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 wonderful 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
- Greek Spinach & Rice Pie
- Cheese Soufflé
- Spinach & Cheese Strata
- Spinach Frittata
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Spinach Egg Bites
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 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 (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 (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 (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. Be patient...you need the spinach completely dry, otherwise your quiche will be watery.
- Make-Ahead/Freezing Instructions: The quiche can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated or frozen for up to 3 months. To reheat: Cover the quiche with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 300°F (150°C) oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until hot in the center.
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.
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Can you use fresh spinich?
Hi Jennifer, Using fresh spinach is fine; you’d just need to cook the spinach first and then squeeze out any excess water. Enjoy!
Jen I’m planning on serving this as a breakfast for dinner item but can’t think of what to serve with it. Any suggestions?
Hi Debbie, this would be nice with a fruit salad like this one. This bacon would also be great with it. Hope that helps and that you enjoy whatever you make!
The first time I made this I made it exactly as written, except that I always make my own piecrust. But the quiche turned out a little too “spinachy” for my taste and was a bit lacking in flavor. So now I make a ham and spinach quiche using this as my basic recipe. I add 1 cup of diced ham on top of the cheese before adding the spinach, up the salt to 1 teaspoon and also add freshly ground pepper. The other ingredients remain the same. For convenience sake, I buy a thick slice of ham from the meat case, dice it and freeze 1 cup portions in small freezer bags.
Excellent! Easy to prepare. Big success for Yom Kippur Break Fast
I made this using broccoli and mushrooms instead of spinach. It came out great. My husband loved it but did tell me next time to use more Gruyere. I think the broccoli may have overpowered it a bit. Definitely a keeper and so much easier than I expected it to be. All of your recipes have been a hit. Thanks Jen.
I love a good spinach quiche recipe, and with silverbeat and shallots growing in abundance in our garden, I found your recipe and decided to whip it up. It’s currently in the oven, and we can’t wait to eat it shortly.
Fabulous recipe. Suggestion – use a mesh lingerie bag to wring out spinach. Works wonderfully.
Can I store partially assembled quiche in refrigerator (crust, shallots, spinach, cheese) before cooking with store milk cream mixture separately in refrigerator – combine 6 hours later than cook?
Sure, Susan, that will work. Hope you enjoy!
I often make tuna quiche and recipe calls for a small amount of sauteed onions, salt, pepper, and tuna, sprinkled liberally with Gruyere cheese. I make ahead of time and store in fridge until ready to add to crust then top with egg/milk mixture. Always turns out well.
This has always been my favorite quiche recipe. It’s hard to believe how delicious it tastes given how simple the ingredients are. This time I made it with a Keto friendly almond flour crust and it was just as outstanding as ever. I’m so glad I can enjoy this delicious recipe while on a low carb diet. Thank you for sharing your talents.
💓
Made this a couple of nights ago and it turned out great. I’d been in a quiche rut going with Jeff Smith’s (The Frugal Gourmet) broccoli and swiss quiche forever and a day and it was time to break out (I still used his recipe for the crust though). The method of handling the frozen spinach was great, but I subbed 1/2 and 1/2 for the cream. The quiche was still liquid in the center after the 50 minutes, so I cranked up the temp to 350 and after another 30 it had started to fully set. I’m thinking that the cream would have set in the proper amount of time. Great recipe though!
I just made this spinach quiche. I had forgotten to buy a pie crust. Read that others have made this as crustless, so proceeded to make as crustless. Sprayed my 8 x 8 glass with avocado spray. spread the spinach, then shalotts and cheese, then egg mixture last. Baked as instructed. This came out FABULOUS… I’m very thankful to the author “Jenn Segal” . I’m now making the crustless broccoli quiche in preparation for my in-laws since both quiches can be frozen and served later! Thanks Jenn.. You and your recipes are such a blessing to me!
So glad you enjoyed this Jeannie — hope you like the broccoli quiche just as much! 🙂