Before our move, some dear friends had us over for dinner and served us this delicious quiche (and a kale salad with mandarin oranges that I want.to.eat.right.now). Obviously I begged for the recipe, and I’ve made it twice! It checks a lot of food love boxes for me: perfect any time of day, makes great leftovers, the recipe is flexible if you want to change up the ingredients, and it involves piles of cheese and pie crust. Check, check, check check check.
The recipe makes two quiches (you just missed a family discussion trying to determine if “quiches” is a word or if it’s like deer and deer…thanks, Wikipedia, for clearing that up), so it’s easy to make two different varieties. Our friends made a ham and cheese version and a spinach and mushroom version, and that’s what I did, too, because why mess with a good thing? (See also: laziness.) But I really think that it’s endlessly adaptable…chicken? Broccoli? Asparagus? Bacon? All of the above? I don’t see why not! Quiche and pizza: the perfect ways to use up random leftovers.
My fridge and freezer are still in that odd, just-moved-in, we-have-empty-shelves phase, though, so I didn’t have any useful leftovers. It still doesn’t take long to put this quiche together!
I used a frozen pie crust, and it suggested pricking the crust with a fork so it doesn’t puff up during the quick pre-baking step.
While the crust spent a couple of minutes in the oven, I sautéed a chopped onion, then set it aside and used the same pan to cook the mushrooms for the veggie quiche. Once they were almost done, I added a few handfuls of baby spinach to the skillet. Spinach wilts really fast so even if it’s overflowing at first it only takes a minute to cook down.
The filling is a simple mixture of eggs and evaporated milk, plus some salt and pepper. Then you layer them up! Onions and half of the cheese in both crusts, ham in one and veggies in the other, pour on the egg mixture, top with the rest of the cheese, and sprinkle on some nutmeg! I think the dash of nutmeg makes it authentic quiche.
My crust got a little overdone, but I forgave myself because of the beauty of bubbly brown cheese. You can make a tent from tin foil to shield the crust if it’s getting too brown (unless you’re out of tin foil, and then you just have to live with it).
We had quiche for dinner with fruit and corn on the cob (mostly because it’s summer and I can’t not eat corn on the cob). The leftovers were such an exciting lunch the next day!
PrintEasy Cheesy Quiche.
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Ingredients
- 2 9-inch deep dish pie crusts (I used Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie crust)
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups (8 oz) cheese (any type – I used Cabot extra sharp cheddar because it’s my favorite), shredded
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 cups evaporated milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper, to taste
- nutmeg, for sprinkling
- I used 8 oz sliced mushrooms and a few handfuls of baby spinach for my veggie quiche, and 1/4 lb diced ham for my ham quiche! I think it could handle about a cup of extra ingredients, but I didn’t actually measure my cooked mushrooms. Sorry Charlie.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute onions for 5-8 minutes until soft but not browned. Remove the onions from the skillet and set aside. If you’re using additional veggies that need to be cooked, add a little more butter or olive oil to the pan and cook the veggies. (If using mushrooms/spinach, cook the ‘shrooms for 5-7 minutes and add the spinach at the end for a minute, until wilted.) You want the vegetables to have cooked enough that they release their moisture and don’t make your quiche soggy.
- Prick the pie crust with a fork a few times, and pre-bake the crust for 3-5 minutes.
- Whisk eggs, evaporated milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Create layers in your pie crusts: onions and half of the cheese, then meat and/or veggies, then pour on the egg mixture, dividing it evenly between the two quiches. Add the remaining cup of cheese on top, and sprinkle with nutmeg.
- Bake for 13 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes more. Keep an eye on the crust, and if it’s getting too brown, tent the quiches with foil.The quiche should be brown on top but slightly jiggly in the center when you take it out of the oven, since it will continue to cook and set when it’s cooling. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
At my grocery store, evaporated milk comes in 12 oz or 5 oz cans. I can’t explain this phenomenon. This recipe calls for 2 cups, or 16 oz, so you’re going to have an extra ounce, and I don’t recommend just throwing it in, because I tried that and thought the quiche was a little wet, even though it was probably my imagination. Ooh ooh, maybe we should just make 3 quiches next time!
View Comments (4)
2 quiches for dinner (and lunch the next day,) and 1 quiche to help fill up that freezer. Sounds like the kind of math I can appreciate.
Yes, I kind of wanted to experiment with freezing it before I posted but ain't nobody got time for that...
Yum! Definitely a recipe that fulfills so many requirements! PS - I, too, heart your backsplash! <3
Hehe! Thanks!