The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (2024)

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This is the best basic quiche recipe there is, and it can be totally tailored to your taste by switching out the mix-ins. BUT, it's the egg custard that is the shining star here-- creamy, dreamy, and delicious! The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (1)

If you're a fan of quiche, you're going to want to keep reading. This recipe is an amazing basic quiche recipe that is nothing short of phenomenal and you can stir in any of your favorite toppings to make it your own. But first, I need to give you a little background.

This is a sponsored conversation on behalf of California Olive Committee, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to travel to the gorgeous Napa Valley and meet up with the people ofCalifornia Ripe Olives.We ate more olives than I care to admit and had a fabulous time learning about California Ripe Olives fromthe olive growers themselves!

Like, did you know thatolives straight off the tree are far too bitter to eat?

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (2)

Or that the "ripening" method used for California olives today was invented by a housewife in late 1800 namedFreda Ehmann?It is a seven-day process that starts by putting the olives into a curing solution to filter the natural bitterness out. The olives then go through a series of cold-water rinses, which remove every trace of curing solution.

Ever wonder why black olives are that gorgeous black color? Throughout the multi-day curing process, pure air is constantly bubbled through the olives, and it causes them to oxidize! It's fascinating!

We spent our weekend at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Napa, and it totally made me itch to go back to cooking school. The new wave of students werepreparing for their first day while we were there and it brought back so many fun memories of my time at cooking school. I've helped the hubs through almost ten years of school; maybe I can coerce him into moving to Napa once he's done? Ha!

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (3)

The building the school is housed is gorgeous and is a converted wine cellar from the late 1800's.

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (4)

Not a bad view, eh?

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (5)

We spent our time learning about olives but also got to cook with them in one of the CIA kitchens. We were put into teams, and here I am with my teammates, Leigh Anne from Your Home Based Momand Kellie from The Suburban Soapbox. Our other teammate, Karista from Karista's Kitchen,was behind the camera and they are basically some of the sweetest, best bloggers there are.

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (6)

Our challenge was to come up with a dish that included olives-- which wasn't very hard to do since they go with everything. We came up with a pan-seared pork tenderloin over goat cheese polenta, served with a green olive and kumquat relish and roasted asparagus garnished with toasted pine nuts. It's kind of hard to see the pork in the photo below, but IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (7)

Once I was home, I broke open a can of California Ripe Green Olives and got to cooking, because there's never enough olives, in my opinion, and I made a quiche. Not just any quiche, though. It was the be all, end all of quiches. I'm not joking--the way that this recipe came into existence is pretty amazing.

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The Story of the Best Quiche Recipe

So, I flew to California a day early to spend some time with a friend in San Fransisco and decided to eat all the San Fran food we could in our 26.5 hours together. I'm planning on putting together a post on all the food we ate soon, so stay tuned! But, BUT, one of our favorite things we ate was the quiche at b. Patisserie. It was creamy and rich, andalllmoossthad the consistency of a creme brulee. It was unlike any other quiche I had ever tried, and I LOVED it.

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (9)

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Fast forward a few days later, I'm sitting on the plane with my new friend Karistaand in some totally random round-out about way while talking Culinary School; she starts telling me about how one of her instructors at school taught her to make a quiche. She continued about how amazing it was, and it sounded just like the one I had eaten from b. Patisserie! Mind blown.

Here's the trick to this basic quiche recipe

In a typical quiche recipe, I would usually add six maybe even up to 8 eggs to make the custard-- it's an "egg pie," after all. Butthe quiche Karista makes, and I now have a hunch that b. Patisserie does as well, uses a ratio of ½ C heavy cream to 1 egg for their egg mixture. It seems like a lot of cream per egg, but it's what makes all the difference!

The egg mixture is so creamy and light, but still firm. It's not slimy and doesn't taste undercooked at all. It's just creamy, dreamy perfection.

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Making the best quiche recipe your own

The beauty of this basic quiche recipe is that the egg custard is definitely the shining star, but you can add whatever you'd like to it, in the right amount. The trick is not to overload it with mix-ins-- you only want about 1 to 1 ½ cups total of other ingredients, or you'll have a hard time with it keeping it's shape since the egg is so soft.

I opted for chopped California Ripe Green Olives, along with caramelized onions, diced ham, and a little bit of sharp white cheddar. The olives added just the right amount of salt, and bite paired with the ham, onions, and cheese.

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I truly enjoyed my time in Napa with the California Olive Committee, and if you've never gotten your hands on a can of them, they are amazing.You'll know it's theirs by finding the“Product of the U.S.A.” on the back of the can!You can also keep up to date with them on their Facebook page-- Facebook.com/CaliforniaRipeOlives.

Want more olive recipes?

  • Baked Feta with Olives and Tomatoes
  • Hawaiian Roll Pizza Sliders
  • Easy Beef Enchilada Skillet

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (12)

The Best Basic Quiche Recipe

Just like the name states, you'll never need another quiche recipe again! This creates a creamy and rich egg custard and you can switch up the mix-ins however you like.

By Heather Cheney

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Cooling Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 large eggs
  • teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ cup California Ripe Green Olives chopped
  • ¼ cup sharp white cheddar grated
  • ¼ cup diced ham
  • ¼ cup caramelized onions *see notes*

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • Combine eggs, cream, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until well combined.

  • Layerolives, cheese, ham, and onions into the pie crust and pour egg mixture over the top.

  • Place pie pan on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes or until the center of the quiche is just set-- it will jiggle like jello right in the center and when you insert a knife into the center it will come out with just moisture on the blade.

  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Chef's Notes:

To customize this quiche recipe, you can mix and match your mix-ins! You can use up to 1 ½ cups of ingredients and get good results. For the recipe above I knew I wanted to use 4 ingredients, so I just split them up into ¼ cup quantities to make 1 cup total.

It's best to cook vegetables that have a high water content (onions, peppers, greens, mushrooms, etc.) before adding to the quiche. Not only does it keep the quiche from getting soggy, it gives great flavor! That's why I use caramelized onions in the above recipe instead of just plain onions.

Some of my favorite mix ins:

  • Browned Breakfast sausage
  • Crumbled Bacon
  • Roasted Red Peppers
  • Fresh, diced tomatoes
  • Steamed Broccoli (finely chopped)
  • Any kind of cheese
  • Sauteed Kale, spinach or Mushrooms
  • Potatoes, diced and cooked

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 219 kcal | Carbohydrates: 2 g | Protein: 5 g | Fat: 21 g | Saturated Fat: 12 g | Cholesterol: 132 mg | Sodium: 271 mg | Potassium: 70 mg | Vitamin A: 835 IU | Vitamin C: 0.7 mg | Calcium: 94 mg | Iron: 0.4 mg

Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure

ARE WE FRIENDS ON INSTAGRAM?Tag me @heatherlikesfood and use #heatherlikesfood so I can see what you're making and enjoying!

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The Best Basic Quiche Recipe-- add mix-ins to make it your own! (2024)

FAQs

How do you jazz up a quiche? ›

Using fresh herbs is the easiest way to level up your quiche with minimal effort—stir some into your base and also sprinkle some more on top after it comes out of the oven. For Dearmond, the easiest quiche is eggs and cream with cheese and a bunch of chives.

What is the formula for quiche? ›

Quiche Ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy

You'll need to increase the amount of eggs and milk based on the size of your quiche, so knowing the basic ratio makes it really easy to scale up or down. For a standard 9-inch quiche: Use 3 large eggs (6 ounces) 1 1/2 cups of whole milk or cream (12 ounces)

Is heavy cream better than milk in quiche? ›

Heavy Cream and Milk – For the best tasting quiche, use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. (Or simply use half-and-half.) Using just heavy cream produces an overly thick filling. Whole milk is great, but a combo of heavy cream and milk is better.

What is quiche filling made of? ›

Quiche is a savory custard that's made with a combination of eggs and cream or milk. It's typically baked in a pie crust and can be made with a variety of different fillings ranging from meats, vegetables, cheeses, and seafood. Quiches are perfect for serving as any meal- breakfast, lunch or dinner.

How can I improve the flavor of my quiche? ›

Choose ingredients with lots of flavour and combine them with seasonal vegetables: onions, mushrooms, spinach and chard, leeks, candied or dried tomatoes... you have an infinite number of combinations that make quiche a pleasure that can be renewed without tiring.

Why put nutmeg in quiche? ›

Salt, cayenne pepper, ground nutmeg: These seasonings flavor of the quiche, with salt balancing the flavors, cayenne pepper adding a slight heat, and ground nutmeg providing a warm, nutty undertone.

What is the milk to egg ratio for quiche? ›

The ratio maintains your custard's consistency. A good quiche custard typically features: 1 large egg to 1/2 cups of dairy. The dairy can be any combination of milk and/or half-and-half, for example: 1 large egg : ½ cup milk.

Should quiche be cooked at 350 or 375? ›

BAKE in center of 375°F oven until center is almost set but jiggles slightly when dish is gently shaken and knife inserted near center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

Can I use milk instead of cream in my quiche? ›

While it is not as traditional for quiches such as quiche Lorraine, you can use milk instead of heavy cream for quiche. While the results are not *as* rich as if heavy cream is used, I find that by the time you factor in the cheese and eggs, the quiche is not at all lacking in indulgence.

Why is my quiche always watery? ›

Excess moisture is one reason why quiches collapse in a watery pool on your plate. Vegetables and meats like ham give off tremendous amounts of water when they're cooked. Therefore, if you're using vegetables in your quiche, it's imperative that you cook them first.

What is a substitute for sour cream in quiche? ›

Yogurt is your best substitute for sour cream. Whether you're baking or making a dip or sauce, yogurt is a 1:1 sub.

What not to put in quiche? ›

Using too many eggs in the custard. The best quiche consists of a custard that's the perfect ratio between eggs and milk. Using too many eggs in the custard results in a quiche that rubbery and too firm when baked, while not using enough will prevent the custard from setting.

Can you put too many eggs in a quiche? ›

Using too many eggs in the custard results in a quiche that rubbery and too firm when baked, while not using enough will prevent the custard from setting. Follow This Tip: Remember this ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy.

Do you need to prebake pie crust for quiche? ›

Some recipes like quiches recommend partially cooked pie shells because the baking time wouldn't be long enough to fully cook the dough otherwise. Pre-baking a crust can ensure that your pie or tart crust will be fully baked and browned, and not soggy.

Why is my quiche tasteless? ›

We've all had a slightly bland quiche before, and there's nothing worse. To avoid this classic trap, take a little of your egg mixture and fry it in a pan until cooked through. Taste it for seasoning, and this will give you a good indicator of whether you've nailed that seasoning or if it needs another pinch of salt.

What to put with quiche? ›

30 Sides To Serve With Quiche
  1. 01 of 30. Roasted Broccoli. ...
  2. 02 of 30. Asparagus with Cheese Sauce and Herb Breadcrumbs. ...
  3. 03 of 30. Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon. ...
  4. 04 of 30. Sugar Snap Pea Salad. ...
  5. 05 of 30. Oven-Roasted Asparagus. ...
  6. 06 of 30. Romaine Salad With Oranges And Radishes. ...
  7. 07 of 30. Broccoli Salad. ...
  8. 08 of 30. Fresh Fruit Salad.
Mar 9, 2024

Is quiche supposed to be served hot or cold? ›

Quiche is one of the greatest make-ahead breakfasts I can think of. Meant to be served at room temperature—or even slightly chilled—you not only can make quiche ahead, you have to! That's one of the reasons it's so great for a celebratory morning breakfast.

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