Breakfast Quiche Recipe (2024)

Published: Nov 3, 2021 by Jenn · This post may contain affiliate links

Pie for breakfast is a must, especially when its this breakfast quiche recipe. Flaky all butter pie crust with a savory egg custard filling made up of sliced ham, gruyere cheese, mushrooms, onions, and spinach. This ultimate quiche has a super fluffy creamy egg texture and all the tasty add ins.

Ham and cheese quiche is my go to version for a delicious hot breakfast treat. I make quiche on weekend mornings, holidays, and when entertaining friends for brunch.

What is Quiche?

Quiche is a form of pie with a savory egg custard baked inside a bottom flaky pie crust. You can also make a crustless quiche, but I just can’t resist flaky pie dough. The main filling base of a quiche is made up of milk and/or cream, plus eggs. What is often interchangeable are the add-ins of cheeses, meats, seafood, and vegetables.

The most commonly known quiche recipe is Quiche Lorraine, combining bacon and cheese. My breakfast quiche incorporates deli ham and several vegetables. However, you can swap these ad-ins them for your favorites in equal measurements.

Ingredients Required for this quiche recipe

1. Pie Crust- Flavor and flaky texture are always paramount, so a Homemade Pie Crust is a must. This pie crust recipe will make enough for two 9 inch pies. Use one for quiche and freeze the second for baking something else.
2. Eggs and Heavy Cream – The most important part of the custard quiche filling is the mixture of eggs and heavy cream. I prefer to use heavy cream over milk, as it gives a lighter fluffier texture to the eggs.
3. Gruyere Cheese – A full cup of shredded gruyere cheese for a lovely salty nutty compliment to the ham and veggies. It melts easily and mixes nicely with the custard.
4. Ham – Any type of thick deli ham will work for this recipe, but the applewood smoked ham adds a great depth of flavor. Cut the ham into ½ inch cubes to ensure its evenly distributed in the filling.
5. Vegetables – Baby bella mushrooms and onions pair nicely with chopped baby spinach. To reduce moisture in the quiche, sauté the onions and mushrooms until softened before adding to the filling.
6. Seasoning– With the addition of salty ham and gruyere I chose not to add additional salt to the filling. Instead a little ground pepper and dijon mustard to compliment the rest of the ingredients.

Partially Blind Bake the Pie Crust

When you blind bake a pie crust it is important to weigh down the dough! First, roll out your pie crust and transfer to the pie pan. Press the edges of the dough into the pan, almost like sinking the dough down. Tuck under any excess overhanging dough. Crimp the edges of the dough between your thumb and fingertips. Prick the bottom and sides of the dough a few times with a fork. Place the pie in the fridge or freezer for 30 minutes until firm.

Remove the frozen pie crust and line with overhanging aluminum foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, dried rice or uncooked beans. Make sure to fill with weights all the way to the crimped edges to help weigh down the crust.

Preheat the heat oven to 375 F(190 C) and place the prepared pie on a cookie sheet. Transfer to the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes.

Carefully lift the paper or foil filled with weights from the pie and place it back in the oven for 2-3 more minutes of baking. Let par-baked crust cool for about 10 minutes. Add filling and bake quiche according to the recipe steps.

Option to Not Par Bake Crust

Quiche Without Par Baking Crust: I have made this quiche without partially baking the crust. Simply line pie pan with pie dough, refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to firm. Fill pie dough with quiche ingredients and bake an additional 10 minute slinger then the required baking time. The only risk is slightly over baking the filling, but I haven’t had this problem. Just keep an eye on a slight jiggle in the middle before removing quiche from the oven. The bottom crust is still well baked just slightly softer than the top crust.

Tips for Making Breakfast Quiche

• Make the pie crust dough the day before.
• Par bake the crust for a crispier bottom.
• Sauté the chopped onions and mushrooms until tender and slightly brown.
• Chill the pie dough lined pie pan in the fridge or freezer until firm, before adding the filling and baking. Cold pie crust shrinks less and will maintain its beautiful edge in the hot oven.
• Sprinkle half of the filling ingredients into the bottom of the pie crust, cover with the egg and cream mixture, then repeat for an even distribution.
• Place the pie pan on a parchment paper lined baking sheet to capture any butter drippings.
• Bake the quiche until the center has just set. Depending on your oven this could take 45-50 minutes. Check for doneness at the 40 minute mark, by gently jiggling the pan. If the very center is still a little wobbly but the edges are set, the quiche is done.
• Place baked quiche on a wire cooling rack for 5-10 minutes to slightly cool before slicing and serving warm.

How to Store Quiche

Quiche is best enjoyed the day it is baked. But, if you happen to have any leftovers store slices in an air tight container or covered in aluminum foil in the refrigerator.

To freeze, cool the baked quiche completely, then using aluminum foil cover tightly and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What to Serve with Quiche

I tend to serve something sweet with quiche, try one or more of the following:

• Coffee Blueberry Crumble Muffins
• Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Brown Sugar Banana Bread
• Baked Apple Donuts
• Cinnamon Apple Pop Tarts