Quiche Lorraine is a combination of a delicious flaky Pie Crust that is filled with savory egg custard. Bacon, cheese, caramelized onions, and other fillings can take this quiche recipe from ordinary to extraordinary. Whether you serve it for breakfast or brunch, hot or cold you’re bound to fall in love with this classic quiche recipe.
We love simple and elegant dishes for entertaining like Cheese Crepes, homemade Cinnamon Rolls and Caramel French Toast. This classic quiche recipe is among our all-time favorites. Make it for your next gathering and you will get recipe requests.
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Hello, Marina from Let the Baking Begin here! Today I’m sharing one of the most delicious brunch tarts that will be perfect to serve on a lazy Saturday for breakfast, or as you host brunch this upcoming holiday season. I hope you love this quiche recipe as much as we do.
What is Quiche Lorraine?
Quiche Lorraine is a French dish that was introduced to the US in the 1950’s. Quiche Lorraine is THE reason why America fell in love with quiche. It is the gold standard for quiche; essentially a savory tart with an egg, cheese and bacon custard baked in a pie crust. You can use a pie pan, but a quiche mold with a removable base makes it easy to transfer this to a cake stand.
The Best Quiche Recipe
Quiches come in all kinds of different flavors, but a classic quiche Lorraine must include a pastry base and the filling of savory egg custard made with eggs and cream. Adding cheeses, meats, vegetables, and herbs to a basic quiche recipe is what is going to take it to the next level and make it the best quiche recipe.
I love adding bacon, sharp cheddar, and some caramelized onion to my Classic Quiche Lorraine, but you’re welcome to add any other meats (ham, sausage, or shredded chicken are all good meat choices) or vegetables (how does spinach, asparagus, baby tomatoes or roasted pepper sound?).
What Other Fillings Can be Added to Quiche?
Changing up the quiche filling means that you can make as many times as you want and never get bored since it never tastes the same. Here are some suggestions for what else you can add to the quiche filling.
- Protein: ham, chopped sausage, shredded chicken, pork or beef.
- Vegetables: fresh baby tomatoes, wilted and drained spinach, arugula, diced fresh peppers or roasted peppers.
- Cheeses: Gruyere and sharp cheddar are the most popular choices.
How to Pre-Bake the Crust:
For this classic quiche, you’ll need a refrigerated pie crust. You can use a single chilled disk of homemade pie crust or a store-bought pie crust for an even easier quiche. To pre-bake or ‘blind bake’ the pie crust:
- Roll the pie crust, transfer to the quiche mold and press in with your fingers. Place in the freezer. Then, remove and poke with a fork. Line with parchment or foil and fill with pie weights.
- Remove from the fridge and bake for about 40 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden in color. Then remove the foil with the pie weights and set the quiche base aside.
How to Make the Quiche Lorraine Filling:
- To prep the classic quiche filling first you need to render the fat from the chopped bacon by cooking it over medium-high heat in a large skillet, stirring often, then remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a bowl.
- Add the diced onions to the bacon grease and cook on medium heat, stirring often until the onions are well caramelized. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and add them to the bacon. Discard the bacon fat or save for use in another recipe.
- Whip up the eggs in a large bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together.
- If using a tart pan with removable bottom set it into a rimmed baking sheet. Brush the inside with egg white then pour filling into the prebaked quiche base and bake for about 55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
- Sprinkle with parsley, cut into wedges and serve. Or cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
What Can I Serve With Quiche Lorraine?
A basic quiche is typically served with a side of green salad. This makes it the perfect brunch menu item as the quiche is both filling and delicious, and the greens balance out the rich breakfast tart wonderfully.
Breakfast potatoes are another favorite around here. Make them the night before and reheat them in the air fryer to save some time in the morning.
Can Quiche be Made Ahead?
You can prebake the crust, cook the bacon, caramelize the onions, whisk the egg custard together with everything but the cheese ahead of time and refrigerate. Then, assemble it right before baking.
Or, you can completely bake and cool the whole quiche, then refrigerate until 1 hour before serving. This quiche recipe is best served at room temperature so make sure to remove it from the fridge about 1 hour ahead
If you wish to serve it warm, preheat the oven to 200˚F, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes.
Can I Freeze Quiche Lorraine?
Quiche Loraine can be frozen for up to three months. Once the pie is baked, cool completely to room temperature then wrap in a couple layers of plastic wrap and finally cover with foil to prevent freezer burn. To reheat, fully thaw quiche in the refrigerator for 24 hours then remove plastic wrap, cover with foil and bake at 200˚F for 30 minutes or until hot in the center.
Bon appetite!
More Crowd-Pleasing Breakfast Recipes:
- Nutella Crepes – elegant and delicious
- Blueberry Scones – loaded with blueberries
- Breakfast Burritos – freezer friendly
- Egg Muffins – baked in a muffin tin
Classic Quiche Lorraine Recipe
Ingredients
Classic Quiche Lorraine Tart Ingredients
- 1 pie crust, (1 frozen crust, or 1/2 recipe for double pie crust)
- 1/2 lb thin strips of bacon, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheese , (I used sharp white cheddar, but gruyere is classic)
- 1 3/4 cup half and half, (or equal parts whole milk and heavy cream)
- 4 eggs, large
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, finely ground
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
For brushing the inside of the tart
- 1 egg white
Instructions
Prepare the Pie Crust:
- Prepare the homemade pie crust and chill, or use store-bought pie crust. Roll out 1 pie crust to 12" on a lightly floured surface or between two pieces of parchment paper, then transfer to the tart pan*or deep pie pan. Press the pastry dough into the pan with your fingers to mold to the pan. Freeze for about 30 minutes, meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350˚F with the rack in the middle.
Pre-Bake the Crust:
- If using a store-bought crust, follow the package instructions for pre-baking. Otherwise, remove the prepared pastry tart from the freezer and blind bake it by first poking the bottom with a fork about every inch or so. Next, line the tart with parchment paper or foil allowing the ends to stick out a couple of inches above the tart edges.
- If using a tart pan with a removable bottom, place it on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill the inside with pie weights** 3/4 full and bake at 350˚F for about 35-40 minutes or until the tart is mostly baked through and light golden color. Remove from the oven, remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the inside of the baked tart with a whisked egg white - this will prevent the crust from becoming soggy from the filling.
Make the Savory Egg Filling:
- While pie is pre-baking, preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add chopped bacon. Cook, stirring often until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a separate dish. Add the diced onions to the bacon fat and cook stirring often until the onions are golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to the dish with the bacon.
- In a large bowl whisk 4 eggs, then add 1 3/4 cups half and half, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp paprika and 1/8 tsp of nutmeg and whisk together for about a minutes to incorporate a little bit of air into the custard. Stir in the cheese, prepared bacon and onion then pour the filling into the prebaked crust.
Bake the Quiche Lorraine:
- Bake the quiche Lorraine in a preheated 350˚F oven for about 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean and the center jiggles slightly. The quiche will continue cooking after it is removed from the oven. Cool slightly before serving and garnish with parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Marina | Let the Baking Begin!
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I’ve never made a quiche Lorraine before although it is one of my favorites to order. This recipe was better than any I have ever had. I made nearly exact except I was shot on half and half so used some heavy cream (about 1/2 cp.) to make up the difference. It was incredible! My husband loved it as did my guest who took some home for dinner. And the tip about brushing the crust with egg white after blind baking kept it from being soggy. I forgot, I also used Swiss cheese since I love that flavor. But the carmelized onions were wonderful in it. Thanks for the recipe.
The custard recipe in this post has become my favorite because it doesn’t leave me extra egg whites to deal with and doesn’t overfill a pie or leave waste. I blind bake my crusts differently, distribute the filling evenly in the shell before I pour in the custard, etc. but this one has been printed and put in the go-to binder–the highest praise from my kitchen.
Thank you for sharing, John!
The recipe was good, however, being a longtime quiche maker I switched it up and used 1 1/2cups of whipping cream instead of milk or 1/2-1/2 and I bake my quiches always, no matter what the recipe, at 425° for 15 minutes and then I lower the temperature to 350° for half an hour, and it always turns out perfectly just a little tip from me to you.
That’s after I already blind bake the crust FYI
I’m always looking for a new recipes. That’s why I stop by to try this one.
Can you use this recipe to make a broccoli and cheese quiche? Also, can you prepare the pie crusts ahead of time and store in the refrigerator?
Hi Mary, I have not tested that version but feel free to experiment. You may also check the tips in this portion of the recipe “Can Quiche be Made Ahead?”
I’ve tried a few quiche recipes and this one by far has been the best. I used ham and Swiss Gruyère cheese. 1 c. Heavy cream and 2/3 c milk and a little xtra cheese and it’s an awesome recipe.
I was not expecting how good this would taste given the pretty basic and cheap ingredients(I grated up some Colby-Jack and Monterey Jack cheese because that’s what I had on hand). I’m blown away!!
Just made this recipe. Over the top great. Better than the recipe in my old Fannie Farmer cook book. Maybe it’s the cheese I used: Gruyere as suggested. Fannie Farmer called for Swiss. Anyhow. Thank you for this!