 1 onion chopped
- 6 eggs beaten
- 1/2 cup milk,
- 1 cup baking mix
- 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon parsley chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper freshly ground is better*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and milk. Add zucchini, onion, baking mix, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Pour into prepared baking dish.
- Top with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is browned.
*Freshly ground pepper is much more pungent and has a taste that can't be replicated by the pre-ground stuff found in a can. Check out Foodal's pepper grinder guide to get you milling your own at home.
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.
I’ve been making quiche for about 19years now. It’s always very basic. I may switch up which meat is in it, and occasionally one with spinach. In it. I was taught eggs, cheese, cream, and filling… That’s it. I’ve grilled Olin’s to put in it before. It isn’t the biggest hit around here, probably because it is a bit bland. The quiche Lorraine is getting made for dinner this week. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Thank you!!
I’ve only made quiche a couple of times – fear of pastry! – but I would like to have another go, especially as you say there are so many ways to use it. Quiche for breakfast is not something I’d given any thought to before now, but a bacon quiche appeals to me now that I’ve seen it written down. I think it’s one of those things that until you know someone else has done it, you don’t want to do it yourself….
I’ll certainly be having another go at making quiches, and your pie crust recipe too – thanks.
Quiches and frittatas are my favorites. I love how quickly they come together, usually have the ingredients on hand, and they’re great for cleaning out the fridge. I even have a beautiful dish I can cook and serve them in, which makes them even more of a treat. I’m looking forward to trying out your quiche and crust recipes.
Right? The pie crust recipe is so simple, and sounds really good to me. I swear, all my family recipes call for shortening. I don’t like shortening. Well, apparently I do, because I like their pie crust. I just don’t like using the stuff, so I never buy it.
I love that this crust recipe uses butter. I will be trying this for lots of stuff. I think it would make a great pot pie as well as the lovely quiches.
What exactly is shortening? Is it exclusively made from animal fats (like lard) or is it a plant-based product?
This is yet another reason for visiting this blog time and again. Every time I visit, there’s always a new dish that is totally unfamiliar to me. I never in my life have tried quiche. It being a breakfast/brunch food – I think I can definitely dig this dish. I love anything with egg in it. How long will this keep in the fridge? I live alone and for that I can’t cook for many. It is mentioned that the recipe makes 4 servings. So, I’m wondering how long this can keep in the fridge.
Great recipes. The zucchini recipe sounds like my favorite of the two. I do a vegan quiche with spinach or chard, waited onions and mushrooms, some tofu crumbled and seasoned and mix it with soy cheese, with a layer of soy cheese on top. I like the idea of using zucchini and other vegetables too. I like a light taste instead of a heavy taste.
I’m a big fan of quiche. It’s realy easy to double up and cook two and will last a couple of days in the fridge. I love their versatility – they can be eaten at any meal and can contain basically anything you like. My favorite is a breakfast quiche involving sausage and bacon.
My friend makes quiches quite frequently and they always look so delicious. I haven’t tried making one myself, though. It would definitely be fun to experiment with fillings and cheese varieties. Plus I’ve been eating more eggs lately and loving it, so I’m sure I’ll make an attempt in the near future, thanks to these recipes.
Quiche is such a cheap yet glamourous & versatile thing to play with. You can throw everything but the kitchen sink into a quiche & it’ll still be delicious. I personally love a veggie quiche but at times throw a smidge of sausage into it for the rest of the family not too keen on just vegetables *cough* men *cough*
Yum! How good do these look? I really like quiche a lot. It’s so versatile too, along with being delicious.
My favorite way is to make mini quiches. I will try it with some of your recipes. My mouth is watering now.
I’m so glad I came across this recipe! I love Quiche but have never made it myself. I cant wait to try these recipes since I have only tried Ham Quiche so I’m excited to try something new.
Oh my goodness I LOVE quiches! I always save my quiche-eating times for when I go out for brunches, but I have often thought about making my own. I think my biggest fear, much like pie making, is screwing up the crust; if the crust isn’t right, I think it ruins the quiche!
I’m glad your recipe looks easier than others though, so I may have to give this recipe a try in the near future. I can’t wait to get to the point where I can figure out what I can put in my quiches 🙂
Quiches are always the vegetarian options wherever I go whether it’s winter or summer and I am glad as people always cook them and they are great hot or cold.
I try to have them with a wholemeal crust as they are healthier and also tend to be richer. A good crust can make all the difference and a buttery one.
My, oh my, the dishes i have been missing out on… looks delicious and my mouth waters furiously… i need to wake up and smell the coffee…the recipes are worth it…simple and to the point, i should sacrifice sometime this week and spoil myself rotten in this regard…we’ll see about that 😉
When I used to coupon I would get really good deals on Pillsbury pie dough and in a pinch I really don’t mind it. I loved it most to have on hand to make a quick quiche for lunch or dinner. Quiche is just so filling and you can literally put anything in it. I had some pork chops left over once that I decided to chop up and pair with green chilies in a quiche. It was a great chile verde quiche with avocado on top.
I really do like your recipe for Quiche Lorraine, Mostly because of the addition of swiss cheese. I absolutely love the flavor of bacon and swiss cheese together. There is something about the tang of the swiss and the salty smokiness of the bacon that just works together. Thanks for the inspirations!
Thank you for helping me understand what a quiche really is. I’ve always looked at them as the unwanted child of the pie family (even though I typically enjoy eggs), although I know some people really love them. The recipe looks delicious, and I may have to try it in the winter.
I was the victim of an older male family member when I was child that believed real men don’t eat quiche. Isn’t that nonsense? I didn’t try it until I was an adult as a result. It is a delicious versatile source of protein! I can’t get enough of it.
Quiche is one of my favourite quick week night dinners to make. Preparing it the night before is such a time saver because I can just pop it in the oven when everyone gets home and we can have some time to relax while it’s cooking. It’s a good way to use up leftover veggies and meat too. I usually just buy a pre-made pie crust but I’ll have to try out the recipe you included with this…homemade always tastes better 🙂
I’ll admit to not being a fan of quiche, I’ve eaten too many soggy bottoms and watery fillings to form any view other than one of mild disgust when I see one to be honest. I could be convinced otherwise if someone presented me with a well baked effort and had put some thought into the filling, but it hasn’t happened yet, sadly!
I’ve always made quiche with whatever leftover meat and vegetabless we had and it’s a bit of a ‘regular’ on our menu. I know my family will appreciate a new recipe though. I have been sort of making it the same way as I always do, and I think a new recipe will please everyone. Thanks for sharing this with us.