Simple Spinach Quiche Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should you cook spinach before adding it to quiche? ›

Cook the Spinach: You'll want to cook the spinach until it's completely thawed, then drain it well. You want to remove as much excess moisture as possible! This helps avoid the dreaded “soggy quiche”.

Heavy Cream and Milk – For the best tasting quiche, use a combination of whole milk and heavy cream. (Or simply use half-and-half.) Using just heavy cream produces an overly thick filling. Whole milk is great, but a combo of heavy cream and milk is better.

You need a par-baked or fully baked crust if you're making quiche, no-bake pie, custard pie, cream pie, pudding pie, or simply want an extra-crisp pie crust. If you're making a pie that doesn't require a baked filling, you still need a baked crust.

Why is my spinach quiche watery? If you've ever cooked a big bag of spinach, you know that it wilts down to practically nothing! That's because spinach is mostly water. Let the spinach thaw overnight in the fridge or use the defrost setting on your microwave to speed things up.

Avoid Fillings That Are Too Wet

And if you're using an ingredient such as sautéed spinach, be sure to squeeze the liquid out before adding it to your quiche.

Gruyère: This cheese lends a rich, nutty flavor that is essential to quiche Lorraine. Use an authentic Swiss-made Gruyère with the AOP seal for the best flavor and quality, and be sure it's finely shredded so that it melts easily.

Quiche Ratio: 1 large egg to 1/2 cup of dairy

You'll need to increase the amount of eggs and milk based on the size of your quiche, so knowing the basic ratio makes it really easy to scale up or down. For a standard 9-inch quiche: Use 3 large eggs (6 ounces) 1 1/2 cups of whole milk or cream (12 ounces)

For gluten-free crust, try making a sweet potato crust. The Custard: For your custard to set properly in the oven, use this easy ratio: 1 part dairy to 2 parts eggs. Classic custards use heavy cream, but 2% milk contains a fraction of the saturated fat and is still plenty rich.

BAKE in center of 375°F oven until center is almost set but jiggles slightly when dish is gently shaken and knife inserted near center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

Air bubbles can also lead to cracks, and cracks inevitably lead to leaks. Therefore, for a level, leak-proof crust, a perforated crust is key. If, however, the recipe you're working with has a particularly liquidy filling, poking the bottom isn't a necessary step.

Why do you put flour in quiche? ›

Roll it out a tad bit thicker than you normally would for a standard pie if possible, and absolutely use it all. Confidently press any overhang or extra pieces into the walls of your pan. Add flour to your filling: Adding a bit of flour to your quiche filling helps absorb moisture and stabilize things in general.

Underbaking the crust: If the crust is underbaked, it may not be able to support the weight of the filling and can cause the pie to sink. Using a filling that is too wet: If the filling is too wet, it may not set properly and can cause the pie to sink.

Baked quiche should be removed from the oven before the center is completely set. The center will jiggle slightly when cup or dish is gently shaken. Quiche will continue to “cook” after it's removed and center will firm up quickly. Over baked quiche may curdle.

According to Real Simple, this typically occurs when adding too-wet ingredients to the quiche filling, layering the egg custard with, for example, large slices of raw tomato or raw zucchini.

Yes — but don't overdo it! Fresh spinach releases a lot of water as it cooks, which can result in a soggy lasagna. That's why you'll want to sauté the spinach until it just wilts, which prevents it from releasing too much liquid too quickly.

Cooking It

This guarantees the spinach is soft when your quiche is finished cooking. It also allows you to cook the spinach with other ingredients, which may give it more flavor. Cook frozen spinach just until it starts to dry out since it's already softened, but usually too moist for most dishes.

The nutritionist recommends lightly cooking the spinach. She mentions that lightly cooked spinach contains all the vital nutrients with limited oxalic acid.

A study found that cooking spinach quickly in boiling water, then plunging it into cold water, reduced oxalate content by 40 percent, on average, which was more effective than pan or pressure cooking.