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Fresh spinach and cheddar cheese team up in this easy, fluffy baby spinach and cheddar quiche recipe using homemade or store-bought pie crust!
I came up with this recipe many years ago when I was trying to figure out how to use up half a bag of baby spinach that was hanging out in my fridge.
This quiche was the result of that experiment, and it's one that has been on heavy rotation ever since. And it's been a big hit with Big Flavors readers, too!
I'll often serve this spinach and cheddar quiche with a quick salad that utilizes pantry staples to go alongside.
This cucumber & cannellini bean salad with dill, this quick chickpea salad with lemon-dill vinaigrette, or this creamy cucumber, avocado, chickpea, & sun-dried tomato salad are all great choices!
Jump To:
- 🧡 Why we love this recipe
- 📝 Ingredients
- 🥧 Ingredient spotlight: store-bought pie crust
- 🥣 Substitutions
- ✅ How to make this recipe
- 📌 Tips
- ❓ Frequently asked questions
- 💡 What to serve with
- 🔪 Equipment
- 📖 Recipe
🧡 Why we love this recipe
- Most spinach quiche recipes call for frozen spinach, but this one uses fresh.
- This quiche is light and fluffy.
- It can be made with a homemade pie crust or a store-bought. This homemade pie crust recipe is my favorite, but I often go with a store-bought one.
- There's no need to pre-bake the pie crust! I usually pull one out of the freezer and let it thaw while I sauté the spinach filling.
- Quiche freezes beautifully! You can freeze a full quiche or individual slices for later enjoyment.
📝 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this fresh spinach quiche (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full directions):
- Deep dish pie crust - I often buy these as a 2-pack from the freezer section of the grocery store
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Baby spinach
- Freshly grated nutmeg (or a pinch of ground nutmeg)
- Kosher salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Large eggs
- Milk
- Cheddar cheese - you can buy pre-shredded or shred your own
🥧 Ingredient spotlight: store-bought pie crust
This recipe uses a pre-made pie crust. There are a few different options when buying these from the store.
Frozen, pre-made pie crusts can be found in the frozen food aisle. In the stores I've been to, they're usually near the frozen whipped topping, berries, and cans of frozen juice.
If your store has a section with frozen pies and puff pastry, the pie crusts may be there also.
You can usually find both standard and deep-dish frozen pie crusts, so be sure to get the right size for the recipe you're making.
A bonus about this type of pie crust is that a disposable baking dish is already included, so you don't even need to own a pie plate in order to bake with them.
Another benefit of these pre-formed pie crusts is that they're already rolled out and shaped into the pie pan. The edges of the crust are crimped beautifully for you, saving you from having to do it yourself.
I tend to keep frozen pie crusts on hand in my freezer so I always have one handy if I'm in the mood to bake a pie or quiche.
You can also often find refrigerated pie dough at the grocery store. It's usually in the dairy/egg department near the cans of refrigerated biscuits, croissants, etc.
Refrigerated pie dough is usually sold in pre-rolled sheets, so you'll need to fit them into a pie plate at home.
The dough sheets are rolled up and sealed in a bag, then tucked into a box, which is nice because they don't take up too much room in your refrigerator.
Of course, if you have time and are so inclined, you can make your own pie crust. My go-to pie crust recipe is this standard pastry recipe. The buttery all-purpose crust in this pie recipe is also delicious, as is this whole wheat pie crust.
You can even make your own pie crusts in advance and freeze them for later use. There are some great tips for this in Teeny's Tour of Pie, a cookbook that I reviewed years ago with lots of great recipes.
Whatever route you take, pie crusts are a versatile item to use in the kitchen. They're used in many sweet and savory dishes.
Some of our favorite recipes that use a pie crust are:
- Baby Spinach and Cheddar Quiche Made with Fresh Spinach
- Bourbon Bacon Pecan Pie with a Whole Wheat Crust
- Chocolate Cream Pie with Orange Zested Whipped Cream
- Classic Dutch Apple Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Mediterranean Quiche Duo
- Perfect Pumpkin Pie
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Spinach, Green Onion, and Smoked Gouda Quiche
🥣 Substitutions
For this quiche recipe, feel free to get creative with what veggies and cheese you use. Asparagus, mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and smoked gouda are all great options.
Feel free to add some meat into the mix! Ham, sausage, and bacon are all great additions. Just make sure you cook the meat first before adding it into the egg mixture.
If you're using bacon, you can use the drippings instead of the oil in the recipe. Cook the bacon in the pan first, then remove it and leave 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan.
Use those drippings to cook any veggies you plan to add, then add the cooked bacon back in and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
I've had readers tell me that they've had success with plant-based milk in this recipe also. I haven't personally tried it but am thrilled that it worked well for them!
✅ How to make this recipe
Making this spinach and cheese quiche is super simple. A little upfront prep is required, and then it bakes in the oven while you carry on with your day.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place your prepared pie crust on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Sauté garlic and shallot until soft.
- Add spinach, season, and cook until it wilts down.
- Beat eggs and milk together in a large bowl, then stir in your shredded cheese.
- Spread cooked spinach in an even layer in the pie crust. Pour egg mixture over top and bake.
- Let stand a few minutes before slicing and enjoy!
See recipe card below for full instructions.
📌 Tips
When baking pies I recommend placing a baking sheet underneath the pie plate.
This serves a few purposes - it adds stability when transferring the pie to and from the oven. It also catches any spills that may occur, preventing things from overflowing and burning onto the bottom of your oven.
Often the baking sheet is still completely clean when the pie is done baking, and you can just put it away after it cools off.
I use this same method when baking things in a muffin tin as well. I'd rather potentially dirty one more pan than have to scrub my oven.
For pies, a quarter sheet pan is usually large enough. If you're baking 2 at once, I recommend a half sheet pan.
❓ Frequently asked questions
When reheating quiche, you can pop it in the oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes until warmed through. You can also microwave individual slices, or reheat them with an air fryer.
Absolutely! It freezes beautifully. You can freeze it whole or as individual slices. You'll likely need to add an additional 10-20 minutes to the baking time to get it warm all the way through.
Yes! You'll want to thaw your spinach and squeeze out any excess moisture before adding it to your pie shell. Since it won't have been seasoned when was cooked, I'd add some salt and pepper, nutmeg, and a little garlic powder to the spinach if you don't want to sauté it as instructed in the recipe.
Yes! Use a pinch, or about â…› teaspoon if using already ground nutmeg.
💡 What to serve with
Quiche can be a full meal in itself. If you're looking for some ideas on what to serve with your quiche, here are a few suggestions:
- Calabrese potato salad with green beans + tomatoes
- Caramelized cumin-roasted carrots
- Creamy cucumber, avocado, chickpea, & sun-dried tomato salad
- Cucumber & cannellini bean salad with dill
- Honey balsamic roasted carrots
- Quick chickpea salad with lemon-dill vinaigrette
A simple green salad is always great with quiche, too. Or fresh fruit. Frozen hashbrowns, homefries, or tater tots are other easy options. It doesn't need to be fancy!
🔪 Equipment
- Oven and stovetop
- Baking sheet
- Pie plate (if your pie crust didn't already come in one)
- Large non-stick skillet
- Cutting board
- Chef's knife
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- Microplane or grater (if using whole nutmeg)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large bowl
- Whisk
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Print📖 Recipe
Baby Spinach and Cheddar Quiche Made with Fresh Spinach
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 Servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh spinach and cheddar cheese team up in this easy, fluffy baby spinach and cheddar quiche recipe using homemade or store-bought pie crust!
Ingredients
- Store-bought frozen deep-dish pie shell
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon shallot, minced
- 4 ounces baby spinach
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 5 large eggs
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place frozen pie crust on a baking sheet and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large, non-stick skillet over moderate heat. Add garlic and shallot and sauté until soft. Add spinach, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, and cook until the spinach wilts down, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- While the spinach mixture is cooling, beat eggs and milk in a large bowl. Stir in cheese.
- Place spinach mixture in the bottom of the pie crust, spreading it out in an even layer. Pour egg mixture on top and bake for 45-50 minutes, until eggs are set. Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before diving in. Enjoy!
Notes
See my full post for substitutions and tips!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 276
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 314.8 mg
- Fat: 18.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 9.3 g
- Cholesterol: 132.1 mg
Joanne
I really need to start buying extra pie crusts...or making extra whenever I'm baking. This quiche looks awesome!
Dino
I can never say to no quiche. Ashley really nailed it this time, I highly recommend it!
Shelley
My housemates and I wanted to make mini quiches, so we made our own crust, used a cup to cut into circles, placed them in cupcake tins, then doubled this recipe and poured in the filling (made about 36). They were so delicious and a hit with our house! Thanks for the recipe!
Ashley
So glad that worked out for you! Mini quiches are great, and this combination is perfect for them. Yum!!
Beth (OMG! Yummy)
I stopped making quiche years ago because of lactose intolerance but with so many wonderful lactose free dairy products available now, I need to put this back in the rotation!
Kris
I'm making this now for our Christmas Eve brunch! Directions on reheating?!
Looks delicious! Thank you!
Ashley
Hi Kris! I’d say pop it into the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes and you should be good to go. I usually microwave single slices of leftover quiche. If you have an air fryer that’s large enough you could also use that. I hope you enjoy it - Merry Christmas!
Judy M
It worked really well with coconut milk and cashew cheddar cheese!
Ashley
Did the coconut milk make it taste coconutty?
Kristen (amindfullmom)
NOthing beats a good, fluffy quiche and this one looks perfect
BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen
Thanks so much, Kristen! Quiche is my husband's favorite, so it's always a welcome menu addition 🙂
Marie
We are out of town at a condo. I needed s good basic recipe. Had company, made this quiche and it was delicious! I cooked my spinach with sweet onion and threw in almost a cup of small cubes of baked ham. I had a bag of grated mixed cheeses. I also sliced grape tomatoes in half and made a circle all around the pie crust before baking, which added a bit of color snd zing. The milk to egg ratio was perfect. I love making quiche, and always hunt in the fridge to see what I have that I can add. So good. Thanks for the excellent recipe.
Ashley
I'm so glad that this worked out for you, Marie!! It's such a great way to use up odds and ends that are hanging out in the fridge/pantry. I appreciate the thoughtful review!
allison pelham
Definitely a keeper!
Ashley
I'm so glad to hear this was a hit, Allison! It's one of our favorites 🙂
Diane
Very nice! Used my Mom 's pie crust recipe, as I always do, and thought it would rise more with all the eggs, but flavor was a hit!
Ashley
Thanks for the review, Diane! And I love that you used a family recipe for the crust. I often make one that my aunts all made when I was growing up. It's not difficult to make pie crust but sometimes a shortcut from the store makes it more doable, depending on the day.
Karen Wagner
This looks so good. Any idea of the calorie count for one serving? I'd love to try it.
Ashley
Hi Karen - thanks for asking! I went in and added nutrition information for this recipe. The calculation there is for 2% milk and 1 slice being 1/8th of the quiche. For my family, we definitely eat more than that an I tend to use whole milk, but that should give you a good estimate. Let me know what you think if you try it out!
Judy M
Really delicious!
I didn't have a crust, and it worked out beautifully crust free.
I can't have dairy, and it worked out well with coconut milk and dairy free cheese.
I had a lot of coconut milk and spinach left over from a recipe. Most recipes call for frozen spinach, and I didn't know what to do. So having your recipe was terrific.
Thank you ever so much! This will go on regular rotation. I love that we will have leftovers for a second meal
Ashley
Thank you so much for the feedback, Judy! I’m so glad it worked out with your substitutions. We make this recipe a lot!!
Nancy Doyle
I just made quiche with this recipe today, and had to come and say how good it was. I've been making quiche for many years, but tried this recipe because I wanted to use fresh spinach without the quiche becoming soggy. This recipe did that trick - and because there were more eggs and less liquid, the crust was less soggy and more flaky, and tasted a lot better. I added a few sundried tomatoes, and used a sharp cheddar cheese called Farmer, which had a more intense flavor. This was so good I will keep using it, and trying other things in it. Thank you!
Ashley
Thank you so much for the kind review, Nancy!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, and that you found one that works for you with fresh spinach. I enjoy Farmer cheese also. Your additions sound delicious!
Elizabeth
I have made this several times and my husband and I loved it. The first couple of times we were out of nutmeg. It was still delicious. The last time I made this, I added 1/8 teaspoon of dried nutmeg. That took things to a whole new level. Fabulous!
Maria
I’ve made this five times now, exactly as written every time and it is so delicious. Every person I’ve served it to has raved! Highly recommend!! This is a keeper recipe for sure! Thank you!
Ashley
Thank you SO much for the lovely comment! I'm so glad it has been such a hit for you and the people you've served it to. Glad my recipe has found a home in your kitchen
Lucy
Wondering do you have to pre bake crust for quiche?
Ashley
No need to pre-bake! Super easy 🙂