The mother of all quiches…. A homemade Quiche Lorraine is one of those things reserved for special occasions that puts store bought to shame. Surprise yourself with how easy it is to make a homemade quiche crust – or make life easy using frozen pastry or a pre prepared pie crust.
QUICHE LORRAINE – QUEEN OF ALL QUICHES!
I can’t remember when I made my first quiche, but I can tell you for sure that it was a Quiche Lorraine. Because just as Pork Carnitas are the King of Taco Carts, Quiche Lorraine is surely the Queen of all savoury tarts.
Bacon. Surely it’s the bacon. I mean, how could a Zucchini Quiche possibly ever compete? 😉
Did you know…
This is not a REAL Quiche Lorraine. This is Quiche Lorraine as it is known outside of France. 🙂
As with many traditional dishes, once it leaves the country of origin, it tends to evolve. The filling for traditional Quiche Lorraine, very strictly speaking, is made only with bacon, eggs and cream/creme fraiche. If you add anything else to it, the French say it ain’t a Quiche Lorraine anymore! 😂
So basically, I break the rules and the French may be cursing me. But this is the Quiche Lorraine flavour that will be familiar to those who live outside of France, that I have always known and loved.
The onion adds more savoury flavour. I can’t help adding garlic to that – because when I sauté onion in butter, I add garlic like I’m on auto pilot.
As for adding cheese… I truly cannot image quiche without cheese. I have never had quiche without cheese!
QUICHE PASTRY
The pastry for quiche is a simple shortcrust pastry that is buttery and crumbly, crispy yet soft enough to cut your fork through without the needing to jack hammer it.
If you are lacking in time, use a pre prayed pie crust or frozen shortcrust pastry.
But if you do have the time, it is truly worth making the effort to make your own pastry. Homemade quiche pastry is buttery and flaky in a way that store bought never will be.
And the thing is – it’s so darn easy using a food processor. The dough comes together in mere minutes – flour, butter, salt, water, blitz = ball of soft dough ready for baking.
After chilling. 🙂 Chill = butter in dough firms up again = the flaky quiche crust you know and love.
It’s really hard to capture how buttery and flaky the homemade shortcrust pastry is in a photo, but here’s my attempt. 🙂 The pastry is crispy yet soft enough for the fork to cut through with barely any effort. Just as shortcrust pastry should be!
So here is my Quiche Lorraine recipe. There have been minor improvements since I first published it, streamlining the steps and explaining them more clearly. Most notably, the addition of a recipe video which I hope shows how simply the homemade quiche crust is to make, and how beautifully custardy the filling is!
Happy weekend everyone! A great one for a brunch? With……QUICHE?? 😉 Oh…and I believe Mother’s Day is around the corner… 🤔 – Nagi x
PS Pictured below with this Kale and Quinoa Salad which I happened to have in the fridge because it’s one of the few salads I know that keeps well for days and days.
MORE GREAT BRUNCH RECIPES
- Frittata
- Spanish Tortilla (egg and potato omelette)
- Bill Grangers’ Corn Fritters
- Zucchini Fritters and Broccoli Fritters
- Hash Brown Crust Quiche Lorraine
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Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients
- 1 quiche crust, homemade or store bought (see separate recipe below)
Bacon Filling:
- 1 tbsp / 15g butter
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped (~1/2 cup)
- 200 g / 6.5 oz bacon, cut into small strips (1.5 x 0.5cm / 2/3" x 1/5")
Egg Mixture
- 4 eggs (~55- 65g / 2 oz each)
- 300ml / 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (thickened cream) (Note 1)
- Pinch of salt & pepper
Cheese:
- 1 1/4 cups / 150g grated gruyere cheese (or tasty, cheddar, monterey jack)
Garnish (optional):
- 50g / 2 oz bacon, chopped and cooked until golden
Instructions
- Make the quiche crust per the separate recipe below (also see video) or use frozen shortcrust pastry (recipe below) or a store bought pre cooked prepared pie crust.
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan / convection).
Bacon Filling:
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and bacon. Cook until bacon is light golden.
- Transfer to a paper towel lined bowl and leave to cool.
Egg Mixture:
- Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Assembling and Baking:
- Scatter cooled Bacon Filling evenly across base of cooked quiche crust.
- Scatter cheese evenly across top.
- Carefully pour Egg mixture over the top. Push some of the cheese/bacon below the surface.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the top is golden. The centre should still jiggly.
- Garnish with Extra Bacon, if using. Rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cut and serve.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition
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Quiche Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups / 185g plain white flour (all purpose flour)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 100 g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1cm/ 1/3" cubes
- 2 1/2 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 (convection / 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 - 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).
- Place a large piece of parchment paper over the pastry, then fill with baking beads or lots of rice or dried beans to weight it down (stops base from puffing up and helps reduce pastry shrinkage).
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Use excess paper to CAREFULLY remove hot beads from quiche pan, then return to oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven when light golden and proceed with Quiche Lorraine recipe above. The pastry will not be fully cooked but it finishes cooking with the filling. It's cooked enough so the crust will not go soggy.
Recipe Notes:
Originally published August 2016, updated with new photos, slightly better filling and most importantly, a recipe video!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Giving me those “pity” eyes….no Quiche for Dozer!
Wendy says
My second time making this and several things went wrong. I pricked the crust and used the beans to weigh it down but after I removed them it still bubbled up in a few places. Maybe needs more pricking next time. I then managed to drop the crust on the floor when I was on my way to put it back in the oven🙁. Using the 10 second rule I scooped it up using the removable piece from a larger quiche pan, put it back together and put the ingredients in. On the +ve side, the crust was easier to roll this time. I added nutmeg to the egg rather than s&p because I like nutmeg with cheese (Swiss or Parmesan or cheddar). Always an adventure in my kitchen😂. It baked up well with minimum filling leakage and tasted delicious as usual! Your recipes are amazing! I managed to get fresh barberries (no dried available) so next recipe will be the Persian lamb shanks etc.
Nagi says
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! PS Though more like a 20 second rule around here… 🤦🏻♀️.. N x
Wendy says
My second time making this and several things went wrong. I pricked the crust and used the beans to weigh it down but after I removed them it still bubbled up in a few places. Maybe needs more pricking next time. I then managed to drop the crust on the floor when I was on my way to put it back in the oven🙁. Using the 10 second rule I scooped it up using the removable piece from a larger quiche pan, put it back together and put the ingredients in. Hoping it bakes up OK and is edible! On the +ve side, the crust was easier to roll this time. I added nutmeg to the egg rather than s&p because I like nutmeg with cheese (Swiss or Parmesan or cheddar). Always an adventure in my kitchen😂.
Alison says
Hi Nagi,
I was hoping to use up some spinach when making this, do you think I’d need to adjust amounts of other ingredients or the cook time? Hope this isn’t a silly question! x
Nagi says
Not silly at all! Pan fry it to wilt then scatter into the crust with the bacon 🙂
Alison says
(Super late reply!) Thanks so much Nagi!
I’ve made your Quiche Lorraine recipe 3 or 4 times now, including with short crust and hash brown crust, and it’s always a delicious success. I’m so appreciative of your thorough instructions, recipe notes, photos and videos because they make a world of difference to someone like me who is quite new to cooking, and has been somewhat afraid of it. It has such a positive effect on my life because gaining confidence in these skills extends to so many areas, including being able to cook for other people which is a great way to show appreciation for them. Thank you so much for everything you do. x
Marie Scotland says
Nagi, going to try your quiche, don’t I have to prick the base of the pastry with a fork before I cook it?
Julie Parkes says
Hi Nagi.
I have just finished making your quiche with the homemade pastry shell.
I even ventured into Harris Scarf this morning to buy a new quiche dish with a removable bottom.
I was so happy with how my pastry fitted perfectly into the dish.
After the first 20 minutes of baking, it had shrunk all around the sides. I still baked it for the next 15 minutes before adding the filling.
I poured it carefully into the pastry shell, but I have probably lost a third of the filling into the bottom of the oven.
I don’t really understand what happened to my pastry. I was so disappointed, but I think that it will still be eatable for dinner tonight. I hope so as I put a lot of effort into this meal.
Your recipes are wonderful Nagi, but I completely stuffed up this meal.
Do you have any thoughts on how to stop the pastry from shrinking?
Nagi says
Hi Julie, I’m sorry to hear that I wish I had been there to trouble shoot! Did you use pie weights? This helps stops the pastry from shrinking because the weights essentially weight down the pastry to stop it from shrinking, if that makes sense 🙂 There will always be a bit of shrinkage, but there shouldn’t be that much. N x
Julie Parkes says
Thanks Nagi for your reply.
I didn’t have Pie weights, but I used rice to weigh it down.
Maybe rice isn’t heavy enough.
Next trip to Wagga, I will buy some pastry weights.
The actual flavour of the quiche was delicious.
I always think that pastry is pretty hard, but I will persevere.
Kind regards
Pam says
Thanks for an easy, foolproof recipe for the most divine quiche. Do you make smoked salmon and goat cheese quiche? I suppose that we simply sub out the bacon etc. and cook it in the same way. Imagine the flavour.
Lincoln @ LincsFlavours says
Hello Nagi,
Sometimes this simplest things in life are the best…… and this quiche is one of them.
I must admit that I too add in some onions and cheese. I too find it adds to the flavour even if it is not true to its origins. I do however do a couple of things slightly differently:
When the bacon is cooked I leave it where it is, and just add the cream into the same pan. When the cream just starts to bubble around the edges I take it off the heat. I grate the cheese into the pan and stir to melt and mix.
This way there is less to wash up afterwards and the cheese mixes better into the cream mixture.
To avoid pastry shrinkage, the terror of all bakers, I don’t actually trim off the excess before baking. Depending upon the quiche I either trim off the excess once baked and before filling or indeed at the very end once the filling has baked and cooled.
Either way, a sharp serrated knife and very gentle pressure ensures a nicely trimmed shrink-proof pastry.
Thanks as always for sharing.
Kelly says
I’m always annoyed at the shrinking crust. Thanks for the tip!
Lincoln @ Lincana.com says
Works for me, I hope it works for you.
Nagi says
Hi Lincoln – that’s such a great idea! I will have to try it 🙂 I hate shrinkage too. I find that shrinkage is reduced by using heavier baking weights – I use TWO packets of beads in all my pastry cases! I scatter my bacon and cheese into the tart just to keep the egg mixture “clean”, but I can definitely see the benefit of your way! However, I love that we are both on the same page on onions and cheese… 😜 Thanks so much for your great message Lincoln! Your helpful tips are always a reader fave 🙂 N xx
Lincoln @ Lincana.com says
The trick is not to overheat the cream in the pan, just until there are small bubbles around the edge of the pan then take off the heat. It will be hot enough to melt the cheese. The eggs go in last, at which point the mixture should be cool enough not to cake the eggs before it gets into the oven!
Nagi says
Hmm, I will give it a go again! Curious to see if the cheese melting makes a noticeable difference. N x
Karen says
Nagi, I spent my day yesterday making your quiche and chocoalate cake as a morning tea treat for my long suffering work mates who are facing a month of morning shifts being short staffed.
The quiche came out beautifully and you’re spot on, the pastry looks fabulously flakey and tender.
As for the cake, what can I say!! It looked amazing. I piped the centre with vanilla spiked, thickly whipped , cream, covered it with a shiny chocolate glaze and decorated it with some mauve, edible flowers from my garden.
So thank you for the inspiration and fabulous recipes that are enhancing my reputation as a provider of exxceptional morning teas!!!
Nagi says
Oh WOW Karen! I absolutely loved reading this. You are amazing to go to all that effort for your work mates! Where were YOU when I was still in corporate! 😂 You’re wonderful N xx
Ginny Gass says
Nagi,
You are one precious lady. Aside from being a great chef/cook; you are a joy to listen to.
Love hearing your stories, & helpful hints. You truly live what you do; & your interactions with all of us, tell us this is true.
Good luck on your adventure… You will do great!! Ginny Gass ( Honolulu)😌
Nagi says
That is so sweet Ginny! Thank you!! N xx
Judith Kellett says
Nagi, yours is SO like the one I’ve been making for years it’s like meeting an old friend. The only thing I do differently is in the crust. I make my crust with half butter, half lard. And I sometimes use a slight increase in the overall ratio of fat to flour.
Lard makes the pastry ultra tender, I find. This piece of wisdom came from my late Auntie May, who used to use the pastry scraps to make Eccles cakes for the kids. Roll into a circle, put currants, sugar, and a dab of butter in the middle; Fold in the edges and roll with rolling pin until about 7mm thick. Bake and let it cool a little before issuing it (or them!) to the anklebiters.
Nagi says
Ohhhh! Love hearing that Judith! You know something? I know lard yields a slightly flakier pastry but it’s just not something I always have on hand nor use much in other recipes. And I must confess I just love love LOVE an all butter pastry! Oooh Eccles cakes is something I have never tried before, must change that! N xx
Debbie Pinkham-Salt says
Hi Nagi, I love this recipe.I have lived in France & on French Islands.I have turned the traditional quiche into what we call “fast food” in our house.Since I have arthritis I normally make 2 quiche with ready made crust.I take 8 free range eggs and separate them for Creme Brulee.I put 4 egg whites into each quiche and add 5 slices bacon on the bottom of each.Then I mix with blend stick 8 egg whites,salt 1/4 ts., 1 pound dry wt. mushrooms sprinkled on the bottom and top.I add 4 slices Emmenthal or Baby Swiss arranged all around and then add the liquids.Most times I will have extra mushrooms (white button,stems removed) left which I freeze for an omlette or sauce.I then add the liquid and I am using a deep dish crust so it all fits.I pop it in the oven and cook on 325 f ( I do not know what the gas mark is in EURO.).I sprinkle smoked paprika, and dehydrated shallots and other herbs like dill. I monitor them until they “Puff” up like a souffle (about 45-60 mins.) and then stop the oven and leave the quiche to cool.I only do this because I have issues with arthritis and pain so I have tried to make it easy on us and have good food too! I wait for them to settle ( about 1 hour) and since I have 6 cats (MIAWWWWWW) I usually put them in the garage to cool down but I sometimes quadruple the recipe and make 4-it’s all the same and I have-VOILA!-an instant frozen home made dinner. You can also use super finely grated Swiss Cheese as well -I guess about 1 cup or less depending on your liking.I LOVE Swiss cheese so I go for it! Loved your post but since I have arthritis I use frozen pie crusts and good quality ones and I may venture into using my new mixer to do that in future.Thanks Nagi!!!!! Oh-and the next day or same day the refrigerated egg yolks get made into the most simple recipe I made myself and everyone is very happy!!!!
Debbie Pinkham-Salt says
Oh, I meant to say that the egg yolks go into the most simple creme brulee recipe ever.I love to cook and I did so Professionally on Charter Yachts but that time is over.One never loses the yeal to cook good food though!
Many Thanks!
Nagi says
Thank you so much for sharing that Debbie! I so enjoyed reading that. And SIX CATS!!!!!!!!???!! Oh my….! N xx PS Love love LOVE Swiss cheese in quiche too N xx
Vera G says
Yum! Use to make often in summer but than just gone of the radar. Thanks for reminding me. Never made in pastry, interesting.got few receipts one is potato quiche. Bacon is must and plenty of CHEESE. Dozer would love bacon…… We had last night strong wind, bang, bang all night till about lunch time today. Just bit of rain, need more, more. Have good w/eekend!
Nagi says
Oooh POTATO quiche??? MUST TRY MUST TRY!!!
Trish says
Loved your quiche-lorrain
Trish says
Love it, but, crust got browned with cooking it twice, any recommendations?
Bernie says
I’ve been using lard in my crust forever, 45 years. Crust with lard is rich and flaky.. Butter tends to make it brown faster.
Nagi says
Yes to lard…. I should put that in as an option! N x
Nagi says
Wow, you’ve made it already!! I’m so pleased to hear that Trish, I have a big soft spot for quiche! N xx
Nagi says
Woah! You tried it already???!!! N xx
Vivien says
I just made your Quiche Lorraine for lunch with friends this week. – so easy and so delicious. Great recipe Nagi!
Nagi says
Ohhh! I love hearing that Vivien, I’m so glad you liked this recipe!! N xx
Sue Schroeder says
I have a funny story to share about Quiche Lorraine. In the early adult years, too many years ago, my fiancé asked me to make a quiche. I’d never had one, but I did have his copy of the Joy of Cooking. I also had no cooking skills beyond making scrambled eggs. The recipe started with make a pie crust, hah! I knew they had ready made ones at the store, so off I went. The only pre-made crust I could find was a graham cracker crust. So that is how quiche came to be made in a graham cracker crust in my kitchen. He was so surprised when I served it, and that is when I found out I’d chosen the wrong crust. But, we liked it in the graham cracker crust, and it’s even better eaten cold the next day. Don’t roll your eyes until you’ve tried it! The fiancé has moved into the category of “ex” but the recipe change is still with me.
Nagi says
I wouldn’t roll my eyes! I can totally imagine it! I love that story, that’s hilarious – and you know what? You might have started a new trend in the quiche world!! 😂
Alexis H says
How long to bake this if I want to make it crustless? The same?
Nagi says
Hi Alexis! Yep, I think it will be the same 🙂 N xx
Wendy says
HI Nagi! Sounds delish. I am wondering about the 2 1/2 Tbsp of water as using an Australian Tbsp that would be 50 ml of water whereas using a US/Cdn Tbsp would give 37.5 ml of water so a bit of a difference. Just thought I would mention this 😉. I recently moved back to Canada from Australia and silly me, forgot to bring an Australian Tbsp for my Aus recipes (I just convert). A friend who is visiting soon is bringing me one!
Nagi says
Hi Wendy! That’s a really great question 🙂 I actually have Canadian and US cups and tablespoons which I use to test baking recipes where I know even the smallest quantity difference can affect whether a recipe works or not. For this one, it’s ok to use without adjusting for the small tablespoon difference for two reasons: 1) from day to day, depending on weather like humidity and even how warm your house is, the amount of water required can differ slightly. Over time I’ve found that 2.5 tbsp is what I consistently use to make the dough come together, even though somedays I’m sure 2 tbsp would have been enough. So when making dough, there’s always an element of flex in terms of how much water vs flour is needed 2) The Canadian cup is also slightly smaller than the Australian cup – 227ml vs 250ml. So the small difference in tablespoons is relative to the difference in cups in the context of this recipe. 🙂 N xx
Wendy says
Thanks Nagi. The cups here tend to have both measurements on them and depending on where the recipe comes from I use one or the other. I am adept at making adjustments and love using maths to do calculations in the hopes things turn out 😉. It’s always an adventure.
Kevin | Kevin Is Cooking says
You’re killing me. I just made several yesterday, testing for a sponsored post! I even started the post with “Quiche Lorraine is the Queen of all quiches…”
This is a beauty. 🙂
Nagi says
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR VERSIONS!!!! Drop it here when you’ve done it 🙂 People love having options!! N xx
LittlFrenchy says
I always add crushed walnuts on the pastry before filling up with the cream-egg-mix.
Furthermore I add the gruyere to the pastry, not into the quiche.
Love it!
BR
LittleFrenchy
Nagi says
gruyere IN the pastry….. you got me there… 😋
Barb L says
I should never have watched that video before lunch! That quiche looks incredibly delicious! I will be making it for dinner, thinking about it all afternoon! I certainly hope Dozer got some of the extra bacon you cooked for the garnish. How could you possibly resist that face?! I know you don’t give him quiche because of the onion and garlic but I’ll bet you can’t fry bacon strips without him getting his share!!! Hope you both have a great weekend.
Nagi says
Oh, you know full well he got some bacon!!! 😂 Have a great weekend Barb! N xx
Marisa Franca @All Our Way says
I think Dozer wants the bacon instead. I can see it in his eyes and he’s mentally sending that message to me. Well, all I can say Phooey to the French (I said the with a French accent) and their original Quiche Lorraine. Yours looks delicious!! You can’t go wrong with onion and garlic. Hey!! How about adding leeks instead of onions? The French are all about leeks.😄And homemade all the way is the best!!!! Have a great weekend. 🤗
Nagi says
Just the bacon??? No no… he wants IT ALL!!!! 😂 Hope you have a great weekend Marisa! N xx