What is Quiche?

A quiche is basically an egg pie. It is made up of a buttery crust and a savory egg custard or filling. It is sometimes referred to as Quiche Lorraine.

Quiche originated in France, although many versions exist today that aren’t quite the same as the ones in France.

Some versions of quiche are mushroom quiche, spinach quiche, crustless quiche, and cheese quiche. This tasty dish can be made with various flavor combinations and customized to include your favorite fillings.

What Goes in Quiche?

The ingredients in a basic quiche recipe are as follows:

1. Pie dough. You need butter, flour, baking powder, salt, and buttermilk (or milk) to make your own pie crust. This combination creates a flaky crust! You could also use store-bought pie dough or a store-bought crust.

2. Eggs. Large eggs at room temperature. Eggs are the heart of quiche.

3. Whole Milk or Heavy Cream. This mixes with quiche to form a creamy custard.

4. Seasonings. Salt and black pepper season the quiche, making it a savory delight.

5. Vegetables. Add any vegetables you like to a quiche. It is a great way to clean out the fridge!

However, be sure to sauté vegetables like onions, bell peppers, spinach mushrooms, zuchinni, etc before adding them to quiche. If they are not sautéed, they will release their juices into the quiche as it cooks, making it soggy. Not good.

We kept it simple and used green onions for this recipe. Green onions don’t need to be sautéed first. You could use sliced leeks as well.

5. Breakfast Meats. Breakfast meats like sausage or smoky bacon add meatiness and texture, creating a satisfying quiche.

6. Cheese. Cheese adds great flavor to quiche. We use cheddar cheese for a nice kick of flavor. You could use other kinds of cheese like colby jack cheese, swiss cheese, or pepper jack.

How it comes together

Here is your step-by-step guide for a simple quiche recipe that is beginner-friendly without the need to blind bake:

1. Combine flour, butter, baking powder, salt and buttermilk to make the pie dough. Let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Letting the dough chill hardens the butter, which makes a flaky crust!
2. Whisk together eggs and milk (or cream) in a large bowl to make a creamy egg custard, which is the quiche filling.
3. Roll out the dough and place it in a pie pan, adjusting it to take the shape of the pan.
4. Fill the pie dish with chopped sausage, shredded cheese and chopped green onions.
5. Add the egg mixture to the pie plate.
6. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for 35-40 minutes until the center sets.

What Makes This An Easy Quiche Recipe

1. No need to blind-bake the pie crust with pie weights or dry beans first. We find that the quiche still turns out great without first blind baking the pie crust, as most recipes call for.

2. No need to sauté vegetables first. We use a good amount of green onions in this recipe, and they don’t need to be cooked first like other vegetables.

3. You could use premade pie crust in a pinch. You may need to adjust the baking time of you choose this option.

What To Serve With Quiche

1. Serve quiche with some sliced avocados for breakfast.

2. Serve quiche with a simple green salad for lunch or dinner.

Yield: 6 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients

Pie Dough

1 cup unsalted butter, cold
2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, cold, see Note 1

Quiche Filling

4 green onions, chopped, substitute with leeks
3 oz chicken sausage, diced, 1 link
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided, sharp cheddar or medium/mild cheddar would work
6 eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup whole milk, use cream for more richness
¼-½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon chicken bouillon powder, could omit and use more salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Method

Make Dough. Use the shred side of a box grater to shred the cold butter into a large bowl. Add in flour, baking powder and salt. Mix everything to combine with fingertips. Add in cold buttermilk and mix to form a dough. Do not knead the dough. Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a circle. Wrap the dough in plastic wraps and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Prepare Filling. In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk (or cream), salt, pepper and chicken bouillon powder (if using).
Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).
Roll Out Dough. Remove one half of dough from the fridge and place on a generously floured surface. Roll it out into a large circle about 13 inches in diameter.
Place Dough Into Pie Pan. Place the dough over a 9-inch pie pan. Arrange the dough to ensure it completely covers the pie pan then trim off the excess around the rim of the pan. Press the dough around the sides so it kind of takes the shape of the pie pan.
Assemble Quiche. Add the chopped sausage, 3/4 cup of cheese and the green onions to the pie pan. Spread all the ingredients around to ensure that they are well distributed. Pour in the egg mixture then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the egg mixture.
Bake Quiche. Carefully place the pan in preheated oven and let it bake for about 35-40 minutes until set in the middle.
Serve. Let it cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.