Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche

Our broccoli cheddar quiche is a perfect example of how versatile quiche is—serve it as the savory star of your brunch or enjoy it for a light lunch or dinner accompanied by a simple green salad. The flaky pastry crust and creamy custard filling make it a perfect vehicle for an array of mix-ins. In fact, we think quiche, which often features green vegetables like broccoli or spinach, is a great way to help all kinds of eaters become veggie fans.

The secret to the perfect flaky, buttery crust for quiche is blind baking—baking the crust before adding the filling. Blind baking ensures the crust won’t get soggy. We think quiche tastes best with a homemade crust, but this recipe would still be plenty delicious made with a store-bought crust for ease.

What Is Quiche?

Quiche has a pastry crust filled with a cooked savory custard. The egg custard can be flavored with anything from bacon and cheese to vegetables, herbs, and various combinations of these ingredients. Quiche is a French dish, hailing from the region of Alsace-Lorraine, and the most famous type of quiche is quiche Lorraine which takes its name from the region. Quiche can be served as a brunch, lunch, or dinner entrée, or even as an appetizer.

The Pastry

Quiche is made with basic pastry dough, like our favorite pâte brisée or this basic pie crust. We prefer to use an all-butter crust for all our baking recipes. You can use homemade or store-bought pie dough for this quiche, just be sure it is ready to roll when you get out your rolling pin because if it is too hot or too cold, it will be difficult to roll out.

Most pie crust recipes make enough dough for a double crust pie, but you'll only need a single crust for a quiche. If you're making dough from scratch, you can opt to make one-half of the recipe, or wrap the extra crust tightly in plastic and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the crust, still wrapped, in the fridge overnight before using.

Crimping the Crust

Our recipe calls for a basic crimped crust. Once the pie dough is fitted into the pie plate, use kitchen shears to trim the dough to a 1-inch overhang, fold under, and seal to form a rim. Crimp the rim using your fingertips and knuckles. If you prefer, you can decorate the crust simply with fork imprints or create a more unique design.

How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust

To avoid a gummy, soggy crust, we prefer to cook the crust before adding the filling, which is known as blind baking. First, you'll want to weigh your crust down by lining it with a piece of parchment paper, then filling it with pie weights or dried beans. (This ensures a flat bottom for your quiche and helps the sides from shrinking down as the dough bakes.) Next, bake your crust until it's dry to the touch and lightly golden. Remove the weights and parchment and let the crust cool slightly while you make your filling.

How to Tell When Quiche is Cooked

There are a few things to look for when judging if your quiche is cooked. The edges should be firm and set—press gently with your fingers to check—and if you wiggle the pie plate, the center should jiggle slightly. You can also check for doneness using an instant-read thermometer: Insert it into the center of the quiche but avoid hitting the crust; the temperature should read at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Making Quiche Ahead 

Quiche is best served warm or at room temperature, so aim to serve the quiche the day you bake it. To get ahead, you can make the dough up to three days before you plan to make the quiche and prebake the crust a day ahead.