That big clamshell of fresh baby spinach always looks appealing in the produce section. But once it’s in your fridge, it seems to take days and days of salads before you make your way to the last leaf. Enter this spinach quiche recipe, a tasty way to turn those handfuls of fresh spinach into a dish you can’t wait to slice and serve.
This quiche features the bright taste and earthy texture of freshly wilted spinach. Sweet shallots and nutty Gruyere cheese complement the spinach for a delightful combination of flavors. This simple quiche stands proud among our best quiche recipes, whether served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Ingredients for Spinach Quiche
- Pie pastry: A homemade pie crust will upgrade any quiche. On a busy weeknight, you can still create a delicious meal with a store-bought premade pie crust.
- Shallot: This allium has a mild onion flavor with a hint of garlicky taste behind it. If you don’t have one on hand, substitute one of these other types of onions.
- Butter: Take one whiff of shallots sauteing in butter, and you’ll know why many chefs choose this pairing.
- Baby spinach: This sturdy green holds up well to a range of uses from hearty salads to baked casseroles. Cooking fresh spinach pulls out excess water to ensure the quiche has an even (and not soggy) texture. It also reduces the leafy volume, making it easier to fit everything in the pie shell.
- Gruyere cheese: This creamy cheese melts evenly when heated. You can use the Swiss version (a smooth cheese with a nutty, salty flavor) or the French style (a slightly sweeter cheese speckled with holes).
- Eggs and heavy whipping cream: The proteins in the eggs bind with the cream to create the dish’s soft, rich custard. For a lighter quiche, use half-and-half cream or a combination of equal parts heavy cream and whole milk.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the pastry
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim and flute the edge.
Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double-layer thickness of heavy-duty foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.
Step 2: Blind bake the crust
Bake the crust for five minutes. Remove the foil and weights, and bake for five minutes longer. Place the pie plate on a wire rack until ready to use. Reduce the oven’s heat to 350°.
Step 3: Cook the vegetables
In a skillet, saute the shallot in butter until tender. Stir in the spinach, and cook until wilted. Remove the skillet from heat.
Step 4: Fill the pie crust
Sprinkle the cheese into the pie crust. Top it evenly with the spinach mixture.
In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the cream, salt and pepper, and mix well. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the crust.
Editor’s Tip: To crack an egg with minimal mess, rap it against a countertop instead of tapping it against the bowl’s rim. Then, make sure to whisk the eggs until they’re uniformly yellow before adding the cream. Not whisking enough is one of the biggest mistakes you might be making with eggs.
Step 5: Bake the quiche
Bake the quiche at 350° for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the quiche stand for 10 minutes before cutting it.
Recipe Variations
- Add vegetables: Saute mushrooms or bell pepper with the shallots for a mixed vegetable quiche. If you have leftover cooked vegetables, like steamed broccoli or asparagus, chop them and add them to the quiche alongside the wilted spinach.
- Add meat: Pork is a popular addition to quiche, like the bacon featured in a classic quiche Lorraine. Other proteins like crab, salmon and ground beef can be added to any quiche recipe. Precook the meat, and drain any excess fat before adding it to the quiche filling.
- Change the cheese: You can use just about any cheese in this spinach quiche recipe. Spinach pairs particularly well with feta, goat cheese, Muenster or Monterey Jack. Or add a little Parmesan to boost the complexity of the cheese layer.
- Make it crustless: To make a crustless spinach quiche, cook the vegetables as directed, and let them cool slightly. Add the cooled vegetables to the egg mixture, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean.
How to Store Spinach Quiche
Eggs and cream are highly perishable, so store spinach quiche in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to four days. Tightly cover the pie plate, or transfer individual slices to an airtight container.
Reheat the quiche in a 350° oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°, 15 to 30 minutes. Place individual slices on a baking sheet or reheat them in a 350° toaster oven. Check to see if they are heated through after about 15 minutes.
Can you freeze spinach quiche?
Quiche is a great bake-and-freeze dish. Let the quiche cool completely after baking. Then wrap it tightly in a layer of storage wrap followed by a layer of foil to limit freezer burn. Freeze whole quiche for up to three months. To freeze sliced quiche, wrap each slice in a layer of storage wrap followed by a layer of foil. Freeze for up to one month. Gradually thaw the quiche in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat as directed.
Spinach Quiche Tips
Can you use frozen spinach for quiche?
You can use frozen spinach for this recipe, but it could make the quiche soggy. Frozen spinach holds a lot of water that separates when it defrosts. After thawing the spinach, drain it well in a colander, and gently squeeze out the excess liquid. Then cook it with the shallots, stirring until all the moisture evaporates. You’ll need about 5 ounces frozen spinach for this recipe.
Why is my spinach quiche watery?
Spinach quiche can turn out watery if you use raw spinach. Fresh spinach is made up of about 93% water, so it’s important to cook it until there’s no moisture left in the pan. Eggs can also be another culprit for watery quiche. Overbaking or too-high temperatures can cause the eggs to weep and release water, so don’t forget to reduce the oven temperature after you blind-bake the crust.
Do you need to blind-bake crust for quiche?
No one wants a quiche with a soggy bottom crust, and prebaking the shell is the best way to prevent that from happening. Partially baking the pie dough allows the crust to crisp up before adding the egg custard filling. Learn more about how to blind-bake pie crust.
How do you know when spinach quiche is done?
Spinach quiche is finished when a knife inserted in the center of the quiche comes out clean without liquid egg and cream clinging to it. But you don’t want the center to be set solid like an omelet. It should still jiggle when you move the pan, a sign that it hasn’t overcooked. You can also check the quiche’s internal temperature to tell when it’s done. An instant-read thermometer (like one of these meat thermometers) should read 165°.
What can you serve with spinach quiche?
Spinach quiche can star as a one-dish breakfast or shine amidst a brunch spread. Try it alongside any of these breakfast ideas without eggs. Or, to turn it into a light lunch or dinner, serve it alongside roast potatoes, fresh fruit, a warming soup or a crisp spinach salad like our blackberry balsamic spinach salad.
