Quiche has rapidly risen up my list of brunch dishes I love to make. They are easier than people think to make and I love how fast you can heat up the leftovers. My family ended up snacking on this Quiche Florentine for a few days. I was really happy to have it in my fridge!
I’m a big crust guy so generally, I’m going to make my own crust if I’m going through the trouble. These days I’m pretty quick and can whip up a crust in a few minutes, the night before I plan to make the quiche, and then it’s just as fast as store-bought to roll it out and pre-bake it.
But, I’m far from opposed to store-bought crust. If the thing that is stopping you from trying this Quiche Florentine is the crust, then, by all means, go snag one at the store and make it happen!
I took this Quiche Florentine on kind of a left turn with the addition of fontina cheese. Not exactly standard, but the creamy fontina cheese goes SO well with spinach. You can leave it out and be okay, but it’s a nice flavor and texture boost!
What is Quiche Florentine?
Quiche Florentine is a classic french quiche recipe that starts with a flaky pie crust and then filling it with a savory egg custard with fresh spinach and cheese. It’s kind of a more classic version of this kale and pesto quiche I also like to make.
Can you use Fresh or frozen spinach?
There aren’t a ton of ingredients in this quiche and spinach should be the main flavor. I like to use fresh spinach. If you use frozen, that’s just fine but be sure to let it thaw and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Watery quiche is not ideal.
Wilt the spinach with some garlic and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. I like to slice my garlic for this recipe instead of mince it.
Making the pie crust
I use a really standard pie crust recipe for this quiche which starts with all-purpose flour, salt, and cubed unsalted butter which you work into the flour until it forms a coarse pea-sized meal. Then add cold water to it until it just comes together.
Wrap the pie crust in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until needed.
You can add these ingredients to a food processor and use that to mix up the pie crust. I’m always a bit worried about over-mixing the dough (which will make the pie crust tough) so I usually do it by hand.
When you are ready to make the quiche, you do need to blind bake the pie crust with some black beans on top of parchment paper to keep the dough from puffing up too much. If you have pie weights, you can use those and you are officially fancier than me! If you want a more thorough crust explanation, check out my crust recipe in this post.
Again though, if making crust isn’t your thing, just buy one! The crust shouldn’t be the reason you aren’t making quiche!
Making the quiche filling
For the custard mixture, whisk together some eggs with heavy cream in a bowl. Could you use milk? Sure. Half and half? Go for it. For me though, if I’m making quiche I’m going full-on cream.
Make sure to season this mixture with kosher salt and pepper.
Baking Instructions the Quiche Florentine
Add the wilted spinach and garlic to the baked crust and dot the filling with slices of fontina. I think I went overboard on the fontina in this version. Tear yours into smaller pieces and use slightly less.
Then pour in the egg mixture. The custard mixture should come up to the edge of the crust. Be sure to move around the filling a bit to make sure the eggs get evenly distributed.
The Quiche Florentine will need to bake for 25-30 minutes. The finished quiche will be golden brown around the edges and set in the middle.
Let the quiche cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving! Getting a clean slice of quiche out of a pie pan is truly a wonderful site.
Crispy crust. Creamy fontina. Savory spinach. What more could you want in a quiche?!
If you are in the mood for some brunch cooking, or just looking for a great recipe that reheats well for quick weekday breakfasts, add this Quiche Florentine to your menu!
Substitutions and other options
A classic quiche recipe is almost infinitely customizable so once you get the ratios down of filling and egg mixture you can change it up in so many ways. Here are a few ideas!
- Quiche Lorraine – A good alternative to quiche florentine is this version which includes bacon and parmesan cheese or swiss cheese.
- Change up the vegetables! You could use kale instead spinach or add things like tomatoes, red peppers, or onions or shallots.
- Use different cheeses. Almost any cheese works well in quiche. Gruyere cheese or cheddar cheese are two of my favorites.
What brunch recipes to serve with quiche florentine
This is almost a complete brunch meal in one dish, but if you want some ideas for serving, here ya go!
Adding some extra savory sides to the table is easy. Possibly bake a batch of this Sriracha Candied Bacon or this Maple Habanero Bacon! Or I’ll always take some Sheet Pan Hash Browns with any brunch dish.
If you are looking for something sweet to pair with the savory, check out this basic french toast recipe or maybe these fruit kabobs!
How to store and reheat the quiche
Quiche stores really well actually. It will keep just fine in the fridge for 4-5 days and the best way to reheat it is in the oven. Bake it at 350˚F either in individual slices or as a whole quiche until it’s warmed through and the cheese is melty.
While you can reheat this quiche florentine in the microwave, just know that it will lose its texture and the crust will get very soggy. Not ideal in my opinion!
Quiche Florentine with Fontina Cheese
Ingredients
Quiche Butter Crust:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 4-6 tablespoons ice cold water
Quiche:
- 1 pie crust, Store-bought or homemade from above
- 1 large bunch fresh spinach
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 large eggs
- ⅔ cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces fontina cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For Crust:
- Stir together flour with salt. Cube cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients using clean fingers or a pastry cutter. Work the butter into the flour until it’s in pea-sized pieces. Some uneven lumps are fine.
- Stir in iced water until the dough just comes together. Some flaky pieces are fine. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and press it into a solid ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, but ideally overnight.
- When ready to make quiche, unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface until it fits in your pie pan with about an inch overhanging on each side. Fold crust up to form a sturdy crust edge.
- Poke holes all over the crust with a fork (even on sides) and cover crust base with parchment paper. Weigh down crust with pie weights or dry beans. Pre-bake crust at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Then remove beans or weights.
To make Quiche:
- Preheat oven to 350˚ F. In a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil along with washed and trimmed spinach. When spinach starts to wilt, add sliced garlic as well. Cook for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and spinach is completely wilted. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Transfer spinach mixture to prebaked pie crust (store-bought or homemade from above). Dot the quiche with pieces of fontina cheese.
- Whisk together eggs, cream, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour over spinach filling and use a fork to make sure filling is distributed evenly.
- Bake the quiche at 350˚ F. for 25-30 minutes until browned and the center of the quiche is completely set.
- Let quiche cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
kate
Yum. I was literally just looking for egg recipes to feed a toddler (I need him to eat them to confirm he’s no longer allergic), and while he’d rather die than eat this, I would LOVE to eat it.
Linda
A large bunch of fresh spinach??? Can you be more specific please? I do prefer using fresh but a measurement would be helpful. Thank you.
Nick
Hi Linda! Sure. I would start with 4-5 cups of fresh spinach, loosely packed. It cooks down a lot while sauteeing so it’s good to start with a bunch. Hope that helps!
Rena A Laurenzano
What size is the deep dish pie plate for your recipe?