A classic quiche crust and pie crust are made using homemade shortcrust pastry. It’s straightforward to make, especially if you have a food processor, and far superior to store bought in both flavour and texture!
I’ve also included directions for using store bought pastry sheets because the steps are the same for the baking part.
Quiche crust recipe
This is my recipe for quiche crust which I’m publishing separately so it’s handy to reference for the quiche recipes I’ve shared and the many more I will inevitably share over the years!
Use this recipe if:
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you want to make a homemade quiche crust from scratch; or
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you have store bought shortcrust pastry – frozen or refrigerated. The steps to press the pastry into the tin and baking are the same.
If you have a store bought prepared pie shell, simply cook it per the packet directions.
Quiche crust is shortcrust pastry
Quiche crusts are made with shortcrust pastry. The name “shortcrust” refers to the baking term “short” which means pastries that are flaky and crumble when you cut into them. They should be tender enough such that you can cut into it with little effort, and while it should be flaky, it should not disintegrate into crumbs.
And a quiche crust should hold together so a slice of quiche doesn’t fall to pieces when cutting and serving.
Even if you’re new to making quiche crust from scratch, I think you’ll find it quite straight forward the way I’ve broken it down plus the recipe video below!
Using a food processor, the quiche crust dough takes less than 5 minutes to make and it works 100% perfectly!
How to make quiche crust or pie crust
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Blitz – place flour, butter and salt in a food processor and blitz until fine crumbs form
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Add ice water while the motor is running. Why ice water? Because it stops the butter from melting. Teeny tiny bits of butter in pastry = flaky pastry!
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Once a ball forms, take it out, pat into a disc, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour+ (up to 2 to 3 days). Reason: This makes the butter in the dough firm up again = flaky pastry
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Roll out pastry to 3 mm / 1/8″ thick
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Press into quiche tin or pie dish
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Fill with pie weights and bake – Use baking beads, dry beans or rice. Anything that will weight down the pastry to stop it from puffing up and shrinking while it bakes. This is called Blind Baking.
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Remove beads carefully – Nobody wants hot beads bouncing all over the kitchen!
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Bake again just for 10 to 15 minutes until the base is light golden – this will really ensure your quiche crust base stays nice and crisp once filled.
Quiche Filling
Once baked, fill the quiche crust with your filling of choice – or use one of my existing Quiche recipes:
If you want to make your own filling, use this as a guide:
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Standard quiche tin (about 23cm / 9″ diameter, 2.5 – 3cm / 1 – 1.25″ deep) – use the cream, eggs, salt and cheese in the Quiche Lorraine recipe;
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Deeper quiche tart tin (about 23cm / 9″ diameter, 3.5 – 4 cm / 1.5 – 1.7″ deep) – use the cream, eggs, salt and cheese the Salmon Quiche recipe
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Quiche Crust / Shortcrust Pastry for Pies
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (185g / 5.6 oz) plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1cm/ 1/3" cubes
- 3 tbsp ice cold water (+ more as required)
Instructions
- Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor.
- Pulse 10 times or until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- With the motor running on low, pour 2.5 tbsp of water into the tube feeder.
- Turn up to high and blitz for 30 seconds or until it turns into a ball of dough. Initially it will look like breadcrumbs, then it will turn into a ball of soft dough - some random escaped bits is fine. If it doesn't look like its coming together at 20 seconds, add another 1/2 tbsp of water. Don't blitz longer than 30 seconds at most.
- Form a disc, wrap in cling wrap. If there are escaped crumble bits, that's fine - just press them in. Refrigerate for 1 - 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan forced)
- Sprinkle work surface with flour, unwrap dough and place on the flour. Sprinkle top with flour, then roll out into a 27cm/11" round.
- Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin.
- Unroll it over the quiche pan or pie dish - 23cm / 9".
- Press the pastry into the edges of the quiche pan, patching up edges if required (if pastry doesn't quite reach top of rim).
- Roll the rolling pin across the top to cut off the excess pastry.
- Optional extra "safe measure" refrigeration - 15 minutes. See (Note 2).
- Place a large piece of parchment paper over the pastry, then fill with baking beads or lots of rice or dried beans to weigh it down. (Note 3)
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven.
- Turn oven DOWN to 180C/350F (or 160C/320F fan).
- Use excess paper to CAREFULLY remove hot beads, then return to oven for 10 minutes or until base is light golden.
- Remove from oven and fill with chosen Quiche Filling. Quiche Lorraine, Salmon Quiche, Italian Sausage or your other filling of choice.
- The pastry will not be 100% cooked, it finishes cooking with the filling. It's cooked enough so the crust will not go soggy.
Recipe Notes:
- Standard quiche tin (about 23cm / 9" diameter, 2.5 - 3cm / 1 - 1.25" deep) - use the cream, eggs, salt and cheese in the Quiche Lorraine recipe, then your add ins of choice
- Deeper quiche tart tin (about 23cm / 9" diameter, 3.5 - 4 cm / 1.5 - 1.7" deep) - use the cream, eggs, salt and cheese the Salmon Quiche recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Racing for a toy!
The best I’ve ever made!
Hi Nagi, this is the second time I’ve tried to make this crust. I followed your instructions to the tee and it just doesn’t work. When I roll the dough it just cracks and falls apart. I can’t even try to pick it up, it just crumbles. What am I doing wrong? Can the brand of butter be the problem? I have asked this before. Hopefully someone can help. Thanks
I would suggest you have not put enough water into the mix.
I always find I need more.
Good luck ….
Made last night, such a success I’m making double today & freezing. Another great recipe thanks Nagi 🙂
Thank you for this, I don’t have a blitzer. What’s an alternative? Thanks!
I would suggest you have not put enough water into the mix.
I find it always needs a bit more. Good luck…….
Hi Naji. I want to try the recipe but my quiche pan is 11 inches in diameter. What changes should I do? Thank.you
Beautiful flakey pastry
This is my GO TO quiche crust recipe!
Hi Nagi, could I freeze unbaked quiche?
Hi Nagi, I would also like to know the answer if it can be frozen. Tnx
Hello! Is it possible to make the crust the day before and leave in the fridge overnight, if it’s well-wrapped?
Yes Sarah – you can keep it in the fridge or freezer!! N x
Hey Nagi! I’m thinking of making this for Mother’s Day – if I cook the crust the day before, do I just need take it out of the fridge and put the filling in, or should I leave it out of the fridge for a few hours before baking?
Hello Nagi. Made the quiche base today. Put the dough in the fridge for a couple of hours before rolling out and then put it back in the fridge for 15 minutes once done. It isnt warm here atm, but thought i would take the extra measure. the sides have shrunk down to half the size, one of them I dont think I will be able to fill. Why do you think this would have happened?
Dough shrinkage happens when you don’t rest the dough long enough to relax the gluten or when you stretch it too much when placing it in the pie pan. It sounds like you rested it before rolling but maybe it needed to rest about an hour afterwards or perhaps it was stretched rather than just laid into the tart tin? N x
Hi Nagi, have u made this with GF flour? I’ve made it so many times with normal wheat flour (it’s the bomb!!) but wanted to try GF if it works just as well
Hi Barbs – I have not used g/f flour for this one but it is very different to normal flour and varies widely from brand to brand so I can’t recommend it sorry. Let me know how it goes if you try it! N x
I made it with GF flour (white wings! and it worked! A little more melty like shortbread. I also halved the recipe so not sure if that also affected things.
Another Q- if I won’t make the quiche until next week, can I freeze the dough in gladwrap? Or should I bake the pastry shell and freeze that?
This was great – pastry was nice and flaky and so easy to make. Loved the way it magically ended in a convenient ball in the food processor
I used a light cream in the filling with low fat milk (all I had), and it set fine and was still delicious.
One thing I learnt the hard way – make sure your crust is watertight (no holes) before pouring the filling in, especially if your quiche tin has lots of aeration holes like mine – had to clean eggs off my shoes…
Thanks for the recipe!
Now you understand my job hazards!! N x
Very easy to make in food processor. Much nicer than shop bought pastry. I know I’m gushing….but thanks heaps for this. I made your mini quiches and they turned out perfectly.
Hello, I’ve made this for the first time today. Did everything to point on this recipe. When I was rolling out the dough, it was cracking all around the edges. When I rolled it onto the rolling pin it just fell apart. I do live in Queensland so it is warmer here. I had to collect the dough, press it together to form a disc again and I did put it back in the fridge again,to get cold. I tried rolling it out again, same issue it just cracks all around. I just put the rolled out part in quiche pan and pressed it throughout the pan until it mostly covered the sides of the quiche pan. I have, however, noticed that the dough is really thin. I suspect the dough is not enough for my pan. Should I perhaps double up on the dough ingredients next time? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks
HI Nagy, Tash asked on oct.08.2021 about food processor. I do not have ANY processor or blender (only hand mixer). Can you give me instructions or these recipe requires an appliance? Thanks
Likely a silly question but if you don’t have a food processor can you do it in a Kitchen aid or what’s the alternative?
Nagi please reply to this question, thanks.
i think you can, just mix all and add grated frozen butter (butter cold creates the flakiness etc if you read the recipe in full) to the mix and follow rest of recipe
Next time I make a quiche I will try making my own dough as it looks so easy…I was wondering what sort of quiche/ pie dish you made this in?
Hi Jenn…in that video I am using a Wiltshire Rose Pink 23cm / 9-inch tart tin with a removable bottom widely available here in Australia at Coles and Woolies stores. Good luck! Nx
I just made this after reading reviews and it was so easy!! I made it at lunch time and refrigerated it until dinner (about 5hrs) and didn’t realise it would harden up SO much. (In reflection it makes sense coz it’s butter!) So it unexpectedly delayed our dinner. I did some googling and realised I should’ve brought it out much earlier to let it come back close to room temp/rolling temp. So Nagi, since you always have great additional Notes can I suggest adding a note about if you choose to refrigerate for a long time, make sure u leave X Time for the pastry to soften before you can roll it! This is the first time I’ve made quiche with my own pastry so thank you for another great recipe! Never using store bought shortcrust again😄
I loved this crust easy recipe .
I have made this crust a couple of times and turned super good and easy recipe that’s what I like…