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This post was originally published in June of 2016. Follow our simple quiche formula, and it will make your mid-week dinners a piece of cake quiche. 😉

If you follow us on Instagram, then you may have noticed that I’ve been having fun with a #quicheoftheweek hashtag. I don’t make and post a quiche *every* week, but that’s the goal, and I find that my quiche-making really ramps up in the spring and summer time. So, since today’s the first day of summer, I thought it was the perfect time to share my basic quiche formula.

Basic Quiche Formula

My methods are so stinking easy. As you’ll see, there’s a lot of freedom in what flavors and ingredients you put in the quiche, I’ll share a small list of ideas below, and hopefully you’ll be encouraged to experiment once you see that any crazy combination can work.

The photos in this post all come from the process of making a quick veggie and herb quiche for dinner. Nothing fancy, just leeks and spinach combined with fresh basil, chives, dill, and thyme.

Key Ingredients

• pie crust. It can be store-bought and frozen or an unbaked DIY crust.
• egg & milk mixture. I often use about 4 or 5 eggs whisked with 3/4 to a cup of whole milk. Everything is an estimate. I’ve never measured the milk and yet have never had a problem.
• cheese. You’ll need about a 1/2 cup of grated cheese + a little extra for sprinkling on top. Have fun here. I will use whatever is in my fridge, and I’ll often mix and match. Usually I have some cheddar, maybe some parmesan, swiss, or gouda. You really can’t go wrong.
• salt and herbs. I don’t add a lot of salt to my quiche, but I will add a dash to the whisked eggs and milk and a few dashes to the veggies as they cook. When it comes to herbs, I like to add dried thyme or even a dried Italian Herb blend during the winter, but in the summer, I’ll experiment with any variety of fresh herbs.
• savory ingredients. See my suggestions below. Basically, I like to cook most vegetables before they go into the quiche. I like their final texture better if they’ve been cooked, and this also helps to remove water from the veggies, which will give you a firmer final quiche. With meats, I’m a fan of putting salmon (canned or smoked), smoked oysters, canned baby clams (drained), and ham in my quiches. I’d like to experiment with more, but for now that already gives me plenty of variety.

Putting it Together

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Place the empty (and uncooked) pie crust on a baking sheet. I always bake the quiche over a baking sheet to avoid getting any drips on the oven if it overflows while baking.
• Begin cooking the veggies. For this particularly quiche, I sliced and sauteed a couple of leeks over medium-high heat in a pan with olive oil. As they began to soften, I added a big pile of frozen spinach (in the summertime this could be any mixture of fresh greens). I then turn the heat down to low and let the veggies continue to cook and let off steam (never put a lid over the veggies, you want all of that water to evaporate!). I’ll let the veggies cook for anywhere from 10-15 minutes or longer if they have a lot of water in them.
• While the veggies are cooking, whisk together the eggs, milk, a dash of salt, and any herbs. Then toss in about a half cup of grated cheese. If I’m adding canned salmon to the quiche, I break it up into bits and stir it into the milk mixture.
• Spread the cooked veggies over the bottom of the pie crust. *Reserving any “decorative” veggies for the top of the quiche.
• Pour over the egg mixture. Very gently, “blend” some of the veggie mixture with the eggs. I’m not too picky here, but I just give the whole mixter a slight mix-up with my fork, being careful not to prick the pie crust.
• Decorate the top of the quiche. If I have some fresh tomatoes, I may put a few slices on top, or arrange some asparagus spears. If I’m adding smoked oysters, I do that now by just arranging them on top of the quiche. I’ll also sometimes sprinkle on a little bit more cheese, and if I’ve used fresh herbs, I’ll add a few to the top.
• Place the quiche in the oven for about an hour. It will puff up as cooking, but then deflate as it cools. I like to let it cook until it starts to get a bit brown around the edges.

Savory Ingredient Suggestions

I will experiment with any vegetables & a variety of proteins in my quiche. And I’m not joking when I say that I’ve never made a quiche that we didn’t like. So many savory flavors go well together, especially when combined with milk, eggs, and cheese. Believe me.

Consider this list just the starting point. You can mix and match any number of ingredients to create something amazing.

• spinach
• leeks
• asparagus
• fresh tomatoes
• sun-dried tomatoes in oil
• broccoli
• basil
• dill
• thyme
• chives
• smoked salmon
• smoked oysters
• canned salmon
• ham

I’ve found that my boys love quiche! Since it’s mainly eggs, milk, cheese, and pie crust what’s not to love? From my perspective, it’s also a great way to introduce new flavors and give them an extra shot of veggies.

And when it comes to feeding our energetic clan, there’s nothing better than picnic dinners in the park, so I bake a quiche in the afternoon and pack it up with some drinks and fruit for the perfect picnic dinner! It’s so portable, and we even think the quiche tastes better when it’s had an hour or so to cool – no need to serve it hot and no need to worry about letting it sit in the picnic basket until you’re ready to serve.

As we enter the season of fresh produce and longer days, I hope you’ll bake up a quiche or two and have a picnic in the park! And if you do, be sure to post #quicheoftheweek pic on instagram and tag us, we would love to see it. xo