Got leftover ham? This Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche is the perfect way to use it. Sautéed onions and spinach, plus ham and bacon. Added to that is plenty of cheddar jack cheese. Holding it all together is the decadent mixture of eggs, sour cream, and Half & Half. I threw in some green onions for color and good luck.
Perfect for any occasion, this quiche is delicious and relatively easy to make. There are some Dos and Don’ts, however, when it comes to quiche, but we’ll get to those.
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, though, this Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche is a whole lot of scrumptiousness in a 9″ pie plate.
Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche, a brunch classic
It’s a great addition to any brunch along with some Apple Spice Muffins with some Apple Spice Butter on the side. Add a mimosa, some fresh fruit and maybe a Turkey Sausage Spaghetti Frittata, and don’t forget the French Toast Cupcakes for dessert.
What size pie plate should I use?
This particular recipe was baked in a 9″ pie plate, but a deep dish. As you can see in the picture directly above, it wasn’t full to the top.
If you have a shallow pie plate, just watch the levels as you pour in the egg mixture. Leave some out if it looks too full.
It doesn’t swell much when baking, but I’d still hate for it to over-flow on you. Also, if it is full, you can play it safe and simply put a pan on the rack directly below the quiche to catch any drips.
Par baking your quiche crust
This means you’ll be partially baking the pie crust before you add the other ingredients. This helps keep the bottom from getting soggy.
Place your pie crust into the pie plate and shape up the sides. Crimp the edges, or decorate with added pastry as shown, then poke the bottom with a fork a few times. This allows steam to be released from between the plate and the crust.
In a preheated oven set at 350°, bake until the color just starts to turn a light golden brown, about 8 minutes or so.
As the crust bakes, those tiny holes fill back in.
Set the par baked pie crust on a rack to cool as you prep the other ingredients.
Crisping the bacon and sweating the onions
Cook the bacon in a frying pan until crispy. Roughly crumble the strips, making sure you blot off as much of the grease as you can. Also, pour out the fat in the pan.
Next, sweat the onions in the same pan on low heat. Sweating onions means you’re releasing the water from within.
Fruits and vegetables high in water content can make a quiche soggy, so sweating out the water is a must.
Further, you’re not browning the onions. Keep the temperature on low and watch the bottom of the pan. You’ll know it’s working when you see water start to accumulate. This only takes a few minutes.
Add the spinach to the pan when you think the onions are about done. Once the spinach has wilted, drain the water from the pan and blot the onions and spinach.
Load up the Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche
First, layer about a third of the cheese on the bottom, followed by the ham and green onions.
Second, add another third of the cheese plus the bacon, onion, and spinach.
Top that off with the rest of the cheese.
NOTE: this is where you cover it and leave it in the refrigerator if you want to bake it later. Otherwise…
Whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and Half & Half. Pour this evenly over the quiche.
Now you have to burp the quiche. Yep, I said it. Get any air bubbles out that are trapped by lifting one side of the pie plate slightly off the counter (like 1/2 an inch) then dropping it. Do the same to the other side.
Lastly, pop it in the preheated oven (350°) for 35 – 40 minutes.
How will I know when the quiche is done?
Great question. Here’s what the Queen of Quiche told me (a.k.a. Cristi, my bff from as far back as my childhood). She has made it her life’s mission to master the quiche, and she succeeded.
When the center 2 to 3 inches still has a little jiggle in it, but the sides are set, turn the oven off and leave it in the oven with the door closed.
Set the timer for 5 minutes. When the center jiggles no more, pull it out of the oven.
Another tip is to let it rest for 15 minutes before serving. This allows the eggs to continue cooking in the center.
Dos and Don’ts of making a Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche
DO par bake the crust to avoid soggy crust syndrome.
DO sweat the onions and blot extra moisture off the bacon, onions, and spinach. I even blotted the ham.
DON’T overfill the pie plate. Watch as you pour in the egg mixture that it doesn’t get too close to the top. If it’s getting full, throw away any extra that doesn’t fit, then adjust your recipe accordingly, or buy a larger pie plate. By “accordingly, I mean reduce the recipe by maybe 1 egg and 1/2 cup Half & Half.
DON’T forget to burp your quiche.
DON’T overcook your quiche. Remember the eggs will continue to cook after you take it out of the oven.
DO let the quiche rest for 15 minutes before eating.
Bacon Cheese Spinach Quiche
Materials
- 1 refrigerated pie crust
- 4 slices bacon, crumbled
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup ham, diced
- 2 Tbsp. green onions, diced
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup Half & Half
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Press pie crust into pie plate. Crimp or decorate edge if desired. Poke bottom of crust with fork several times. Bake until light golden brown, approx. 8 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
- Crisp bacon in fry pan. Blot cooked bacon and crumble.
- Remove grease from pan. Sweat onions on low heat. When you think the onions are about done, add the spinach until wilted. Drain the water and blot the onion/spinach mixture.
- In bottom of pie crust, add about 1/3 of cheese. Add ham and green onions.
- Add another 1/3 of cheese, plus bacon, onion, and spinach. Top with remaining cheese.
- In separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, and Half & Half. Pour evenly over pie.
- Gently burp the quiche by rocking it from side to side on the counter top.
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. When center 3" still has a jiggle, turn oven off and leave quiche in oven for 5 more minutes.
- Remove quiche from oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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