A classic quiche lorraine with a hash brown crust! I bet your local brunch bistro doesn’t have this on their menu…..so how about having brunch at home this weekend? You can stay in your PJ’s and coffee refills are free. AND this Hash Brown Crust Quiche has about 1/3 less calories than traditional quiche – unintentionally!
This is a mash up of two of my favourite brunch dishes – hash brown and quiche!
“This tastes like a cross between a hash brown, quiche and potato dauphinoise gratin. Match made in heaven.”
It took me 5 attempts until I was happy with this so I’ve been fanning out my attempts to friends and family. I think my sister described it best. She said it’s like a “cross between a quiche, hash brown and potato dauphinoise gratin”. The edges are brown and crispy like a hash brown and the filling is a traditional Quiche Lorraine filling with bacon, onion, cheese and egg. The base is also made of hash browns so when you pour the filling in, the potato and egg mixture meld together and turns gratin-like when it bakes.
“It’s incredible….this actually has about 1/3 less calories than the traditional Quiche Lorraine!”
It smells and tastes rich and indulgent. But guess what? This actually has less calories than the traditional Quiche Lorraine because the hash brown crust has less than half the calories of shortcrust pastry! It’s incredible isn’t it?? It’s because shortcrust pastry is made with flour and butter which has a lot more calories than potato. The hash brown crust is made with 600g/1.2 lb of potatoes + 2 tbsp of butter which is 620 calories, whereas a traditional shortcrust pastry has 2,100 calories. So a traditional quiche lorraine has around 500 calories per serving whereas this Hash Brown Crust Quiche Lorraine has only 310 calories.
This keeps really well in the fridge and freezer, like a normal quiche. I highly recommend reheating it in the oven so you can make the edges crispy again!
Have I convinced you to stay in for brunch this weekend?? – Nagi
The Quiche Extended Family
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Quiche Lorraine – the French mother, with the buttery flaky crust
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Salmon Quiche – the gourmet Aunt, loaded with smoked salmon
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Italian Sausage Quiche – the cheeky Italian uncle
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Frittata with Bacon – the father, made the traditional way (stove then oven)
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Baked Vegetable Frittata – the uncle, made the easy way (pour and bake!)
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Frittata Egg Muffins – the healthy sister
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CRUSTLESS Quiche – the low carb cousin, custardy, golden and fabulous (plus super speedy!)
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Spanish Tortilla (Omelette) – the Spanish potato-loving aunt
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Hash Brown Crust Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients
Hash Brown Crust
- 1.2 lb / 600g starchy potatoes (Note 1) OR 4 cups (not packed) frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 1 tsp salt
- Butter , for greasing
- Oil spray (or olive oil)
Egg Mixture
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk (preferably full cream, but low fat will also work)
- 3/4 cup cream
- Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Filling
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 6 oz / 180g bacon , cut into large dice (about 1cm x 0.5cm / 2/3" x 1/5")
- 1 small onion , diced (or half a large onion)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 3/4 cup grated cheese (tasty, cheddar or gruyere)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F/220C with the oven shelf in the top 1/3 of the oven.
- Grease a 9"/ 23cm pie dish (Note 2)
Hash Brown Crust
- If shredding potatoes yourself, peel and grate the potatoes. Place the shredded potatoes into a colander and rinse for 10 seconds, using your hands to move the grated potatoes around, until the water runs clear.
- Take a handful of the rinsed grated potatoes OR the thawed frozen shredded hash browns and squeeze the excess water out, then place into a large bowl. Repeat with remaining potato. You should have about 4 cups of shredded potato.
- Add melted butter and salt and mix to combine.
- Pour the shredded potato into the pie dish. Use a large dessert spoon to spread the hash browns over the base and side of the pie dish.
- Use your hands or a spatula to pat down the base of the hash brown crust so it is fairly firmly packed.
- Spray the hash brown crust with oil spray (I used olive oil spray).
- Bake the crust for 30 minutes.
Prepare Filling & Egg Mixture
- While the crust is baking, melt 1/2 tbsp butter in a fry pan over medium high heat.
- Add onion, garlic and bacon into the fry pan. Saute until the onion is translucent and the bacon is just starting to brown (but not crisp).
- Remove from the stove and set aside to cool slightly.
- Place Egg Mixture ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Fill Quiche
- When the crust is light golden brown on the surface of the base and golden brown on the walls of the crust (around 30 minutes), remove from the oven.
- Scatter the bacon onion mixture across the base, then the cheese.
- Then pour the Egg Mixture in.
Baking the Quiche
- Return the quiche to the oven and turn the oven down to 180C/350F.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the Filling is set. Test this either by inserting a skewer into the centre (it should come out clean) or by touching the centre gently (it should spring back).
- Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
I doubled the recipe and made one that was veggie only. I squeezed the potatoes in a nut milk bag to get the moisture out. Heated the cast iron skillets in the oven for 10 minutes before adding the potato mixture. Was super happy with the results. Saved to recipe box. It’s a keeper! Thank you Nagi!
Made it vegetarian by using one small zucchini and half a capsicum, both diced, and sautĂ©ed with the onions instead of bacon. Used a 24cm skillet as suggested in another comment as I didn’t have a pie dish. Both the hash brown and the filling needed 5 min extra each to get to the right colour / consistency. But turned out perfect! One thing though – it definitely doesn’t serve 8! Being so tasty you’d be lucky if you could serve 4, as we went back for seconds and thirds! Thank you Nagi, you nailed this one
Hi, I haven’t made this yet and I’m just wondering why the filling uses 2 egg yolks as well as 2 eggs? I’d normally be going for 4 eggs and a 1 cup of milk. Will that kind of ratio also work or do you need the extra fat in the cream, and therefore fewer whole eggs but additional yolks?
Did this work for you? I don’t have cream on hand but have 2% milk.
Looks like a great recipe (as always)
If you wanted a breakfast get-together and pre-prepare this – what could be done in advance?
What if I used sweet potatoes instead?
Hi Brendally, you won’t get that crisp shell, the sugar content in the sweet potatoes stops it from going crispy. N x
Where can I buy shredded hash browns, I’ve looked at woolies and coles and can’t seem to see any.. alternatively I could just crumble thawed hash, but I wanted shredded so I can use it for other things as well.
Hi Lana. You could prepare your own from Sebago potatoes. To freeze potatoes for hash browns, shred or coarsely grate potatoes; placing them in a bowl of cold water until all potatoes are shredded to stop them turning brown. Drain, then blanch in boiling water about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, drain again and pat dry. Spread them out onto flat trays lined with baking paper or a non-stick liner and freeze for a few hours. Break the frozen shredded, blanched potatoes up and store in the freezer in an air tight container or zip lock bags.
could I just use 4 whole eggs? My husband got 12 cartons of frozen eggs from the food bank and I’m trying to use them up.
Hi Nagi,
I did everything as written and it’s has been in the oven (after cooking the crust for 30 mins) for well over an hour and it’s still runny-no-where near setting. Any ideas what went wrong?
Hi Sally, sounds like your oven thermostat is broken – that doesn’t sound right at all!!! N x
Can you increase this recipe to make in a 9x 13 pan for a crowd. This was delicious
Hi Jeanne, you sure can!! N x
I’m so excited to make this! And by some miracle, i have everything at home already except the cream (currently in lockdown so can’t shop). Do you think i could swap it out for more milk? Do i need to make other adjustments if i do that like extra egg or butter?
Hi Renee, cream is what gives it that rich custardy texture. If you don’t have it you can use 1/2 cup of extra milk in it’s place.
I have made a few changes in this, but the recipe is great. I always get compliments.
Made this today for lunch as my daughter was visiting. We both agree it was scrumptious!! Only thing different I added was baby spinach,so thank you Nagi – awesome, clever recipe.
Oops, sorry forgot to rate it before
Sounds great Dawn!!
Hubby was feeling like Bacon and Egg Pie, but without the pastry and your site was my first port of call. Made the crust as per your instructions but lined rectangular ramekins, reserving some of the potato mix. Cracked in a couple of eggs, added bacon, sauteed mushroom, cherry toms and topped with grated cheese and remaining potato mix. Et viola: individual Hash Brown Bacon and Egg Pies. A resounding success 🙂
Nailed it Matthew 🙌
Do you have a gluten-free artisan bread recipe?