I love when a recipe works for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or even dinner. This quiche Lorraine recipe is just that! It’s such an easy recipe to whip together, and you can enjoy it anytime. Even better, you can eat it hot, cold, on a random weekday, or for a special occasion. This recipe really does it all.
So you might be wondering: what’s the difference between a quiche and quiche Lorraine? The answer is not much. A classic quiche Lorraine is a type of quiche named after the Lorraine region of France that is made from eggs, heavy cream, bacon, and Gruyere cheese. Of course, everyone makes their own modifications to a recipe over time, so don’t stress if you have to change an ingredient to suit your preference.
Need another delicious breakfast recipe to serve with this one? Try my chocolate chip scones recipe, blueberry coffee cake recipe, or crepes recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Pie crust — while you can use store-bought pie crust for this quiche Lorraine recipe, I recommend trying my homemade pie crust recipe. It’s so flakey, and I prefer it to store-bought!
Bacon — try to use thicker cut bacon as it holds up well and has a meatier texture.
Eggs — you’ll need four eggs for the filling for this quiche, so make sure you’re well-stocked.
Heavy cream — for the creamiest and silkiest custard, use heavy cream for the filling. While you can use half and half in a pinch, the results won’t be the same as heavy cream.
Gruyere cheese — traditionally, you use Gruyere cheese. Check for the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) seal to ensure it is authentic Swiss-made Gruyere. Gruyere cheese is quite flavorful and is perfect for quiche as it’s a combination of sweet, salty, creamy, and nutty flavors. If you cannot find Grueye cheese, you can substitute it with gouda, swiss, cheddar, provolone, or your favorite cheese.
How to Make Quiche Lorraine
1. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough. Transfer to a standard 9-inch pie dish, tuck the edges under and crimp as desired. Freeze for 30 minutes before transferring it to a baking sheet. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the paper and pie weights, then let cool while making the filling.
2. In a medium skillet, add the bacon. Cook until crisp. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towels. Add the onion to the pan with some drippings and cook over medium heat until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, add the eggs and beat until well blended. Add the cream, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk until combined.
4. Layer the onion on the bottom of the blind-baked crust.
5. Top with half of the bacon, all the cheese, and then the remaining bacon.
6. Pour the egg mixture over top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Let the quiche Lorraine cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Avoid over-beating the eggs, as doing so will incorporate too much air into the mixture. Once baked, the air will cause the quiche to puff up excessively and make the filling dry with a spongy texture.
- Make sure to adjust the oven temperature before placing the quiche Lorraine inside. The quiche must bake low and slow to ensure the custard stays creamy and silky.
- Allowing the quiche to cool before serving gives the filling more time to set up. It allows the slices to come out cleanly as well.
- The eggs should be at room temperature to ensure they bake evenly. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you could quickly bring them to room temperature by covering them with warm tap water for 5 minutes.
- You can cook some extra bacon for garnish if you’re a fan of bacon.
- Don’t skip chilling the pie crust before you bake it. This will prevent it from shrinking as it bakes.
- If the crust of the quiche is browning too quickly in the oven, cover it with a ring of tin foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! You can make components of the quiche Lorraine ahead of time. Prebake the crust and cook the bacon and onions a day beforehand. You can place these components in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble and bake the quiche.
How do I store leftovers? Can I freeze this?
To store leftover quiche, allow it to cool to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze leftovers (or an entire quiche!) for up to 3 months. Make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container if possible. Thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter when ready to eat, then bake at 350F until warm.
What other ingredients can I add?
What I love about quiche is that there are so many ways to change it up. However, remember that once you add or change the filling, this recipe becomes quiche and is no longer quiche Lorraine.
Feel free to try other filling ideas such as chopped chives, diced shallots, chopped ham, chopped salmon, crumbled sausage, shredded chicken, and ground meat. If you want to add vegetables such as spinach, make sure to pre-cook them, so they don’t add additional moisture to the filling.
What is blind baking?
Blind baking means baking your pie crust beforehand to prevent it from getting soggy from the filling. Blind baking also ensures the custard filling and crust cook through simultaneously as the crust takes longer to bake.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Quiche Lorraine recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Quiche Lorraine
Video
Equipment
- Pie plate
- pie weights
- Large skillet
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust (or frozen prepared crust)
- 8 strips bacon chopped (264g)
- 1 small onion chopped (96g)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream (240mL)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 4 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese (114g)
Instructions
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the pie dough into a 13-inch circle. Transfer to a standard 9-inch pie dish, tuck the edges under, and crimp as desired.
- Freeze for 30 minutes.
- While freezing the crust, preheat the oven to 425F.
- Place the frozen crust on a rimmed baking sheet. Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Carefully remove the paper and pie weights. Let cool while making the filling.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325F.
- In a medium skillet, add the bacon. Cook over medium-high heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium.
- Add the onion and cook over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the eggs and beat until well blended. Add the cream, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk until combined.
- Layer the onion on the bottom of the blind-baked crust. Top with half of the bacon, all the cheese, and then the remaining bacon. Pour the egg mixture over top.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the filling is puffed and golden brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers should be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Avoid over-beating the eggs, as doing so will incorporate too much air into the mixture. Once baked, the air will cause the quiche to puff up excessively and make the filling dry with a spongy texture.
- Make sure to adjust the oven temperature before placing the quiche inside. The quiche must bake low and slow to ensure the custard stays creamy and silky.
- Allowing the quiche to cool before serving gives the filling more time to set up. It allows the slices to come out cleanly as well.
- The eggs should be at room temperature to ensure they bake evenly. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you could quickly bring them to room temperature by covering them with warm tap water for 5 minutes.
- You can cook some extra bacon for garnish if you’re a fan of bacon.
- Don’t skip chilling the pie crust before you bake it. This will prevent it from shrinking as it bakes.
- If the crust of the quiche is browning too quickly in the oven, cover it with a ring of tin foil.
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