This bacon cheese quiche is proof that a great meal doesn’t have to be complicated. A flaky crust holds a rich, creamy egg filling loaded with crispy bacon and sharp Cheddar, and it bakes up golden and fragrant in under an hour. Swap in your favorite meats, vegetables, or cheeses, and you’ve got a quiche that works for breakfast, brunch, or a quick weeknight dinner.
I’ve been looking for a recipe for a silky, custard-like quiche like the one at my favorite brunch restaurant. This is it! Thanks!
alice
Quiche is such a versatile dish — you can add a diverse array of ingredients, different types of cheeses, and you can serve it for breakfast, lunch, or supper. You can freeze it already cooked, or you can prepare it ahead of time to bake it the next day.
This quiche is always on the menu when I’m hosting a brunch because everyone loves it and it’s so easy to make. It took me years of testing this recipe to settle on one that works every time, but this one does.
Testing the bacon and cheese quiche recipe
- Parbake the crust for this quiche so it doesn’t get soggy.
- We tested this recipe in a 9-inch tart pan because it provides a more even baking surface. With that said, you can use a 9-inch pie plate, but you may need to adjust the baking time.
- I’ve made this quiche with chopped ham and gruyère cheese, and it is delicious.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
P.S. Yes, the photos on this post show ham and asparagus in the quiche! You can mix and match fillings.
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things you should know about the ingredients for the quiche:
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
Crust: I prefer a homemade pie crust for this recipe. However, I get that you may not have time to make homemade dough. You can use a frozen deep-dish 10-inch pie shell or refrigerated pie crusts. If using refrigerated, I mash two together and roll out to make one pie crust that I then trim as needed.
**Cook’s Tip: If using a frozen pie crust, I like to thaw and pre-bake it just as I would a homemade pie crust.
Fillings: While we typically use bacon and cheese, you can mix and match the fillings in this quiche. Don’t exceed one cup total of meat, vegetables, and cheese. I would stick with 1/2 cup of a meat/vegetable combination and 1/2 cup cheese.
- You can use bacon, sausage, ham, smoked salmon, chicken, turkey, or even lobster or crab as a meat filling.
- For vegetables, use chopped onion, asparagus, mushrooms, drained tomatoes, bite-sized broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini, corn, or cooked and diced potatoes.
- Almost any combination of cheeses will work: Cheddar, Parmesan, Gruyere, goat cheese, Brie, cream cheese, Swiss, or feta are some of our favorites.
How to make bacon cheese quiche
Although this bacon quiche looks like it has a lot of steps, it’s actually easy to make. This is one of my favorite make-ahead breakfast recipes.
- Parbake the crust** and allow it to cool slightly. This can be done a day or two in advance.
- Cook the bacon until crispy and crumble it into pieces.
- Whisk together the eggs, cream, and seasonings.
- Scatter grated cheese into the bottom of the pie crust, and top with crumbled bacon, egg mixture, and remaining cheese. You can make the quiche up to this point and refrigerate it overnight.
- Bake about 35 minutes, then cool for half an hour. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.
**Par-bake the pie crust.
The crust for this pie needs to be par-baked. To do this, first preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Press dough into a lightly buttered 9-inch tart pan. Trim dough as necessary, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang.
If using a quiche dish or tart pan, fold overhang into the dish and press sides up 1/4 inch above the dish. If using a pie plate, fold the overhang under itself and cover the rim.
Line the pie crust with parchment paper. Fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans, making sure they go up the sides. Alternatively, you can set another slightly smaller tart pan inside to hold the sides up (this only works if it’s a relatively snug fit.)
Bake the pie crust 15-20 minutes until the sides start to turn brown and appear to set. Remove the pie crust from the oven and remove the parchment with the pie weights. Set the weights aside (they are reusable).
Prick the pie crust lightly a few times with a fork and place it back in the oven with no weights. Bake until the bottom crust begins to brown for 7-8 minutes. It should be golden and crisp.
Remove the pie crust from the oven. There is no need to allow the crust to cool completely, but it’s also fine to make it a day in advance.
Breakfast favorites
What should you serve along with your bacon and cheese quiche? I like to serve my Cheese Grits Casserole and a large bowl of cut-up fruit. That’s really all you need for a small breakfast gathering.
If you’re having a large gathering, I’d recommend adding a Sour Cream Coffee Cake, a great make-ahead dish that’s moist, cinnamony, and delicious. Add some easy oven-cooked bacon, which frees up your time so you’re not standing over the skillet.
You can never go wrong with homemade buttermilk biscuits and strawberry jam, and you could add a classic overnight breakfast casserole if you need more egg-based dishes.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Bacon Quiche Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 10-inch pie crust
Filling
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup grated Cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 7 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 1 teaspoon chopped green onion
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and place a cookie sheet in oven.
- For homemade or refrigerated dough: Roll the dough so that it's about an inch larger in diameter than your dish. Press the dough into a lightly buttered 9-inch quiche dish. Trim dough as necessary, leaving a 3/4 inch overhang. If using a quiche dish or tart pan, fold overhang into the dish and press sides up 1/4 inch above the dish. If using a pie plate, fold the overhang under itself and cover the rim.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour. (note: if using refrigerated store-bought pie crust, mash two together and roll out as one larger crust.)
- If using store-bought frozen pie crust, thaw and follow directions from here.
- Crumple a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover crust, flatten, then line crust with it. Fill crust with about two cups of dried beans or uncooked rice grains and place on heated cookie sheet.
- Bake the pie crust 15-20 minutes until the sides start to turn brown and appear to set. Remove the pie crust from the oven and remove the parchment with the pie weights. Set the weights aside (they are reusable).
- Prick the pie crust lightly a few times with a fork and place it back in the oven with no weights. Bake until the bottom crust begins to brown for 7-8 minutes. It should be golden and crisp.
- Remove the pie crust from the oven. There is no need to allow the crust to cool completely, but it's also fine to make it a day in advance.
Custard
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, whole eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Sprinkle the cheese on the bottom of the crust. Scatter the bacon and green onions over the bottom and evenly distribute.
- Slowly pour custard into crust. If you're not using a quiche pan then you may have a little extra custard so be careful not to overflow. You can make the quiche up to this point and refrigerate overnight.
Bake the quiche
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cover the edges of crust with foil to prevent over-browning.
- Place the bacon quiche on a baking sheet and place it in the oven on the upper third rack. Bake 25-30 minutes until the quiche puffs a bit, is golden brown and not jiggly.
- Remove the bacon cheese quiche from the oven and place on cooling rack to rest for at least 45 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
- You can also cool completely then cover and refrigerate if you want to make ahead and serve the next day. Serve warm or room temperature.
Notes
- If using a homemade pie shell, refrigerate for at least one hour prior to baking the quiche.
- If using a homemade pie crust, you can place it in the tart pan, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it for 2 weeks. If frozen, allow crust to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
- After adding the egg mixture to the pie shell, you can cover and refrigerate overnight, then bake in the morning.
- Cover the edge of the crust with foil before baking to prevent over-browning.
- The quiche can also be fully baked, cooled, and placed in the refrigerator if you want to make ahead and serve the next day. Serve warm or room temperature.
Nutrition
Questions and tips
Storage
Store the bacon and cheese quiche covered in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Tips
- You can use leftover cooked vegetables and meats in this easy quiche.
You can freeze bacon cheese quiche for up to two months. Bake the quiche as directed and allow it to cool completely. Wrap the whole dish in plastic wrap or parchment paper, followed by tin foil, and store in the freezer.
You can reheat straight from the freezer. Just unwrap and reheat on 350 for about 25 minutes until heated through. You can also thaw and serve at room temperature.
I’ve been looking for a recipe for a silky, custard-like quiche like the one at my favorite brunch restaurant. This is it! Thanks!
Love all the tips!
Great recipe! I like making Quiche because I always have one left over to freeze.
Great recipe! I like making Quiche because I always have one left over to freeze.