Quiche Lorraine

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. What makes quiche special is its versatility; you can add any variety of ingredients inside and make it your own special creation, perfect for any meal of the day.

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 more about the differences between types of salt here.
• Paprika – I like the very subtle flavor this spice 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 filling:

• Eggs – The base for our quiche. We want these eggs at room temperature to ensure they emulsify well (cold eggs won’t beat together with the other ingredients as easily).
• 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 more mature cheddar in its place.

How to Make Quiche Lorraine:

1. Make the crust and allow it to rest. Combine the dry ingredients by hand or in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cold, cubed butter and cut in with a pastry cutter, or pulse in the food processor, until the butter is about the size of a pea. Add the egg and ice water and mix gently until the pastry just comes together, without overworking. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
2. Roll out the dough and rest the dough again. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface and place in the prepared quiche pan. Refrigerate for an hour more.
3. Cook the bacon and onion. Cook the bacon in a large skillet or pan, cool slightly, and then dice the bacon into 1/4-inch cubes and set aside. Cook onions until caramelized.
4. Par-bake the crust. Place parchment paper over the pastry and fill with pie weights. Par-bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, or until the crust is set and is fragrant.
5. Prepare the quiche filling. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and heavy cream. Add the salt, pepper, garlic and cayenne (if using) to the egg mixture. Add 1 cup of Gruyère cheese and the bacon. Set aside.
6. Fill the quiche. Spread the caramelized onions evenly over the bottom of the crust. Pour in the filling mixture, and top evenly with the remaining ¼ cup of Gruyère cheese.
7. Bake. Bake 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.
8. Rest for 10 minutes and serve.

Quiche Ingredient Temperatures:

I noted to use room-temperature eggs just because they whisk up better/easier when at room temp, compared to when they’re cold and straight out of the fridge. The temperature of the milk and cream doesn’t really matter (you can use it 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 crust, on the other hand, needs a cold egg (along with the 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 flake and crispness. Learn more about my pie crust making tips here!

What Kind of Pan is Best for a Quiche Lorraine?

I love using a 10 x 2-inch tart pan with a removable base. 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 in Your Quiche Recipe:

No soggy bottoms here! If we were to simply throw this filling into an unbaked crust, it would produce soggy, underbaked results that would be very unpleasant to eat. Instead, we are going to par-bake this crust before we fill it with the wet eggy filling, to ensure the crust stays crisp.

Learn more about this process in my How to Blind Bake and Par-Bake Pie Crust article here!

How to Prevent a 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 do this a couple of different ways. Firstly, 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 or ziptop bags 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, or freeze for up to two months (more info on that 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. To freeze, wrap quiche slices in plastic wrap and store inside a ziptop bag or an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.

Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving, and reheat at 400°F for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through. 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.