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:
This would crtainly help me recover….from anything. What a brilliant idea!
YES IT DOES!!
Oh, yes – I know that this tastes good ‘cos I have a similar recipe but I cook it all on the stove top and call it a potato crusted frittata – do like the idea of cooking it in the oven.
Oh wow Rachel! I did wonder if I could make this on the stove top and stick it under the grill like a frittata. Do you have the recipe on your site?
Oh this looks so good! I’m loving the potato recipes recently! This is the perfect brunch dish for sharing. Pinned!
Ugh, I really need to cut back on my potato recipes, don’t I!!! I’m a little too obsessed I fear 🙂
“tastes like a cross between a hash brown, quiche and potato dauphinoise gratin.” Ugh….YES, PLEASE! This most certainly is a match made in heaven! This is quite possibly the thickest yet fluffiest looking quiche I’ve ever seen! And as far as I’m concerned, nutmeg is not optional! A brilliant addition! Well done!
I knew you would approve of the nutmeg! Thanks Kathleen! 🙂
What a fantastic idea, it’s a complete breakfast in 1 dish and I love the less calories.
Thanks Janette! I couldn’t believe the calorie count….!! I really double checked!
Okay…this is brilliant! You’ve taken two of my favorites, as well, to make this gorgeous dish! A friend of mine and I are planning a luncheon in January, and this will surely be on the menu!!
Thanks Annie!! It’s 2 of my faves too 🙂
I absolutely love Quiche Lorraine and a hash brown crust would make it even better!
My thoughts exactly Marissa!! 🙂
This sounds amazing! Will try this christmas day morning! Thank you 🙂
Can’t think of a better way to start Christmas Day!! (Oh, other than Santa leaving stacks of presents with my name on them!!) 🙂 Love to hear what you think!
Oh now this is genius! This is definitely one of those ‘why didn’t I think of this?’ posts. I often have a baked potato with a slice of quiche, but no need if I give this a go! 🙂
Really?? Baked potato with quiche?? Never heard of that!! So YES, time to mash them into one dish!!
Dear Nagi,
I’ve only recently found my liking for quiche and a hash brown crust sounds delicious!
Well this is one to cement your discovery of quiche!! It really is quite delicious! I am just worried you may not go back to normal quiche after trying this 🙂
This is my kind of meal. I love hash browns and wish we could buy them loosely frozen like you can in the states. Your quiche looks perfect. My French grandmother would approve. 🙂
Maureen. You are in Australia now. It’s all about made from scratch! 🙂 I am glad you think your grandmother would approve!
This definitely looks like my kind of breakfast!! I’m a huge fan of hash brown crusts (I made a breakfast pizza last summer with a hash brown crust and have been hooked since then!), and that’s awesome that it is actually healthier than the traditional recipe! This looks phenomenal, and I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Breakfast pizza hash brown? But….that’s genius!! Popping over now to check it out!!
Nagi, I’m blown away! The hash brown crust is genius! I’m definitely trying this recipe!
Thank you Shinee!! It really was delicious. So so delicious!!