Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The crust is buttery and delicious while the egg filling is delightfully savory, cheesy, and SO flavorful thanks to the bacon and caramelized onions.
Texture: Buttery, flaky crust paired with a creamy egg custard. What could be better?!
Ease: This is definitely more of an involved recipe, but the time you spend making this will be SO worth it.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: Impressive dish to bring to a breakfast or brunch gathering that’s perfect for serving a crowd!
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I can’t think of a more impressive breakfast or brunch recipe than this Quiche Lorraine.
The base of this Quiche Lorraine recipe features my all-butter Best Ever Pie Crust with the addition of an egg and a pinch of paprika. The flaky crust pairs so perfectly with the creamy custard filling.
The egg custard filling is savory heaven. Ultra cheesy and filled with bacon and caramelized onions for TONS of flavor.
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The whole family will love this classic Quiche Lorraine for breakfast, brunch, or dinner!
I love that this recipe can be made ahead of time, too. Serve it for Easter brunch, Mother’s Day, or just a fun weekend brunch at home!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Quiche Lorraine
What is Quiche?
Quiche is a savory French tart. It’s a creamy, soft egg-based filling in a crisp pastry shell. Don’t think of this as being similar to an omelet or frittata; it’s much softer, creamier, and less egg-y than either of those egg-forward dishes. Countless variations of quiche are common, with various cheeses and spinach being the most notable.
For this easy quiche recipe, I took inspiration from the French original and gave it a bit of a twist. We’re making a Quiche Lorraine and using crispy bacon, caramelized red onion, and Gruyère to give this quiche a deliciously fun update.
Ingredients for Quiche Crust:
- All-purpose flour – Measured correctly! If you add too much flour, you may end up with tough pastry, and nobody wants that!
- Salt – Essential to flavor the crust. I prefer to use fine sea salt instead of table salt, simply because I prefer the flavor. Learn about types of salt here.
- Paprika – I like the very subtle spice this adds to the pastry, as well as the fun hint of color it brings. You can use any type of paprika you like, or skip it entirely if you prefer.
- Butter – Always use unsalted butter in baking. It’s important that your butter is very cold and stays as cold as possible throughout the process.
- An egg – Cold. An egg brings moisture and richness to pastry to make a sturdier crust for the filling.
- Cold water – Ice cold, to bring the pastry together.
Ingredients for Quiche Lorraine Filling:
- Eggs – The base for our quiche. Be sure to use large eggs (about 56 grams in shell). More on eggs below.
- Whole milk and heavy cream – To make this quiche super creamy and delicious. Feel free to just use one or the other, but note the texture of your quiche will be different.
- Seasonings – we’re using salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a hint of cayenne pepper to flavor our quiche. The cayenne is optional, so skip that if you don’t like a little heat.
- Fillings – Bacon, onion, and cheese. Cook the bacon (you can use thick-cut bacon or regular) until it’s crispy, and caramelize the onion for the best flavor and texture. I opted for Gruyère cheese because I love the flavor it brings and the way it melts. I highly recommend sticking with an aged Gruyère, but if you can’t find it or don’t prefer it, opt instead for a mature cheddar in its place.
Quiche Ingredient Temperatures
Be sure to use room-temperature eggs because they whisk up better/easier when at room temp, compared to when they’re cold and straight out of the fridge.
If you’ve forgotten to get your eggs out of the fridge, no problem! Place the uncracked eggs in a bowl covered with warm tap water for about 5-10 minutes, and you’re good to go!
The temperature of the milk and cream doesn’t really matter (you can use it straight out of the fridge).
The crust, on the other hand, needs a cold egg (along with cold butter and ice-cold water) because pastry always needs everything to be as cold as possible to keep the butter from melting and ensure maximum flakiness and crispness. See more pie crust tips here!
The Pan
I love using a 10 x 2-inch tart pan with a removable base here. The base makes it super easy to remove the quiche, allowing everyone to see the beautiful fluted edges of your crust!
If you don’t have a 10-inch tart/quiche pan, feel free to use a 9-inch pie plate that’s at least 2 inches deep instead, though it may take a few extra minutes to bake.
If using a glass pie pan and freezing your dough or reheating from frozen, make sure to use a pan made from borosilicate glass to avoid your pan from shattering in the oven.
How to Achieve a CRISP Crust
We are going to par-bake this crust before adding the filling, to ensure there are no soggy bottoms here! If we were to simply throw this filling into an unbaked crust, it would produce wet, underbaked results that would be very unpleasant to eat.
Learn more about this process in my How to Blind Bake and Par-Bake Pie Crust article here!
How to Prevent the Crust from Overbrowning
If you notice the edges of your crust beginning to brown but the center of your quiche isn’t quite done yet, simply cover the crust edges with aluminum foil for the final few minutes of baking – or, if you have one, use a pie crust shield.
Can I Make Quiche Ahead of Time?
Yes! You can make the dough up to two days ahead; simply wrap well in plastic wrap and place in the fridge until it’s time to roll out and use.
You can also caramelize the onions and cook the bacon a day or two ahead of time, and just place both in separate airtight containers until you’re ready for them.
How to Store Quiche
To store, place quiche slices in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. To freeze, follow the instructions below.
How to Reheat Quiche
Reheat slices of quiche at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. If reheating from frozen, add about 15 minutes.
Can You Freeze Quiche?
Yes! Quiche actually freezes well and reheats well. Wrap quiche slices in plastic wrap and store inside an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through, before serving. If reheating from frozen, you will need to add an additional 15 minutes to heat through. I recommend wrapping slices in foil for the first 15 minutes or so, and then undo the foil carefully for the final 5-20 minutes, to re-crisp the crust.
What to Serve with Quiche Lorraine
If serving for lunch or dinner, add a simple green salad. For breakfast or brunch, here are some delicious additions:
- Home Fries
- Homemade Muffins
- Coffee Cake
- Scones
- Fresh fruit
- Mimosas 😉
Quiche Lorraine
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ¾ cup (222 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika, optional
- 10 tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 egg, cold
- 3 tablespoons water, ice cold
For the filling:
- 12 ounce package (10-12 strips) bacon
- 1 red onion (about ½ pound or 225 grams whole), finely sliced
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (113 grams) whole milk
- ½ cup (113 grams) heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne, optional
- 1 ¼ cups (141 grams or 1/3 pound) Gruyère, shredded and divided
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Combine the flour, salt and paprika together in a food processor, or whisk together in a bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter. Pulse in the food processor a few times, or cut in using a pastry cutter, until the butter is about the size of a pea.
- Add the cold egg and water. Pulse for about 10 seconds, or mix with a wooden spoon or spatula, until the mixture resembles wet sand, being careful not to overmix the dough. Place the mixture on a lightly floured surface, using your hands to press the dough into a craggily mass. Fold the dough 2-3 times, and shape it into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight.*
- After the dough has rested, remove from the fridge and roll out the dough to about a ¼-inch thick, 13-inch diameter circle. Gently press the dough into a 10 x 2-inch nonstick quiche pan* with a removable bottom, pressing it into the fluting of the pan, being careful not to pull or tug at the dough. Trim the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F while your dough is chilling.
Make the filling:
- While the dough is chilling, cook the bacon in a large skillet or pan on medium heat until crispy. Set aside to cool slightly, then dice the bacon into ¼-inch cubes and set aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter to the same pan (may also use 1 tablespoon bacon grease), and cook the sliced onion over a medium-low heat until caramelized, stirring every minute or two to avoid burning, about 20 minutes. The onions will be dark in color and very fragrant. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and heavy cream. Add the salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne (if using). Fold in diced bacon and 1 cup (112 grams) of Gruyère cheese. Set aside.
Bake the quiche:
- Remove the pastry-lined pan from the fridge. Cover the bottom of the dough with parchment and fill to the brim with pie weights (or you can use dry beans or sugar as pie weights). Par-bake the crust for 20 minutes, or until the crust appears set and is fragrant.**
- Once par-baked, remove the parchment and pie weights. Set aside to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Spread the caramelized onions evenly over the bottom of the slightly cooled crust. Pour in the filling mixture, and top evenly with the remaining ¼ cup of Gruyère cheese.
- Place the quiche on a baking sheet in case there is any leakage. Bake on the middle rack at 375°F for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown, the center looks set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the baked quiche to sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe Notes
Photos by Joanie Simon.
Can puff pastry be used instead of your crust? I’ll be baking it in a rectangular tart pan with the removable bottom.
Hi Cyndde! We haven’t tried that, but it could work – just be sure to use plenty of pie weights to par-bake your dough, both so it doesn’t get soggy from the filling, and also so it doesn’t puff up and leave you with no room for the filling! I would also recommend checking on the volume of your pan compared to the pan Tessa recommends, just to be sure you don’t need to scale the recipe up or down to accommodate the different pan. I hope that helps! Let us know how it goes 🙂
Can I make this a day ahead? If so, how do I warm up?
Hi Barbara! Yes, you can! There are a couple different options for this. Tessa talks about this in the pink tip box (above the recipe). Check out some of the make ahead options under the heading ‘Can I Make Quiche Ahead of Time?’ and reheating instructions under ‘How to Reheat Quiche’. Let us know what you think of this quiche once you give it a try! 🙂
Hi Tessa: Just wondering, can you substitute with ham and broccoli florets, keep the carmelized onions in this receipe and remove the bacon. Thanks.
Hi Christine! You’ll need to experiment with the amount of ham and broccoli added, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! Please let us know how it goes if you give it a try.
I have a perforated tart pan so I want to bake without blind baking crust. How long should I bake the quiche?
Hi Robin! We haven’t tested this recipe using a perforated pan, so I can’t say for sure – but as long as the pan size is the same as listed in the recipe, no modifications should be needed. Let us know what you think of this quiche once you have given it a try! 🙂
I made this with chorizo instead of bacon, and it turned out wonderful!
I also used a muffin tin by cutting fluted rounds from the dough and pressing them into the cups. Cupcake liners substituted nicely for parchment paper with the pie weights. There was a little extra crust that went into a 4″ pie plate, and even still a little extra quiche batter that I may try baking without a crust.
this was wonderful. the sheer amount of detail Tess goes into is so helpful and it was what gave me the confidence to try this recipe. I made a pie crust before from another recipe and it was not successful, this one was amazing. The only piece I would give would be to watch your quiche in the oven like a hawk because it goes from runny to overdone in a matter of minutes.
This was more of a challenge for me, but I was so glad I made it!! It was a big hit with the family, and I now am willing to try making more quiches for future family gatherings!