This is the ultimate quiche recipe. It is from the deepest, darkest archives of Our Best Bites. It was published within the first month or so of when we started in March of 2008, way back when we were The Daily Bite (!!!) and has kind of gotten buried over the years.
I love this recipe for a lot of reasons. For example, why do you love quiche? Vegetables? Breakfast meats? Cheese? This quiche is extra in every one of those ways. Bacon? Yes. Ham? Yes. Spinach, onions, mushrooms? Yes, yes, yes. 2 kinds of cheese, and lots of it? Indeed. It is the ultimate quiche for lovers of quiche (and also for people like Ron Swanson who may be on the fence but could be convinced because it has two kinds of breakfast meat and eggs. Remember, in the words of Mr. Swanson, “There has never been a sadness that can’t be cured with breakfast food.”
I also love this quiche because it makes two pies, so you can either feed a crowd, make one for your family and take the other pie to someone else (it makes a great post-baby dinner with a salad and some orange rolls), or you can freeze it and heat it up when it’s convenient for you. Another great thing is that it definitely tastes better the next day, so if you’re having a breakfast or brunch, you can make it the night before and then easily heat it up the next day and no one will ever know that you weren’t up slaving away at 5:00 in the morning.
To get started, you’ll need a 10-ounce package of baby spinach, 8 eggs, some minced fresh parsley, shredded cheddar or Colby Jack cheese, shredded Parmesan cheese, half and half, sour cream, diced ham, some bacon, a minced onion, and some diced mushrooms.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the bacon (our favorite way is in the oven, but you can do it on the stovetop if you prefer). Drain on a paper towel, chop or crumble, and set aside. While the bacon is cooking, roll two pie crusts into two pie plates (you can make your own or use store-bought crusts).
Sauté spinach in bacon drippings. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until softened, then add the parsley and cook 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the ham and bacon. Add the sour cream to the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Divide into each pie crust.
Sprinkle the parmesan over the pies…
and then add the cheddar.
Whisk together the eggs and half and half.
Pour over pies.
Place pies in oven (on a baking sheet if they’ll fit–it will keep any overflowing eggs from stinking up your oven.) Bake 45-50 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden brown.
Let stand 10-15 minutes. Each pie serves 8.
The Ultimate Quiche
Description
This Ultimate Quiche is perfect for special occasions. It makes two pies, so it’s perfect for feeding a crowd, freezing a pie for the future, or sharing with another family!
Ingredients
½ pound bacon
10 ounce package baby spinach
1 cup sour cream (light is fine)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
2 unbaked pie crusts (or store-bought)
1 onion, minced
½ pound diced mushrooms
2 cup diced ham
16 ounces shredded Colby Jack or sharp cheddar cheese
4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese
8 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the bacon (our favorite way is in the oven, but you can do it on the stovetop if you prefer). Drain on a paper towel, chop or crumble, and set aside.
Sauté spinach in bacon drippings. Add onions and cook until softened, then add mushrooms and parsley. Remove from heat and stir in the ham and bacon. Add the sour cream to the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Divide into each pie crust. Sprinkle the cheeses over the pies.
Mix eggs and half and half. Pour over pies. Place pies in oven (on a baking sheet if they’ll fit–it will keep any overflowing eggs from stinking up your oven.) Bake 45-50 minutes or until tops are puffed and golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Each pie serves 8.
Notes
If reheating, cover pie with foil and bake at 325 for about 20-30 minutes, checking frequently to make sure it’s not getting too brown. You could also pop it in the microwave, but individual slices do better in the microwave than an entire pie.
Questions & Reviews
This recipe is SO GOOD! I would highly recommend using deep dish pie plates to avoid egg overflow, though. The first time I made these in regular pie dishes they overflowed everywhere and my oven stank for weeks! 🙂
I made these quiche for a bridal shower this weekend and the taste was great – but the crusts were completely mushy. It kind of ruined them in my eyes. I tested the doneness with a knife and the eggs were cooked through. I actually made four of them – so on the second batch I cooked them longer – even after they tested “done” but crust was the same. Unfortunately, I had to serve them. Why did this happen? My mom said I probably should have prebaked the pie shells (I used pre-made, frozen shells) but the recipe did not indicate to do this. Any ideas why this happened? How can it be avoided if I make them again?
On another note: the recipe also said 16oz of cheddar and there was no way for that to fit into the pie shell – and I used deep-dish shells (pre-made frozen)
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Was the crust frozen when you filled it? That’s my guess. I’ve never had good luck with frozen pie shells—refrigerated pie crust dough is my go-to.
How long does the quiche take to thaw in the frig?
I would plan on 24 hours in the fridge.
Do you have any tips on freezing this one and then reheating?
Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then thaw it in the fridge. Reheat individual slices in the microwave or covered in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes or until heated through. 🙂
Oh man. I need to make this. I LOVE me some good quiche. Thank you for bringing this beauty to light.
Made this recipe yesterday and served it today for company. SO DELICIOUS! What a lovely mixture of flavors and a beautiful presentation too.
Is this recipe for deep dish pie plates or regular?
Regular, but a deep dish plate wouldn’t hurt.
Super creepy coincidence. I just Googled “our best bites quiche” because I thought you had a recipe but I didn’t want to sift through the breakfast section. So I read your post and I was like… wait this seems super recent? So I went to your homemade and it was the most recently posted recipe. Super weird.
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Quick question. The recipe calls for 10oz of spinach but in your picture it was only a 5oz package. Is it 10oz?
10 ounces—I used 2 5-ounce packages, but there was only room for 1 in the picture.?
Hey there. Do the mushrooms get sautéed, or do they cook in the oven with the quiche?
Is it half a pound of bacon cooked or uncooked?
uncooked 🙂
Can this recipe be converted to mini quiches? Any tips for that other than small pie crusts? And how long would I cook them?
Thank you!
Absolutely! But no idea how long to cook them for.:)
Just made this! ( well actually my 4.5 year old made it! It’s THAT easy!) and delish!
I know this is one of your oldest recipes but I just tried it today for a baby shower and lots of friends raved over it.
I want to make some mini-quiches. Do you think this recipe would work?
I made this quiche today for a little Easter brunch and it was SOO good. And pretty simple to put together too. I didn’t have any half and half so I subbed a little less than a TBSP melted butter and enough milk to make a full cup and it worked great. Just a word to the wise set the quiche on a cookie sheet in the oven to catch any drips. If it looks like you have too much egg mixture and you have to practice your nija moves to get it in the oven without spilling the egg topping, it will spill over once it starts to bake 🙂
Evaporated milk is the perfec substitute for halh & half. Can’t wait to make this tonight!
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen? I have a bunch that I’m trying to use up, but I’m not really sure how to substitute it.
Whoops, I just realized that the recipe does use fresh spinach. Sorry! I guess I was thinking of the recipe from the calendar.
Just freeze it after you bake it. 🙂
When you said it can be frozen, at which stage do you freeze it? Just make the filling and freeze that or make the whole thing and then freeze that?
Can i make everything up the night before and then throw it in the oven in the morning?
I was up until 3am making this last night for a ward dinner group today. It was a huge hit and I’m super proud of myself for making pie crust for the first time. Everything turned out perfect, thank you so much for all the helpful tips!
I just made this for a brunch and it was a big hit! Both adults and all the kiddos loved it.
Lisa, who knows what’s in it, but it tastes like half and half! lol. It has artificial flavors and thickeners so it seems like the real deal. You can find it right next to the real stuff.
I have never heard of fat free 1/2 and 1/2. So what’s in it and why isn’t it just skim milk?
Great blog Sara! I’m going to give you a shout out tomorrow on my blog!!! How’s the babe?
Hey, this quiche has spinach, so it really is healthy for you! I’m definitely going to try it.
I want to hear the quiche story also! That really does look very good, but I’m still intimidated by pie crusts and I’ve never even made one. I’m going to try your recipe.
Oh dear…I must hear the quiche story some time! I’m sad for you because that looks *really* yummy!