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.
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I’ve made many quiches in my many years of cooking and this was the best. Since I make very good pie crust, I made my own. I also used a 10oz bag of fresh spinach which I steamed, squeezed dry and chopped. Otherwise, there were no changes to the recipe. Fabulous.
I love this quiche recipe! I have some Kale on hand and wondered if I could substitute it for the spinach. Thanks.
Glad you like it! I think you could use kale, but you’ll need to cook it long enough so it’s really tender (and definitely remove the leaves from the stems). I’d love to hear how it turns out!
Hello – I’m making this with fresh spinach – how much cooked and drained spinach should I have for the quiche? I’m starting with about 10 ounces of fresh baby spinach. I appreciate some guidance! Thank you!
Hi Diane, I’d estimate you’ll need 1 – 1.5 lbs. to yield 1.5 cups fresh spinach. Make sure to cook and squeeze out any liquid before incorporating it into the recipe. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn!
Happy New Year!
I am making this beautiful quiche tonight and have a silly question!
I usually make recipes “as is” the first time around…especially yours since they always come out amazing!!!
I was thinking about adding bacon to this quiche but don’t know if I should do that the first time making this recipe. If I do add…and here is my silly question, should I use a thin cut of bacon or a thick cut of bacon chopped into bite size pieces? Did not know if it was better to use a thin or thick cut of bacon? And now I know why my family and friends tell me I over think things! 🙂
Hopefully, you’ll get this before my dinner! If not, I’ll let you know how it goes!
Thanks so much Jenn!
Stacey
Hi Stacey, So glad you like the recipes! It’s fine to add some bacon to the quiche and it really doesn’t matter whether you use thin or thick-cut bacon; it’s more of a personal preference. Please LMK how it turns out!
Can I add ham to this recipe? I’m asking because I’m not sure how it pair with the other spices.
Sure, Sharon – I think it would be delicious.
This was delicious. It’s a definite keeper!
OMG! Best quiche I have ever had! I was worried, though. Even though the pie crust I bought said deep dish, it clearly wasn’t deep enough. I could not fit the entire egg mixture (about 2/3rds to 3/4s). I watched it at 45 mins, thinking it might need to cook less, but wound up keeping it in for 50. My husband agrees it’s the best we have ever had. I will make for guests in the future. Thank you!!!
I had the same experience.
I just made my very first quiche, and used this recipe. It is the best quiche I’ve ever tasted! I was so nervous, but it came out perfectly! I highly recommend this recipe, and will be trying more of Jenn Segal’s recipes very soon.
I absolutely LOVE this quiche! Sometimes I add left over taco meat from dinner the evening before or some diced ham and it is super good like that too. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Great kitchen hack on the cracked crust!!! I never knew that trick!!
And the quiche is delicious!! Thank you!
Hi Jenn,
The quiche was so wonderful. However, I had Wholly Wholesome crust from Whole Foods that you recommend and couldn’t fit the entire egg-cream mixture in it. Not sure what I did wrong… Thank you!
Hi Iryna, You didn’t do anything wrong. It may be my imagination, but I swear Wholly Wholesome used to sell a deep-dish pie crust, which I can no longer find. You do need a deep-dish crust to fit all the filling.
This quiche recipe was so wonderful I instantly made another one and froze it! If I don’t have time to thaw for 24 hours (it will be more like 4 hrs) do I still bake at 300F? But for longer?
Yep 🙂
Absolutely love this recipe – have made it multiple times and gotten rave reviews! I’m planning to make it again for Christmas morning and also also trying out your quiche Lorraine. The heat and times are close to the same… If I put both in the oven together, should I keep them in longer? (Sorry for the question at the busiest time of year… Happy holidays everyone!)
Hi Asha, Yes if you bake them together they will take a bit longer. Hard to say exactly how much so I would just keep an eye on them.
The best quiche I’ve ever made! I used gouda because that was the closest I could find and it was incredible. Thank you!
Jenn can this recipe and your quiche Lorraine be made into mini quiches to serve at a party? I love both recipes and need a way to serve as an appetizer. I’m planning on using the red box ready made dough if you think that would be best. Or should I go crustless?
Hi Cathy, These should work as minis and if you’re serving them as an appetizer at a party, I’d use the crust as it will make them more sturdy. Hope everyone enjoys!
This recipe was the most flavorful quiche I’ve ever had. And very fast and easy. I cooked it about 20 minutes more than the recipe said, to firm it more.
Hello,
Is it essential to pre-cook the piecrust? If so, why? And if it’s necessary, do you need to protect the already-baked crust edge from burning when it goes back into the oven for the 50 to 55 minutes needed to bake the quiche? I’m about to make this for guests and want to be careful!
Hi Gail, I think baking the crust on its own really helps to keep it from getting soggy once it has the filling. If the crust looks like it’s getting too browned when you’re baking it with the filling, just loosely cover it with foil. Hope that helps!
Recipe was great. Made a few changes for myself. I used Applewood Smoked Gruyère, you will not regret it. For those not wanting to use heavy cream. I used plain unsweetened soy (regular milk is fine) reduced it to 1/4 c. and added 2 more eggs for a total of 6. It cooked perfectly.
my family loved it and fought over the last piece!
WOW! I was blown away by the flavor of this quiche. It was seasoned to perfection. I wasn’t going to prebake the crust but am glad I did because it was done just perfectly with a bit of a snap. Going to make this again soon!
WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS! I will make it again for a holiday breakfast! Thank you.
I made this for our Bible Study group and I got lots of compliments! They thought it tasted great! I made 2 and cut the pieces in 8 instead of 6 because I had 13 people.
I’m making two tomorrow for my bible study and wondering if you can have them both in the oven at the same time, and if so, do you need to adjust the cooking time and/or temperature?
Yes that’s fine, Glenna; you’ll probably need to add 5 to 10 min to the cooking time.
I make this every year for brunch the day after Thanksgiving as well as a broccoli quiche (not one of Jen’s) and every year the favorite is this spinach quiche!…of course:). So this year I will be making the crustless broccoli quiche from this site as well. Not sure why it took me so long to figure that out. Love every recipe that I have made so far!
I loved the dough!!! So easy to work with!!! The quiche was delicious! Thanks!😊👍
This is my go-to recipe for quiche. I’ve made this at least a dozen times and it is always SO DELICIOUS! The only thing I do differently is use fresh spinach instead of frozen out of preference. I usually add a package of baby spinach directly in the pan with the shallots (after the shallots have cooked for a few minutes), let it wilt and cook down for a bit. I don’t mind if the spinach is all at the bottom with the shallots, but sometimes I’ll cook the two separately to mimic the recipe. Oh, and I always have whole nutmeg on hand so I grate it fresh and it’s lovely. Eventually I’ll try this with my own pie crust, but frozen store-bought works great! (Love the tip about fixing the cracks in the crust!)
Excellent! Best quiche ever.
I have 2 in my freezer now.
Question: after defrosting, do you reheat for about 30 minutes? Thank you
So glad you like it! I’m not sure exactly how long it will take but I would guesstimate it would take about 45 minutes give or take to get heated all the way through.
Delicious! I followed the recipe, made it a day ahead and heated it up per instructions. Note, it did take about 40 minutes to heat through with my oven but was perfect. Big hit! I actually used the same recipe to make a broccoli cheddar quiche too. (I followed the crustless broccoli cheddar quiche but used measurements from this recipe per Jen’s suggestion) and it too was a big hit!! Love a good make-ahead! Thanks Jen!
Can you use fresh spinach?
Hi Marybeth, using fresh spinach is fine; you’d just need to cook the spinach first and then squeeze out any excess water. Enjoy!
I guess I am writing wayyy to much. Anyway, OMG I made this for my sister and she absolutely loved it. I tasted it and it was DELICIOUS!!!
I will be making this for her again, another winner!
Thank you Jen
So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
If you buy ready made pie crust, just bake in oven at 375, until it is brown and crusty. This keeps the bottom from getting soggy. Then add ingredients.
This recipe solidified my fandom for Jen’s platform and presentations. I dislike eggs but I love to cook with them. I made this recipe for a brunch and was blown away. I ate my entire slice and enjoyed every minute of it. I paired it with he chipotle sweet potato mash, mimosas and some homemade biscuits. Oh – and I added a little bacon crumbles I had from another dish. I now keep these ingredients on hand. The gruyere is the best to use for cheese – subtle and balances the dish. Definitely squeeze your spinach – I was not doing that properly as I reflect on other failed recipes. I used a frozen pie crust – no worries! This dish will get eaten entirely for a party of 4-6 people.
Can someone recommend Christmas Gifts for Her? Cheers xxx
I absolutely love this recipe but added roasted red peppers and Kalamata olives on top – what a freaking hit that was!!
Thank you so much for the recipe.
Thank you for this great suggestion! I added roasted peppers and it elevated this already amazing quiche to the next level! Today I’m trying it with both the red peppers and the olives.
Made this for the first time last evening and it was delicious. My only suggestion is to check the depth of your frozen pie crust before beginning. Mine was labeled as a deep-dish crust, but it was at the shallow end — deep dish is usually 1-1/4″ to 2″ deep. Fortunately, I did not have a full 10 oz. package of spinach because I was using leftovers, so that reduced the volume a bit. I did, however, have a bit of spillover. Next time, I will either buy a different brand of piecrust or make my own in order to ensure the deeper depth. That didn’t take away from the pleasure of eating the finished quiche. Thank you for sharing!
This is my go to recipe for quiche and I’ve made it several times, usually after a food holiday
I found it to be a great recipe for using up leftovers. Ham left from Easter dinner, roast beef from xmas dinner, corned beef from st Patrick’s day. Add whatever types of cheese and veggies I find in the fridge and presto! A new dish for breakfast or lunch. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I use it all the time!
We all realy liked this quiche! I followed the recipe exactly.
When she saw it, my daugther complained about the spinach being not mixed, but she gobbled it up anyway. I had to save a piece, so that my son could have his lunch the next day 😉 Otherwise, it would disappear entirely 😀
I paired it with your french carrot salad. Definitely a keeper!
This was fabulous! Best quiche I ever had.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I have now made it twice and it has turned out well both times. I actually believe that I can now add this to my small but growing repertoire of meals that I make well. Thanks again for sharing it!
OMG! This quiche is incredibly delicious. I made it as written and would not change a thing! I took two slices to a friend who is recovering from an illness and she has called me twice since, just to say how delicious it was and that she wanted the recipe. I will definitely be making this again! Thank you Jen!
Wow, this quiche exceeded all expectations. So creamy and it tastes like a restaurant made it. The only thing I did differently was I added 5 strips of cooked, crumbled bacon and I didn’t have enough heavy cream so the last 1/4 cup I used half & half. Can’t wait to try it with the right amount of cream next time but this was still awesome with what I had, just needed to cook a little longer to set. Oh also I beat the egg whites separately first with a hand mixer and then used it again when the cream was added. Made it nice and fluffy!
Ill be using this recipe as my quiche base from now on!!
I made this and it was wonderful. I omitted nutmeg only because I can’t take the flavor. Otherwise it was perfect. Thank you!
My hubby made this this morning and it was fabulous!
This quiche is so popular in my household that I’m often asked “when are you making more?” So today I made 3 more; 1 to enjoy this week and 2 to freeze. I use fresh torn-up spinach instead of frozen (since I can never find it) and it comes out perfect every time. Thank you so much for this wonderfully easy yet richly delicious quiche recipe that makes family tremendously happy!
This quiche was absolutely delicious! I would give this recipe a 20/10 if I could. I will definitely make this again.
BEST QUICHE EVER.
Can I make this with fresh spinach?
Hi Laura, using fresh spinach is fine; you’d just need to cook the spinach first and then squeeze out any excess water. Enjoy!
how much fresh spinach? 10 once? or more?
Hi Hazel, I’d estimate you’ll need 1 – 1.5 lbs to yield 1.5 cups cooked spinach. Hope you enjoy!
How do I use fresh spinach for this recipe?
Hi Lillian, using fresh spinach is fine; you’d just need to cook the spinach first and then squeeze out any excess water. Enjoy!
Hi, I’m wondering if I can make it crustless? If so, what changes should I make? Can I simply bake it in my glass pie plate without the crust and if so, do I need to grease it?
Hi Anita, You can definitely make the spinach quiche crustless – and yes, just bake it in a greased glass pie plate (no other changes necessary). Alternatively, if you wanted to make it a bit thicker (since it won’t have the crust), you can use the cream/egg/cheese proportions of my crustless broccoli quiche. Hope that helps!
This is an excellent quiche recipe! I have used different quiche recipes over the years that have been good, but this one is by far the best. I made my own crust, but otherwise I followed the directions with no deviations. Delicious!! (I would give this recipe more than 5 stars if I could!)
I live in France and actual French people RAVE about this spinach quiche. People think I’ve mastered the art of French cooking and it’s thanks to you Jennifer!
Absolutely divine. I added mushrooms without compromising the recipe (just a little egg mixture was leftover due to the extra volume). My new go-to for any meal of the day! Thank you for sharing (and to your childhood friend!) I’ve tried many of your recipes and they always turn out fabulously 🙂
Hey Jenn!
I doubled the recipe and made two (added some bacon to one). Delicious. A real crowd pleaser.
Would they work as well with half homogenized milk and half cream, or no?
Thanks again for another great recipe.
Jenn
Hi Jennifer, Glad you enjoyed it! You will get the creamiest result with heavy cream, but other readers have commented that they’ve used a combination of milk and cream and have been happy with the results. Hope that helps!
This is an excellent quiche! I use your quiche base for everything quiche and then use whatever items in the refrigerator need to get used up. This recipe works well with fresh spinach too — just make sure it is chopped and absolutely dry (you don’t want runny quiche). I have also used this base to make herbed mushroom quiche. Saute the shallots, of course. Saute the mushrooms (and I throw in a dash of vermouth). In the last 30 seconds of cooking the mushrooms, add whatever chopped herbs you have on hand — chives, basil, thyme, parsley, etc. I haven’t tried adding a teaspoon of savory but that may be good too. Anyway, this is just such a delicious quiche base! My favorite is the spinach.