You’re going to love this silky, savory, and ridiculously Easy Quiche Lorraine! The puff pastry crust makes it absolutely effortless! Chock full of bacon and swiss cheese, this creamy custard baked in a pastry crust can be served hot or cold for breakfast, lunch, or brunch. Serve it with a side dish to make it a filling dinner. I love that you can prepare it a day ahead and that it takes almost no time to assemble. Just cook the bacon and aromatics, mix the custard ingredients, and go!
What is Quiche Lorraine?
Quiche Lorraine is what my kid calls an egg pie. It’s a custard set in a pastry crust that gets its name from the Lorraine region in France. Traditionally it’s made with eggs, cream, bacon, and swiss cheese. But feel free to use the ingredients you have. It’s your kitchen!
What You’ll Need
The best part of making this Quiche Lorraine recipe is its versatility. If you’re not intent on keeping things traditional, you can substitute almost all ingredients to better fit your preferences. Here’s what you’ll need to make Quiche Lorraine:
- Eggs – these create the custard necessary to bind all of the ingredients together. You can substitute eggs with a vegan egg alternative, like Just Egg.
- Cream Cheese, Heavy Cream, and Milk– the fat in the cream cheese, heavy cream, and milk helps create a silky custard texture. You can substitute the heavy cream with all milk and two tablespoons of butter. Use plant-based cream cheese, heavy cream, and milk alternatives if you don’t do dairy.
- Bacon– adds a big hit of smoky, salty savoriness. You can substitute it with ham, pancetta, salami, or your favorite meatless bacon alternative. If you don’t do pork, use diced roasted chicken or turkey.
- Swiss Cheese – is the traditional choice for Quiche Lorraine, but use whatever cheese you have handy. Gouda, provolone, cheddar, and mozzarella are all excellent substitutions.
- Puff Pastry – is the vehicle that holds the filling. Par-baking the puff pastry helps keep it from getting soggy as the liquid custard bakes. Pie crust is the traditional choice for quiche, and makes a great substitute for puff pastry. Of course, you can always make my Easy 3-Ingredient Pie Crust.
- Onion and Garlic – these aromatics help flavor the custard. You can substitute them with leeks, green onions, or shallots. You can also replace the onion with one teaspoon of onion powder or one tablespoon of dried onion flakes and the garlic with one-eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder. Add them to the custard when you add the nutmeg to prevent scorching.
- Nutmeg– just a pinch helps enhance the creamy flavor of the custard. If you don’t have nutmeg, skip it.
What To Serve With Quiche Lorraine
You can take Quiche Lorraine from a light breakfast or lunch to a full-on dinner by pairing it with a soup, salad, or a veggie-based side dish. Try some of these Budget Bytes favorites!
- Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Vegetable Barley Soup
- Big Kale Pasta Salad
- Wilted Spinach Salad
- Balsamic Roasted Vegetables
- Simple Sautéed Vegetables
- Easy Soda Bread
- The Best Homemade Garlic Bread
How To Store Quiche Lorraine
Allow your quiche to cool completely before storing it in the fridge. If leaving it in the pie pan, cover leftovers with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to four days. You can also slice what’s left of the quiche and store the slices in an airtight container. To freeze leftovers, portion and wrap the pieces in aluminum foil, then place them in a freezer-safe container. They will remain fresh for up to a month.
How To Reheat Leftovers
Bring refrigerated slices to room temperature while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Thaw frozen slices overnight in the fridge. Then, cover the crust with aluminum foil or a pie shield and reheat for fifteen minutes or until steaming. In a pinch, you can reheat leftovers in your microwave, but be warned, the texture will become slightly rubbery.
Easy Quiche Lorraine
Servings 8 slicesIngredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry ($3.25)
- 4 strips bacon ($1.00)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.41)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 4 oz cream cheese ($1.10)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing crust edges ($0.42)
- 1/4 cup milk ($0.17)
- 5 eggs, lightly beaten ($1.33)
- 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese ($2.15)
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish (optional) ($0.06)
Instructions
- Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 425°F. Next, roll the puff pastry into an 11-inch square and transfer it to a 9-inch diameter pie plate. Then puncture the bottom of the puff pastry a few times with a fork and trim the edges.
- Cover the puff pastry with a sheet of parchment paper and add a pound of dry beans or pie weights. Then, cover the edges of the pastry with a pie shield or ring made of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Bake for fifteen minutes.
- While the puff pastry par-bakes set a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon strips and cook until crispy. Next, chop the bacon into bits. Set aside the chopped bacon and reserve the drippings.
- Remove the puff pastry from the oven. Carefully remove the pie shield. Then carefully remove the parchment paper with the beans or pie weights.*
- Cook the onion in the bacon drippings until translucent (about 2 minutes). Next, add the garlic clove and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, heavy cream, and milk until smooth.
- Add the beaten eggs, shredded Swiss cheese, cooked onions and garlic, nutmeg, salt, and freshly ground pepper. Finally, set aside 2 tablespoons of chopped bacon for garnish and add the rest to the filling. Stir well.
- Pour the filling into the prebaked crust. Brush the crust with 1 teaspoon of heavy cream.
- Cover the edges of the quiche with a pie shield or aluminum foil ring. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling sets, about 25 minutes. Remove the pie shield and cool the quiche for 10 minutes before serving. Finally, garnish with remaining bacon bits and chopped Italian parsley.*
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
How to Make Quiche Lorraine – Step by Step Photos
Cover the puff pastry with a sheet of parchment paper and add a pound of dry beans or pie weights. Next, cover the edges of the pastry with a pie shield or ring made of aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. Bake for fifteen minutes.
While the puff pastry par-bakes set a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the 4 strips of bacon and cook until crispy. Next, chop the bacon into bits. Set aside the chopped bacon and reserve the drippings.
Remove the puff pastry from the oven and carefully remove the pie shield and the parchment paper with the dry beans/pie weights. The beans can be cooled, stored in an airtight container, and reused for future preparations.
Next, cook 1 diced yellow onion in the bacon drippings until translucent (about 2 minutes). Then, add 1 minced garlic clove and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat 4 ounces of cream cheese, 1/4 cup of heavy cream, and 1/4 cup of milk until smooth.
Add the 5 eggs, 2 cups of shredded Swiss cheese, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper, and the cooked onions and garlic. Next, set aside 2 tablespoons of bacon for garnish and add the rest of the chopped bacon into the filling.
This sounds so delicious, I really want to try it. But since any kind of egg bake doesn’t freeze well, cooking a whole quiche for a single person household is quite a lot.
Would this recipe work if you halved it and baked in a smaller pan? Or alternatively could you freeze half the raw filling?
I definitely wouldn’t freeze the filling! You should be able to halve the recipe and bake in a smaller dish. You should also check out our Egg Muffin recipe! You could make them using the Quiche Lorraine mix ins. https://www.budgetbytes.com/egg-muffins/
I used garlic granules & onion powder instead of onions and garlic. I also put broccoli crowns in it. It needed to be cooked about 10 minutes longer. But it came out good!
This recipe was delicious! It was a tad on the salty side for me so next time I will try 1/4 tsp of salt. I am on a shallot kick so I used shallots instead of onions. Definitely a keeper!
I made this for Easter dinner for me & my husband, along with roasted asparagus & a Caesar salad. The quiche turned out great and my husband said it is likely the best quiche he’s ever had! Will definitely keep this recipe on hand!
This was delicious. However, I had to bake for an extra 10 minutes; this is possibly because I used a ceramic pie pan instead of glass.
I’m loving your Quiche receipes.
Thank you, Phyllis! XOXO. -Monti
Easy and delicious! Can’t go wrong with copious amounts of cheese. I like that you included alternate ingredients for different dietary restrictions. Would be good with some bell pepper or chopped asparagus in the filling, too!
Couldn’t agree more, Elizabeth! I love bell pepper in Quiche. XOXO -Monti
Absolutely LOVE that you include ingredient costs!
What is the best way to prepare this the night before and then bake in the morning? Thanks!
Hi Liv! I would make the filling and refrigerate and par-bake the crust, let it cool, wrap it well, and keep it at room temperature until ready to fill. Assemble in the morning! xoxo -Monti
Love the idea of puff pastry as I’m not a big pie crust fan. I’m vegetarian, so I’ll need to go a different way with the filling, but I can’t wait to try using the cream cheese and cream for a smoother texture.
One tip–I ALWAYS cook bacon in the oven, although I realize that not everyone may have one. My broiler pan holds 8-9 slices at a time, and does a wonderful job of evenly cooked rashers, with minimal mess and no grease splatters on me. For this recipe, I would bake a full pan and set aside the extra to use later in the week–say BLT sandwiches–or freeze them for the next time I need a slice or two for another use. I also save the bacon fat which I like to use in small amounts to saute onions and other veggies for soups, to brown stew beef or pot roast, etc. I bake at 375F for about 15-20 minutes for thick slices, less for thin ones, watching carefully during the last 5 minutes. DH likes bacon shatteringly well done, so overcooking isn’t really a problem at my house although I like it best a bit limber. This classic quiche remains one of my favorites–I love the idea of using puff pastry.
I think you skipped a few steps? There is no combination of the onion or cheese into the recipe.
Thanks for noticing that, I have edited the copy of the recipe and the step-by-step tutorial to mention when the onions, garlic, and Swiss cheese should be added! ~Marion :)
Lovely looking recipe but there is no mention of where to add the cheese. I can figure it out as I’ve made quiche before but it might confuse others
Thanks for noticing that, I have edited the copy of the recipe and the step-by-step tutorial to mention that the Swiss cheese should be added! ~Marion :)
YUMMY, I can’t wait to try this. I love a good quiche – delicious, inexpensive, and reheats well. The blind bake steps reminds me of a poor baker on Nailed It! who didn’t remove the beans before adding custard to the pie crust. Oops!
So funny! That will have me chuckling all day.