Our quiche recipe makes a satisfying dish: flaky pie crust with a rich filling that’s customizable to your likings. And unlike most recipes, this one has the approval of our nutritionist.
We make our pastry from scratch because it is both healthier and tastier that way. It does need to be chilled for at least 2 hours before rolling, but the extra time is totally worth it.
With that said, let’s get into making quiche.
What Is Quiche?
Quiche is a savory pie with a flaky, buttery crust and an egg-based filling. You can add many things to the filling besides eggs and dairy, including meat and vegetables.
Frittata vs Quiche – The Difference
Frittata is an Italian egg delicacy, meaning “fried”. To make a frittata, eggs are cooked with meat/vegetables in a cast iron skillet.
When the frittata is done, it’s taken out of the pan and plated on a large dish.
In fact, we have a frittata recipe with tomatoes and veggies for the filling. You can have a look to compare the two.
Quiche, on the other hand, comes in a pastry shell instead of being served plain like frittata. Also, it is often cooked in a baking dish rather than a cast iron skillet.
Sometimes, quiche is cooked without the pastry shell and we call that a crustless quiche, which is mistaken for frittata. However, since frittata contains very little to no dairy at all, it’s denser than quiche and this is the key difference between the two.
Is Quiche Healthy?
Quiche may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of healthy foods, but our recipe is specially formulated to be healthy.
You may have heard of “quiche Lorraine”, a classic quiche loaded with bacon. There’s also the popular ham and cheese variety, also super satisfying and tasty.
These, however, are the ones we’re trying to avoid. Bacon and ham are loaded with saturated fat and sodium, two nutrients we want to limit.
Our recipe keeps these levels in check with a few tweaks to the classic:
- The crust is homemade, so we can have full control of how much butter goes in.
- The egg filling is lighter on eggs and dairy.
- Bacon and ham are off the table. Instead, it’s tender chicken thighs, creamy potatoes, and super savory mushrooms.
Main Ingredients
Let’s take a closer look at the components of this quiche recipe:
1. Pie Crust
We wanted the classic pie crust that’s flaky and buttery, but the store-bought dough we found contained too much fat (not to mention other added ingredients). As a result, we recreated the crust with half butter, half shortening— an alternative grease with less saturated fat.
The most important thing to remember is that the butter, shortening and water you use need to be cold. you can store them in the fridge or briefly in the freezer prior to making your pastry.
All you need to do then is add the ingredients for the crust to a food processor and blitz until small crumbs form. Then mix and knead them a little bit to bring them together and you have a perfect dough ready for refrigeration.
2. Eggs and Milk
These hold the filling together and it’s important to keep the egg-milk ratio at around 1 egg : ½ cup milk. More liquid than that and your egg might not be able to set.
You’ll notice that the ratio in our quiche recipe is 1.5 eggs : ¼ cup milk. This makes it a little denser (both in texture and nutrition!).
We’ve also added 1 tablespoon of cream to the mixture to increase the richness and creaminess.
3. Mushrooms, Potatoes, and Chicken
Our filling of choice is a combination of tender potato bites, chewy mushrooms, and golden chunks of chicken thigh. This filling takes around 10 minutes to cook, and is completely delicious.
Of course, you can add other things to the quiche filling to make it even healthier. We’ll share a few suggestions later.
How Long to Cook Quiche
Cooking time depends very much on the oven. Actual oven temperature can vary between models, depending on age and quality.
Ours was cooked until the top was golden brown, and it took 30 minutes in a 375°F oven. If your quiche is still runny and not completely set after 30 minutes, leave it in there for up to 15 minutes longer.
Check on it after 10 minutes; you don’t want to end up with an overbaked crust or dry filling.
Can You Freeze Quiche?
Quiche won’t go bad if you freeze it, but it won’t taste as good as freshly baked. If you intend to freeze quiche for later serving, we have a better option for you down below.
How Long Does It Last?
You can bake quiche the night before then reheat it the next morning. The crust will still be flaky, and the filling will taste almost the same (sometimes it has even improved with time to sit together).
Quiche can last for 4-5 days in the fridge. Make sure to let it cool completely and cover it with cling wrap/put it in an airtight container before refrigerating.
Can You Make Quiche Ahead of Time?
There’s nothing like freshly baked quiche, but if you are looking to have it for breakfast, there are steps you can take to make that more convenient. To help timewise you could do the following the day before:
- Prep and cook the filling
- Mix and chill the dough for at least 2 hours
- Roll the dough out and place it into a baking dish
- Refrigerate both crust and filling
When you wake up, take the components out of the fridge. Add the filling to the crust, pour in the egg mixture, and it’s ready for baking.
While it’s baking, do whatever you normally would— brush your teeth, take a quick shower, etc. When you’re done, you should have a scrumptious, hot breakfast waiting for you.
What to Serve with
Quiche is brilliant on its own but could do with added calories for a fuller meal.
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
First thing in the morning is not when you want to be making full meals (that’s why we make it ahead of time). So, to have a healthy and quick 600-calorie breakfast, we suggest adding a strawberry banana smoothie.
Quiche Recipe
This quiche recipe is quick (if you don't count the 2 hours of dough chilling time) and really simple. Try it today for a wholesome meal!
- by Luna Regina, 2020-02-19
- cook TIME 40 mins
- prep TIME 20 mins
- total TIME 3 hr
- INACTIVE TIME 2 hr
- COURSE Breakfast, Main Course
- CUISINE American, French, German
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 507 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- Crust:
- 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 tbsp water (ice-cold)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Filling:
- 18 oz skinless boneless chicken thighs (chopped into small pieces)
- 15 oz potatoes (chopped)
- 3 oz white mushrooms (cut into chunks)
- 1.5 oz onion
- 0.75 oz mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp salt (divided)
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2.5 medium eggs
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
- 1 tbsp parsley (chopped)
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
INSTRUCTIONS
Blend 1 cup flour, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp chilled butter, and 2 tbsp shortening in a food processor. Gradually add 6 tbsp ice-cold water to it while blitzing until crumbs form.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Quickly shape the dough into a disk, and wrap it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a pan, cook 1.5 oz onion and 1 tbsp garlic with 1 tsp olive oil for 1 minute over medium heat.
Add 18 oz chicken and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add 15 oz potatoes, 3 oz mushrooms, the amount of 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp thyme. Stir well and allow to cook for another 10 minutes.
Whisk 2.5 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1 tbsp cream, and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl.
Unwrap the dough, and roll it out thinly on a work surface. It can stick to your rolling pin, so be sure to flour your work surface and the rolling pin.
Gently roll the dough sheet around the rolling pin, then lift it from the work surface. Unroll the pastry over a round baking dish, very carefully. Gently press the pastry on the sides of the dish to form the crust.
Transfer the cooked filling into the crust. Slowly pour the egg-milk mixture on the filling and swirl it around using a spatula.
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Check every once in a while.
Sprinkle 0.75 oz cheese on top of the quiche and bake for another 5 minutes.
Sprinkle 1 tbsp parsley on top and serve.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Head Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- Jayelle KPerfectly cooked quiche - colorful and nutritious!