This is my favorite quiche Lorraine recipe made with a flaky pastry crust and creamy egg custard filled with salty, smoky bacon, shallots, and nutty Gruyère cheese.
This savory quiche recipe is delicious served for lunch, brunch, and even dinner with a fresh zucchini salad and buttery dinner rolls on the side.
There are many kinds of quiche, but of them all, quiche Lorraine reigns supreme. 👑 Named after the French region where the dish originated, quiche Lorraine is one of the most popular French quiches. You’ll find it in street-side cafés all over Paris (along with more local fare, like steak au poivre and ratatouille), and there are endless adaptations of quiche Lorraine. My recipe is flavored with salty bacon, shallots, and rich Gruyère cheese. It’s also one of my favorite dishes to make.
Reasons to Love This Quiche Lorraine Recipe
- Rich, savory filling. I won’t lie. My homemade quiche Lorraine might have the best filling I’ve tasted since I left Paris! This classic French tart is perfect for a special occasion, with a savory filling of fluffy eggs, cream, bacon, and cheese.
- Adaptable. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make a homemade pastry crust, especially if you use the blender. But if you’re short on time, a frozen pie crust or refrigerated crust works perfectly here.
- Make it ahead. I often bake this quiche the day before a gathering, like Easter, and it reheats like a dream. You can also freeze the fully prepared quiche, and it’ll last for 2-3 months in the freezer.
Quiche Ingredients
Traditional French quiche Lorraine consists of a filling made from cream, eggs, and ham. That’s it. So, the version I’m sharing here, with cheese and shallots, is more common outside of France. But in my house, a quiche without cheese is like Macedonian food without ajvar. It just isn’t the same!
I’ve included notes on the main ingredients you’ll need below. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full quiche details, along with a step-by-step afterward that shows you how to make it.
- Pastry Crust – I include my homemade pie crust recipe, which doubles as a perfect quiche crust. All you need is flour, ice water, butter, and salt, and it comes together easily in the blender or food processor. Feel free to use your favorite homemade crust, or you can use a refrigerated pie crust from the store.
- Bacon – This can be streaky bacon, back bacon, thick-cut, or even leftover ham, chopped into small bites.
- Shallot – If you don’t have shallots, I recommend a similar onion with a mild, sweet onion, like Vidalia or red onion.
- Eggs, Heavy Cream, and Milk – Together, these create the rich egg custard filling for the quiche. I recommend whole milk or milk with a high fat content. In place of cream, you could also use crème fraîche, buttermilk, or additional whole milk in a pinch.
- Nutmeg – Please use freshly grated nutmeg if you have it! If not, ground nutmeg will also work. In this case, you’ll need more ground nutmeg, about 4x the amount of fresh nutmeg, or to taste.
- Gruyère Cheese – Gruyère is a type of Swiss Alpine cheese with a sweet-salty, nutty flavor. Look for authentic Gruyère that’s made in Switzerland, as it’ll have the best flavor. It can be on the pricier side, but you can use leftovers for grilled cheese and French onion soup chicken!
- Parsley – Freshly chopped, for garnish.
Tips and Variations
- Don’t overblend the crust. Make sure to pulse the crust ingredients together, and be careful not to overblend. You want a coarse, crumbly texture, not a puréed one. You can also cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or fork if you don’t have a food processor.
- Blind-bake the crust. Blind-baking the pie crust (also called par-baking) is an important step that prevents the bottom of the quiche from becoming soggy once the filling is added. Don’t skip it.
- No pie weights? If you don’t have pie weights to weigh down the crust while it bakes, use dried beans or rice instead. Remember to line the crust with parchment paper first.
- Drain the grease. Let the cooked bacon drain over a paper towel before you add it to the quiche. Also, if there’s a lot of leftover grease in the pan, be sure to drain it before cooking the shallots. It avoids extra fat in the final quiche.
- Layer in the right order. When assembling a quiche, always start with a layer of cheese. It creates a buffer between the egg custard and the warm crust.
- Add veggies. It might not be a traditional quiche Lorraine, but you can always add veggies to your quiche, like broccoli, spinach, or asparagus. Pre-cook any add-ins beforehand so that they don’t water down the filling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Good substitutes for this quiche recipe are Emmental, French Comte, or Fontina cheese. In a pinch, you can use mild cheddar. Whichever you choose, make sure it’s freshly shredded cheese and not the pre-packaged kind.
Sure, you can make a quiche Lorraine with egg whites. As a rule of thumb, you should substitute 2 egg whites for every 1 whole egg (in the case of this quiche recipe, 4 whole eggs = 8 egg whites).
Overbaking can lead to a watery quiche. On the otherhand, so can underbaking! Confusing, I know. It’s important to get the egg-to-dairy ratio right and check the quiche for doneness at the earliest suggested baking time to avoid a watery quiche. Also, make sure to pre-cook the bacon and shallots before adding them to the filling.
Yes! If you’d prefer to skip the pastry crust, grease the pie plate well with butter, shortening (like Crisco), or cooking spray to prevent sticking. You’ll also need to shorten the baking time. I recommend checking the quiche for doneness after 35 minutes. You might also like this bacon frittata, which is similar to a crustless quiche.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store the quiche Lorraine airtight in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Enjoy the leftovers cold, or you can reheat the quiche in the oven at 300ºF.
- Freeze. You can freeze quiche for up to 3 months. Wrap the quiche Lorraine whole or in slices, or store it in a freezer-safe container. Thaw the quiche overnight in the fridge.
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Prepare the crust
Make the dough. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour and salt. Add butter and mix until it resembles a coarse meal. With the machine running, slowly add water and process until the dough comes together.
Chill. Add more water if the dough seems too dry. Flatten the dough into a disc. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1 hour.
Roll out the dough. Roll the dough out on a floured surface. Place it in a pie or quiche pan and freeze it for 30 minutes before baking.
Parbake the crust. Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Remove the crust from the freezer 10 minutes before baking. Prick the bottom of your pie crust all over the surface with a fork. Cover the crust with baking paper and add pie/food weights. Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 350ºF.
Assemble the quiche
Cook the bacon. Cook the bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it in a bowl lined with paper towels to drain. Carefully remove most of the bacon grease from the skillet, leaving just a thin coating behind.
Cook the shallot. Add the chopped shallot to the same skillet and cook and stir until tender. Then transfer it to the bowl with the bacon.
Mix the filling. Using a hand mixer, beat the eggs, heavy cream, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
Assemble the quiche. Add half the Gruyere cheese to the baked quiche crust, add the bacon mixture to top it, and then add the remaining cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and gently tap the pie plate on the kitchen counter so the eggs distribute and reach the bottom of the crust.
Bake. Bake the quiche at 350˚F for 45-50 minutes. Once baked, allow the quiche to cool for 15 minutes.
Slice the quiche and serve. You can garnish the quiche with some chopped parsley before cutting and serving.
- My homemade pie crust is perfect for this recipe. You can use it not only for quiche but also for pies.
- Always blind-bake your crust. If you do not have pie/food weights, you can use rice to weigh the paper down.
- Make sure you drain the bacon well, as you do not want extra fat in your quiche.
- Add vegetables. If you want, you can add desired veggies to your quiche, like chopped broccoli, spinach, or asparagus.
Calories: 677kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 247mg | Sodium: 594mg | Potassium: 263mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1486IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 314mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Easy Homemade Quiche Crust
This homemade pastry crust couldn’t be easier to make, but you do need to chill the dough and then the crust itself before you bake it. If you’re pressed for time, simply replace the homemade crust with a store-bought pie crust and skip to the How-To section below. I won’t tell!
- Mix the dough. First, you’ll pulse flour, salt, and butter in a food processor until it looks crumbly. While the processor is running, slowly stream in ice-cold water as the dough comes together.
- Chill and roll out the dough. Next, shape the dough into a disc, wrap it, and place it in the fridge for 1 hour. Afterward, roll the dough out on a floured surface and tuck it into a pie plate or quiche pan. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
- Blind-bake the crust. About 10 minutes beforehand, take the crust out of the freezer. Prick it all over with a fork, and then line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with pie weights. Finally, bake the pastry crust at 375ºF for 20 minutes until it’s nice and golden.
How to Make a Quiche Lorraine
When your crust is out of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF while you prepare the filling and assemble your quiche Lorraine:
Make It Ahead
You can bake your quiche Lorraine the day before serving it. After it’s cooled, keep it covered in the fridge. To reheat, warm the quiche under foil in a 300ºF oven for 35 minutes or until it’s hot throughout.
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