Classic Quiche Lorraine symbolizes the essence of French cuisine – simplicity, elegance, and quality ingredients. This homemade quiche recipe uses only three ingredients for the rich custard filling that is baked to perfection in a flaky pre-baked pie crust.
Quiche Lorraine was made famous by Julia Child. This recipe uses the same quality ingredients as used by Julia Child in her masterpiece The Way to Cook.
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Why You Should Make This Classic Quiche Recipe
- Delicious and Impressive: Quiche Lorraine epitomizes classic French cuisine and is one of the most satisfying dishes imaginable.
- Simple to Make: This quiche recipe takes minutes to put together and is simple enough for even the novice cook.
- Versatile: This classic quiche is perfect for a light dinner, a leisurely brunch, or a satisfying breakfast.
- Make-Ahead Elegance: Quiche Lorraine can be made ahead of time and served cold, warm, or hot. In addition, it makes the perfect leftovers that can be easily reheated in the oven.
Ingredients: Here’s What You’ll Need
This recipe features simple ingredients for a world-class dish.
- Refrigerated Pie Crust: It’s easy enough to use a homemade pie crust but even easier to use a store-bought refrigerated pie crust. Even Julia Child would approve.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream adds richness, flavor, and moisture to quiche Lorraine. It also helps to create an ultra smooth and velvety texture.
- Eggs: Eggs are a key ingredient in quiche recipes. This recipe is no exception. Eggs provide structure, moisture, and flavor to this recipe. They help to bind the ingredients together and create a smooth, creamy texture. They also help to set the custard and prevent it from becoming runny.
- Bacon: Bacon is a key ingredient in quiche Lorraine because it adds flavor and texture to the dish. The saltiness of the bacon helps to balance out the richness of the cream and eggs. In addition, the crispy texture of the bacon adds a nice contrast to the soft custard.
Steps: How to Make Quiche Lorraine
- I started by pressing the room-temperature store-bought pie crust into a tart pan with a removable bottom. Then, I folded the excess pie crust down the sides. This served to reinforce the sides.
- Next, I pierced the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and put the pie crust in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
The reason for freezing the pie crust was to minimize the shrinkage from the sides during baking.
- While the pie crust was freezing, I whisked together the eggs and cream to make the custard.
- Once the crust was frozen, I removed it from the freezer. Then, I lined the crust with a piece of nonstick aluminum foil and filled the crust with dried beans. Then, I baked the crust at 450°F for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, I removed the crust from the oven and removed the aluminum foil and beans. Then, I returned the crust to the oven for an additional five minutes to ensure that it was golden brown.
- I removed the crust from the oven and noticed that several cracks had developed. Before adding the bacon and the custard, I brushed the cracks with some of the custard to help seal them.
- I sprinkled crumbled bacon on the bottom of the crust and carefully poured on the custard.
I baked the quiche in a preheated 375°F oven for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, the custard was set and the top of the quiche was golden brown. I removed it from the oven, and let it cool for about 10 minutes before transferring the quiche to a cutting board and sprinkling the top with minced chives.
I served the quiche with a side salad for a light and dinner. The quiche was velvety smooth and absolutely delicious. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Quiche Lorraine is typically served warm or at room temperature. It can be served as a main course or a brunch dish.
Julia Child’s basic Quiche Lorraine recipe does not include cheese. However, many Quiche Lorraine recipes do include cheese. Therefore, feel free to add cheese to the recipe.
Gruyère is the most classic cheese to include in the Quiche Lorraine recipe. However, other popular options include Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, Swiss cheese and Fontina cheese.
Side dishes that go well with Quiche Lorraine include salad, soup, fruit, french fries, and bread.
You can substitute half and half for the heavy cream, but I would recommend against substituting milk. The fat content in the cream is key in producing the velvety texture of the Quiche Lorraine.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- In the past, I’ve lined the pastry with parchment paper before adding the beans. However, one time, the parchment paper caught on fire! Since then, I’ve used nonstick aluminum foil, with the nonstick surface touching the pie crust.
- If you have pie weights, you can use them to help weigh down the crust during the prebaking. However, my preferece is dried beans. The reason is that pie weights, at least the ones that I’ve used, can absorb the oils from the pie crust and take on a rancid odor over time. This doesn’t happen with dried beans. I keep the dried beans in a large mayonnaise jar and use them over and over again when baking pie shells.
- Sometimes when, when I prebake pie crusts, small cracks develop on the bottom. When this occurs, I simply brush the cracks with a small amount of the egg custard. This works well to seal the cracks and prevents the custard from seeping through the bottom of the pie crust.
- I use a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. When I remove the quiche from the oven, I place it on top of a small overturned bowl. This allows the sides to easily fall off, making it easy to transfer the quiche to a cutting board.
Other Quiche Recipes
Both the Master Taster and I are fans of different types of quiches. Our favorites include the following:
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Classic Quiche Lorraine
Equipment
- 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom
Ingredients
- 1 store-bought refrigerated pie crust, room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 8 slices bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Press pie crust into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom, tucking excess pie crust down the sides. Pierce well with a fork. Freeze for at least 15 minutes.
- While the pie crust is in the freezer, whisk together the eggs and cream. Set aside.
- Remove the pie crust from the freezer. Line the pie crust with nonstick aluminum foil; fill with dried beans or another type of pie weight. Bake at 450°F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Remove the aluminum foil and dried beans. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. (See Tip 1)
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Sprinkle the crumbled bacon on the bottom of the pie crust. Carefully pour the egg/cream custard into the prepared pie crust. Bake at 375°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until puffy and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. (See Tip 2)
- Transfer to a cutting board. If desired, sprinkle on minced chives and serve.
- Yield: 6 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
- Sometimes, the crust will crack after it is prebaked. If this occurs, brush the cracks with some of the egg/cream custard mixture to seal the cracks.
- The easiest way that I know of to remove the sides of the tart pan is to place it over a small overturned bowl. The sides will drop down, making it easy for the quiche to be transferred to the cutting board.
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