Quiche Lorraine
Isn’t it amazing how, just like an old song, a taste can instantly bring you back to a special time and place? When I was 20 years old, I studied abroad in Tours, France, a university town in the Loire Valley. Every single day for lunch, I walked to the bakery near my university and treated myself to a decadent, cream-and-cheese laden individual quiche. With my hot quiche in hand, I’d amble back to class through the maze of cobbled streets and sidewalk cafes, relishing every bite while soaking up the atmosphere. I don’t recall a single course I took at that school, but the simple pleasure of eating that quiche is seared into my memory. The classic quiche Lorraine with smoky bacon, nutty Gruyère and shallots was, and still is, one of my favorites. You can serve it for brunch, lunch, or dinner and it’s especially good paired with a green salad, warm bread, and a crisp white wine.
Before we get to the instructions, a few tips on making a good quiche: First, for the richest, silkiest custard, use heavy cream instead of milk or half & half – and always bake your quiche at 325°F, as higher temperatures can cause the eggs to scramble. Second, never feel guilty using a store-bought crust. Making a homemade crust is time consuming and a good-quality frozen crust allows you to whip up a quiche with almost no effort at all. Finally, be sure to use an authentic Swiss-made Gruyère that bears the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) seal, meaning it was made according to strict government-mandated rules and quality standards. It’s pricey but you only need three ounces (and any that you have leftover makes amazing grilled cheese).
To begin, 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.
Bake on until 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 panic if your crust cracks in the oven — you can easily fix it by making a smooth paste from 1 tablespoon of flour and 1 tablespoon of water. Using your fingers, patch up and fill any cracks with the paste, then place the crust back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
While the crust cooks, dice the bacon. To make it easier to work with, pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so beforehand.
Place the diced bacon in a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan and add the shallots.
Cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs.
Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust.
Top with half of the bacon.
Then all of the Gruyère.
Then the remaining bacon.
Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.
Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden.
Serve the quiche hot or warm.
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Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients
- One 9-inch deep-dish frozen pie crust (I like the Wholly Wholesome brand from Whole Foods)
- 8 oz thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices), diced
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots, from 1 large shallot
- 4 large eggs
- 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 3 oz Gruyère, finely shredded (about 1-1/4 cups)
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. (If there are any cracks in the crust, see note below on how to patch them up.) Prick the bottom and sides all over with a fork. Place the crust on a baking sheet (this makes it easy to move in and out of the oven). Bake on until 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. Set aside and turn the oven down to 325°F.
- In a medium nonstick sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but one tablespoon of fat from the pan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream, salt, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg; whisk until evenly combined.
- Spread the shallots evenly over the bottom of the cooked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all of the Gruyère, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg/cream mixture over top.
- Slide the quiche (still on the baking sheet) into the oven and bake at 325°F for 45 to 50 minutes, until the custard is set and lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
- Note: Don't panic if your crust has cracks -- you can easily fix it. Make a smooth paste by mixing 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of water. Use your fingers to patch up and fill any cracks, then proceed with the recipe. If the crust cracks while baking, patch it afterwards and place it back in the oven for a minute or so to set. It should be good as new.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This quiche can be fully prepared up to a day ahead of time and refrigerated. To reheat: Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 325°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 325°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 616
- Fat: 51 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 16 g
- Sodium: 575 mg
- Cholesterol: 232 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.
Reviews & Comments
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Perfect in every way! Having recently moved back to the States from living in France I appreciate your simple, authentic recipe. The flavors are as good as any we’ve tasted. BTW, now that we are ‘home’ I make much use of my public library and I always check out cookbooks before deciding if they are worth buying and I have to say that yours definitely is on my BUY list! Even with so many resources on online your book is gorgeous and chock full of recipes that I will be making. Thanks so much for sharing your many talents Jenn!
So glad you enjoyed the quiche and thanks in advance for buying the book!💗
This is an excellent recipe. I’m curious if any other cheese can be substituted. The Gruyere is a little cheesy and was wondering if I can use a mild Swiss such as a Jarlsberg, or even a milder cheese. I love that you precooked the crust. It stayed so crispy on the bottom. Thanks for another great recipe.
Hi Fran, Glad you like this! While I really like Gruyere’s flavor here, you can use Swiss or Jarlsberg instead if you prefer a lighter tasting cheese. Please let me know how it turns out if you try one of these!
Hi Jenn,
I’m making this delicious quiche again and had a quick question. I mixed the eggs/cream/spices together this afternoon in a bowl but ended up not having time to bake it today. I popped it into the fridge and am planning on baking tomorrow. Do you think it will be okay?
Thanks,
Absolutely, Bry – that’s no problem at all.
Made this last night and it was amazing! Thank you for the fantastic recipe.
Hi Jenn,
This is my new favourite quiche! I needed something quick and easy for dinner last night and this came through with flying colours. I did make a few changes to accommodate what I had on hand. I only had 1 cup heavy cream so topped it up with 2% milk. We try to do low carb, so skipped the crust and upped the cheese to 5oz and used up the 2/3 lb of bacon we had in the fridge. Increased the shallots to 3/4 cup (as per your suggestion responding to another post about skipping the crust). I also had a bunch of fresh spinach to use up so sauteed it with the shallots in the bacon grease. Deliciously decadent! Paired with a green salad with your maple-Dijon dressing which gave the perfect balance of fresh and sweet.
Thanks for another winner!
Jenn,
Is there a reason you layer rather than mix all ingredients together?
I’ve tried many of your recipes all delicious!! Love your cookbook use it often!!
So glad you like the recipes, Gail! No real reason that I layer the ingredients other than I like how the bacon is both on the bottom and the top. Feel free to mix it all together if you’d prefer. Hope you enjoy!
Delicious!
Hi Jenn,
This looks fabulous and reminds me of my favorite meal while dining at a small sidewalk cafe in Paris. It was served with a very simple mixed green salad. Any suggestions for a salad/dressing combination that would pair well with this? I want to surprise my husband with a trip down memory lane this weekend :).
Thanks!
Katy
Hi Katy, I think it would be wonderful with this salad. You could also just use the dressing on a simple green salad. Hope you enjoy!
Hello Jenn:
I made the Quiche Lorraine the other night for dinner – OMG! This was the absolute best quiche I ever had (was my first time making one) It turned out perfect. Thank you so much for your excellent directions and yummy recipes.
What can be substituted for the meat? I would like to keep it vegan as a previous commentor suggested.
Hi Sim, while you could omit the bacon here, it adds so much flavor. If you go that route, I’d add 1/4 tsp. more salt to the mixture. If you want a delicious vegetarian quiche with no tweaks needed, you may want to try this spinach quiche. Hope that helps!
This was delicious. I used Pillsbury rolled crust. Smelled wonderful while cooking. Silky and rich.
What a treat to read this — I did a semester in Tours as well at the L’Institute de Touraine Jan-April 1991! (My Tours addicitons were chocolate almond croissants, camembert and fresh maynonaise.) I still dream of that beautiful city, it was the perfect place to really experience France. Thank you for bringing it back to me and for this recipe, which looks amazing.
Oh my goodness, Brenda – I missed you by two years! I was there for the same period in 1993. It really is a magical place.
Oh my gosh, so close! I am hoping to talk my youngest into studying French in HS & college so I can have an excuse to go back one day 🙂
I made this tonight – what a delicious quiche it was! The whole family enjoyed it – even my picky 6 year old!! Thank you.
Really easy and really delicious. Thanks for giving me permission to not make my own crust. It saves tons of time and is as good as homemade. I will be making this a lot.
I just made this recipe tonight and it was the best quiche I’ve ever eaten. The recipe was easy to follow and was just beautiful as it came out of the oven! I will definitely make this again and recommend it to friends and family. This recipe needs no changes or tweaks but is great as written.
Just made for dinner for my family tonight. It was delicious!
Love your recipes-always!
Can you use plain milk instead of heavy cream to drop the calories?
Hi Caroline, If you’d prefer not to use cream, I’d recommend half and half. It won’t be quite as rich as with the cream, but still delicious. 🙂
I made your Quiche Lorraine for dinner tonight using a Marie Callender frozen pie crust and it was filled to the top. Oh my, it was so delicious and elegant, I can’t say enough about it. It’s one of those keep forever recipes. Thank you so much.
I used the Marie Callender crust as well and it came out perfectly.
So easy and delicious! Loved the shallots! Would absolutely make again.
Another great recipe Jenn!
Made it last night, it was delish. I think the leftovers today were even better.
Thank you!
Oh my goodness i just learned what quiche should taste like- Jen thank you so much!!! This is the best quiche i’ve ever made and one of the best things i’ve ever put in my mouth- my meat and potatoes husband is thoughrouly pleased with this.. served this with a bitter greens salad – absolutely heaven! 10 stars !!
And the reason i wanted to make it was your honesty of why you enjoyed it-that’s a beautiful story in itself and you kept it simple and as a person who loves and has worked the culinary industry i found your site legitimate and every recipe has incredible results- very thankful you are sharing your passion and knowledge and experiences-it cant be one without the other- you have the most natural true culinary knowledge i have seen online – im very thankful you share your gift ❤️
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I loved it. Made a vegetarian version as well.
Would you also share a recipe for homemade crust?
Glad you enjoyed it, Lora! If you scroll down to one of the first few comments, you’ll find my go-to crust recipe.
In addition to your recipies, I admire that your photos show the honest reality of cooking, right down to the permanent burns on your baking sheet. Your cooking is real and not overly staged. It makes all of us feel empowered to see a professional like yourself being an honest cook! Thank you for that.
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As soon as I received this in my inbox, I decided it was worth a shot. Did as instructed and it turned out perfectly. Thanks, Jenn! I have never been let down by one of your recipies. My current favorite is the red wine braised short ribs.
Cheers!
Store bought crust? I’ve never done this before and boy am I glad for the discovery.. thanks for removing my stigma Jenn! Our store only had the Pillsbury PetRitz pack available which comes with two in it so I made the extra one and will freeze it now:)) it is cooling. As usual your recipes never disappoint:))
This was amazingly delicious and easy. I followed the recipe exactly as written, including getting the crust at Whole Foods (which I happened to have in the freezer). I have nothing to add except “Make it. You’ll love it!”
Absolutely delicious! The custard just melts in your mouth without that omelette texture that you so often get in a quiche. I can’t recommend this highly enough. Thank you!
Hi Jenn,
Love your recipes, your site and your beautiful photos! Can this quiche be made crustless? Would love to make for my husband who is avoiding flour. Thanks for all you do!
Honor Jimenez
Sure, Honor. I would adjust the quantities as follows:
10 oz thick-cut bacon (about 8 slices), diced
3/4 cup chopped shallots, from 1 large shallot
6 large eggs
1-3/4 cups heavy cream
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
5 oz Gruyère, finely shredded (about 1-1/2 cups)
Hi Jenn,
Can this recipe be frozen?
Yep, see the freezing and make-ahead instructions at the bottom of the recipe. 🙂
Hi Jenn,
Can I use a refrigerated pie crust (like Pillsbury)? Love your recipes.
Sure, Peggy – that’s fine. 🙂
Hi Jenn! This looks delicious, can’t wait to try it. I don’t have access to good quality frozen pie crust, do you have a recommendation for a recipe I could use instead?
Hi Elise, Here’s the recipe I use:
1-1/8 cups all-purpose flour, plus some for dusting work surface
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
About 3 tablespoons ice water, plus more if necessary
1. Combine the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade; pulse once or twice. Add the butter and process until the butter and flour are blended and the mixture looks crumbly with pea-sized bits of butter within, about 10 seconds. (You can also do this by hand: Combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into 1/4″ pieces, then “cut” into flour mixture with a pastry cutter.)
2. Place the mixture in a bowl and sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water over it. Use your hand to gently gather the mixture in the bowl; if the mixture seems dry, add more water little by little. When you can, shape the mixture into a ball with your hands, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it sit on the countertop for 10 minutes. Sprinkle a work surface with flour. Unwrap the dough and place it on your the floured surface; sprinkle the top with flour. Rub the rolling pin with flour, then roll the dough from the center out. Continue to roll, adding small amounts of flour as necessary, rotating the dough occasionally and flouring the surface underneath to prevent sticking. (Use ragged edges of dough to repair any tears, adding a drop of water while you press the patch into place.) When the dough is about 12 inches in diameter (it should be about 1/8 inch thick), transfer the dough into the pan by draping it over the rolling pin. When the dough is in the pan, press it firmly to the bottom and sides. Using a scissors, trim the excess dough to about 1/4 inch all around, then tuck it under itself around the edge of the pan, “anchoring” it to the sides. Decorate the edge using the prongs of a fork or your fingers. Place the pan in the freezer for a quick 10-minute chill. Follow directions for blind baking but use pie weights or dried beans to prevent the crust from shrinking.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, Jenn! Excited to try it 🙂
Hi Elise,
Most well-known brands make a pretty good crust. I use deep-dish. Holds more volume.
I make mine with regular so-called Swiss cheese instead of the imported gruyere. Also, I use 5 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and regular breakfast bacon. I do not use onions or shallots or anything like that since the classic quiche Lorraine, I was told some years ago, does not call for that. I also add a tablespoon of Kirsch ( vodka will do); a pinch or two of sugar and nutmeg to taste. My family always go nuts over my quiche. BTW, I always make two at a time; one for the freezer and one to eat immediately.