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This Basic Quiche Recipe is foolproof! Learn all that you need to know to create a smooth and creamy egg mixture that can be used with any of your favorite filling choices. Plus learn all the tips and tricks to ensure a flaky crust and some great filling options and ideas.

Sliced quiche stacked in a pie dish showing a custard egg filling and flakey pie crust.


 

All About this Quiche Recipe

  • Quiche is a savory custard that’s made with a combination of eggs and cream or milk. It’s typically baked in a pie crust and can be made with a variety of different fillings ranging from meats, vegetables, cheeses, and seafood. 
  • Quiches are perfect for serving as any meal- breakfast, lunch or dinner. They also make a great brunch food. 
  • They are best served at room temperature. They can be served warm or cold though as well.
  • This recipe will give you the basic know how to make ANY quiche you desire, using any fillings you want!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Ingredients needed for a basic quiche recipe laid out on the counter.
  • Pie Crust: here is a recipe for an all butter pie crust that is fool proof! This recipe is for 1 pie crust so there will be no waste. Substitute with a store-bought pie crust to save time, use either pre-made dough that is rolled out, or a frozen pie crust. Just follow the directions for which crust you are using. To make this a crustless quiche, you can opt for no crust at all and just pour the egg mixture into a prepared dish.
  • Eggs: this recipe calls for large eggs, since we are measuring our eggs and milks in a ratio you could use any size you have on hand.
  • Milk & Cream: use a combination of milk and cream for the best texture of the egg custard. However, you can substitute with milk of choice if needed.

How to Make Quiche

Image showing how to blind bake a pie crust to make a quiche.

Blind Bake Pie Crust, this ensures a flaky and not soggy crust. It’s a simple step that involves preparing the pie crust in the dish, laying a sheet of parchment inside and filling with weights. This keeps the shape of the dough while it bakes. If you don’t have pie weights on hand, no worries, simply fill the inside with some dry beans. Just be sure to set those beans aside when done since you won’t be able to cook them to enjoy. But you can save them to use as weights.

Collage showing how to measure out eggs and milk into a large measuring cup.

Add Eggs to Measuring Cup, to get the perfect texture, it’s important to keep the ratio of your egg and milk/cream. For every 1 egg you will need 1/2 cup total of liquid. The easiest way to measure this is to crack your eggs into a measuring glass.

Pour in Milk & Cream as needed for this pie dish, 5 eggs are needed which means we need a total of 2 and 1/2 cups of liquid total of eggs + milk/cream. Then whisk together the egg mixture until completely combined, we don’t want it foamy since air bubbles will bake into the top, we want the mixture to be nice and smooth.

Pouring egg mixture into a pie dish with a baked pie crust and filled with bacon, cheese and green onion.

Pour Egg mixture over fillings in pie crust. Decide which quiche filling you want for your dish, and add up to 2 cups of filling ingredients to your pre-baked pie crust. Then pour the smooth egg mixture over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes, the center will still be slightly wobbly. Let cool to room temperature before serving. (note: the images show using cooked bacon, cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions)

Expert Tips

  • Blind Baking Crust: this ensures that you have a flaky crust. Be sure that you don’t poke holes in your crust, it’s not necessary and can leave holes that will cause your egg mixture to run when baking. If you don’t have pie weights no worries, you can simply use some dry beans.
  • Ratios: The best way to make a quiche is to add the eggs to a large measuring cup, then add the cream or milk. For every egg used you should add enough milk or cream to create a 1/2 cup. Meaning for 1 egg you will add enough cream or milk to make 1/2 a cup of mixture. If using 4 eggs then we would use enough milk or cream to equal 2 cups.
  • Mixing the eggs: The best way to mix the eggs for a quiche is to use a hand mixer. This ensures that the eggs are mixed completely and ensures a smooth and creamy custard. Be sure not to over mix so much that there is foam in the eggs, we want a nice smooth consistency. Any air bubble will bake into the top, to prevent that make sure your egg mixture is nice and smooth.

Fillings

  • Meats: these should all be pre-cooked and then patted dry. For example: bacon, sausage, ground beef, ham. All should be cooked and the grease patted off with paper towels.
  • Vegetables: these should be sautéed in a pan on the stovetop then patted dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Exceptions would be tomatoes and spinach, these can be added fresh into the quiche. Some favorites include mushrooms, asparagus, green onion, kale, and peppers.
  • Seafood: should be fully cooked and patted dry. Some options include crab and shrimp.
  • Cheese: some favorites that work well include shredded cheddar, swiss, gruyere, feta cheese, and goat cheese.

Some of my favorite filling combinations

  • Ham and cheese
  • Spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and crumbled goat cheese
  • Crab and mushroom
Baked Quiche in a white pie dish with a knife laid on top for serving.

Quiche FAQs

 Can you make a quiche ahead of time?

Yes! You can blind bake the crust 2 days ahead of time and stored covered at room temperature. Bake and cool the quiche up to 3 days ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator.

What is the best way to reheat? 

Cover with foil and bake at a low temperature of 325 for about 15 minutes, just until warmed.

Can this be frozen?

Yes! Bake, then allow to cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Or wrap in two layers of foil. When ready to use, remove from the freezer, uncover from the plastic, cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until warmed.

Can I make this crustless?

Keep the ratios of egg to milk and cream and add fillings to an empty dish. Then pour the egg mixture over the fillings. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the quiche is cooked through and just slightly wobbly in the very center.

Is milk better than heavy cream in quiche?

Whole milk creates a nice texture to your quiche, but doing a combination of heavy cream and milk increases the fat content and creates a slightly richer texture.

Stacked up slices of quiche in a pie dish.

Some additional quiche recipes on House of Yumm

Basic Quiche Recipe (Using Any Filling of Your Choice!)

4.96 from 94 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Serene
How to make a quiche using any filling of your choice!! This basic quiche recipe is the ONE and ONLY recipe that you need to make a smooth and creamy quiche. All the tips and tricks you need to know to make and serve the best quiche ever!
Sliced quiche stacked in a pie dish showing a custard egg filling and flakey pie crust.

Ingredients  

  • 1 pie crust
  • 5 large eggs
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup milk (**read all notes on ratios)
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • fillings of choice

Instructions 

  • Prepare Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll pie crust out and fit into 9 inch pie dish. Trim any excess crust and flute the edges.
  • Blind Bake Crust: Line the inside of the pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans (I use pinto beans) make sure that they are up against the sides of the pie crust. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes. Remove the weights and then bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The crust will be golden.
  • Prepare the egg mixture: add the eggs to a large measuring cup. Add the heavy cream, then add the milk, the total measurement of the eggs, cream and milk should come to 2 and 1/2 cups (600 ml). Add the salt and pepper.
  • Mix: use a hand mixer, or whisk vigorously, to ensure the egg and cream mixture is completely mixed.
  • Add Fillings: Spread the desired fillings on the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the egg mixture on top.
  • Bake: Bake the quiche at 350℉ degrees for about 45-50 minutes. The quiche will be slightly wobbly in just the center.
  • Cool: Allow to cool for about 20 minutes to room temperature. Quiche can be served warm, cold, or room temperature.

Video

Equipment

Notes

  • Ratio: For every 1 egg there should be a total of 1/2 cup (120 ml) of liquid of egg + milk/cream. Using 5 eggs you should have a total of 2 and 1/2 cups (600 ml) of liquid with the eggs, milk and cream.
  • Milk & Cream: using this combination will give the best texture, if needed you can use just milk. 
  • Fillings: Add up to 2 cups of fillings. Meats: should all be pre-cooked and patted dry. Vegetables: should be sautéed and patted dry to remove excess moisture. Tomatoes and spinach can be added fresh to quiches, there is no need to cook either of these before adding in. 
  • Cheese: Add up to 1 cup. Some options include cheddar, feta, goat cheese, Swiss, or Guyere.   
  • Nutrition Info: has the crust and egg included. You will need to adjust with the fillings you choose.
  • Make Ahead Instructions: blind bake the crust up to 2 days ahead of time and store covered at room temperature. The quiche can be baked and cooled 3 days ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator.
  • Freezing: Bake according to directions, allow to cool completely, then cover completely with plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. When ready to use, remove from the freezer, uncover from the plastic, cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until warmed.
  • Reheating: Cover with foil and bake at a low temperature of 325 for about 15 minutes, just until warmed.
  • Crustless: Keep the ratios of egg to milk and cream and add fillings to an empty dish. Then pour the egg mixture over the fillings. Bake for about 45-50 minutes until cooked through and just slightly wobbly in the very center.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 202kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 404IU | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!

This recipe was first published May 16, 2018. Updated July 2, 2021 with new images and information. Recipe remains unchanged.

Photography done by the talented @KJandCompany.co


Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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127 Comments

  1. Your recipe uses 1/4 cup cream/milk per egg. In the notes you indicate 1/2 cup cream/milk per egg. Which is correct?

    1. The ratio is described as needing a total amount of liquid (egg+cream/milk) to equal 1/2 cup per egg, this amount of liquid includes the egg. So you will need approximately 1/4 cup of cream/milk per egg to get that 1/2 cup total.

  2. The recipe is great. I just needed to tweak the baking instructions—375 degrees instead of 350. The quiche just wouldn’t set otherwise.

  3. Well, you don’t say the temperature until almost the end of the article, and you don’t say how long to blind bake the crust, so I’m having to wing it.

    1. You can absolutely make that using the ratio provided in this recipe. For a deep dish quiche you will most likely need to use 6-8 eggs, add milk/cream to have a total of 1/2 cup liquid per egg. Then add in the cheese you are wanting. You won’t need much, the quiche on its own will be incredibly creamy.

  4. Just swinging by to tell you I have directed DOZENS of people to this recipe over the last 2 – 3 years, so they grasp the concept of the ratio. I don’t even need to look at the recipe any more; I’ve done it crustless, with homemade crust, and with store-bought, and generally the filling is whatever needs to be used up in the fridge — bits of sauteed veggies, etc. and the cheese I have on hand. I’ve got a spinach, mushroom and feta in the oven right now! I love quiche and make it regularly, and this could not be simpler or more delicious. Thank you for teaching me the ratio that I can apply to any quiche using whatever ingredients I have here already.