This quiche recipe has been my go-to since swapping a dorm room for an apartment and having to buy my own groceries and prepare my own meals.
It’s foolproof, easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand (yup, it’s a fridge-cleaning type of recipe, gotta love those), and never disappoints. Just ask my roommates, who ate most of this quiche over the course of two days the last time I made it.
I only got a couple of slices for myself, but who can blame them? Between the potato crust, the bacon bits, plus all that sharp cheddar cheese, this quiche probably knew its days were numbered the moment it was pulled out of the oven.
I love using sliced potatoes to line the pie plate instead of making a pie crust – a genius idea I stole from my smartypants big sister 😉 – no chill-time for a pie dough to work around, plus the added bonus of omitting all that butter to make it a bit healthier (just don’t think about all the bacon and cheese you’ll be adding later…).
For the custard component of any quiche I make, I always use 5-6 eggs (depending on the amount of add-ins I have to use) and 1 cup of whole milk, the same ratio my mom uses whenever she makes one, too. You’ll notice I also add some plain greek yogurt to the custard, which results in a quiche with a slightly richer and creamier texture – feel free to leave it out, though, if you’d prefer (you’ll still wind up with something tasty!).
Oh, and definitely don’t skip out on the dijon mustard – this is something I always, always add to egg custards for any quiche or strata I make. The amount specified in the below recipe won’t be enough for you to really taste the mustard after its baked, but it is enough to add some flavor so it tastes like more than just scrambled eggs.
And as I mentioned before, this is such a great base recipe – it’s so versatile. Use any combination of vegetables, meat, and cheese based on your own preferences and whatever you happen to have in your fridge. Whatever you choose to add in, you won’t be disappointed!
Cheesy Bacon Veggie Quiche
Makes one 9-inch quiche; serves 8-10
1 medium potato
1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Pepper
8 strips of bacon
1 small onion, diced
8 oz. button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
5 eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar, but use whatever you like!)
Preheat oven to 425ºF and grease a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray; set aside.
Using a mandoline, shave the potato into thin discs and place in a small mixing bowl. To the potatoes, add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper and toss until the potato slices are all coated with oil. Arrange the potato slices so that they overlap and completely cover the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
Bake until the potatoes start to become golden brown – but be careful not to burn them since they’ll be going back into the oven to bake the filled quiche. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling.
Decrease the oven temperature to 350ºF.
Dice the bacon strips into bite-sized pieces and place in a heavy-bottomed pan (I like to use cast-iron whenever I cook with bacon). Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the bacon is crispy and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
Heat some more oil in another large skillet over medium heat and add the diced onion; cook for several minutes, until they begin to soften. Then add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and zucchini and season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until the mushrooms are lightly browned, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 15-20 minutes.
To the sautéed vegetables, stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and half of the bacon bits until they’re all evenly mixed together; set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk one of the eggs with the mustard and greek yogurt until the mustard and yogurt are thoroughly mixed in, then whisk in the remaining eggs, milk, salt and pepper; set aside.
Fill the potato-lined pie plate with the vegetable mixture, then pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the remaining bacon and cheese evenly over the top and bake until a thin knife inserted into the center of the quiche come out clean, about 40 minutes.
Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before serving.
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