Quiche Recipe

A quiche is one of the most versatile brunch dishes out there, yet quiches don't always get the attention they deserve. You can put all of your favorite ingredients into a quiche — bacon, greens, chicken, you name it — or you can simply use the leftover ingredients you don't want to go to waste. The best quiches, however, are planned. Enter this caramelized onion and bacon quiche.

This recipe comes from Mark Beahm, who is a food photographer, recipe developer, and the creator of the blog the Sunday Baker. On his blog, Beahm shows off rustic European baking. By some accounts, the quiche is one of the most classic of rustic European baked recipes and has a history that dates back to the 12th century — though you can bet the quiches of yore weren't as crave-worthy as this one.

Beahm's quiche recipe is based around onions and bacon, as the name suggests, and it's the ideal savory brunch treat (or anytime treat, really).

It doesn't take much to make a delicious quiche that's rich with caramelized onions and bacon. In fact, there's a good chance you already have most of these ingredients on hand. To start, you'll need a pre-made, nine-inch pie crust. As the name suggests, onions and bacon are also necessary, as is butter, salt, half and half, cheddar cheese, nutmeg, and four eggs.

Each of these ingredients adds to the dish, though some people might not be as familiar with using nutmeg for savory food as they are with using nutmeg for sweet desserts and drinks like cookies, cakes, and eggnog. Yet nutmeg is just as much a fit for the savory aspects of a meal.

"Just a small pinch of nutmeg adds a classic nutty flavor to a lot of savory dishes," Beahm says. "It's used in a lot of creamy dishes like béchamel sauce."

One optional way to up this recipe if you're looking for other ingredients is to add a fresh herb like thyme. "If you have some fresh thyme, it would be great in this," Beahm says. "Just add the leaves from a few sprigs into the filling before baking."

You can make your own pie crust if you're feeling ambitious, just make sure to follow the secrets to the perfect pie crust like using plenty of fat, pastry flour, and ice-cold water. There's always the option to use a store bought crust, though.

This quiche recipe is designed for a nine-inch pie plate. After you roll out your crust to the proper size, it's time to trim it up and make it look nice by crimping the edges.

"I'm a creature of habit and crimp the pie crust the way I was taught when I worked at a pie bakery," Beahm says. "Use the index finger of your dominant hand to push the edge of the pie crust outward into the index finger and thumb of your other hand, shaping the edge into a 'U' or 'V'. Start the next crimp right where this one ends, then continue to go around the edge, rotating the pie as you go along."

You don't need a fancy utensil if you're not up for shaping with your hands.

"A quick way of crimping a pie is to press the tines of a fork onto the edge to leave a decorative pattern," Beahm says.

Once the crust for your quiche looks just right, pop it in the freezer for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit while you're waiting.

"Freezing the crust before blind baking helps to set the edges before the fat in the dough melts, preserving the shape of the crust," Beahm says. "If you skip this, the dough might lose shape or sink down the edge of the pie plate."

Finally, it's time to pre-bake the crust, which is called a blind bake. "Blind baking the crust is simply pre-baking the crust before adding the filling," Beahm says. "When a pie has a wet filling, the moisture in the filling prevents the crust from baking through, ending up in a soggy crust. The pie weights ensure the crust stays flat and doesn't rise or bubble."

You'll want to weigh the crust down during the blind bake as well to keep the crust from bubbling or losing shape. Dedicated pie bakers might have a pie weight, but beans work as well. "If you don't have pie weights, you can simply use dried beans in exactly the same way," Beahm says. "Line the pie crust with parchment paper or tin foil and fill with the beans."

A crust is nothing without what's inside, and for this quiche, you'll need to do a little pan cooking before the oven does the rest. Before heating up the frying pan, slice the onions into thin strips. Then, melt some butter in a frying pan over medium heat and add the thinly sliced onions. Cover the pan and cook for about ten minutes, and then take the lid off and cook while occasionally stirring until the onions are golden brown. Before taking them off the pan, stir in the salt.

Once that's done, it's time for the bacon. Use the same pan and fry up the bacon for about ten minutes or until fully cooked. You'll need to get the pieces to the right size as soon as it's cooked.

"The bacon can be chopped into cubes if you have a slab of bacon or into thin strips if you have slices," Beahm says. "If you can find them, bacon lardons (bacon that's sliced into matchstick-size pieces) save you this step."

Bacon and caramelized onions may be the star of this quiche if you are only going by notable flavors and what gets to be featured in the name, but the eggs are what makes this quiche a, well, quiche. According to The Kitchn, a quiche is "essentially a custard made with milk and eggs poured into a pie crust and baked."

Take your four eggs and crack them into a bowl. Add the cup of half and half as well as the nutmeg, and then beat all of the ingredients together. And be sure to beat them well into a smooth mixture. The consistency of the egg mixture is one of the major factors that will decide the consistency and texture of the final quiche.

"Beat the eggs and half and half into a homogenous mixture, there shouldn't be streaks of egg white or egg yolk," Beahm says. "The half and half is what gives the quiche such a smooth texture."

Once all of your ingredients are cooked (in the case of the onions and bacon) or prepared (in the case of the egg mixture), it's time to assemble the quiche itself. First, arrange the caramelized onion and bacon over the blind-baked crust. Be sure to spread both as evenly as possible so you get a little of each in every bite. Then, pour the egg mixture over the top. Finally, spread the half of a cup of grated cheddar cheese on the top. Few things can take a dish to the next level like a topping of cheese.

Bake the whole quiche at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The goal is to bake it until the edges of the center are set and solid while the center still has a bit of wobble to it. This should take about 30 to 40 minutes. You can do the toothpick test if you're unsure. Simply put a toothpick in the quiche and pull it straight out to see if there are any pieces that stick to the toothpick. If yes, it needs more time.

"To check if the quiche is done, give it a gentle shake," Beahm says. "If the edges are set and the middle has only a slight jiggle, then it's done. If you want to be extra sure, the toothpick test works too."

Once the quiche is complete, let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting in with a knife and serving slices. This caramelized onion and bacon quiche is versatile, and you can serve it in a number of situations.

"It works well as part of a brunch spread, but you could also have it for dinner with a side salad," Beahm says.

If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, it's easy enough to save some of this for later. Simply wrap the quiche in the pie dish with cling wrap or aluminum foil and stick it in the refrigerator. The quiche will last about five days in the fridge, though you'll likely reach for the pieces before that time limit hits. And like the best leftovers, reheating is simple.

"You can reheat it in the microwave, but it will soften the crust," Beahm says. "If you have some extra time and you want the crust to stay crisp, reheat it in the oven instead."