Quiche Lorraine

This Quiche Lorraine recipe is intoxicatingly creamy, cheesy, buttery, bacony, custardy perfection that will have everyone coming back for seconds! Best of all, you can prep the filling and crust ahead of time OR use a store-bought pie crust – so there’s no reason not to make this recipe today! This velvety, savory Quiche Lorraine is loaded with salty bacon, creamy Gruyère cheese, rich caramelized onions and adept seasoning cocooned in a soft yet flaky, buttery, rich crust. It’s swoon worthy for any meal, every occasion and the best way to feed a crowd. This Quiche Lorraine recipe is easy yet impressive with step by step instructions for the best quiche of your life!

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 15

Servings servings

Ingredients

1 Homemade Pie Crust Recipe or see notes to use store-bought pie crust
8 ounces thick-cut bacon chopped into ½-inch pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp EACH dried parsley, dried oregano, dried thyme, paprika, ground mustard, pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups (4.5 ounces) freshly shredded Swiss Gruyère cheese
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

QUICHE CRUST

Prepare pie dough according to recipe directions through fluting the edges (or whatever edge design you prefer) and refrigerating for 45 minutes (no baking). Cover the crust with plastic wrap if refrigerating longer than 45 minutes (can be refrigerated for up to 5 days). It is helpful to complete this step the day before then just pull the pie shell out of the fridge the next day. At the very least, I suggest making the pie dough the night before.
When ready to make the quiche, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line the chilled quiche crust with parchment paper then evenly fill with baking beads, dry beans or rice - anything oven proof that will weigh down the pastry (prevents it from shrinking while baking).
Bake at 375 F for 18 minutes.
** If using a quiche pan with a removable bottom, be sure to only handle the pan on the sides and don’t touch the bottom (or the bottom will slide up and you’ll ruin your quiche).
Remove quiche crust from the oven and carefully lift the parchment paper with the weights out of the pie. Prick holes around the bottom crust with a fork.
Return the quiche crust to the oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven (crust can still be warm when you add the filling). You can complete blind baking (pre-baking) the crust up to 3 days ahead of time then let cool, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

QUICHE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
While the crust is blind-baking, cook the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet, stirring occasionally. Once the bacon is crisp, remove it to paper towels with a slotted spoon. Add the chopped onions to the bacon grease and cook until softened; add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Remove onions to the bacon using a slotted spoon.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together (don’t overbeat). Whisk in the heavy cream and seasonings then stir in the bacon, onions and cheeses. Pour the custard into the partially baked crust.
If using a quiche pan, place the pan on a rimmed baking sheet while baking in case it leaks. Bake the quiche uncovered at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set but the center jiggles very slightly.
Let the quiche cool for 10 minutes before serving or before removing the quiche pan. Your quiche center should be soft and custardy, this means it is mega creamy. If you cut into your crust and it's liquidly, then simply pop it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes).
To remove the quiche pan, center the pan on an inverted bowl/container with a flat bottom that is stable enough to hold the entire quiche. Pull the sides of the pan down to reveal your beautiful quiche! Carefully slide the quiche onto a serving platter or pedestal.

Video

Notes

quiche pan or pie pan

This Quiche Lorraine recipe is written so it works perfectly with either a 9-inch quiche pan or a standard 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. The quiche pan has higher sides so you have a little more wiggle room if you want to add additional veggies or meat to the filling. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend a quiche pan because it not only makes for prettier presentation, but it has a removable bottom so it's so easy to slice and serve.

HOW TO USE STORE BOUGHT PIE CRUST

When buying frozen pie crust, make sure to purchase a 9-inch DEEP-dish pie crust, a regular pie crust will not work because it is not deep enough. If you unpackage the pie crust and it’s cracked, make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water and use it to fill any cracks. You can use this same trick if your crust cracks after pre-baking as well. Which brings me to my next point, you will still need to blind-bake store-bought pie crust to prevent a soggy bottom. Here’s how:

Remove the pie crust from the freezer and thaw for about 10 minutes or until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork.
Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork (about an inch apart to prevent crust from puffing up).
Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. You do not need to fill store-bought pie crust with weights.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Heavy Cream: also called “heavy whipping cream” at the grocery store. Heavy cream makes the quiche filling ultra velvety and rich. If you want to substitute with half and half, it will still work but won’t be as luxurious – more of a frittata texture.
Gruyere: can be found with the specialty cheese (usually by the deli) in your grocery store. Make sure to look for authentic Swiss-made Gruyère that has the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) seal, which means it meets strict quality standards AKA it tastes the best! Americanized Swiss cheese is made from pasteurized milk and is significantly less flavorful than real Swiss cheese.
Chill the crust! The quiche crust will shrink if you don’t chill it before blind baking. Chill for at least 45 minutes.
Keep an eye on the crust. Don’t forget to keep an eye on the quiche as it bakes. If the crust is becoming too dark, cover the outside ring of the crust with foil or I love my pie shield.

HOW TO MAKE AHEAD

You have a few options when it comes to making this quiche recipe in advance:

Quiche crust: Make the pie dough in advance and chill in the fridge for up to 5 days OR make further in advance and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight and use. You can also partially pre-bake the pie crust in the pie plate or quiche pan up to 3 days in advance. Let cool, cover and refrigerate.
Bacon and onions: Can be cooked up to two days ahead of time and stored in separate airtight containers.
Egg filling: You can whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, seasonings, onions and cheeses, cover, and store in an airtight container (NOT the pie shell) for up to 24 hours. Add the bacon and give the mixture a stir before using to.
Whole quiche: You can assemble and bake the entire quiche before serving it. Quiche will last up to 4 days in the fridge, but it’s best within the first 24 hours of making it. It’s delicious served cold, room temperature, or warm, but I’m partial to warm.

HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT

To store: Let the quiche cool to room temperature on your countertop before covering it with foil and refrigerating for up to 4 days.
To reheat in the microwave: Warm individual servings on a microwave-safe plate in the microwave for about a minute or until warmed through. I like to cut my slice in half before microwaving so it warms evenly.
To reheat in the oven: Transfer whole quiche to the oven and reheat for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F or until heated through. For quiche slices, transfer them to an oven-safe baking dish, then cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes, or until heated through.
From frozen: Thaw a slice for 2 minutes on high in the microwave then bake for 10 minutes.

HOW TO FREEZE

For slices: Slice into individual servings. Wrap each slice in plastic wrap then seal inside a freezer-safe plastic bag.
For whole quiche: Wrap quiche in a double layer of plastic wrap followed by a double layer of foil.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, you can reheat quiche slices from frozen per method above but it is best to thaw a whole quiche in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating. Reheat for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F or until heated through.