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.
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!
Let’s talk pastry!!!
3 years ago when I first published this Quiche Lorraine recipe, I stated honestly that I usually make quiche with store bought frozen pastry.
Times have changed. Being a full time food blogger rather than a time poor corporate gal has brought a new appreciation for the beauty of homemade.
In the 5 years since I left corporate, I’ve had the luxury of more time to make and compare homemade pastry to store bought. And there is simply no comparison.
Homemade 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.
A classic Quiche Lorraine with a gorgeous smooth filling loaded with bacon. Make this with my EASY shortcrust pastry (recipe below) or use store bought - your choice! The measures in this recipe work with both US and metric (rest of world!) measures.
Quiche is a brilliant make ahead because it's one of those things that truly reheats well without compromise - see notes. Recipe VIDEO below.
- 1 quiche crust, homemade or store bought (see separate recipe below)
- 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")
- 4 eggs (~55- 65g / 2 oz each)
- 300ml / 1 1/4 cups heavy cream (thickened cream) (Note 1)
- Pinch of salt & pepper
- 1 1/4 cups / 150g grated gruyere cheese (or tasty, cheddar, monterey jack)
- 50g / 2 oz bacon, chopped and cooked until golden
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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.
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Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (fan / convection).
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Melt butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and bacon. Cook until bacon is light golden.
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Transfer to a paper towel lined bowl and leave to cool.
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Place ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
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Scatter cooled Bacon Filling evenly across base of cooked quiche crust.
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Scatter cheese evenly across top.
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Carefully pour Egg mixture over the top. Push some of the cheese/bacon below the surface.
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Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the top is golden. The centre should still jiggly.
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Garnish with Extra Bacon, if using. Rest for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cut and serve.
1. This recipe works really great with any full fat cream. Please don't use low fat / fat reduced cream because you will risk the filling not setting. I like to use heavy / thickened cream (for whipping or pouring) with 35%+ fat content.
2. Pictured in post with this Kale and Quinoa Salad which I happened to have on hand because it's one of the few salads I know that keeps well for days and days.
3. MAKE AHEAD: Quiche is brilliant reheated. Keep for 3 - 4 days in the fridge then reheat for 15 minutes at 180C/350F in the oven. Or freeze, then defrost a slice for 2 minutes on high in the microwave then bake for 8 minutes.
4. Nutrition per slice, assuming 8 slices with homemade pastry. This does not take into account the drained bacon fat so the calories and fat are slightly higher than they actually are.
This is a great, EASY classic shortcrust pastry recipe made using a food processor, very slightly adapted from this recipe by Emeril Lagasse. This is the recipe I've been using for years and years, and it has never failed me! It does not have egg in it (some recipes do), which makes it crisper and more buttery, yet soft enough to cut through with a fork with barely any effort. The measures in this recipe work with both US and metric (rest of world!) measures.
See note for using frozen shortcrust pastry.
- 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)
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Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor.
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Pulse 10 times or until it looks like breadcrumbs.
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With the motor running on low, pour 2.5 tbsp of water into the tube feeder.
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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.
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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.
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Preheat oven to 200C/390F (standard) or 180C/350F (convection / fan forced)
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Sprinkle work surface with flour, unwrap dough and place on the flour. Sprinkle top with flour, then roll out into a 27cm/11" round.
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Gently roll the pastry so it wraps around the rolling pin.
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Unroll it over the quiche pan - 23cm / 9".
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Press the pastry into the edges of the quiche pan, patching up edges if required (if pastry doesn't quite reach top of rim).
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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).
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Bake for 20 minutes.
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Use excess paper to CAREFULLY remove hot beads from quiche pan, then return to oven for 15 minutes.
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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.
If using store bought frozen shortcrust pastry, you will need 2 sheets (standard Australian square sheets). Thaw then line the 2 sheets together so they are overlapping slightly and press down firmly to seal. Then press into the pan and start from step 10.
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!
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
Not silly at all! Pan fry it to wilt then scatter into the crust with the bacon 🙂
Nagi, going to try your quiche, don’t I have to prick the base of the pastry with a fork before I cook it?
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?
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
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
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.
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.
I’m always annoyed at the shrinking crust. Thanks for the tip!
Works for me, I hope it works for you.
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
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!
Hmm, I will give it a go again! Curious to see if the cheese melting makes a noticeable difference. N x
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!!!
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
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)😌
That is so sweet Ginny! Thank you!! N xx
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.
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
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!!!!
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!
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
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!
Oooh POTATO quiche??? MUST TRY MUST TRY!!!
Loved your quiche-lorrain
Love it, but, crust got browned with cooking it twice, any recommendations?
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.
Yes to lard…. I should put that in as an option! N x
Wow, you’ve made it already!! I’m so pleased to hear that Trish, I have a big soft spot for quiche! N xx
Woah! You tried it already???!!! N xx
I just made your Quiche Lorraine for lunch with friends this week. – so easy and so delicious. Great recipe Nagi!
Ohhh! I love hearing that Vivien, I’m so glad you liked this recipe!! N xx
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.
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!! 😂
How long to bake this if I want to make it crustless? The same?
Hi Alexis! Yep, I think it will be the same 🙂 N xx
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!
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
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.
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. 🙂
I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR VERSIONS!!!! Drop it here when you’ve done it 🙂 People love having options!! N xx
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
gruyere IN the pastry….. you got me there… 😋
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.
Oh, you know full well he got some bacon!!! 😂 Have a great weekend Barb! N xx
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. 🤗
Just the bacon??? No no… he wants IT ALL!!!! 😂 Hope you have a great weekend Marisa! N xx