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 I use your pastry crust recipe from your rustic apple tart to make the quiche crust?
Hi Karin, I’d actually recommend this recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi, Jenn! Thanks for the great recipe.
I just took it out of the oven and the inside is still uncooked–totally raw egg mixture. I’m unsure why! I followed the directions explicitly. Any idea? The spinach was dried when I put it in the quiche. Hmmm 🤔
That’s so strange, Allison – I’m sorry you had a problem with it! Happy to try to help troubleshoot: Did you use a 9-inch deep dish crust? Was your oven rack in the center position? Did you reduce the oven temperature to 325°F after baking the crust?
I cooked it for 30 min longer than recommended and it came out perfect.
Hi Jen! Love every recipe I have made! Do you think I could do this with Brie since that is what I have in the fridge?
Unfortunately, I don’t think brie will work here — sorry!
Hi Jenn
Loved this recipe! I’ve actually done it with brie as well; just freeze the wedge till firm enough to grate on the coarse side of a box cheese grater and sub the same amount as for the grocery
Love your recipes 🙂
This is a fantastic recipe. It was perfect to serve at a brunch with my two daughters who don’t really eat much meat. This was an easy recipe and very tasty. I am a fan of your recipes.
This recipe was so delicious, I was literally dancing after my first bite, and I made my on-looking husband give me a high five. Best quiche I’ve EVER tasted, thank you so much for sharing this gem!!
LOL — so glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe! Even my finicky kid liked it. I did substitute oat milk for cream, and decreased it to 1 C. It still had to cook about 30 min longer to be solid enough. But WOW, so good!
I haven’t made it yet, but am wanting to try to make it tomorrow. I’m debating on adding tomato to it and also have a sensitivity to onions so I was going to try making it without the onions. Do you think this would work? Also was going to use shredded marbled cheddar as I don’t have Gruyere.
Hi Erica, The onion adds nice flavor, but it’s fine to leave it out and to use the Cheddar. The tomatoes will work as well. I’d roast them first in a 450-degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they are shriveled. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Thanks for the reply. I will let you know how it turns out. I am also going to be using fresh spinach that I will chop up, instead of frozen. Should I cook the spinach as well as the tomatoes?
Yes, I would steam or saute the spinach and squeeze out any excess liquid before incorporating into the recipe.
Thanks so much for the advice. It turned out great and the roasted tomatoes added a really nice flavor to it. This was my first time making quiche so I was pretty nervous about modifying the recipe. I’m so glad I tried it though, will definitely try again!
So glad it came out nicely — thanks for taking the time to follow up!
This was a hit at our Mother’s Day brunch, alongside your Potato Leek Soup and baby spinach with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I always make two when I make this and freeze one for later. I do go the extra mile and make homemade crust for this…very time consuming but I enjoy the process. For me, it makes all the difference. This time I substituted chopped kale (lightly sautéed to wilt) for the spinach, as I needed my spinach for the salad and didn’t have enough. We all loved it! I recommend it as an alternative. When I have them, I also throw it sautéed portobello mushrooms along with the shallots. My favorite quiche recipe!
Hi Jenn, I just made one this morning using self-made flaky pie crust (followed Sally’s recipe). It turned out excellent even though it’s my first time making a quiche! I’ve made some modifications though (used cheddar cheese as I couldn’t find Gruyene, replaced heavy cream with whipping cream as it was not available, skipped the nutmeg, reduced the proportion by a third as my pie dish is a little shallow). It’s very delicious and my children love it.Thank you so much!
Wow, I wondered how so many people had reviewed this recipe and it still had a 5 star rating… now I know. I made it and it is incredible!!!!!!!!
Want to try your recipe but only have pre-shredded mozzarella or Monterey jack. Your thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Bonnie, either one of those should work here. Hope you enjoy!
All I can say is OMG thank you! I’ve made this recipe twice now and oh boy I’m in heaven! I’ve improvised with ingredients and it’s been awesome. I used fresh spinach and shrimp in the first quiche and did asparagus and shrimp in the second. I even added jalapeño and cilantro so not truly a French quiche but I LOVE the hints of nutmeg and cayenne in this dish. I think it needs more salt than what the recipe calls for so I added more salt to the onions.