Spinach Quiche
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Made with heavy cream and Gruyère, this rich spinach quiche is classic French.
Of all the spinach quiches I’ve tried over the years, this classic French version is my favorite. The recipe comes from my childhood friend Trish, who is not only one of the funniest people I know, but also a stunning hostess. When Trish entertains, she goes all out – beautiful table settings, seasonal cocktails, fabulous food, and (best of all) hilarious party games. She once created an entire game of Jeopardy! for our old high school gang, complete with categories like Prom Dates, ’80s Pop Stars, and Senior Superlatives.
This spinach quiche is Trish’s “go-to” brunch dish. The combination of heavy cream and Gruyère makes it rich and flavorful. There’s also a good bit of spinach, which balances out all that richness and makes it just a little bit healthier. If you’d like to try another traditional French quiche, my quiche Lorraine made with smoky bacon, nutty Gruyère cheese, and shallots is one of the most satisfying dishes imaginable.
“This is the best spinach quiche I’ve had! It was a hit at our Easter brunch and I got several requests for the recipe. It came out perfect making ahead, freezing, and defrosting. This is a keeper!”
Ingredients For Spinach Quiche
To simplify things, I recommend using a store-bought crust. When buying frozen pie crust, be sure to check it carefully at the store for cracks. (If you unpack it and find that it’s cracked, no worries — there’s a fix below.) Also, make sure to buy a deep-dish crust; a regular pie shell is not deep enough to hold all the fillings.
Frozen chopped spinach also makes the recipe easy. It’s important to wring out all the moisture from the spinach before using. I usually gather it into a ball in my hands and squeeze it until dry. It takes a few minutes of squeezing to get all the water out. Be patient; you need the spinach completely dry, otherwise your quiche will be watery.
Gruyère is my first choice for this quiche – its nutty flavor works nicely in egg dishes, like strata, egg bites, omelettes, and more – but if you can’t find it, Cheddar may be substituted.
How To Make Spinach Quiche
Prick the bottom and sides of the crust all over with a fork. Bake on center rack until fully cooked and lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. If your crust cracks in the oven (or if it was cracked when you opened the package), make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then place the crust back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
Set the crust aside and turn the oven down to 325°F. Sauté the shallots in a bit of butter over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.
Whisk to combine.
Place cooked pie shell on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of oven) and spread the shallots over the bottom of the cooked crust.
Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top.
Scatter spinach evenly over cheese (breaking up clumps as best you can).
Then pour the egg mixture carefully over top.
Bake at 325°F for 50 to 55 minutes until custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
How To Freeze Spinach Quiche
This spinach quiche freezes beautifully for up to three months. After cooling the quiche, wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Remove the quiche from the freezer about 24 hours prior to eating. Remove the plastic wrap and reheat it, covered with foil, in a 300°F oven until hot in the center.
You May Also Like
- Quiche Lorraine
- Cheese Soufflé
- Spinach & Cheese Strata
- Spinach Frittata
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Spinach Egg Bites
Video Tutorial
Spinach Quiche
Made with heavy cream and Gruyère, this rich spinach quiche is classic French.
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup thinly sliced shallots
- 4 large eggs
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup (4 oz) finely shredded Gruyère, packed
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung free of water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork, about 10 minutes. Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork (pricking about an inch apart). Bake until fully cooked and lightly golden, 10 to 15 minutes. (Keep an eye on it...if it puffs up while cooking, gently prick it with a fork so it will deflate.) Don't worry if the crust cracks while baking; see my note below on how to fix it before proceeding. Set aside and turn oven down to 325°F.
- Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the shallots until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.
- Place the cooked pie crust on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of oven). Spread the shallots over the bottom of the cooked crust, then sprinkle the shredded Gruyere over top. Scatter the spinach evenly over cheese, breaking up the clumps as best you can. Pour the egg and cream mixture over top.
- Bake at 325°F degrees for 50 to 55 minutes until the custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
- Note: I usually defrost the frozen spinach quickly by placing it in a fine mesh strainer and running hot water over it. I then gather the spinach into a ball and squeeze it dry. It takes a few minutes of squeezing and re-squeezing to get all the water out. Be patient...you need the spinach completely dry, otherwise your quiche will be watery.
- Note: Don't panic if your crust cracks—you can easily fix it. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1½ tablespoons of flour with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then place the crust back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This quiche can be made up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated. To reheat: Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 300°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked quiche can be frozen for up to 3 months. Remove the quiche from the freezer about 24 hours prior to eating and reheat it, covered with foil, in a 300°F oven until hot in the center.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 504
- Fat: 39 g
- Saturated fat: 21 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 14 g
- Sodium: 472 mg
- Cholesterol: 218 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Oh my goodness! This dish is utterly magical! Magical!!! I just knew mixing HEAVY cream, butter, cheese & eggs would result in a 10 lbs egg-colored brick, but what I pulled out of the oven was light, fluffy, amazing deliciousness! The leftovers a couple hours later were even better! I did use fresh spinach as that was my whole intent in searching for spinach recipes in the first place. I just steamed a big bunch in a pan with a couple tbls of water then drained in a colander & it was good to go. My quiche needed an extra 15 minutes in the oven to get the center set but it browned up perfectly. I served with sliced tomatoes and the Strawberry Orange Salad (although, I didn’t have berries so used bananas & apples!) & strong black coffee. If I ever have to choose a last meal, this will probably be it!
I have a question about using fresh spinach in place of frozen. Do you have to wilt the fresh spinach to make it the same consistency as the frozen spinach? How would you handle that?
Thanks.
Hi Arlene, Yes, you would need to cook the spinach first and squeeze out any excess water.
I’ve made this wonderful recipe and loved it. I made a few of these quiches this past weekend and froze them for a brunch party this coming weekend. I followed the recipe (or so I thought) and just realized I baked them at 350 instead of the recommended 325. Will they still be okay to serve or will they be spongy and dense?
Hi Alli, They won’t be quite as creamy but I think they’ll be just fine to serve 🙂
Hi! I’m planning to make this for the first time and need to do it a day ahead of time (it’s a surprise for a friend). If I refrigerate it will it retain the “silky” texture it would have straight from the oven? Also, do you think some lighter substitutes, like 2% milk or 1% milk with half and half would be similar to using heavy cream? Thanks!
Hi Rebecca, It’s fine to make it ahead and reheat but I wouldn’t substitute the heavy cream — that’s what makes it so good 🙂
Hi, I was wondering if you could exclude the shallots and add another cheese instead of Gruyere
Hi Emma, Yes and yes 🙂
This quiche is absolutely delicious and the recipe/directions couldn’t be more clear. The shallots and Gruyere bring extraordinary flavor. A definite repeat meal!
This quiche is a keeper. I did use Emeril’s flaky butter crust instead of store bought, and didn’t bother to layer everything in the baked crust…just mixed all in the eggs/cream mixture (it helped break up the spinach) and poured into prepared crust before baking. Delicious!! Will definitely be adding this to my arsenal of “go to” tried-and-tested recipes! Thank you!
Absolutely LOVED it! I used fresh spinach, bacon, yellow onion, and swiss in mine. I really wanted to use gruyere but, i live in a tiny town where gruyere doesn’t exist haha The only thing I wished I had done was salt the spinach a bit while wilting it in a pan before putting into the quiche. Other than that it is perfect! I pre baked the crust and it was perfect. My only problem is that I have no clue what to serve with it… my fiance calls quiche egg pie to mock it, and doesn’t care much for it… hopefully he likes this one and I can find a side he will definitely approve of before 6 tonight haha
Glad you loved it 🙂 It goes well with soup and/or salad.
I like the quiche with the Bulgar salad, it adds so much flavor to the meal.
Just used this recipe for dinner. It was AMAZING. So rich and tasty. The tips really helped with the crust. I used fresh spinach instead and a lot of them ended up floating to the top.
Thanks!
Looks wonderful! Can I substitute asparagus for the spinach and still have it taste delicious? Thank you for your input, it’s for my daughters bridal brunch and I want it to be special. Deanna
Hi Deanna, Asparagus will work; just be sure to cut the pieces very small, otherwise the quiche will be hard to cut.