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With its flaky, buttery crust and rich, creamy filling, this spinach quiche is delicious served warm or at room temperature. It’s just as good the next day, too!
Of all the spinach quiche recipes I’ve tried over the years, this classic French version is my favorite. The recipe comes from my childhood friend Trish, who is a great host and knows how to throw a good party. This spinach quiche is her go-to for brunch, and it’s easy to see why. With plenty of spinach, heavy cream, and nutty Gruyère, it strikes just the right balance between rich and light.
“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 because its nutty flavor works nicely with the eggs and spinach. If you can’t find it, Cheddar may be substituted.
How To Make Spinach Quiche
Bake the crust and cook the shallots: Prick the crust all over with a fork and bake until lightly golden. While it’s in the oven, cook the shallots in butter until soft and translucent, without letting them brown. Set aside to cool.
Pro tip: Don’t worry if the crust puffs up a bit—just gently prick it again to release the air. And if the crust cracks while baking, don’t worry—it’s easy to patch; see the recipe card below for instructions.
Make the custard: Whisk together the eggs, heavy cream, nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper.
Assemble the quiche: Set the baked crust on a sheet pan—this makes it easy to move in and out of the oven—then layer in the shallots, Gruyère, and spinach. Make sure the spinach is very dry and break up any clumps as you scatter it over the cheese. Slowly pour the custard over the top, letting it settle evenly.
Bake: Bake until the custard is set and the top is lightly golden. Let the quiche cool for a bit before slicing.
Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezing
Spinach quiche is perfect for making ahead. You can bake it up to a day in advance, let it cool, and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 3 days. To reheat, cover the quiche with aluminum foil and warm in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
The baked quiche can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Once completely cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then remove the plastic wrap and reheat as directed above.
Video Tutorial
Spinach Quiche
Ingredients
- 1 (9-in) deep dish frozen pie crust
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup thinly sliced shallots, from 2 medium 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-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung free of water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Remove the pie crust from the freezer and let it thaw for about 10 minutes, or until soft enough to prick with a fork. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust all over with a fork, making fork marks about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is fully cooked and lightly golden. Keep an eye on it; if it puffs up, gently prick it with a fork to deflate it. Don't worry if the crust cracks during baking—see the note below for how to fix it. Set the crust aside and reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (165°C).
- 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 to make it easy to move in and out of the 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 (165°) for 50 to 55 minutes until the custard is set and top is lightly golden. Serve hot or warm.
Notes
- 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.
- 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. You need the spinach completely dry, otherwise your quiche will be watery.
Nutrition Information
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.
What to Serve With Spinach Quiche
Spinach quiche is lovely for brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. For a simple meal, pair it with a French carrot salad or a green salad tossed with my French vinaigrette. For brunch, add a platter of fresh seasonal fruit and some blueberry muffins to round out the spread.
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I made it twice without the crust with minor modifications and it turned out great both times. I used Gouda instead of Gruyère (love Gruyère but it can be overpowering), increased shallots to ~ 1 cup, and baked in a buttered 8 x 8 glass dish for ~45 min. Will make it again! Thank you Jen!
Great make ahead dish. I made this for us to snack on while we were cooking Thanksgiving dinner. The only change, is that if I use all heavy cream, it tastes too rich, so I use half and half for some of the cream. Overall a great hit, and I love the spinach in it.
Do I put the uncooked pie crust in a pie plate and then pre cook it or does the crust go directly on a rack about being placed in pie plate?
Hi Denise, if the pie crust comes in an aluminum pie pan, it’s not necessary. If it’s the type of pie crust that you need to be rolled out, then, yes, it should go in a pie plate. Hope that clarifies!
My daughter LOVES your spinach quiche recipe. The first time she had it, she ate almost a quarter of the dish! She is constantantly requesting it. Tomorrow she is turning 4 and this recipe will be her special breakfast! Thanks for the recipe and happy child!!
Can I used garlic herb feta cheese instead of Gruyere cheese in the spinach quiche?
Hi Rochelle, Feta doesn’t melt nearly as well as Gruyere, so if you want something a little more evenly distributed through the quiche, I’d stick with something like Gruyere. You could use feta here; it will be different but still good.
Help! I just baked my store bought pie pie crust & it has a large crack going almost half around the top of the crust. Can I salvage it or should I start again? This is the first time I am making this recipe!
Ugh – sorry to hear you had a problem with the crust cracking! You can try to patch the crack by making a paste with a bit of flour and water (it should be the consistency of spackle). But, if you happen to have another crust (I know they’re often sold in packs of 2) that would be the easiest way to go!
Stella and Jenn, the same thing happened to me. (I was so mad at Marie Callendar, I later brought the broken crust back to Safeway for a refund.) So I decided to make it without the crust, and it was delicious! I’ve made it three other times, always without the crust (because why mess with perfection?), and every time someone asks me for the recipe. Absolutely the best quiche I make–is it still a quiche when it doesn’t have a crust?
After trying many different quiche recipes, this was by far my favorite. The texture and the seasoning was spot on, and the shallots at the bottom really pulled together the flavors. This recipe really didn’t need any altering, but I added sausages to my quiche and placed the spinach at the end, which gave it a nice crisp at the top. I also used smoked gruyere cheese because I accidentally ran into it, and OMG its delicious. This is definitely going into my recipe drawer.
THANK YOU JEN FOR THIS RECIPE!!!! OK PEOPLE MAKE THIS!!! Doubled the recipe as part of a Sunday brunch I hosted. My guests RAVED & RAVED & RAVED about this quiche. Comments included: “BEST quiche I ate in my life” “I could eat this quiche every single day” “I have to eat a second piece” “This may be in the top 10 things I ever ate in your home” The only thing I would give as a tip to others, this was the first time I didn’t bake my own pie dough. The frozen crust cracked, and I didn’t repair it properly, so pay attention when you use frozen crust and take time to properly repair tears if you see it. AMAZING presentation! AWESOME RECIPE! DELICIOUS flavor!
Love this recipe! This is now my go to quiche recipe. Thanks!
The best quiche I have ever made! So simple. Your directions, as always, covered everything. Thank you for permission to use store bought pie crust. I used gouda, because I’m not a fan of gruyere. I realized right away that this is a versatile recipe. It now has a place on my go to board – where I put reliable recipes that I can make up in a hurry from ingredients that I typically have on hand. We’ll be eating more quiche!