Spinach Quiche

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Spinach Quiche

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Made with heavy cream and Gruyère, this rich spinach quiche is classic French.

Spinach & Gruyere Quiche

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!”

Jen from Newburyport, MA

Ingredients For Spinach Quiche

spinach quiche ingredients

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

crust pricked with fork

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.

golden baked crust

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.

Skillet of cooked shallots.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.

eggs, cream, and seasoning in bowl

Whisk to combine.

whisked egg and cream mixture

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.

layering shallots in crust

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top.

layering shredded cheese in crust

Scatter spinach evenly over cheese (breaking up clumps as best you can).

layering spinach in crust

Then pour the egg mixture carefully over top.

egg and cream mixture poured into crust

Bake at 325°F for 50 to 55 minutes until custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.

baked spinach quiche

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.

Slices of Spinach Quiche on plates with forks.

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Video Tutorial

Spinach Quiche

Made with heavy cream and Gruyère, this rich spinach quiche is classic French.

Servings: 4 to 6
Total Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.
  4. 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.
  5. Bake at 325°F degrees for 50 to 55 minutes until the custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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

Powered by Edamam

  • 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.

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Comments

  • We make this recipe quite regularly in our house; our toddler will even eat it. Love to eat this with a side of salad.

  • I made this quiche as it is written. No changes were needed. We liked it very much.

  • Delicious! I had never made a quiche before and knew your recipe would be great & foolproof. I added bacon since my S/O won’t eat anything without meat in it (eye roll) and reduced the spinach a bit to make room for it. We used Gruyere (my favorite, though expensive) and if it’s in your budget, I highly recommend using it over Swiss since it adds an amazing earthy flavor that I can’t put into words. The shallots also added so much to the dish. 5/5…I’m definitely going to impress some people with this in the future!

  • I am surprised the crust is fully baked before adding the filling – doesn’t it then get too brown/tough?

    • Hi Gail, it shouldn’t, but keep an eye on it. If it starts to get too brown, just cover it with foil for the remainder of the baking time. Enjoy!

  • We were overnight guests at a friends house. I made this quiche for a quick breakfast in the morning as my husband and I had to leave early. It was positively superb, no other words. My friends, who are gourmet chefs in their own right, could not say enough great things about this recipe. I told them about your website. Fantastic food going on here. Thank you!

  • I just made this, and it is delicious, it really does melt in your mouth. Who knew that frozen spinach could become so delicious?
    I also added bacon to this recipe and it is out of this world delicious. I had previously made one parmesan and leek quiche with, and one without bacon (bacon one tasted much better). For this spinach and gruyerere quiche, I cut the bacon into small pieces, fried it first. Then I used that fat to cook the shallots.
    I put the bacon pieces on top of the spinach layer. So you get bacon flavor at the bottom of the quiche (with the shallots) and the top.

    I also recommend cooking on a baking sheet lined with foil. The egg custard overflowed and made a mess, so it was easier clean up to just throw away the foil.

  • When you realize you forgot the cheese in a Spinach Gruyere Cheese Quiche and pour it all over the top after it’s in the oven and it comes out perfectly, you know you have a fool proof recipe. This was, truly, incredible. I made it in a Quiche pan rather than a pie plate and there are no words to describe how gratifying it was to see it, completely, disappear. I can’t wait to make it again—-with the cheese covering the shallots, as written.

  • Foolproof and delicious! I substituted the chopped, frozen spinach with baby spinach. I trimmed the stems and added to the shallots and butter to wilt. The Gruyere doesn’t make the quiche greasy like other cheeses often do. Thank you Trish for sharing this recipe with us. An adopted and instant tradition to our Christmas morning celebration.

    • — Kathleen Hudson
    • Reply
  • I just baked two of these for the holiday, they look and smell amazing! How do you suggest freezing and then reheating these?

    • — Kristin Anderson
    • Reply
    • So glad they turned out well, Kristin! The cooled quiches may be wrapped tightly in foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Let the quiche thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. To reheat: Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 325°F [170°C] oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center. (Just added these instructions to end of the recipe.)

      • Hi Jen! Do you think making the quiche 2 days ahead and refrigerating it would be too risky? (I’m mostly worried about sogginess!) If I freeze it instead, I’m wondering if the overnight thawing is necessary or if the quiche can be reheated from frozen? Thanks so much!

        • Hi Flo, I think it’d be fine to make it two days ahead. It will crisp up when you reheat it.

  • Delicious! 😋 I mean REALLY good! So simple to prepare with a very elegant presentation. I’ve cooked many, many recipes from this website and I’m never disappointed. Plus, I’ve already ordered Jen’s cookbook! I can hardly wait for April!😁

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